Aniruddha Nandanwar

Bangalore in red

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:40:00 +0000

Today I arrived Bangalore by morning flight. As I enter the city I saw the city's Gulmohar were at full blossom. April and May is the peak season when these flowers are blossomed and whole city is painted in red. Botanical name of Gulmohar is Delonix regia. In Hindu mythology these flowers are considered as 'Crown of Lord Krishna"

Helix aspersa - Newcomer in our garden

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sun, 19 May 2013 03:27:00 +0000

Helix aspersa, known by the common name garden snail, is a species of land snail. The garden snail is a herbivore and has a wide range of host plants (It feeds on plants only). It feeds on numerous types of fruit trees, vegetable crops, garden flowers, and cereals. It is a food source for many other animals, including small mammals, many bird species, lizards, frogs, centipedes, predatory insects, and predatory terrestrial snails.

The practice of rearing snails for food is known as heliciculture. For purposes of cultivation, the snails are kept in a dark place in a wired cage with dry straw or dry wood.

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Sunset in Puri

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:17:00 +0000

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If the World would be a Village of 100 People

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sun, 12 May 2013 16:41:00 +0000

Click to enlarge

If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:

The village would have 60 Asians, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin Americans, 5 from the USA and Canada, and 1 from the South Pacific

51 would be male, 49 would be female
82 would be non-white; 18 white
67 would be non-Christian; 33 would be Christian
80 would live in substandard housing
67 would be unable to read
50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
33 would be without access to a safe water supply
39 would lack access to improved sanitation
24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76 that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)
7 people would have access to the Internet
1 would have a college education
1 would have HIV
2 would be near birth; 1 near death
5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth; all 5 would be US citizens
33 would be receiving—and attempting to live on—only 3% of the income of “the village”

Book Review – Behind The Silicon Mask by Eshwar Sundaresan

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:04:00 +0000

I had received review copy of this book for critique few weeks back. My first impression after looking at cover was good. Cover design bear resemblance to that of foreign books. Anyhow that makes the justice with the plot & locations of the story. Cover panoply a pistol with background of snow fall in city of Milwaukee. No doubt cover appeals, beguile and will compel you to pick up the book. Story line is thrilling, full of suspense and will hook you till end.

Behind The Silicon Mask is one of the few books written by author Eshwar Sundaresan. It took Eshwar years to compile this book. Books have few inconsequential foibles which can be compensated for novel plots and incidences.

Book is all about serial killer who is targeting immigrants – mainly Indians. A community of 200 Indian IT professionals working in Milwaukee are under a siege. There is tale-twist in every living room and bedroom of these Indian IT professionals. Author has very beautifully set-down record-shattering snowstorm which extend from starting of story till end. On bleak, fateful Friday that brings together all above elements and changes their lives forever. Neither Partho Sen nor Varun Belthangady is aware that their life is in danger. There is one man who can save them yet – Detective Farley of the Milwaukee Police Department.

Some characterizations seem unnecessary, but, a flow is maintained in the second half of this book which makes it a good read.

My rating: 3.5/5

Blissful evening at Dhurwa lake

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sat, 04 May 2013 07:18:00 +0000

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Congratulations Aparajita Datta for winning Green Oscar

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Fri, 03 May 2013 13:41:00 +0000

Hornbill conservator Aparajita Datta has done India proud. The wildlife biologist was awarded a Green Oscar for her work in the field of conserving hornbills in Arunachal Pradesh. Datta has helped conserve two species of hornbills out of the 5 different ones that can be found in the zoologically unexplored and unprotected Eastern Himalayas. The endangered Brown Hornbill (Anorrhinusausteni) and Rufous-necked Hornbill (Aceros nipalensis) are the two birds that Datta has been studying.

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What is a quadricycle?

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:46:00 +0000

Quadricycles may change the landscape of urban and semi-rural commuting in India, provided the government speeds up the process to finalise its norms for this category of vehicles.

This four-wheeler is usually less than half the weight of a small car, can muster up just about a tenth of a car's horse power and has a maximum top speed of anywhere between 70-80 km an hour compared with a car's top speed of up to 200 km. In comparison to three-wheelers though, its top speed and horse power are both higher. Quadricycles can offer a safer, more comfortable four-wheeled option with doors and seat belts for intra city commute. Three-wheelers do not have either doors or seat belts.

Bajaj Auto is already ready with such a vehicle - called RE60 - and other three-wheeler manufacturers such as Mahindra & Mahindra and Piaggio may also enter this space in the near future.

No wonder car makers are already feeling threatened. Tata has been lobbying against quadricycles being categorised separately from cars by insisting that safety measures such as crash tests etc are made mandatory for such vehicles. Car makers fear that their cars in the commercial segment as taxis would suffer if quadricycles are allowed; some three-wheeler makers are keen that the formulation of norms for quadricycles should be delayed by three-four years so they get adequate time to prepare themselves to enter this space.

Car makers perhaps fear that their cars in the commercial segment as taxis would suffer if quadricycles are allowed; even semi-urban and rural transport options such as light commercial vehicles (example Tata Ace) and vikrams used at present may get affected.

A quadricycle, if allowed in its present form of about 400 kg weight and maximum power of 20 horse power, could well be priced somewhere in between a two-wheeler and the Tata Nano and Maruti Alto. A committee with representations from the Government, ICAT, ARAI and industry has been working on formulating norms and its recommendations should be available any day now.

It is possible that the Government may place restrictions on speed and engine power and also ban the use of quadricycle-based vehicles on highways as part of comprehensive norms for this kind of vehicles. But the real bone of contention appears to be a move to consider applying crash testing and other stringent safety norms for such vehicles.

"A quadricycle is much more comfortable and safe than a three-wheeler so all I am saying is norms for qudricycles be made on their own merits rather than in the context of cars," Bajaj had said. Crash testing and other safety norms for cars are made keeping in mind vehicle weight, its top speed etc. Since there appear to be none for three-wheelers, perhaps the government needs to first formulate them for three-wheelers before moving on to quadricycles.

Bajaj explained that India should match European norms for emission, noise levels, lighting, safety and braking of quadricycles. The RE60, which was showcased at the Auto Expo in January this year, carries a 200 cc petrol engine fitted to the rear of vehicle. The company had said earlier that RE60 has half the carbon emission of other four-wheelers at 60 grams of carbon per kilometer.

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HP Connected Music IndiBlogger Meet

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:22:00 +0000


An afternoon of Music, blogging and the chance to meet the finest bloggers from around Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida!

HP connected Music services

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 06:04:00 +0000

My first encounter with online music was when I purchased HTC one X, which comes with pre-installed application of Saavn. Saavn is quite simple, easy to use online application and have options like latest! - for new releases and surprise! - for old songs. Frankly speeking I was not aware of HP connected Music services. I heard it first time from Indiblogger. I am not sure how this service of online music will help to increase HP’s hardware business. However it may help them for tabs and other small hand held devices which they are planning to launch in near future. As far as laptops are concern, there are very few people who use them to listen songs. However this service of HP is unique and is of its own kind. With this unique initiative HP is hoping to increase demand for its notebooks and curb piracy at the same time. This service will only be available on select HP consumer notebook models. The conditions are that it should be purchased after February 1, 2013 and should be a machine with factory-nstalled Windows 8. This service will not be extended to existing HP users. Users can search from the 1 million-song database with options to create a playlist or download the songs. A 30-second preview of a song can be heard to identify the song before the user downloads it. The song is downloaded in 'wma' format with CD quality 128kbps bitrate - good enough for listening on the beats audio powered laptop speakers or headphones. There is no limit on the number of song downloads - you can effectively download music content equivalent or higher than the value of your HP notebook.The catch is that all the downloaded songs are DRM (Digital Rights Management) protected. It means that all the downloaded songs will be locked to your notebook's hardware ID and will only be playable on your notebook. You cannot transfer the songs to a tablet, smartphone or a second computer.

The service is also being launched in 21 other countries, but the other countries only get 3 months of free unlimited usage. Apart from international music, HP will be offering regional music. Details of cost of service renewal after 1 year have not been declared.

For more details please go with following link:

https://ssl.www8.hp.com/in/en/ad/hp-connected-music/overview.html

My Life, My Rules - Stories of 18 Unconventional Careers by Sonia Golani

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:34:00 +0000

Now Reading...

Imprint Westland
Format Paperback
Extent 240pp
Pub date Jan-13
Rs 250
ISBN 9789382618270

Today more than yesterday most professions and careers are extremely flexibly. You see people with a degree in mathematics working in banks, financial departments of large corporations, marketing agencies and so on. Psychologists are finding great opportunities within Human Resources departments, Public Relations companies and pretty much anywhere else you have humans involved in the process.

This book seeks to inspire every working individual from young professionals to senior level managers to opt out of the rat race, chase their dreams and pursue a profession of their choice for inner happiness, success and a long term career.

Choose something that you have passion for. In our society often times parents or friends influence us to pursue money, status and others. I think this is the wrong way to go about it. Choose something you love to do and you will do it damn well, and the money will come as a consequence.

Rahul Akerkar has a Masters in Biochemical Engineering from the US but is better known as a celebrity chef and owner of Mumbais fine dining restaurant, Indigo; Manohar Parikkar went to the prestigious IIT, Bombay but makes headlines as the honorable Chief Minister of Goa; Harsha Bhogle is an alum of IIM Ahmedabad but is a world renowned cricket commentator and Rashmi Uday Singh was once the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax but is widely known today as Indias famous food critic.

These stories which deals with various personalities, who ventured into careers, that are normally unconventional are easy to read and the way stories are presented from across the fields makes the book interesting.

Lt. Cdr. Abhilash Tomy - First Indian to circumnavigate the globe non-assisted

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 08:31:00 +0000

Lt. Cdr. Abhilash Tomy, 34, has became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe non-assisted. It took Tomy 150 days of continuous sailing in INSV Mhadei to reach the milestone.

He arrived at the Gateway of India Saturday afternoon and reported completion of his voyage to President Pranab Mukherjee, the supreme commander of the armed forces, who watched from an Air Force helicopter as the sailor touched shore and later felicitated him.

"Four years of hard work and 150 days of sailing has culminated into this day. I remember each mile of my journey," Tomy said, visibly overwhelmed. "If there is one thing that the sea has taught me, it is humility. The proudest moment for me was when I hoisted the Tricolour on reaching Cape Horn."

His father, former naval officer V C Tomy, was elated. "I was not at all tense. We emailed each other twice a day. One day, however, he was late than usual and we started getting worried. After two and a half hours, he mailed us saying, 'Sorry Dad, I had fallen asleep'," he said.

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De-extinction - a concept that has walked the thin line between science fiction and reality

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 06:03:00 +0000

A few days back when scientists inched closer to reviving an Australian frog species that has been extinct for the last 30 years, they also revived the world's fascination for de-extinction - a concept that has walked the thin line between science fiction and reality. Bringing to life species that have been wiped off the face of earth is a dream many geneticists have pursued for years. In India, too, many are dreaming that dream.

"If India were to aggressively pursue it, there are at least three extinct species that can get a shot at coming back from the dead,'' says Sandeep Sharma of the Washington-based Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. "High on the list is the Asiatic cheetah that went extinct in India soon after Independence. The others are the pink-headed duck and the mountain quail. There are a few pre-historic species, too, but then it might get too ambitious."

Indian geneticists have been attempting to clone the Asiatic cheetah - a favourite animal of the Mughal emperor Akbar who reportedly had an army of 1000 cheetahs accompany him on his hunting expeditions. But efforts to recreate the majestic predator have encountered several roadblocks. "The biggest hurdle is procuring the cell-line of the cheetah and defining protocols for somatic cell transfer. Once this happens, we have a realistic chance of reviving the cheetah in India," says S Shivaji of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.

De-extinction itself is a subject that has drawn diverse opinions. Those opposing it say that if a species went extinct over a period of time -- Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest propounds this is nature's way of balancing itself -- is it prudent to re-introduce it in an ecosystem where some other species may have taken over its role? Ulhas Karanth of the Wildlife Conservation Society says it makes no sense at all. "De-extinction is unlikely to work because factors that caused the original extinction continue to operate."

However, de-extinction proponents continue to be gung-ho about its prospects. "It should not be an either/ or question," says Ryan Phelan, executive director of US NGO Revive & Restore which recently organized a much-publicized conference on the subject along with National Geographic and TED. "It's really an all one continuum. What's good for extinct species will be great for endangered ones."

If man does indeed succeed in playing god, it might just be Jurassic Park all over again, hopefully minus the horror.
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Bacteria powered battery

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 04:48:00 +0000

Bacteria could soon be acting as microscopic "bio-batteries" thanks to a joint UK-US research effort. The team of scientists has laid bare the power-generating mechanism used by well-known marine bacteria. Before now it was not clear whether the bacteria directly conducted an electrical charge themselves or used something else to do it.

Unlocking the process opens the door to using the bacteria as an in-situ, robust power source. The bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis, occurred globally in rivers and seas. They are in everything from the Amazon to the Baltic seas.

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Bhutan

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 16:48:00 +0000

Paro Airport (Only International Airport in Bhutan)

Entry Gate for Thimpu (Capital of Bhutan)

Red Rice, Cabbage with Pumpkin

See-Through Solar Cells

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:16:00 +0000

We've had solar-powered calculators for decades, but can solar tech also power energy-guzzling devices like tablet computers or e-readers? A startup called Ubiquitous Energy is designing clear solar coatings that may soon make that possible. The transparent cells could be added in layers on top of the screen of your iPad to harvest light.

How it works:
The trick is the way the company's photovoltaics take up light: they collect wavelengths in the ultraviolet and infrared portion of the spectrum but let visible light pass through. Traditional solar cells, in contrast, collect light in the ultraviolet and visible regions and therefore can't be made completely transparent. While other companies are also making clear solar cells, most of them use techniques that don't have the same potential for transparency or strength as this design.

The same coatings could also be added to windows in buildings as an alternative to large solar panels on the roof—or as a way to generate extra power. Modern windows are typically coated for insulation during manufacturing, and the solar cells would just be one more step in the production process.

Right now, the product is in development, as the scientists work on making the solar cells able to generate more power, and even more transparent (right now, they're about 70 percent transparent, but mobile displays require 80 to 90 percent transparency).

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That's the "Club 99"

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:33:00 +0000

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.

One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy.

The King asked the servant, 'Why are you so happy?'

The man replied, 'Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies.'

The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, 'Your Majesty, I believe that the servant Has not been made part of The 99 Club.'

'The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?' the King inquired.

The advisor replied, 'Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep.'

When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins!

He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, 'What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins!'

He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.

From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked.

Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, 'Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club.'

He continued, 'The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and Striving for that extra 1, saying to themselves: 'Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life.' We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires.

That's the "Club 99"

Don’t EVER hit the snooze button

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 16:06:00 +0000

Don't EVER hit the snooze button. It really is much more beneficial to just get up on your first alarm. Think about it – the snooze button gives you an extra 10 minutes or so sleep. In the grand scheme of your day this really won't provide you with any more energy. In-fact it does the opposite. Research has shown that 'interrupted sleep' can cause us to feel more tired.

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Aaron Swartz

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:02:00 +0000

IT-related websites have recently been flooded with reactions to the suicide of Aaron Swartz. Swartz was a brilliant programmer who had made a lot of contributions to his field. He was a co-owner of Reddit, a popular social news website. He was also an Internet activist. Sadly, he was found to have hanged himself in his apartment on January 11.

Why did it happen? There was no suicide note, but the consensus was that he was depressed due to the legal battle he was going through which had him facing a potential prison term of up to 35 years. The case stemmed from charges brought against him for downloading four million academic journal articles without permission.

We will miss him...

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Aakash Ganga & Bhagwati Agrawal

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:51:00 +0000

Stopping on a dusty, unpaved village street in northwest India's Rajasthan in 2007, Bhagwati (B.P.) Agrawal saw children excitedly running around calling, "Pani aagayaa." They were alerting everyone that the water tanker had arrived with its twice-a-month delivery. Women appeared carrying clay pots to collect what they could of a life-sustaining resource continually in short supply.
Watching the scene unfold, Agrawal, a Rajasthani native who had emigrated to the United States decades before, asked one woman how scarce water was. When he was growing up, it hadn't been an issue. She responded, "Why ask me? Just count the number of bachelors."
Perplexed, he asked her what she meant. "She told me, 'No father or brother wants to marry his daughter or sister in this village lest she spend all day fetching water,'" Agrawal recalls.
Wells in Rajasthan are often 400 feet deep, and the women must take turns dropping a bucket, then hauling the water up by walking away with a rope tied around their waists, often in grueling heat.
"That was telling," he says. "That's the human dimension."
Agrawal has long felt a desire to mitigate the water shortage by capitalizing on the expertise he gained in the United States during decades of bringing technology innovations to market. In 2003 he founded Aakash Ganga, or River from Sky, in hopes of creating a sustainable solution to the chronic water shortage by collecting a precious source of safe water – rain. But it wasn't until that moment in Rajasthan four years later that he truly understood how pressing the need was.
Since then, Aakash Ganga has created a network of roofs, gutters, pipes and underground tanks in six villages that are home to 10,000 people, to collect and store the short-lived rains that come during monsoon season from July to September. The systems have the potential to collect and store a year's worth of water.
That's key, because in this region on the edge of India's Thar Desert, one of the poorest in the world, there is little surface water. India draws more than twice as much water from underground as any other country, according to the United Nations.
Aakash Ganga incorporates new technologies and modern management to a 600-year tradition of rainwater harvesting in India, Agrawal says. "Too often tradition can be seen as holding back progress. I believe we must understand traditions as cultural capital," he says. "Rainwater harvesting is nothing new. The original systems are still engineering marvels, even if they are in ruins."
Adapting models used by utilities, Aakash Ganga rents rooftop rain-collection rights from homeowners. Households pay 15 percent to 20 percent of the cost to have 6,600-gallon underground reservoirs built in their yards. Each village donates a 2.5-acre plot of land for a 105,000-gallon communal tank. The roof system feeds both the individual households and the communal tanks.
The system has the capacity to provide each resident 2.5 gallons a day at an annual cost of $2 per person. Because most of the cost comes as an upfront infrastructure investment, the system is not something villagers can afford by themselves.
Aakash Ganga has nonprofit and for-profit divisions that work together. The nonprofit arm installs the systems with funds donated by government bodies, social investors and foundations. The for-profit arm operates and maintains the systems with revenue from a horticulture business run on the land provided by the communities.
It's not just water shortage that's an issue in India and, indeed, the world. Improved sanitation and hygiene in the water supply are also crucial. The United Nations estimates that 9 percent of diseases and 3.5 million deaths a year could be prevented globally if more people had access to clean drinking water.
In Indian villages like Haringar, waterborne diseases are common, and many water sources are loaded with dangerous levels of minerals. Nonetheless, Haringar residents such as 56-year-old Rotash Varma, a painter, used to drink unsafe water because it was all he and his family had.
Varma says that many years of drinking that water harmed people's health. "In my case, I used to have body pain and aches in my limbs," he says. "Having shifted over to the sweet water that is available through (Aakash Ganga), I don't suffer from such problems anymore."
Agrawal gives the impression of a tidy, unassuming engineer, but when he talks about Aakash Ganga, there's an entrepreneur's fire. He grew up in a modest family in the small agricultural village of Chhapoli. "Managing two meals a day was a challenge," he says.
When he was in high school, a teacher noticed him trying to take notes on every word spoken in class because he couldn't afford the science textbook. The teacher loaned Agrawal every book he would need through high school in return for a pledge that he would place in the top 10 on the state exams.
"I didn't let him down," Agrawal says.
His high-achieving performance in college and graduate work in India earned him a doctoral fellowship in engineering at the University of South Florida, which he completed in 1974. Agrawal subsequently worked with technology companies including General Dynamics, ITT and GTE. Starting out in the lab, he built a name for himself in voice processing for telecommunication. Having won accolades for taking products that he designed from the lab to the market, he took a big risk, launching the first of two companies in 1988.
When the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, the second went bankrupt. He was considering restarting the company when a casual discussion with friends, mostly successful Indian-Americans in technology and business careers, raised the possibility that he could use his business skills and technological savvy to solve societal problems in India.
"They were just words," he says. "But I was bitten by the social venture bug and never looked back."
Agrawal isn't a water expert. He is an innovator. He makes sure there is effective communication and problem solving in the ever-growing network of villages, organizations and experts that make up Aakash Ganga. One is Rajiv Gupta, a professor of civil engineering at the Birla Institute of Technology & Science, who has been a key partner in providing technical expertise. He explained that Aakash Ganga is very close to his heart. "Every human being should have access to safe drinking water," he says. "For children, providing safe drinking water is like providing a bright future," as a healthy mind and body can expand opportunities dramatically.
For his leadership of Aakash Ganga, Agrawal received the $100,000 Lemelson-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Award for Sustainability in 2010 to support the program. The World Bank and New York-based philanthropy Rajasthan Association of North America has also provided funding.
In 2011, the Indian government gave Aakash Ganga $150,000 in seed money. When the program proves its replicability by reaching between 50 and 100 villages, the government intends to subsidize the program up to 80 percent, provided Aakash Ganga can present a plan to reach 1,000 villages.
Sustainable Innovations, the umbrella organization Agrawal started to facilitate Aakash Ganga and an innovative rural healthcare-delivery project, has already had inquiries from places as varied as China, Rwanda, rural Texas and West Virginia.
Agrawal says this second stage of his life reflects his embrace of a Vedic philosophy, which says that after having raised three children and worked in business, the next life stage is to dedicate oneself to society's needs.
In this journey, he's perhaps most thankful to be able to work with the villagers of Rajasthan. "We can call them illiterate. We can call them uneducated," he says. "But you can't fathom how much wisdom these people have."

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Thundergod - The Ascendance of Indra

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 11:22:00 +0000

Now Reading....

The Beginning....:-)

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 06:32:00 +0000

Mai Mari da Asthan

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 18:47:00 +0000

Among various fascinating legends connected with the popular tourist resort of Murree, self-styled as 'Queen of the Hills' in Pakistan, there is the one about the tomb of the Virgin Mary.

Believe it or not, some claim that located on a peaceful Murree hilltop, is the very site thought to be the final abode or resting place of the Mother of Isa (AS) or Jesus Christ--better known to Muslims as Hazrat Marium (AS).

The site has been maintained and honored as far back as anyone can remember. Its importance can be judged from the fact that the surrounding country is named after the supposed gravesite.

According to an old legend, the name 'Murree' is derived from 'Marium' or Mary. Among locals it is know as Mai Mari da Asthan ("Resting Place of Mother Mary"). Indeed, when the British first arrived here in 1850s to establish a new hill-station in India, Murree was still known as Mari. The spelling was later changed to the present one in 1875.

The exact origin of the shrine has become obscured by the waves of time. Since an ancient period, Hindus had worshipped it, and the Muslims paid their homage on Thursdays by lighting earthen lamps filled with oil.

Commanding, as one book puts it, "magnificent views over forest-clad hills into deep valleys, studded with villages and cultivated fields, with the snow-covered peaks of Kashmir in the background" and overlooking the plains of Punjab, it stood naturally eligible to be selected by the British for defensive purposes, and they built a watchtower at the site.

According to old records, "in 1898, Richardson, the Garrison Engineer, wished to demolish the tomb at the time of the construction of the defense tower. Shortly afterwards he died in an accident, and the locals connect the incident with his evil intentions towards the tomb.

The grave was thereafter promptly repaired. A little further down the ridge, the British built a convent and named it the Convent of Jesus and Mary. Today, it is one of the best girls’ boarding schools in Pakistan.

After secession from India, the government of Pakistan procured this site from private landowners. This place was preferred due to its suitable elevation for the purpose of installing television transmitters.

More recently, in 1968, two towering antennas were added adjacent to one another on 'Pindi Point,' the new name given to the location. One of them arises from the same place where Mary is believed to rest.

A crude-looking cement structure marks the spot nowadays where the alleged grave exists. The area is closed to the general public due to security concerns for the safety of the television boosters. Barbed wire surrounds the antennas to prevent anyone from getting near, and civil guards keep a vigil on the installations night and day.

Various superstitions surround the story of the tomb. Local residents have reported occasional sightings of unexplained lights in the vicinity of the grave at night. Others describe rare encounters with a ball of light condensing into a fuzzy apparition of a veiled female form. Most of the eyewitnesses questioned, believed that the images were genuine and connected to the woman buried on the hilltop who many also regard as a saint. It has been learned that a low-key investigation by a team of archaeology experts from Islamabad was carried out a few years ago to validate the tomb claim. However, their findings were never made public.

Skeptics from the field argue that regardless of the outcome of the team’s findings, it cannot be accepted as the final verdict on the issue. One authority figure, who did not wish to be named, stated: "While serious research of this nature requires extensive excavation, the visit by those archaeologists in the past was merely a superficial survey."

Among Christians, there is a group that believes in a post-Resurrection life of Jesus Christ. They insist that Christ traveled to Kashmir with his mother and died there. They believe that Mother Mary was also laid to rest in the same region.

The Muslim view conflicts with the theory that Christ was crucified or that he ever died. Islam holds that Hazrat Isa (AS) ascended into heavens by Divine command. Nevertheless, many Muslim devotees do not rule out that Hazrat Marium (AS) may have been buried in Murree. They quote the following verse from the Holy Quran in order to substantiate their claim:

And we made the son of Marium and his mother a sign, and we gave them shelter on a lofty ground having meadows and springs [Surah: 23 Al-Mominoon (The Believers) Ayah 50]

They argue that the aforementioned scripture does not correspond to any landscape description in Bait-ul-Muqadas or Jerusalem. Furthermore, they point out that the mention of 'lofty ground' with 'meadows and springs' may perhaps be a reference to the place in question in Murree.

Uncertainty surrounds other ‘Tombs of Mary’ located around the world as well. One exists in Ephesus, Turkey. Other people claim that Mary was buried in France at Le Mars de la Mere, Provence. Some suggest England.

Claims of a similar nature and practice of 'tomb assignment' to persons of significant standing are not uncommon in our own regional belt. It is thought that Hazrat Musa (AS) or Moses is buried in Bandipore, Hazrat Haroon (AS) or Aaron at Harwan, and Hazrat Suleman (AS) or Solomon at Takht-i-Suleman in Indian-occupied Kashmir.

Lately, there has been growing international interest in these tombs. "I am only helping Kashmir," says Suzanne Marie Olsson, a New York-based researcher, who is on a mission to find the truth, "if the authenticity of all the holy places in Kashmir is established, it will place Kashmir firmly on the global map as a leading pilgrimage site of Christians and Muslims, and you will have pilgrim traffic from all over the world."

Ms. Olsson’s contention is equally relevant in the case of the mystery tomb in Murree. In the absence of historical records, one is forced to rely on local legend. If any connection with Mary can be established through scientific means, then the ensuing benefits to the tourism industry can well be imagined.

Whilst many people remain doubtful of the claim of the tomb’s existence, it is interesting to note that a section of Lahore’s Badshahi mosque houses a collection of relics which are believed to belong to the holy prophet Muhammed (SAWS). These include, the Mue Mubarak or the hair, his turban and a cloak among various other items on display. Hundreds of local and foreign visitors queue up daily to view these relics and to pay homage without ever questioning their authenticity.

On the other hand, after undergoing extensive tests, most western scientists agree now that the famous Shroud of Turin, a woven cloth with an image of a man on it that was widely-rumored for a long time to be that of Jesus Christ himself, appears more likely to be a medieval art forgery more than anything else.

The unprecedented technological advances made in recent years in carbon isotope dating and DNA testing methods can investigate with reasonable accuracy similar claims. In the interest of research, it is demanded that the gravesite be opened for scientific study so that the issue may be resolved. Until then a question mark will always loom large over the riddle of whether the Virgin Mary is really buried in Murree? It remains a mystery to be unraveled.

Source: Dr. Ali Jan (originally published on the web at tombofjesus.com/MaryTombJune2001.htm)

The Rozabal Line

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 17:41:00 +0000

Now reading....

The Rozabal Line deals with the subject of Jesus having survived the crucifixion and having settled down in India. The fictional element is much like Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code whereas the historical basis is derived from several other books on the subject including Jesus Lived in India by Holger Kersten and The Unknown Life of Jesus by Nicolas Notovich.

The Rozabal Line is "a thriller that inquires into the controversial claim that Jesus Christ travelled to India and was buried in Kashmir’s Rozabal Tomb"

Nostradamus: The Complete Prophecies

noreply@blogger.com (Aniruddha Nandanwar) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 16:25:00 +0000

Salon, France 1547
Michel de Nostredame was working on over a thousand different prophecies. Some year earlier, he had met some Franciscan monk while traveling through

Italy

. Nostradamus had thrown himself down on his knees. When monk had asked him why he was showing such reverence for an ordinary monk, Nostradamus had replied, ‘I must yield myself and bow before his holiness.’ The ordinary monk of lowly birth, Felice Peretti, would become Pope Sixtus V, nineteen year after the death of Nostradamus.

For over 400 years the predictions of Nostradamus have intrigued and perplexed the world. Many of his prophecies have come true. How many more will come to fruition? Few have studied this prophet as diligently as John Hogue, author of Nostradamus: The Complete Prophecies. Hogue has spent 25 years researching Nostradamus’ prophecies. His new book, the most complete look at the life, writings, and astrological prophecies of Nostradamus ever published, is destined to become the standard work on the seer for decades to come.