Discover Life

Buy my novel "Patthar Kii Ibaarat" online

2017-09-07T03:42:00.003-07:00

Buy my novel "Patthar Kii Ibaarat" online

1. Buy online directly from the publisher ‘Notion Press’:

Click this link:

https://notionpress.com/read/patthar-kii-ibaarat

2. Harish Jharia, Author

My Hindi novel Patthar Kii Ibaarat is available on Amazon

2017-08-21T01:17:00.002-07:00

My Hindi novel 'Patthar Kii Ibaarat' पत्थर की इबारत is available on Amazon

Click on this link to buy the book:

http://www.amazon.in/dp/1947697455/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

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My Hindi Novel 'Patthar Kii Ibaarat'

2017-08-18T10:39:00.002-07:00

मेरी पुस्तक 'पत्थर की इबारत' प्रेस में चली गई है और कुछ ही दिनों में बाज़ार में आ जाएगी...

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प्रस्तावना:

‘पत्थर की इबारत’ उस काल के मानव जीवन की कथा है जो ईसा से लगभग तीन-चार सौ वर्ष पूर्व भारत के एक राज्य पाटन में फल-फूल रहा था. इस कथा में ऐसी कल्पना की गई है कि उस युग में आज प्रचलित किसी भी धर्म का उद्भव नहीं हो पाया था और अधिकतर लोग सूर्य और अग्नि जैसे ऊर्जा स्रोतों को ही पूजा करते थे. उस काल तक धर्म, जाति या समुदाय के अस्तित्व में ना आ पाने के कारण, सम्राट से लेकर राजा और प्रजा तक कहीं भी किसी भी प्रकार का सामाजिक भेद-भाव नहीं किया जाता था.

तत्कालीन नगरों से दूर, पर्वतों की ऊंचाइयों में फैले हुए घने जंगलों में रहने वाले कबीले के लोगों के लिए सर्वाधिक बहुमूल्य वस्तु नमक हुआ करती थी. वे जंगली जानवरों का शिकार करके अपना पेट पाला करते थे और ज्वार-बाजरा जैसे मोटे अनाज की रोटियाँ बनाकर भी खा लिया करते थे. अपने भोजन के लिए शिकार करना, स्वयं पर आक्रमण किये जाने पर अपनी सुरक्षा करना और आक्रमणकारियों का संहार करना ही उस काल के वनवासियों तथा ग्रामवासियों के प्रमुख व्यवसाय हुआ करते थे.

इस कथा का नायक ‘मिरगाबीर’, बियाबान जंगलों में बसे ऐसे ही एक जंगली कबीले का सरदार था. विशाल काया और हृष्ट-पुष्ट शरीर का मालिक मिरगाबीर जितना खूंखार लड़ाका था उतना ही उदार स्वभाव और मानवाधिकारों के प्रति सचेत मानव भी. पर्वतों की ऊंचाइयों में फैले हुए घने जंगलों में बसे होने के कारण, मिरगाबीर का कबीला मानव जीवन की बुनियादी सुविधाओं और उपभोक्ता सामग्रियों से वंचित रहता था, जो नगरों और महानगरों के राजा-महाराजा और उनकी प्रजा तक पहुँच चुकी थीं.

मिरगाबीर ने अपने पराक्रम, बुद्धिमत्ता और कूटनीति के बल पर, स्थानीय राज्य पाटन और दूर-दूर तक फैले हुए आग्नेयक साम्राज्य तक अपनी पहुँच बना ली थी. मिरगाबीर की जीवनी हमें उस काल से परिचित कराती है जब इंसान अपना जंगली कलेवर उतार कर सभ्य और सुसंस्कृत स्वरूप धारण कर रहा था. कबीले, प्रगति करते हुए गाँवों में परिवर्तित हो रहे थे, गांव, नगरों में और नई-नई धातुओं तथा व्यवसायों की खोज होती जा रही थी.

सामाजिक जीवन में द्रुत गति से विकास हो रहा था; किन्तु मानव इतिहास में पहली बार, कुछ छोटे-मोटे राजाओं और ग्राम-प्रधानों द्वारा, अपनी स्वार्थ सिद्धि हेतु, प्रगति पथ पर बढ़ते हुए मानव जीवन में सामाजिक बुराइयों का समावेश भी किया जाने लगा था. धन और समृद्धि के लोभ में प्रभावशाली पदाधिकारियों ने समाज का विघटन और मानवाधिकार का हनन करना आरम्भ कर दिया था.
यह उपन्यास उन प्रचंड और रोमांचक घटनाओं से रूबरू कराता है, जो ऐसे समाज विरोधी राजाओं और ग्राम-प्रधानों के विरुद्ध चलाए गए सामरिक अभियान और मानवाधिकार की रक्षा करने हेतु, मिरगाबीर और उसके योद्धाओं की सेना द्वारा, पाटन राज्य की ओर से लड़े गए गृहयुद्ध के दौरान घटित हुई थीं.

पाठकों की सुविधा के लिए उपन्यास के अंत में एक परिशिष्ट भी जोड़ा गया है, जिसमें दी गई शब्दावली में कबीले की बोली की असामान्य उक्तियों तथा अन्य अप्रचलित शब्दों के शब्दार्थ उपलब्ध किये गए है.

हरीश झारिया

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Cover Page: Designed and drawn by my son Siddharth Jharia

My Novel Patthar Kii Ibaarat being Published

2017-08-18T10:05:00.004-07:00

Know about my Book:

Hindi Novel Patthar Kii Ibaarat

उपन्यास 'पत्थर की इबारत'

The novel ‘Patthar Kii Ibaarat’ is a fictional story of an imaginary human life flourishing around three-four hundred years before Christ. It is imagined that none of the present religions existed in that period and Manaviki sect was followed by a majority of people in those times. People of that period were believed to be worshiping the dominant energy sources like Sun and fire.

The entire fictional story, incidents, hunting, combats and wars depicted in this novel are imagined to have occurred somewhere at the time of a foreign invasion in the western frontiers of Indian subcontinent. In those days, the Agneyak empire had captured the entire northern belt of the Indian subcontinent.

The hero of this novel, ‘Mirga Bir’ was the head of a tribal clan flourishing in the deep Saraunda forests somewhere on the Ser Bhoom mountain ranges in the erstwhile eastern India.

Mirga Bir was a tall and muscular hunter and a fierce fighter. ‘Patthar Kii Ibaarat’ portrays his adventures for the survival and social advancement of his tribal clan. This novel will also picturize the great civil war fought by Mirga Bir against a draconian ruler for reinstating human rights of the enslaved and oppressed people of that kingdom.

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https://www.facebook.com/harishjharia.author/?ref=bookmarks

Novel 'Patthar Kii Ibaarat' being rewritten and Published in bookform

2016-06-02T23:52:00.001-07:00

Discover Life: eNovel: Patthar Kii Ibaarat (Script of Stone):
Copyright © 2009 [Harish Jharia] All Rights Reserved

Image courtesy: Zhuo Shu Liang
http://www.volcanoridgemountedarchers.org/history-of-mounted-archery.html

प्रिय मित्रो,
यह उपन्यास 'पत्थर की इबारत" मैंने अपने ब्लॉग 'डिस्कवर लाइफ ' में आनलाइन प्रकाशित करने के लिए लिखना आरम्भ किया था. मुझे भरोसा नहीं था कि आप सब इसे इतना पसंद करेंगे. किन्तु प्रशंसकों के संदेशों से यह विशवास पैदा हुआ है कि इस उपन्यास की थीम, शैली और कथा सभी को पसंद आई.
इस आधार पर मैने यह निर्णय लिया है कि इस उपन्यास को गहन गंभीरता से पुनः बिलकुल नए रूप में लिखा जाय और किताब की शक्ल में प्रकाशित कर बाज़ार में उतारा जाय ,ताकि अधिक से अधिक लोगों तक यह उपन्यास पहुँच सके .
उपन्यास का पुनर्लेखन आरम्भ हो चुका है और लगभग एक चौथाई पुस्तक लिखी जा चुकी है.
मुझे पूर्ण विशवास है कि यह उपन्यास पुस्तक की शक्ल में 2017 के आरम्भ में बाज़ार में आ जायगी.
यदि आप सब के सहयोग से यह पुस्तक Bestseller सिद्ध हुई तो निश्चित ही मैं इसका अंग्रेज़ी में अनुवाद करके, इसका अंग्रेज़ी संस्करण भी प्रकाशित करने का निर्णय लूगा, ताकि अंतर्राष्ट्रीय अंग्रेज़ी पाठकों तक भी यह उपन्यास पहुँच सके .
सब कुछ आप मित्रों के सहयोग पर निर्भर होगा
आप सब की शुभकामनाओं की आकांक्षा है.
सधन्यवाद
आपका
हरीश झारिया
दिनांक : 3 जून 2016
.....
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Click here to join my page 'My upcoming novel पत्थर की इबारत'
The Link: https://www.facebook.com/novel.patthar.kii.ibaarat/?pnref=story
.....

Dear friends,

I started writing this Hindi Novel ‘Patthar Kii Ibaarat’ (Script of Stone) for publishing on my Blog “Discover Life’. I never imagined that you all would like it so very much. Nevertheless, the positive responses from admirers did generate belief that the theme, style and storyline of the novel has been liked by all.

Based on that, I have decided to rewrite this novel afresh with intense profoundness, in an absolute new look and publish it in a book-form; so that, it may reach out to the maximum number of people.

I have already started rewriting the novel and finished more than one-fourth of the same. I believe that the book will be launched in the first quarter of 2017.

If my book comes out to be a bestseller, with the support of all you friends, I may definitely decide to go for translating it in English and publish its English edition, immediately after the positive market trend.

All the above plans and their implementation solely depend on your support and collaboration.

I solicit your good wishes and blessings.

Thanks indeed

Sincerely yours

Harish Jharia
Dated: 3 June 2017

Discover Life: The Most Beautiful And Heaviest Flying Bird: Great...

2016-06-02T23:11:00.001-07:00

Discover Life: The Most Beautiful And Heaviest Flying Bird: Great...: © Harish Jharia

Indian folklore about the great Indian Bustard (Son Chiraiyya) सोन चिरैया:
I still remember my childhood days of early 50s when I used to hear about Son Chiraiyya in folk stories, folk songs and village life. I remember mothers crying at the time of their daughter’s departure after marriages and whispering the words “My Son Chiraiyya has fluttered away..!” (मेरी सोन चिरैया उड़ गई रे..!). Son Chiraiyya was extensively loved and remembered among common folks as well as in contemporary literature including novels, stories and poems. But, I never saw the bird in my life in its natural habitat. I, of course, had a chance to see this wonderful bird in the national zoo in Hyderabad... Read more...

JNU becomes a traitors hub: some elements chanting anti-India slogans

2016-02-15T22:59:00.001-08:00

By - Harish Jharia

9th and 10th February 2016 have been recorded as black days in the history of India as anti-India slogans were shouted in JNU and Delhi's Press Club of India like:

"Bharat kii barbaadi tak Jang rahegi... jang rahegi"
"Go back India"
"Hindustan murdabad"
"Pakistan zindabad"
"Afzal Guru amar rahe"
"Kashmir lekar rahenge"
"Kashmir ki azadi tak... jang rahegi... jang rahegi"
"Afzal ki hatya nahin sahenge"
"Kitne Afzal maroge... Har ghar se Afzal Niklegaa"
"Kashmir mange azadii... lad kar lenge azazdi"
"Keral mange azadi"

Udaipur’s famous Kalbelia Dancer Rekha killed by her obsessed lover

2014-02-01T01:22:00.002-08:00

Video: Kalbelia dancer Rekha performing in Udaipur

- Harish Jharia

Jodhpur, 1 February 2014,

We recently had a pleasure trip to Udipur. It was a memorable experience of our life. Our 3 day stay at Hotel Taj Lake Palace was a real unforgettable part of our trip. The hospitality extended by the hotel staff was exceptionally good and flawless. We also witnessed a folk-dance performance by a Kalbelia dancer Rekha. Rekha’s dancing talents, expressions, postures and features were unbelievably decent and beautiful. I simply wondered how a tribal girl could perform with such a grandeur without any professional choreographer’s help and Hi-Tech automated mechanizes stage and gadgets.

We had a shock of the day when we read the front page news in a newspaper about brutal murder of the Kalbelia dancer Rekha. It is reported that she was stabbed by a young man on Thursday the 30th Jan2014.

Kalbelia dancer Rekha performing in Uaipur

Rekha was one of the best dancers in in this area of Rajasthan. She had been regularly giving her performance at this hotel and performed internationally in the US, France, Russia, Canada, Oman and Italy.

Rekha’s elder brother Sheranath reportedly said that, she was the youngest of 4 siblings and was the most talented among them. In a very short lifespan, Rekha had performed in many other countries. Her last overseas performance was in Muscat, Oman on 8th Jan 2014 and she was scheduled to perform in Milan on 8th March 2014, he said.

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Sci-Fi Super hero film Krrish 3 - released on November 1st with packed houses

2013-11-10T02:45:00.000-08:00

Rating: 8 / 10

- Harish Jharia

Krrish-3 has been released on 1st November 2013. We watched Krrish 3 on 4th November evening in a multiplex where all the three theaters at the same floor, were showing Krrish 3 simultaneously with full houses.

Krrish 3 is a sequel to the previous two movies 'Koi Mil Gaya' and 'Krrish'. The theme in this movie has changed a little bit with far more superior cinematography and action shots. The makers of this film proudly claim that all the action shots have been filmed and composed in India.

Story line:
Koi Mil Gaya: The story of Krish series starts with the first movie of this series 'Koi Mil Gaya' with the lead character Rohit Mehra, (Hririk Roshan), who was suffering from poor intellectual development disorder. Rohit’s late father was a space scientist who succeeded in making contacts with the people of some other planet. Rohit used to fiddle with the computer left behind by his late father. His mother was scared about space science activities, because her husband had died an unnatural death while working on such projects. Rohit accidentally invites aliens from an unknown planet and gets extra intellectual powers from one of the aliens.

Krrish: In the second film ‘Krrish’, Rohit was wrongly believed to have been died leaving behind his son Krrish, born with supernatural powers. Krrish, subsequently discovers his father under custody of an evil scientist Arya (Nasiruddin Shah) and gets him released.

Krrish-3: is the third film in this series that portrays the life of Krrish, possessing all the supernatural powers. The story of this sequel has been slightly linked to the second movie in the Krrish series. It is depicted in Krrish 3 that the main negative character ‘Kaal’ (Vivek Oberoy) in Krrish 3 was in fact the test-tube brother of Krrish. He was developed by the evil scientist Arya (Nasiruddin Shah) in his laboratories, out of the genes of Krishna’s father Rohit Mehra.

The story of Krrish-3 now revolves around five main characters that are Krrish (Hrithik Roshan), his father Rohit (Hrithik Roshan), his test-tube brother Kaal (Vivek Oberoi) and the lead female character Priya played by Priyanka Chopda. The fifth character in the film is Kaya played by Kangana Ranaut. The film has become more interesting as most of the characters, except Priya, are possessing supernatural powers.

Kaal, in spite of having all the supernatural powers is paralyzed all over his body, except his head and fingers. He is confined to a hi-tech wheelchair, from where he controls the huge infrastructure of his laboratories engaged in genetic engineering. Kaal has a peculiar blood group with strong antibodies against any virus or bacteria. He uses his own genes to develop viruses of incurable diseases and their remedial antidotes as well. Then his agents use to spread the virus in a particular population and initiate the outbreak of the disease that spreads fast and ends in an epidemic. Then Kal’s company releases the medicine for the treatment of the same and earns billions out of it. Kaal, then targets India for his evil plans and initiates the epidemic in Mumbai. The story then moves on along this line and finally the ‘good’ defeats the ‘bad’.

Review:
Krrish-3 is an excellent film worth watching for everyone in the family. However, there is a short kissing scene in the film that has been filmed quite decently and could be accepted by Indian viewers. Hritik Roshan is simply superb and I can say confidently that no other Indian actor could replace him in this character. Hritik has acted yet more effectively in the role of Krrish’s father Rohit, so much so that the viewers would simply forget that both the roles are played by the same actor. Prinka Chopra has also done extremely well in the movie.

Vivek Oberoi has done extremely well in the role of Kaal with incredible face expressions and his deep wonderful voice inherited from his father Suresh Oberoi. The other impressive character is Kaya played by Kangana Ranaut that leaves a strong impression in the minds of viewers. It is clearly evident that Kangna must have done exhaustive workouts for developing the reflexes and body language of a supernatural creature named ‘Manwar’ (Manav + Janwar) a mixture of human and animal.

Rakesh Roshan and his team have done excellent work in all departments like story, direction, cinematography, music, background scores, sound, editing etc. Krish-3 is a wonderful movie that is worth watching. It is a ‘paisa vasool’ (worth your money) and a must see movie.

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Cast:
Hrithik Roshan: Rohit Mehra
Priyanka Chopra: Priya Mehra
Kangana Ranaut: Kaya
Vivek Oberoi: Kaal

Crew:
Production House: FilmKraft Productions India (Pvt) Ltd
Story, Produced and Directed by: Rakesh Roshan
Music: Rajesh Roshan
Background Score: Salim-Sulaiman
Director of Photography: S.Tirru
Action: Tony Ching siu Tung (Hongkong), Sham Kaushal
Sound Designer: Baylon Fonseca
Lyrics: Sameer Anjaan
Dialogue: Sanjay Masoomm
Screenplay: Rakesh Roshan, Honey Irani, Robin Bhatt, Akarsh Khurana, Irfan Kamal
Editing: Chandan Arora
Choreographers: Chinni Prakash, Raju Khan, Remo D'Souza
Visual Effects: Red Chillies.VFX
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How to remove hard water stains from bathroom fittings

2013-11-02T00:53:00.001-07:00

- Harish Jharia

Photo by Harish Jharia:

Sparkling clean tap after applying this procedure...

Hard water stains are also called lime scales. They are chalky white mineral deposits left behind, after evaporation of hard water drops from the surfaces of bathroom fittings like showers, faucets and taps etc. These stains are so strongly adhered to the surface of the fittings, that they cannot be removed by normal washing by soaps and detergents.

Hard water stains can only be cleaned with specific cleaning agents and of course by following an easy procedure. Bathroom fittings should be regularly cleaned at frequent intervals where there is hard water supplied to the bathrooms. Otherwise, the thin films of lime stains will develop into thick hard scales of the mineral deposits. These thick scales are very difficult to be removed and will also deteriorate the surface of the fittings.

Here is a simple and easy way to remove hard water stains from bathroom fittings with the help of tools and material available at home.

Materials and tools required:

White Vinegar
Dish cleaning powder (like Vim)
Round brush or old toothbrush or sponge

Procedure:

Take some dish cleaning powder and mix equal quantity of white vinegar to make a thick solution
Immediately after making the solution, smear the same generously on the surface of the bathroom fitting, with the help of brush / sponge, covering it with a thick layer of the solution.
Leave it for about 5 minutes
Then rub it gently with the brush or sponge thoroughly, adding additional cleaning solution
Rinse the fitting thoroughly with normal water … You will get a sparkling clean surface

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1000 Ton Gold Treasure Hunt at Daundiya Kheda, Unnao - ASI Begins Excavation for Buried Treasure

2013-10-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

- Harish Jharia

An unknown sadhu Swami Shobhan Sarkar of Sri Shobhan Ashram, Daundiya Kheda, Unnao, reportedly had a dream that the ex-local ruler Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh talked to him. The raja told Shobhan Sarkar in his dream, about a huge golden treasure buried under a mound in the premises of the royal fort situated at Daundiya Kheda, Unnao, now in ruins.

This information about sadhu’s dream has not been disclosed by Swami Shobhan Sarkar himself, who has not come in front of cameras or spoken to the media as yet. Instead, his disciple Swami Om ji Awasthi is speaking on his behalf. The spokesperson has informed that the highly respected local seer Shobhan Sarkar had told the Union minister Charan Das Mahant that the country’s financial troubles will be eradicated if the gold was excavated and deposited in the government treasury.

It is further reported that consequently, the central government directed the district magistrate of Unnao on September 3 to for making arrangements for the excavation. On the directives of the district administration and the government, a team of the ASI officials surveyed the area indicated by the saint. The ASI spokespersons subsequently said that they had found signs of the presence of the nonmagnetic / nonconductive material / metal at 15-20 metre depth. Some TV channels reported the depth as 15 – 20 feet.

Eventually, Shobhan Sarkar performed a pooja at the spot before the sunrise and excavation started by ASI personnel on 19 October 2013. By that time the unknown village Daundiya Kheda of Unnao district, captured a prominent place on the world map. TV crews journalists of print media from all over the world, converged at this hamlet inhabited by poor farmers and farm laborers.

What are dreams:

The sadhu says that he has seen a dream and talked to Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh. Firstly you cannot see anybody without light and without your eyes open. You cannot see the king if he is not present in front of your eyes and thoroughly illuminated for the human eyes to form an image on the retina. In fact dreams are sensations of the thoughts that human brain keeps thinking in deep sleeps. If the sadhu has dreamt about a treasure-trove, that means he must be thinking about some treasure buried underground. It has nothing to do with any real treasure.

Read more about dreams: Do we really see and watch dreams while sleeping…?

Is the story of treasure-trove dream true or fake:

This is the first question that flashes in our mind when we come across this medieval theory of a sadhu dreaming about a treasure-trove of a king who lived 160 years back. The king appears in person in the year 2013 and tells the sadhu about the exact location as precise as the area of a small room ie 10’ x 10’.

The most unbelievable part of the episode is the unit of weight declared by the sadhu and that is in ‘Tons’. The sadhu claims that the treasure has 1000 Ton gold. In other reports TV news bulletins were also talking of 2500 Tons of gold. It looks as if all of these people are making fool of we Indians and the Indian government has acted in yet more thoughtless way by ordering the excavation.

Now, it is left to the readers to decide whether the treasure-trove story is true or fake.

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Super cyclone Phailin (फाईलीन समुद्री तूफ़ान) blows down Indian northeast coast of Bay of Bengal

2013-10-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

In emergency Call at:

Phailin Srikakulam control room number: 08942 240557
Phailin Emergency toll free number: 180042500002

- Harish Jharia

12 October 22013

The super cyclone Phailine*** (फाईलीन समुद्री तूफ़ान / चक्रवात / बवंडर) has formed somewhere in the Bay of Bengal and moving at 20 kmph speed towards Indian coast. The deadly cyclone is expected to hit Gopalpur of Orissa, India at about 8pm India time today, 12 October 2013 at a speed of 220 kmph. The Phailine Cyclone is going to sustain for about 6 hours minimum.

In addition to Orissa, where Phailine is going to devastate the most, this cyclone will also hit Andhra Pradesh coast and West Bengal seashores severely. Today on 12 October 2013 at noon rain and wind lashed India's east coast and forced about 4,50,000 people to flee their habitats and take shelter in government camps.

Spreading over most of the waters of Bay of Bengal, the cyclone Phailin was about 200 km (124 miles) offshore at noon on Saturday and was expected to hit the land by late evening. As per the estimates of the weather forecast authorities, It expected to be a "super cyclone", and is expected to affect 12 million people.

It is for the first time that the government has taken advance evacuation of people as disaster management process in India. Indian Army, Navy and Air Force have been pressed in attending to rescue operations. The weather forecast department is keeping content vigil on the progress of the super cyclone. Sources from the National Disaster Management Authority NDMA and National Disaster Response Force NDRF have said that more than 440,000 people have been evacuated, as disaster management action and this is one of the largest evacuations ever undertaken in India.

People are advised not to panic and better keep cool and move to safer places as and when advised by the rescuing personnel. The advance preparations made by the authorities will definitely minimize losses of lives to the super cyclone Phailine.

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*** The super cyclone ‘Phailin’ has been named so by Thailand. The meaning of Phailin is sapphire (नीलम), a precious stone.
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TV Review - Reality show Bigg Boss Season Saath 7 and the housemates

2013-09-22T08:25:00.003-07:00

- Harish Jharia

‘Bigg Boss Saath 7’ ...the one of the most popular reality shows is already running on Colors TV channel since 15th September, 2013. There were 15 contestants as the housemates in the Bigg Boss house, one out of whom Hazel Keech has been evicted from the house on 21 September 2013.

Following are the contestants in the Bigg Boss House locked under a virtual confinement for the next three months:

Anita Advani, 50; an Indian Business-woman claims to be Rajesh Khanna's live-in partner. She had even sent a legal notice to his family members claiming a legal share in his property, after the death of the super star Rajesh Khanna. A soft-spoken, down to earth and straight forward person. She pays respect to others and expects the same from them.

Arman Kohli, 41 is an Indian Actor who acted in many films like Virodhi, Qahar, Dushman zamana, Anaam, Kohra, Juaari, Veer, Jaani Dushman(2002) etc. He is the son of producer, director Rajkumar Kohli. He made his acting debut as a child actor in his father's films Badle Ki Aag (1982) and Raj Tilak (1984). Eventually he was launched as an actor in 1992 in Virodhi.

Pratyusha Banerjee, 22 is an IndianTelevision Actress who is famous for her role as Anandi in the popular TV serial Balika Vadhu on Colors TV. She was born and raised in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and is now settled in Mumbai for the last 4 years. She is a short-tempered, and emotional person with reserved nature.

Sangram Singh, 28 is an Indian Wrestler who came in limelight after he posed in his birthday suit with just a fig-leaf covering his body. He also heated up interactions on internet with a steamy photo-shoot along with Payal Rohatgi. Sangram Singh was born in Madina villageand later paralyzed for 8 years on a wheelchair. Nevertheless, with his will power has transformed him into a famous international wrestler. He won a Gold Medal in the Commonwealth Wrestling bout. He has also been a part of many TV reality shows like 100 percent, De Dhana Dhan, Big TOSS, Guinness World Records and Survivor India. He believes in "Efforts are never wasted" and "Nothing is impossible".

Elli Avram, 23 is a Swedish Actress, all set to make her Bollywood debut opposite TV anchor-turned-actor Manish Paul in Saurabh Varma’s upcoming flick, "Mickey Virus", a comic thriller. She is the daughter of the veteran Swedish actor Maria Granlund, who worked with Ingmar Bergman in Oscar winning film 'Fanny and Alexander'. Elli Avram has learned ballet, belly dance, Bollywood dance, kathak, Bharatnatyam etc. Elli feels attached to India and indian culture since her childhood and feels cofortable in Mumbai.

Rajat Rawail (Now Evicted), 42 is an Indian Film Producer, Actor and Director. He is the Producer of the Bollywood blockbuster movie 'Ready' and has also played a funny character of Tsunami Singh in 'Bodyguard'. He was born and brought up in Mumbai in a filmy family.

Kushal Tandon, 28 is an Indian Model turned Television Actor, known for his role as Virat Singh Vadhera in a television serial ‘Ek Hazaaron Main Meri Behna Hai’. He stood 6th in the ‘Eastern Eye’ a UK magazine's ‘The 50 sexiest Asian men 2012’ and was on the Top 20 in People Magazine. Kushal Tandon hails from Lucknow and is the runner's up of Grasim Mr.India contest. He has also walked on ramp for much fashion shows like Provogue, Spykar, Giodarna and Lakme. He has featured in many ads with big brands such as Sony Ericsson, Skoda, Activa, Airtel, Dairy Milk, Reid & Taylor etc . Later on, he went to the United States for his studies in the New York Film Academy.

Kamya Punjabi, 35 is an Indian Actress, better known as Sindoora in a television show ‘Banoon Main Teri Dulhan’. She is in the industry for the last ten years. She acted in television shows like Kehta Hai Dil, Kyun Hota Hai Pyaar, Ret, Astitva-Ek Prem Kahani, Comedy Circus etc in addition to a few movies and music albums.

Hazel Keech (Now Evicted), a British Actress better known for her supporting role in the Bollywood film Bodyguard. She grew up in a British & Indo-Mauritian home. She has always been attracted and attached to Indian culture. She has featured in a music video for the remix song 'Kahin Pe Nigahein' in 2007, remixed by DJ Shezwood.

Shilpa Agnihotri, 31 is an Indian actress / Event manager. She was a well-known face of television shows like Kyunki saas bhi kabhi bahu thi, nach baliye, saas vs bahu, pati patni aur woh, survivor India and many music videos. Being a naval officer's daughter she is an extrovert. When she was 15, she was spotted by someone at a mall outside her college who offered her an ad film that made her a famous Sunsilk face. She married Apurva Agnihotri at the age of 22 and living a happy married life. She is an actor by default, a housewife by choice and an activist working for animal cause.

Apurva Agnihotri, 40 is an Indian Film and television Actor. He is considered as a shy and introvert person but sometimes thought to be arrogant by strangers. Apurva wants to be remembered as a creative professional behind the camera, creating wonderful films as a director and writer like his father.

Ratan Rajpoot, age not disclosed, is an Indian Television Actress, better known for her lead role in an Indian TV serial 'Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo' as Laali and a reality aired television show 'Swayamvar Season 3' (Ratan Ka Rishta). She is girl from asmall town carrying very big dreams.

Gauahar Khan, 30 is an Indian Actress, better known for her dance numbers 'Jhalla' and 'Chokra Jawaan' in Ishaqzaade and 'Parda Parda' from Once Upon a Time in Mumbai. She was also featured in a Bollywood movie 'Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year' opposite Ranbir Kapoor. Gauahar was the Miss India international 2002 and started her career as a model. She was widely appreciated for her variety of dance numbers performed in the reality show Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa. Gauahar and her sister were featured in a reality show 'Khan Sisters' on UTV Bindass which turned her image into a celebrity. She has completed her first film as the lead heroine opposite Rajev Khandelwal titled 'Fever', scheduled to be released in January 2014.

VJ Andy, 32 is a British TV Presenter and Choreographer. He earned fame as a VJ With Channel V for the shows viz Dare to Date, Date My Folks, U R Fired, Bollywood Non-Sunsex, Get Gorgeous 5 & 6, Beauty and the Geek and others. He is also the choreographer of the hit music Video ‘Kaliyon ka Chaman’ etc. Andy also did a small role in Bollywood's “Yet another love story” and 'Bachna-E-Haseeno'. He is also the costume designer for some films like Tahsan, Bachna-E-Haseeno and Ghajini. He worked with the top Indian designers for Fashion shows for films and fashion shows.

Tanishaa Mukherji, 35 is an Indian actress, better known for her role in the movie Neal N Nikki and followed by Sarkar, Sarkar Raj, Sssshhh, Tango Charlie etc. She is the daughter of Shomu Mukherjee and actress Tanuja and the younger sister of film star Kajol. She hails from a family that dominated Bollywood since the 1940s. Tanishaa is also acting in a Marathi film titled 'Adhantari'. She has also been the co-producer of the Bollywood movie ‘Son of Sardar’.

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Why girls and young women are gang-raped in India

2013-09-10T03:59:00.002-07:00

Utter failure of the system

- Harish Jharia

In the recent times there has been a steep escalation in the cases of gang rapes against girls and women in India. Such cases depend on the sexual attitude of male population towards their female counterparts in a particular society, place and region. It also depends on the careless and unsecured venturing out by girls and women at late nights and in secluded places.

Following are the categories of sexual offenders who are suspected to commit gang rapes on girls and women:

The gang-rapists are usually found in the age group between 17 year to 35 year
These sex offenders are usually unmarried men, separated married men or widowers
Most of these rapists are either illiterates or dropouts from schools
Most of these rapists are either unemployed vagabonds or unskilled / skilled laborers like drivers, cleaners, daily wage workers etc
These sex criminals usually hail from poor families living in slums
The Rapists plan and execute sexual crimes at their favorite places vulnerable for girls and women
Some of the sex criminals are suspected to be victims of child-abuse in their early lives
Some of the rapists are suspected to be mentally abnormal like being short-tempered, insensitive, cruel, criminal minded etc

Risky location

Following are the vulnerable situations and conditions for gang rapes on girls and women:

Girls and women who venture out all alone at late nights and to isolated places may fall prey to these molesters
Girls and women connected to discothèques, and night clubs are more susceptible to gang rapes, if they commute all alone at late nights, especially on taxies and other public transports
Gangs of sex offences also target romantic couples who find secluded places for their meetings. The goons first threaten the couple, overpower the male partner and then molest the female
Girls and women boarding empty taxis auto rickshaws, buses or train compartments at nights are also vulnerable to sexual offences committed by vagabonds

Rave Parties in India

What the government and society should do to eliminate sexual crimes against girls and women:

The local police should enforce law in such a way that girls and women become safe everywhere and every time, round the clock and no incident of molestation takes place
The police and local administration should attend to the victims, file FIR, arrest the culprits and initiate criminal proceedings immediately against them
The society should develop a healthy social order that people stop treating girls and women as commodities for quenching their lust (हवस)
Girls and women should also follow some code of conduct for ensuring their own safety
Girls and women should not venture out to secluded places in day or night all alone or with a companion.
Girls and women should avoid visiting or working in discotheques or night clubs in nightshifts if they do not have their own mode of transport. They should also avoid attending such programs if they are not in a group of 4-5 friends
Women organizations and overenthusiastic social workers should not criticize intellectuals and senior citizens, calling them morale police, who propose security precautions for girls and women
Cheap item numbers, filthy dialogues, rustic songs and erotic exposure of female bodies in films and television definitely pollute people’s attitude towards girls and women. Films and television programs are required to be drastically refined and made much decent
Girls and women have recently started sporting western outfits like hot pants, skintight jeans and tops, thereby exposing cleavages, waistlines, legs and armpits. Indian common men are not used to watch such western avatars of Indian girls and woman
The boys and young men hailing from poor and illiterate families look at the girls and women in western outfits, as if they are item girls of films and TV commercials. That is the reason why they stare at them, stalk them and try to touch them
These vagabonds then set out for locating helpless girls or women after developing perverted sex desire and molest them on the first available opportunity

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What is the difference between Cheese (चीज़) and Paneer (पनीर)

2013-09-05T04:52:00.000-07:00

- Harish Jharia

Cheese and Paneer are almost similar dairy products but quite different in taste, texture and other characteristics. The processes of preparation of cheese and paneer are also different. Paneer’s preparation is quite simple and it can be done at home with the tools and ingredients available in domestic kitchens; whereas, the preparation of cheese is a bit complex and needs specific tools, ingredients and expertize for making it.

How is Paneer made:

For making paneer out of 1 litre of milk, you need 3-4 spoonful of lemon juice, muslin cloth, strainer, and two- 2 litre cooking utensils (पतीले).

Heat the milk in a cooking utensil, until it reaches its boiling point. Put off the fire and add 1 spoonful of lemon juice at a time and keep stirring the milk constantly. Add 2nd and 3rd spoonful of lemon juice at reasonable gaps and keep stirring the hot milk until the milk disintegrates into curds and whey (दूध का पानी).

Now, put the strainer on another utensil; spread muslin cloth on it and pour the disintegrated milk over it, straining out the whey into the utensil. Keep aside the whey and preserve it for future use in place of lemon juice.

Then rinse the curds thoroughly with fresh water. Remove the curds along with the muslin cloth and wrap the cloth around the curds tightly into a desired shape and keep it pressed under a weight of approximately 2kg for 3 hours. Remove the weight when all the whey squeezes out and the curds become firm and solid. Finally, soak the block of curds in ice water for 5 minute and remove the paneer from the cloth.

How is Cheese made:

There are many types of cheese and are prepared with as many methods. Although, cheese in its most basic form involves curdling milk and then separating the solids from the whey, some cheeses undergo additional steps and need more time for preparation. The variety of cheese, the taste, texture, color, and aroma depends on what process it goes through thereafter.

1. Curdling:
Curdling (जमाना) milk is the first step for separating the milk solids from the liquid including whey protein and water. The milk is curdled by adding an enzyme (fermenter) such as rennet (जामन).

Rennet is the oldest method of curdling milk as it is found in the stomach linings of ruminants (जुगाली करने वाले जानवर). Rennet is an enzyme that denatures the proteins in milk and forming curds (छैना). Curds formed with rennet have a gel-like consistency that allows them to be stretched and molded unlike curds formed as paneer. Cheeses with good melting qualities, such as mozzarella, are produced with rennet. Nowadays, rennet is produced in bulk by genetically modifying bacteria to produce the required enzyme. This allows for an unlimited amount of rennet to be produced at a much lower price.

2. Processing:

After curds are separated from the whey, they undergo processing eventually producing distinct varieties of cheese sold in the market.
Many cheeses are heated and salted for further squeezing out more moisture. The more moisture squeezed out of the curd, the harder would be the cheese. This also allows the longevity of cheese, when the salt will provide extra flavor.
Some cheeses such as mozzarella undergo stretching process for aligning the proteins and developing fibers giving the cheese a stringy texture.
Milder cheeses, such as Colby or Gouda are passed through several washings for reducing its acidity and proving mild and creamy flavor to shine through.

3. Ripening:
Ripening or aging process is applied to provide much different flavors for specific varieties of cheese. Cheese is stored under controlled environmental conditions in order to let natural microbes to transform proteins and other constituents into various highly flavored compounds. Many cheeses are applied with specific bacteria for producing desired flavor, color and texture.

Gasses generated by bacteria in Swiss cheese get entrapped within the cheese and create the classic bubble texture. The distinct blue veining in blue cheese is also created by bacteria that get inoculated in the cheese.

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Wish you a very happy Krishna Janmashami…

2013-08-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Krishna Janmaashtami
Lord Krishna's Birthday

Today is the birthday of Lord Krishna. His colorful birthday is celebrated with all the fanfare, music dance and chanting songs in His honor.

Lord Krishna is believed to have been born in 3112 BCE; therefore today, it is the 5125th birthday of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna has the rare distinction of being India’s most beloved divinity and at the same time a historical figure, who existed physically on this planet about 5000 years ago.

ऐसा विश्वास किया जाता है कि श्री कृष्ण का जन्म 3112 BCE में हुआ था; इस प्रकार आज कृष्ण भगवान का 5125 वां जन्मदिन है. श्री कृष्ण को भारत भूमि पर एक दुर्लभ गौरव प्राप्त है. वह यह कि वे एक सर्वाधिक लोकप्रिय दिव्यपुरुष होने के साथ-साथ एक ऐतिहासिक विख्यात ्यक्तित्व भी थे जो 5000 वर्ष पूर्व शारीरिक रूप से इस पृथ्वी पर मौजूद थे.

Lord Krishna was a philosopher, warrior, and ruler and was eventually elevated to the highest level of sacred divinity- a God.

I on behalf of ‘Discover Life’ and on my own behalf, wish all the devotees of Lord Krishna a very happy Krishna Janmashami…

Jai Shri Krishna….

- Harish Jharia

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Film Riew Chennai Express - Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone starrer comedy thriller

2013-08-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

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‘Channai Express’ film has broken all the records of Bollywood box-office? To know why, read this film review wherein an analytic study of this film has been presented.

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- Harish Jharia

Rating: 8/10

Chennai express is a comedy action thriller, starring Shahrukh Khan SRK and Deepika Padukone. It is produced by Gauri Khan, Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur. The credit for the success of this excellent creation goes to its director Rohit Shetty and the editor Steven H Bernard who eventually made a nonstop bonanza of multiple movie frames, filled with high voltage absolute entertainment. The next credit goes to its cinematographer Dudley who recreated the vibrant colors of nature, unbelievable bird’s-eye-views and breathtaking action shots on the silver screen. In all, it is a ‘complete in all respect’ film that is going to be written in the Indian film history with golden letters.

Storyline:

Rahul (Sahrukh Khan) is the grandson of a millionaire confectioner (Lekh Tandon). Rahul is a vagabond and remained a bachelor until 40 years of age because of consistent interruption in his affairs by his grandfather. The real film takes off with the death of his grandfather. He was assigned with the task to immerse his grandfather’s mortal remains in the waters of Indian Ocean at the southern tip of Indian peninsula at Rameshwaram.

Rahul, along with his rogue friends planned to immerse the mortal remains at the shores of Arabian Sea at Goa, rather than going all the way to Rameshwaram. Nevertheless, Rahul had to change the rout to Goa because his grandmother decides to see him off at the railway station. He buys a ticket and boards a train to Chennai after taking leave of his grandmother. He alighted from the train at the next station where his friends were waiting for him for onward pleasure drive to Goa.

At the time of leaving the train, Rahul forgot to pick up the urn containing mortal remains of his grandfather and reached to his friends. On noticing his mistake he rushed back to his couch, picked up the urn and tried to leave the compartment. By that time the train started moving and he saw that a girl Meena was running on the platform to catch-up with the train and climb to board it. Rahul helped her in boarding the train followed by helping a gang of her kidnappers.

Rahul and Meena along with her kidnappers went ahead on the train Chennai Express’. The film moves on with fast and multiple twists and turns in the story, keeping the viewers glued to the screen. I would like to leave the story here for the readers to watch the film and enjoy the humor and thrill.

Review:

My first comment about this movie is that it is a neat and clean Bollywood film. There were many shots portraying hi-voltage interactions between the gangsters and the lead characters, where the common Hindi Bollywood abuses like ‘kutte’, ‘kamine’ were in fact expected to be spoken. But, to the surprise of everyone, no abuses or vulgar talks were found anywhere in the movie.

The visual parts of the film are also kept neat and clean with no vulgar shots or scenes shown on the screen that would have embarrassed parent viewers to watch it along with their toddlers. Rohit Shetty has even changed the definition of ‘item number’ by presenting a graceful item by Priyamani as dancer.

By watching this movie, it is proved that another blockbuster Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s ‘Bhag Milka Bhag’ could also have been made without the prolonged kissing scene between Farhan Akhtar and Rebecca Breeds. That would have saved the parent viewers from an abrupt embarrassment they were slapped with, while watching the movie with their kids.

Shahrukh Khan was superb in this movie unlike his performance in ‘My name is Khan’; wherein he looked uncomfortable with the character he was playing. Nevertheless, in Chennai Express SRK has completely merged with his character and his own persona hardly overshadowed the character of Rahul. Yet, at a couple of shots he looked overacting when he displayed his trademark posture of bending back with outstretched hands. He should definitely have averted to do so; because, that act did not match with Rahul’s character in he film at all.

Deepika Padukone has portrayed the character of Meena, the daughter of a local Don (Sathyaraj). Her performance is excellent who dominated the movie along with Shahrukh Khan whom she marries at the climax of the film. All other characters have been overshadowed by Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.

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Cast:
Deepika Padukone - Meena
Shahrukh Khan - Rahul
Sathyaraj - Meena's Father
Nikitin Dheer - Proposed groom for Meena
Kamini Kaushal - Rahul's Grandmother
Lekh Tandon - Rahul's Grandfather
Priyamani - item number
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Crew:
Directed by: Rohit Shetty
Produced by: Gauri Khan, Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Screenplay by: Yunus Sajawal
Story by: K. Subaash
Music by: Vishal–Shekhar
Cinematography: Dudley
Editing by: Steven H. Bernard
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What is BMI Body Mass Index - a Barometer for monitoring figure and health of men and women

2013-08-07T01:41:00.000-07:00

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Have you ever wondered what Body Mass Index, popularly known as BMI is? There are many others who also did not understand what BMI is, for many years. Here are the answers for all your questions about BMI in this article.

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- Harish Jharia

Body Mass Index popularly known as BMI, is a measure for human body’s shape based on mass** / weight and height. That means your BMI is calculated out of your height and weight. Mass** and weight of the body are considered the same while discussing about and calculating BMI.

In general we were told that the ideal weight of a person in Kg should be equal to the number of inches of his / her height. For example if you have height of 5 ft (60 inch), than your weight should be 6o kg. If you are heavier than 60 kg you are considered overweight and if you are lighter than 60 kg then you are underweight. This was a sort of a wild approximation emerged out of experience of health observers.

However, when I calculated BMI of a person with 5 ft height and 60 kg weight the calculator computed BMI as 25.8. According to the guiding table BMI of 25.8 is considered as the highest BMI for normal weight and of course borderline lowest for overweight category.

The Belgian scientist Adolphe Quetelet discovered BMI somewhere between 1830 and 1850 while working on social physics. BMI is defined as the individual's body mass** divided by the square of his / her height. This value is expressed in units of kg/m2.

Metric system: BMI = Weight in kg / (height in meter)²

British system: BMI = {Weight in lb / (height in inch)²} x 703***

There are various ready reckoners, tables and electronic / digital calculators available for calculating your BMI. A link to one such calculator is right here:

Link to BMI Calculator:
URL: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/BMI/bmicalc.htm

The following is a guiding table that tells you about the severity of your BMI and corresponding condition of your body:

BMI Health Indicator

Up to 18.5 Underweight
18.5 to 24.99 Normal weight
25 to 29.99 Overweight
30 to 39.99 Obese
40 and above Excessive obese

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** Mass and weight of the body are considered the same while discussing about BMI. It is so, in spite of the fact that in Physics, mass and weight are regarded as different entities. Mass is considered as the amount of matter or material of any object, whereas, the weight is referred as the force experienced by the object due to gravity. If you weigh a particular piece of object at different gravitational fields, the scale will show different weights for the same object. For example a loaf of bread will have different weight if weighed on Earth, Moon, and Mars and in space.
*** The exact conversion factor for British units is 703.06957964. Nevertheless, this level of precision is not required for BMI calculations.
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Disclaimer: This article is written based on my personal observations and on the information collected from the media. My intention for publishing the same is to provide healthy reading and intellectual entertainment and not for educating the visitors. No literature or authentic books have been referred for writing the contents of this article. The visitors are advised not to refer the contents of this article for any research or testimony on professional or legal purposes. The visitors are further advised to consult relevant experts before adapting any information from this article. The author or the website are not responsible for any errors, mistakes, or omissions there in… Harish Jharia
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Film Review: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

2013-08-06T04:53:00.002-07:00

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People wonder why ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ film has won the hearts of Bollywood filmgoers? If yes, read this film review wherein an analytic study of this film has been presented.

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Milkha Singh

Rating: 90%

- Harish Jharia

‘Bhag milkha bhag’ is a film based on the life and athletic career of the most famous Indian Olympian Milkha Singh, popularly known as ‘The Flying Sikh’. It is relevant to mention here that the title ‘The Flying Sikh’ was awarded by the then president of Pakistan Gen Ayub Khan when Milkha singh beat the Pakistani runner Abdul Khaliq on the Pakistan soil in 1960.

He married Nirmal Kaur, an Indian Volleyball team captain in 1966. He has three daughters and a son Jeev Milkha Singh the professional international Golfer. Milkha Singh won the following big medals in addition to the dozens of other medals to his iconic sports career:

Commonwealth Games: Gold in 1958, Cardiff UK - 440 yards - Gold
Asian Games: Gold in 1958 Tokyo, Japan - 200 m
Asian Games: Gold in 1958 Tokyo, Japan - 400 m
Asian Games: Gold in 1962 Jakarta, Indonesia - 400 m
Asian Games: Gold in 1962 Jakarta, Indonesia - 4 x 400 m relay

Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh

Film Storyline:

Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) was born in 1935 at Govindpura village, 10 km from Muzaffargarh city of Punjab Province in British India, now in Pakistan. In 1947, at the age of 11 he was left all alone when his sister (Divya Dutta) along with her arrogant husband migrated to India and her parents and rest of the family were killed during partition of British India. His father (Art Malik) was killed in front of his eyes and the last words uttered by his father were… “Bhag Milkha bhag”… “Run Milkha run” that have been adapted as the title of the film by Producer / Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

Young boy Milkha Singh’s (Jabtej Singh) childhood has been portrayed beautifully in the film showing the peace and harmony prevailing in British India before partition. The film then shows the utter contrast in subsequent shots of human massacre and soil converting into red mud, mixed with human blood flowing in the streets.

On receiving the call “Bhag Milkha bhag”… from his dying father (Art Malik), Milkha Singh ran away from there and joined the Hindu crowd departing for India. His dreadful journey along with the frightened Hindu crowd from Pakistan to India has been effectively picturized by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

When the migrating Hindu crowd reached Delhi they were attended to by the Indian Army. An orphan Milkha (Jabtej Singh) found himself lost in the berserk crowd at an absolutely new place. He was all alone and starving for a couple of days. He somehow managed to grab a food packet and started gulping it, when he heard the shrieks of his sister (Divya Dutta). He forgot his hunger and ran towards her, leaving behind his food.

Milkha’s new life started at a new place Delhi and he found himself in the form of a vagabond, managing his bread out of burglary. He grew up into a young Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) and fell in love with a young girl Biro (Sonam Kapoor), who hated his fugitive lifestyle. Milkha Singh, feeling embarrassed with Biro’s complaints, finally decided to find a better job and eventually, his fate took him to a recruitment center of Indian Army. He was recruited as a soldier in the Indian Army and posted at EME Center Secunderabad.

Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) was a born runner and he discovered this inherent talent when he was asked by the seniors to run a 10 mile race for selecting athletes. The EME Centre declared that all the top 10 athletes selected in that race would be entitled for getting mugful of milk and two eggs daily. Milkha Singh put-up all his strength for winning that race for the daily diet of milk and eggs and was eventually selected as one of the athletes for the EME Centre.

After this selection, Milkha Singh did not look back and started winning one race after the other. He ran in Armed Forces athletics, national sports and international sports competitions and toured from one place to the other across the globe. His participation in the Melbourne 1956 Olympics has been portrayed in this film when he fell in an affair with the granddaughter (Rebecca Breeds) of his Australian technical coach.

As a result of this affaire Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) lost his race on the following day. The defeat in the race was the worst nightmare of his life and he repented for his blunders by slapping himself dozens of times, across his face. This scene of self-beating has been picturized quite intensely by the director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

On the same night in Melbourne, Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) goes to his coach and asks “What is the world record for 400m race”, who in turn writes ‘45.90’ seconds on a tissue paper and gives it to him.

Milkha Singh attaches that world record figure ‘45.90’ at his place of worship and starts a new way of life with one single aim of life ie breaking the 400m world record of ‘45.90’ that eventually he broke by clocking 45.80 in France.

Star Cast

Farhan Akhtar - Milkha Singh
Sonam Kapoor - Nirmal Kaur
Rebecca Breeds - Stella
Dalip Tahil - Jawahar Lal Nehru
Prakash Raj - Milkha Singh's coach
Pawan Malhotra - Milkha Singh's Senior
Divya Dutta - Milkha Singh's Sister
Nawab Shah - Coach Javed
Meesha Shafi - Perizaad
Dev Gill - Abdul Khaliq
Shanta Kumar - Gen. Ayub Khan
Art Malik - Milkha Singh's Father
K K Raina - Mr. Wadhwa
Jabtej Singh - Young Milkha
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Loy Mendonsa

Review:
Whenever we speak about the movie ‘Sholay’, we think about Ramesh Sippy and Amjad Khan. Similarly, after watching ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ I kept thinking about Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farhan Akhtar. The direction is excellent and Milkha Singh played by Farhan is unbelievably outstanding. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has not left any stone unturned in portraying the dramatic life of Milkha Singh. Farhan Akhtar has converted himself into the avatar of Milkha singh so much accurately so that it is hard to distinguish between Milkha Singh and Farhan Akhtar.
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Illegal sand mining - UP sand-mining mafia forces government to suspend IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal

2013-08-04T02:29:00.000-07:00

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Have you ever wondered what all problems are faced by bureaucrats like IAS and IPS officers when they are posted in the states of India? How they have to face the local mafias head-on, while enforcing law? Here are the answers in this article, for few of your questions about the nexus between mafias and politicians and the consequences faced by the bureaucrats.

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- Harish Jharia

It looks as if democracy in India has completely faded out and the politicians, occupying powerful government posts, keep sticking to their chairs by ‘hook and crook’. They capture power, at the time of elections, with the help of business houses, and various extra constitutional powerful entities like builders, sand-miners, automobile parking companies, bus / truck transporters and many other rural goons who impose and collect ‘rangdaari’ (ransom) against letting the individuals survive and operate business in their areas. These politicians who get elected by such means are naturally indebted to these financiers and associates and are obliged to them to accomplish tasks assigned by them to the politicians in power.

India cannot be proudly called the largest democracy on planet earth, if the suspension of the IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal is any indication. I have concluded the following story out of the telecasts I watched on TV news channels and reading newspaper reports.

One fine morning on July 27 we came to know that a SDM Durga Shakti Nagpal was suspended by the UP government. Nagpal was served the suspension order apparently for demolishing the wall of a proposed mosque on a public land. The UP Chief Minister subsequently, defended Nagpal's suspension, claiming that her action to demolish the wall of a religious place had vitiated communal harmony in that area.

While no details of the suspension order were available to the media, Durga Nagpal, 28, has recently stated that she had never issued any orders to demolish the wall which could have fueled communal tensions. The IAS officer further explained that on July 27, villagers had themselves, razed the wall after she told them that as per Supreme Court rules, religious structures can't be built on government land and also require special clearances.

Meanwhile, a ruling party politician, believed to be connected to sand mining, publically announced in a gathering of some villagers that he got the officer suspended within 41 minutes (not 41 hours). It appears to be true, because Durga was suspended abruptly without following any official protocols like issuing warning letter, calling for explanation and asking for comments and recommendations from her senior IAS officer- Collector / DM. The Collector / DM subsequently stated that Durga did not demolish the wall. Moreover, the daily diary of the local police station did not have any entries of suspected communal tension in their jurisdiction.

The media has claimed that some ruling party politicians were running sand mining business and owing hundreds of dumpers and excavation heavy machinery. It is reported in the media that Durga Nagpal stopped illegal mining activities in that area and confiscated hundreds of dumpers and other heavy machinery Experts have estimated losses of hundreds of crores of Rupees because of Durga’s crackdown on the illegal sand mining activities in that area. The media claims that Durga Nagpal has been punished for disrupting the send mining business rather than for any suspected communal disturbance.

Indian TV news channels have aired views of Indian experts, statesmen, senior politicians and ex bureaucrats who have condemned the UP government’s action of punishing an IAS officer for no fault of her. They have called for revocation of the suspension order and reinstatement of the officer on her existing post.

Meanwhile, the ruling party spokespersons and UP ministers are sticking to their controversial action against the dutiful, honest and sincere IAS officers. They have even gone to the extent of asking the Central Government to call back Durga Nagpal from her job in UP. They have also demanded punishment for Durga Nagpal’s senior Collector / DM, because, he made positive comments and recommendations in support of his subordinate IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal.

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Kedarnath Temple - a victim of human encroachment and abuse

2013-07-02T09:08:00.002-07:00

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Have you ever wondered what was the government doing when thousands of pilgrims died at Kedarnath Shrine? What was the real reason for the abrupt devastation of the villages and carnage of human lives? Here are the answers for your questions on this natural disaster failure of government, in this article.

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The devastated Kedarnath shrine

- Harish Jharia

The Kedarnath Temple is located at a height of 3,583 m (11,755 ft), situated at 223 km from Rishikesh and is believed to be constructed on the shores of Mandakini River, a tributary of Ganges. Mandakini River has since changed its course and currently the temple is practically standing in the middle of the riverbed. The riverbed is situated at the bottom of huge valley with high mountains and a glacier at its sides. It received mammoth amount of water and silt as a result of prolonged heavy rains and melting of glacier snow, flowing along the huge mountain slopes.

Kedarnath temple 150 years back

Because of the above mentioned geographical conditions in the valley, the river might be flowing 6 to 10 foot deep in the rainy seasons. That might be the reason that the architects and builders of Kedarnath temple constructed it at a 15 to 20 foot high solid platform from the riverbed level. The plinth height of the temple is clearly visible in the photograph taken approximately 50 years back somewhere around 1950-60.

Kedarnath temple 50 years back

Kedarnath temple is an impressive stone structure constructed at some unknown period. Some schools of thoughts believe that the structure was constructed in the 8th Century AD, when Adi Shankara visited this place. Some other scholars think that the Kedarnath temple was built by the Pandavas in Mahabharata period.

Kedarnath temple before floods

Whosoever might have built the temple, but it is sure that it was definitely built exclusively for religious purpose. It was not built for tourism and with commercial motives.

Kedarnath temple after floods

Let us list out the ways Uttarakhand people, its governments and the governments of the erstwhile Uttar Pradesh of which Uttarakhand was a part, kept exploiting the Hindu religious shrine that ended up in the recent disaster and human massacre:

The Kedarnath shrine was left unattended and left free-for-all to buy land around the temple and construct various structures, making the shrine a crowded place.
All types of commercial activities were permitted in the structures constructed around the temple making it a market place.
No free space was left around the temple and the buildings were constructed in close proximity of the temple, thereby, reducing the dominance of the highest seat of Hindu religion.
The roads leading to the Kedarnath shrine were unprotected as there was no proper reinforcement provided at the edges and along the slopes down to the deep valleys.
Even sufficient margins were not left between the road and the deadly edges of valleys for safety against falling of commuting vehicles and damages to the road due to landslides at the edges.
The houses, shops, hotels and dharmshalas of Kedarnath town were built right at the edges of the river banks and that of the valleys making them vulnerable to devastation due to floods and landslides.
No stone or concrete structures were built around Kedarnath temple that could have diverted the flow of water, stones, pebbles and rubbles away from the temple structure.
The height of the base platform (15’ to 20’), on which the temple was built, had not been maintained through the last known 150 years. Resultantly, tons of silt was allowed to deposit on the earth / riverbed elevating its height almost equal to the base platform of Kedarnath temple.

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Uttarakhand floods - Indian politicians reaping political advantages out of Kedarnath cloudbursts catastrphe

2013-06-30T02:45:00.000-07:00

- Harish Jharia

Indian state Uttarakhand witnessed a nightmarish catastrophe on 16th and 17th June that started with heavy rains on Kedarnath Mountains, followed by cloudbursts, killing a thousand plus people and devastating billions of Rupees of properties of the holy shrine Kedarnath Dham and hundreds of villages in its vicinity.

The Uttarakhand state government, the district administration and other self-governing bodies miserably failed to evacuate the stranded pilgrims from the devastated pilgrimage township. The authorities also ignored the widespread devastation across the hundred odd villages and the starving people of those villages of Gadhwal Hills.

Indian Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh and the ruling alliance UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi went on an aerial survey of the devastated area of Kedarnath Mountains. Their aerial surveillance of the leaders resulted in huge deployment of army personnel including Indian Army, Indian Air force, ITBP, and other paramilitary forces. These armed forces and paramilitary personnel did exemplary services to the stranded people and saving lives of thousands of pilgrims in Kedarnath and elsewhere in the flood affected Himalayan valley.

At the same time, the Indian politicians, especially from the ruling party in Uttarakhand and in the center, were busy in reaping political advantages by showing off their efforts in serving and helping the flood affected pilgrims. The most visible and widely publicized act was supplying food and relief material to the marooned people in the Himalayan pilgrimage.

TV news channels beamed clips of trucks carrying relief material for the stranded pilgrims at Kedarnath hilly areas. It was declared that the relief material was sent by the government; at the same time, the trucks loaded with food and basic necessities were wrapped with huge banners displaying imaged of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. The banners also were carried captions of ‘Youth Congress’. Some snaps of Sonia Gandhi flagging off truck fleets loaded with relief material along with her son Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders were also releases to the media.

The chief minister of Uttarakhand refused permission to other state governments of Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh etc, when they offered to join the evacuation and relief operations in the Himalayan devastated hills. They even refused entry for trucks that were proposed to be sent by other state governments. The obvious reason for this arrogant refusal of humanitarian help was that the other chief ministers were heading non-congress governments.

A couple of Congress spokespersons kept justifying Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s refusal of permission to other Indian states governments for the evacuation and rehabilitation mission. Nevertheless, the Uttarakhand government has accepted that they failed in saving the lives of thousands of pilgrims and billions of Rupees of properties.

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What is normal Blood Pressure BP - depending on Age

2013-06-28T03:32:00.002-07:00

- Harish Jharia

Human blood pressure, commonly known as BP is an important characteristic that is invariably measured by doctors at the very first medical examination. There are two values that are measured and recorded at the time of measurement of blood pressure BP. They are Systolic BP and diastolic BP.

Systolic pressure is the pressure at which the blood is pumped with the contraction of heart's ventricles for pushing-out the blood through the veins. The diastolic pressure is the pressure of your blood when your heart is idle and not pumping out blood.

The normal blood pressure BP of a healthy young human being is considered to be 120 / 80. That means the Systolic BP should be 120 and the Diastolic BP is expected to be 80. The scale of measurement of BP is mmHg that we are not going to discuss in this article.

High blood pressure can result in damage to heart and other vital organs of human body, if left unattended. Therefore, monitoring of BP is essential for humans, especially after the age of 40 for detecting any health hazards well in advance and avert loss of life.

Here are the approximate normal ranges of blood pressure BP* specified for different age groups:

Age 15 to 19: 105 / 73 min; 120 / 81 max
Ages 20 to 24: 108 / 75 min; 132 / 83 max
Age 25 to 29: 109 / 76 min; 133 / 84 max
Age 30 to 34: 110 / 77 min; 134 / 85 max
Age 35 to 39: 111 / 78 min; 135 / 86 max
Age 40 to 44: 112 / 79 min; 137 / 87 max
Age 45 to 49: 115 / 80 min; 139 / 88 max
Age 50 to 54: 116 / 81 min; 142 / 89 max
Age 55 to 59: 118 / 82 min; 144 / 90 max
Age 60 to 64: 121 / 83 min; 147 / 91 max

*(For BP monitoring only)

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Disclaimer:
This article is written, based on my personal observations and on the information collected from the media. My intention for publishing the same is to provide healthy reading and intellectual entertainment and not for educating the visitors. No literature or authentic books have been referred for writing the contents of this article. The visitors are advised not to refer the contents of this article for any research or testimony on athletic or legal purposes. The visitors are further advised to consult relevant experts before adapting any information from this article. The author or the website are not responsible for any errors, mistakes, or omissions there in.
- Harish Jharia
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Gobhi Manchurian Chinese Recipe - गोभी मंचूरियन चाईनीज़ व्यंजन

2013-06-26T01:45:00.003-07:00

Gobhi Manchurian is one of the most popular Indo-Chinese dishes, cooked and eaten in India. This cuisine is an adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to suite Indian spices, herbs and the tastes of Indians. It is believed to have been discovered by the Chinese Indians settled in Kolkata, India, for over a century. Being extremely popular among urban Indians, it is widely cooked and sold in major Indian cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune etc.

Ingredients for Gobhi Manchurian - गोभी मंचूरियन के लिए आवश्यक सामग्री

15 cauliflower pieces of lemon size - १५ नीबू की साईज के गोभी के टुकड़े
3 tablespoons corn flour - ३ बड़ी चम्मच कार्नफ्लोर
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour - ५ बड़ी चम्मच मैदा
¼ cup water - १/४ कप पानी
1 teaspoon black pepper powder - १ छोटी चम्मच पीसी काली मिर्च
Salt to taste - नमक स्वादानुसार
oil for deep frying - तलने के लिए तेल

Cooking Method for Gobhi Manchurian - मंचूरियन बनाने की विधि

Heat up oil in a wok or in a deep fryer. - कढाई में तेल गरम करें.
In the meanwhile, dissolve the corn flour and all-purpose flour along with pepper and salt in water. - साथ ही, कार्नफ्लोर, मैदा, काली मिर्च और नमक को १ कप पानी में घोलें
Add the cauliflower pieces and mix until they get coated with the flour mixture. - गोभी के टुकड़ों को इस घोल में डाल कर अच्छी तरह मिश्रण में लपेट लें.
Slide about 5 pieces at a time into the hot oil and fry them until golden brown. - इन लपेटे हुए गोभी कि टुकड़ों को तेल में सुनहरे होने तक ताल लें.
Remove from oil and drain them in paper towels. Keep aside. - तलने पर इन्हें निकालकर टिश्यू पेपर पर निथार लें और एक तरफ रखलें.

Ingredients for Manchurian Sauce - सॉस के लिए आवश्यक सामग्री

½ cup chopped spring onions - १/२ कप कटी हरी प्याज
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic - १ बड़ा चम्मच बारीक कटा लहसुन
2 teaspoons finely chopped green chillies - २ बड़ा चम्मच बारीक कटी हरी मिर्च
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger - १ छोटा चम्मच बारीक कटा अदरक
1 tablespoon corn flour - १ बड़ा चम्मच कार्नफ्लोर
1 cup water or vegetable stock - १ कप पानी या वेजीटेबल स्टाक
1 tablespoon soy sauce - १ बड़ा चम्मच सोया सॉस
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup - १ बड़ा चम्मच टोमैटो कैचअप
1 teaspoon red chilli sauce (Asian style) - १ छोटा चम्मच रेड चिली सॉस
1 tablespoon vegetable/sunflower oil - १ बड़ा चम्मच वेजीटेबल या सनफ्लावर आयल
Salt to taste नमक स्वादानुसार

Cooking Method for Sauce - सॉस बनाने की विधि

Mix the corn flour with ¼ cup of water. - Add soya sauce, ketchup, chilli sauce and salt. कार्नफ्लोर को १/४ कप पानी में कार्नफ्लोर घोलें और ऊपर से सोया सॉस, चिली सॉस और नमक डालकर मिलाएं.
Heat oil in a wok or frying pan on high heat; add garlic, ginger, green chillies, spring onions and stir fry for a few seconds. - एक कढाई में १ बड़ा चम्मच तेल गरम करें. ऊपर से अदरक, लहसुन, हरी मिर्च और हरा प्याज डाल कर कुछ सेकण्ड तक ज़रा सा भूनें.
Add the corn flour mixture to the above and cook for a few minutes until thick and the corn flour is cooked. - ऊपर से कार्न्फलौर का मिश्रण डाल कर मिलाएं और गाढा होने तक और पकने तक पकाएं.
Turn off heat. Toss the Fried Cauliflower with the Manchurian Sauce and serve. - पकने पर गैस बंद कर दें फ्राई किए हुए गोभी मंचूरियन इस गरम सॉस में डालें और खाने के लिए प्लेट में डालें.
Garnish with spring onion leaves and extra green chillies if you like it spicy. - ऊपर से हरी प्याज और हरी मिर्च से गार्निश करे और परोसें.

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Compiled by – Harish Jharia
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16th June Uttarakhand floods and cloudburst on Kedarnath Hills: how could the disaster be minimized?

2013-06-24T05:14:00.000-07:00

- Harish Jharia

How and why did the devastation occur:

16 June 2013 was the worst day in the history of Kedarnath shrine that turned into a real hell for the next 24 hours until 17th June 2013, stranding 50,000 plus pilgrims, leaving more than 19,000 people missing and 5000 feared dead in the catastrophe.

The nightmarish deadly episode is believed to have been initiated with incessant heavy rains followed by a massive cloudburst that resulted in fragmentation and landslides of Kedar Dome Mountain due to enormous accumulation of water in the valley. Huge masses of mud silt and rocks along with heavy floods of rainwater swept down the mountains engulfing the Kedarnath Shrine and the township around the holy pilgrimage.

The weather conditions in the valley started deteriorating on Saturday the 16th June and turned into a mammoth devastating machine after Mandakini River began to swell and enormous floodwater swept down the mountains. Subsequently, in the early hours of Sunday the 17th June, the deadly cloudburst took place and a huge volume of rainwater flooded down the hills with massive deadly force.

Huge rocks broke away from Kedar Dome Mountain and rolled down towards the Kedarnath Shrine. These mammoth rocks got stuck at some distance from the temple, thereby forming an obstruction for the flooding water, mud silt and debris to strike the Kedarnath Temple. These rocks diverted the direction of the flow of mud and sludge, away from the main temple and prevented its destruction. Nevertheless, the ‘Himalayan Tsunami’ devastated everything else in the Kedarnath Township that came in its way.

Where the Government failed in protecting Kedarnath Shrine and pilgrims:

The cloudburst, fragmentation of mountain and floods were natural disasters that could not be stopped or averted by human efforts. Nevertheless, proper advanced precautions, weather forecasting arrangements and hi-altitude civic management (town planning) could have reduced the devastation and deaths of thousands of innocent pilgrims.
Weather / Cloudburst forecast and precautions:
There is a misconception in the minds of people and the government that ‘cloudbursts’ cannot be predicted. Experts say that tailor-made cloudburst forecast equipments are available in the world that could be installed at places like Kedarnath, Badrinath etc where thousands of pilgrims use to visit round the year. Such infrastructures may also be installed at the tourists’ places at hi-altitudes where possibilities of cloudbursts are there.
The authorities should also take precautionary measures for reducing the probable devastation and deaths. They could be something like the following:
Hi-tech weather and cloudburst forecasting infrastructure should be installed at these vulnerable places.
Huge and strong concrete walls should be constructed around the shrines and localities at the bases of the hills, in order to divert the flow of flood waters.
Deep rooted trees and thick shrubs should be grown on the hills and mountains for avoiding landslides and fragmentation of the hills and mountains.
All the hilly roads should have extra strong reinforcement done along the slopes beside them.
Extra strong reinforcement is also required to be provided at the banks of rivers like Mandakini where residential buildings, hotels and commercial structures are constructed alongside. Many buildings were uprooted and catapulted when the flood-waters swept away the earth at riverbanks during the Kedarnath catastrophe.

Disaster management:

Disaster Management, an essential requirement in modern-day civic life is practically nonexistent in India. India will have to work on something like the following lines:

We should have an effective Disaster Management infrastructure and a dedicated workforce to implement its activities.
There should be a laid-down drill specified for the Disaster Management Authorities without any confusion, bias or prejudice.
The State Government as well as the Central Government should be equally responsible for addressing the emergency crisis.
The concerned Collector, state and central Ministers and other civic officials should reach the affected place or at the nearest possible locations for managing the activities of Disaster Management.
There should be a time limit for attending to each action viz- initialization; food & water supply; rescue operation; recovery of essential commodities, currency and treasures; medical assistance and escorting people to the nearest location or facilities to their destinations etc.

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