THINK DIFFERENT

बीच वाली उँगली

2013-11-12T06:23:00.000-08:00

मैं बचपने में हर खेल में फिसड्डी हुआ करता था. लेकिन एक खेल ऐसा था जिसमें कोई भी मुझसे पार नहीं पा सकता था. खेल का नाम था - बीच वाली उँगली. मैं बाकी की तीन उँगलियों और अंगूठे के बीच, अपनी बीच वाली उँगली को ऐसे छिपा लेता था कि मजाल है कि कोई उसे ढूंढ पाए !
तुम लडकी हो इसलिए तुम्हें भी लगता था कि तुम खेलों में फिसड्डी ही साबित हो जाओगी. शायद इस वजह से तुम भी घंटों मेरे साथ वही खेल खेला करती थीं.
एक दिन तुमने बताया कि पिता जी का तबादला हो गया है और तुम शहर छोड़ कर जाने वाली हो. तुमने कहा कि मैं तुम्हें कहीं छिपा लूं. तुम संदूक में फिट नहीं हो पाई, इसलिए मैंने तुम्हें खटिया के नीचे छिपा दिया पर तुम्हारे पिता जी ने उसकी जालीदार निवाड़ में झांककर तुम्हें झट से खोज लिया.
और तुम चली गईं.
काश... उस दिन, मैं तुम्हें अपने अंगूठे और बाकी की तीन उँगलियों के बीच छिपा लेता !! काश !!

FOR WHAT PURPOSE

2013-11-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

बात उस समय की है जब नया नया इंजिनियरिंग कॉलेज मे दाखिला हुआ था..
हमारा ग्रुप कॉलेज का सबसे चंट ग्रुप था.
कहने की ज़रुरत नहीं है कि सबकी कोई ना कोई थी. ये अलग बात है, कि लड़कियाँ ऐसे किसी भी बात से हमेशा ही अनजान रहीं. किसी लड़की के मजनुओं की संख्या ज्यादा हो जाने पे मामला "तुम्हारी भाभी-तुम्हारी भाभी" से शुरू हो के कभी-कभी पटका-पटकी पे ख़त्म होता था.
खैर !
खैर ! वापस आते हैं.
कॉलेज मे एक लड़की थी जब भी वो दिखती थी,दुनियाँ और रंगीन हो उठती थी, गानों में और मिठास घुल जाती थी और हवाएँ ज़ुल्फ़ों को कुछ ज्यादा ही शाहरूख खान टाईप फ़ील देने लगती थीं.तब हमारे एक मित्र हुआ करते थे (नाम नहीं लूँगा.), उन्हें मित्र नाम से ही बुलाते हैं. तो मैंने मित्र को अपना हाले दिल कह सुनाया. मित्र परम चंट थे. एक रोज़ संयोग से जब मित्र बाहर हमारे बरामदे में बैठे थे, उसी समय वो हमारे सामने से गुज़री. मैंने मित्र को "अबे यही है - अबे यही है" कर के उसे दिखा दिया.
मित्र बोले - अबे इए तो B section मे है.
मैंने बहुत सोच के कहा - "कार्ड दें, कि लेटर ?"
मित्र बोले - "अरे वही पुराना तरीका, बाबा आदम के ज़माने वाला...बै...कुछ नया सोचो...मान लो कार्ड फाड़ के फेंक दी तो ? कैसा लगेगा ?"
"तो लेटर ?" मैंने कहा.
"क्यूँ वो लोहे का बनता है क्या ? और मान लो ये सब पकड़ा गया तो ?" मित्र ने समझदारी दिखाते हुए कहा.
"तो ?" अब मेरी बुद्धि ही बंद हो गई.
"अरे मित्र सामने से बोलो. मर्द की तरह." मित्र ने कहा.
"मुँह से ?" मेरे तो हाथ-पाँव ही फूल गए.
"और क्या...देखो लड़की देखने में शरीफ़ लग रही है. तुम बोल भी दिए तो चुप मार के निकल लेगी. कुछ बोलेगी नहीं. ना भी नहीं बोलेगी. सिर झुका के चली जाएगी. ना कार्ड का ख़र्चा, ना पकड़ाने का डर. बोलो, क्या बोलते हो...?"
"यार मगर बोलेंगे कहाँ ?" मैंने पूछा.
"अबे जहाँ अकेली मिल जाए, वहीँ बोल देना. इतना सोचना क्या है इसमें ?" मित्र ने गज़ब का कांफिडेंस दिखाते हुए कहा.
एक ही सेकेण्ड में दुनियाँ का कोना-कोना मेरी आँखों के सामने नाँच गया.
बहरहाल, फ़ैसले का दिन आ गया.
मिल गयी एक दिन कॉलेज मे अकेले.
पहुँच गए शहीद होने.
उसके बगल में पहुँचा, और उसे कहा "MAY I KNOW YOUR NAME?"
उधर से जबाब आया "FOR WHAT PURPOSE?"
मुझे संट मार गया था, कान में से धुआँ निकने वाला था और पूरा ब्रह्माण्ड जाने कहाँ गायब हो गया था.
बस कॉलेज की दीवारे थी, और मैं था. ना तो मुझे वो लड़की ही दिख रही थी, ना ही मित्र.
कहने की ज़रुरत नहीं कि उस प्रपोज़ल का क्या हुआ...मैं दुबारा कभी उस लड़की के सामने गया ही नहीं. हक़ीक़त ये है कि जब भी वो लड़की मुझे दिखती, मैं अपना रास्ता बदल लेता था. और इस तरह मेरे उस प्रपोज़ल ने दम तोड़ दिया.

'Lakhani' से 'Nike' तक का सफ़र

2013-11-08T02:42:00.000-08:00

'Lakhani' से 'Nike' तक का सफ़र हमने ऐसे ही नहीं तय किया ...

प्रतिशत पे प्रतिशत चढ़ाये हैं ... तब जाके Nike की पहचान पाए हैं ...

आठवीं कक्षा में Board दिया ... वो लल्लू सा पंजू सा Board जिसके mark-sheet भी उस ज़माने के Dot-Matrix Printer से निकाल कर थमा दिया था School वालों ने ... परीक्षा भी अपने class-room के बाजू वाले class-room में दी थी ... 'पल्लवी' का class-room था वो ... बड़ा चिढ़ाते थे सब उसको लेके ... तब लडकियां दूसरी ही प्रजाति मालूम होती थी ... सो मैं चिढ़ कर निकल लेता था ...

फिर बारी आई 'Iron Gate' की ... रंगारंग तय्यारियाँ हुई ... नंवी कक्षा में ही registration करवा दिया गया की लड़का भागे नहीं कहीं और ... अपने नाम की spelling भी दोबारा जाँची गयी ... आखिर में Admit Card मिला ...

भैया दसवीं के Board Exams ऐसे होते हैं जैसे शेर के घर कबूतर दावत-ए-सामान आये हों , और कबूतर के करतब से उसके जीने या मरने की संभावना उजागर होगी ...

Examination Centre भी दूर किसी वीरान School में देते थे ... की भैया अगर उस दावत से जान छुड़ानी भी हो तो कबूतर भाग न पाए ...

Examination Hall में वो पहले 15 minute invigilators का तमाशा , वो अंगूठा लगवाना , वो पोथी लिखवाना ... वो घिसती कलम और गुज़रते हुए बाकी वक़्त के बीच में extra paper की मांग करना ... उसपे भी उन invigilators का ज़बरदस्ती '+1' का ritual करवाना ... दिल की धडकनें तो भैया क्या ही प्यार में इतनी धड़केंगी ... बस जान हलक पे आके रुकी रहती थी समझो ...

खैर , हमने भी अच्छी बाज़ी खेली ... सारे पत्ते बिछा डाले ... Maths और Science को तो पीस दिया ... Social Science के दहशत से बचने के लिए पांच बारी वो NCERT की किताब रट डाली ... अंग्रेजी में कोई माहिर तो नहीं थे , पर सही वक़्त पर कलम चलाना आता था हमें ...

सो अच्छे अंकों से उत्तीर्ण किया हमने 10th Board .

फिर बारी आई 'Golden Gate' की ... ये सब terms हमारे अभिभावक खूब अच्छे से जानते थे ... हर बार कबूतर को हलाल/बेहाल करने के पहले ये "बस ये exam दे लो फिर ज़िन्दगी में आराम है" की घुंटी ज़रूर पिलाई जाती थी ...

और हम भी "आराम" के पुजारी , फट से पी लेते थे वो घुंटी ...

खैर ...

बारहवीं के Board Exams हमारे लिए एक experienced Gladiator का Arena था ... "We know the drill" ... यही सोच सोच कर Pre-Board तक फिसड्डी बने रहे ... की आखिर में तो सब गटक ही लेंगे ... लेकिन जितना गटक नहीं पाए उससे ज्यादा उलटी कर दी ...

किशोरावस्था भी जो थी ... Lady invigilator क्या आ गयी , Chemistry की Organic part ही भूल गए ... वैसे भी कौन सी पसंद थी Chemistry ... यही सोच कर खुद को satisfy कर लिया ...

cbseresults.nic.in ने फिर अपना हाहाकार मचाया ... मन थोडा कुंठित हुआ ... ये तो कम है ... इतना तो बिन पढ़े लेते आता मैं ... 'Neha' क्या सोचेगी ... 'Neha' हमारे Uncle की बेटी थी ... उसे अगर मेरे से एक mark भी ज्यादा आ गए न , तो मेरे घर में आग लग जायेगी ... हमेशा पीछे रही है वो मेरे से ... अब Parents को क्या जवाब दूंगा मैं ...

खैर , जैसे तैसे वो वक़्त गुज़रा ...

बारी आई Engineering के competitions की ... हमारे family में तो Engineering के अलावा और कोई career का नाम भी न सुना होगा लोगों ने ... सो हमने कभी अपने मन को भटकाने की चेष्टा भी नहीं की ... सारा past कूड़ेदान में फेक के लग गए जोर शोर से Engineering की तय्यारी के लिए ... घिस डाली Resnick Halliday , I.E Irodov और Foundation Physics ... माफ़ कीजियेगा I.E Irodov नहीं घिसी ... वो सिर्फ अपने Tuition वाले Master जी घिसते थे ... वही question देते थे और वही solve करते थे ...

Finally , हमने इस बार अच्छा ज़ोर लगाया और अच्छे Rank की कामयाबी पे उछल पड़े ... ताबड़तोड़ Counselling के बाद एक अच्छी College भी मिल गयी ...

वो Counselling और Admission procedure का torture अगर Kasab को दे देते तो चार साल मुफ्त का खिलाना न पड़ता उसे ... By God बस क़त्ल करना बाकी था उनके torture schedule में ... Bank से Draft बनाना तो खैर उस torture का Degree 1 था ... Documents check कराना Degree 2 ... and so on and so forth ...

मर-पछड़ कर किसी तरह Admission हुआ , और Hostel-Room allot हुआ ... ज़िन्दगी बड़ी सुहानी हो गयी थी ... बस वो Hostel Mess नाम का Mess न होता तो खैर सुहानेपन में चार-चाँद लग जाते ...

Mature भी हो चले थे ... अब लड़कियों से दोस्ती करते थे दुश्मनी नहीं ... College में तो बस अभिभावकों की सारी "ज़िन्दगी आसान हो जाएगी" वाली कथन सार्थक हो गयी थी ... न School-bag का बोझ , न Exams के लफड़े ... Exams तो एक रात पहले की गयी रटन-विद्या की कहानी थी ... ऐसा लगता था जैसे सब कुछ पा लिया ...

पलक झपकते ही चार साल बीत गए ... ज़िन्दगी ने वापिस उसी मुकाम पे लाके खड़ा कर दिया ... वही 'Platinum gate' जिसे लोग 'Placements' का नाम देते हैं ...

खैर , ये भी घिसा हमने Board Exams के तरह ... HR के बेवक़ूफ़ चेहरों और पुराने Seniors के accomodating attitude को सामान रूप से Interview में सराहते हुए हमने एक Company अपने नाम कर ली ... GPL अर्थात 'नितम्ब पे लात' भी ज़ोरदार पड़ी , पर हम तो Birthday GPL वाले लोग , इन सब से क्या डर ... सह लिया बहादुर सिपाही की तरह ...

और आज यहाँ हैं ... आप हम , सब एक दुसरे के रूबरू ... Facebook पे अपना 'आराम' ढूंढते हुए ...
और पता नहीं कितने Gate बाकी हैं , उस आराम की खोज के सफ़र में ...

सच कहा न मैंने ... 'Lakhani' से 'Nike' तक का सफ़र हमने ऐसे ही नहीं तय किया .

LIFE

2013-08-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Tetris is one of my all time favorites… I can play it for hours….. And I started playing it when I was in class 4th… Since then I am into it…. That was the time when me and my friend used to fight for “My turn to play” and used to wait eagerly for the next turn……

Life changed so are we…We don’t fight for Tetris anymore

feeling nostalgic again…. Everything just flashbacked from childhood….. That was certainly the best time of my life

Coming back to Tetris…. While playing Tetris I was comparing it with life (it’s my natural inbuilt tendency… I just can’t stop thinking :P)…. Life and Tetris are quite similar… For instance in Tetris random blocks keeps on coming and we adjust them in our best way we can just like Life where different situations keeps on coming and we handle them in our best possible manner…. And just like the shapes of blocks the situations are also random and different in nature and design with their distinctive features and we need to fit/solve them accordingly…. When we adjust the blocks in the best manner we get extra points and in life we get best of results…. One more thing is you can never predict which block will be next or after that… it’s random without our will sometimes it is what we were looking for sometimes it’s not….. Same goes for life too…. We can’t predict what is coming our way next nor it’s always our wish but then life is a game we need to play in a best manner we can….. Sometimes things get messed up too and they can be resolved on playing well further… Mistakes teaches us and we can always try our best not to repeat them…..

Life is a well designed game by God…. And we all get an equal chance to play…. Now it’s up to an individual how to manage it…. yes, Destiny plays its role and so do Luck but then they are not the ONLY THING!

Well this was what I‘ve felt and few other things too but I guess this was what I wanted to write :D….. I love playing Tetris........

And life…. It’s my favorite GAME

I know life is much more than just a Tetris game... but this was just a comparison... I love finding life in everthing I love to do

Humanity is still there ..................

2013-03-06T10:48:00.000-08:00

Today i saw this 70 yrs old man at masjid station, he was offering free water to every one whoever wants to drink, i was thirsty so i drank.

but then i started thinking y is this man doing all this at such an old age, carrying atleast 5 to 6 two litre bottles filled with water in that blue bag. I was waiting fo train i wanted to go to dadar station but out of curiosity i followed this person and boarded train towards CST, in train also he offered water to everyone, he again offered me coz i was all wet with sweat, he asked me

Him: shirt itna gila kyu ho gaya hai?

Me: pasine se

Him: aaram se pani peeyo pet bharkar pani pina (i drank some water)

Me: aap roz aise sabko paani pilate ho??

Him: haan roz pilata hoon

Me: kab se aise roz pani pila rahe ho??

Him: buddha ho gaya yeh karte karte

Me: haan matlab kabse pila rahe ho( i again asked him coz i wanted to know, i was curious)

Him: yeh koi batane wali baat thodi hai maine kaha nah buddha ho gaya yeh karte karte, 70 saal ka hoon main.

Me: kahaan rehte ho??

Him: thakurli

Me: main aapka ek photo lena chahta hoon

Him: nahi nahi yeh sab main thodi kar raha hoon , yeh sab toh upar wale ki dua se ho raha hai (he started speaking in english) i didnt do anything its because of u this is happening (he didnt allow me to click pics)

And then he again started distributing water, "paniwala mofat ka pani thanda pani lelo" I was so much shocked that i forgot to ask his name but i clicked some pics without telling him and then train reached CST station and now that person would go in 9.56 ka train from CST(as told to me by fellow commuter), i got down at CST and boarded a train for dadar.

A grand salute to this man, whenever u find this man distributing free water in mumbai local kindly drink some water this person will feel good.

May god bless him with all the happiness of this world if not now then in his other life, May god solve his all problems.

JITIYA Festival

2012-10-08T03:09:00.002-07:00

Jivitputrika (Sanskrit: जीवित्पुत्रिका) also known as Jitiya (Hindi: जिउतिया) is a festival in which Nirjala (without water) vrata throughout a day and night, is observed by mothers for wellness of their sons. A three day long festival is celebrated from seventh to ninth lunar day of Krishna-Paksha in Ashvin month. It is celebrated mainly in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Jivitputrika Vrat Story

It is believed that once an Eagle and a Siarin living in a jungle were friends with each other. Once both of them saw some females performing the fast and wished to observe it themselves too. Both of them observed the fast but Siarin became unconscious because of hunger and she ate food without telling anyone. On the other hand, the Eagle observed the fast with full dedication and completed it. As a result, all the kids born by Siarin used to dies after some days and eagle’s offsprings were blessed with long life.

Jimutavahana Story

According to this story Jimutavahana was the wise and a kind king of Gandharva’s. Jimutvanhan was not satisfy being a king and as a result he gave all the responsibilities of he kingdom to his brothers and went to the jungle to serve his father. He used to spend his time taking care of his father.One day while wandering in the jungle he finds an old woman mourning.He asked old woman the reason of weeping on which she told him that she belong to a family of snakes (Nagvanshaki) and has only one son. But as an oath every day one snake is offered to Pakshiraj Garuda as a feed and today is her son’s chance to become his food. After listening to her problem Jimutavahana consoles her and promises that he will get back her son alive and will protect him from Garuda.He decides to lay down himself on the bed of rocks being presented to the Garuda for the feed. Garuda comes and holds the Jimutvahana covered with red cloth with his fingers and climbs the rock.Garuda finds it surprising when the person he has trapped does not response. He asks the Jimutvahana his identity on which he describes the entire scene to the Garuda.Garuda gets pleased with the bravery and the benevolence of Jimutvahana and leave him and also promises not to take any sacrifice from the snakes. Due to the bravery and generosity of Jimutvahana the race of the snakes were saved and as a result since then the fasts for the son’s welfare and long life is observed.

Importance

This festival shows the great love and kind affection of mothers to their children;In which mother keeps strict fast even without water only memorizing of children.

When and where

A three day long festival is celebrated from seventh to ninth lunar day of Krishna-Paksha in Ashvin month that falls generally in September.The first day,the day before Jivitputrika is known as Nahai-khai.On that day Mothers take food only after having their bath.On Jivitputrika,Strict fast is observed. The third day,Fast neds with Paaran(taking first food of the day).A variety of food and a special festival delicacy Jhor-Bhat is prepared. The festival is celebrated mainly in the Mithilanchal regions of Nepal and Bihar,Jharkhand,Utterpradesh of India. However Also celebrated in the regions populated with Mithila and Bihari people across India and Nepal.

Source Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jivitputrika

BHARAT BANDH!!!!

2012-09-21T00:03:00.000-07:00

“We live in India and are proud to be Indians,” all of us are used to of saying these words since our childhood. But, today I don’t feel so proud of being an Indian. Yesterday(20th sep 2012) there has been a bandh called by the opposition party in the name of hiked diesel prices, reduced number of gas cylinders, FDI in retail and so on. There has been a bandh few months back in May too. But still I am not able to understand this way of showing the protest. Is it the correct way to show our anger? I don’t want to discuss here which party is correct or which party is wrong. But these lonely roads in the city haunt me even in my dreams.

I am not someone who gets deeply affected by the bandh or any of the hiked diesel prices, reduced number of gas cylinders or FDI in retail. I am just a common young guy who travels in the bus when required, had to rush to hotel when I feels hungry and no matter whatever the retailer charges, I will pay the price. Then, why am I mourning(शोक)? I am mourning because I think about millions of young kids who woke up early this morning and rushed to their schools but had to return after seeing a big lock on their school gate. I think about that passenger among those thousands of passengers of the trains whose train was stopped by some protestor and he could not reach home on time where his mother was still ill and looking for him before she takes her last breath. I think about millions of laborers who could not go to work because of this bandh and will starve with hunger. I think about millions of shopkeepers who are forced to close their shops by some party. I think about millions of those auto rickshaw drivers who would still be looking for passengers and so on. And, I feel so sorry because I can’t do anything for any of them. I am writing this article because once somebody told me that pen is mightier than sword(कलम तलवार से अधिक शक्तिशाली है) and I believe if at least one of you understands my reason to write this article, the goal is achieved.

I don’t say that we should not protest against evils prevailing in the society, we should and we must. But, I believe that bandh is not the correct way to do it. We can always opt for better ways. Maybe, we should try to protest in front of the Constitution. Maybe we should stop the vehicles of those politicians who are behind these steps and not the poor auto rickshaw-walas. Maybe we should not try to affect our daily meals but of those politicians who fill their belly to its maximum capacity before coming out for a bandh. I think then we would be able to show our protest in a better way and we all could call ourselves- “a proud Indian.”

The traditional Chhou Dance of Jharkhand

2012-09-06T05:27:00.000-07:00

It is one of the tribal dances of Jharkhand. This is a dance form that is performed in the tribal areas of Jharkhand as well as some parts of Orissa and Bengal. The Chhou dance is performed in an open space or a ground field, generally at the night time. The dancing area is surrounded by the fire poles called the mashaals, for the sake of lighting in the dark. But in some of the advanced parts of the state, electrical lamps and light have started replacing the fire poles. The dancers have a bath and perform some puja before their performance. This is for maintaining the sacredness of the dance, because the characters in the dance are of those of various Gods. These dancers use colourful, big sized and decorative masks. Chhou dance is one of the tribal forms of the 'nritya natika' that means dance drama. Most of these Chhou dance performances are based on the stories of Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

The people of Jharkhand have their unique and specific types of dance and music styles. The most popular dances of Jharkhand include Jhumar, Paika, Chhou, Agni, Santhal, Nachni, Jamda, Ghatwari, Natwa, Choukara, Sohrai, and the Earth Dance, Lurisayro, and Matha. These dance forms are very graceful, rhythmic and attractive, and are heavily accompanied by the drum beats and the songs or music.

Costumes of Chhau Dance

Chhau DanceThe costumes of the Chhau performers are of various colours and designs. It mainly comprises of Pyjamas in deep green or yellow or red shade that is worn by the artistes playing the role of gods; whereas those playing the role of demons have on loose trousers of a deep black shade. Sometimes, stripes of contrasting colours are also used to make the costumes more attractive and different. The costumes for the upper part of the body are full of various designs. The costumes for the character of Goddess Kali are made up of cloth of unrelieved black, and to express the separate and distinct identity, the characters of animals and birds use suitable type of masks and costumes.

Performance of Chhau Dance

Chhau dance is mostly performed in the open space or ground field during the night. The dancers take a bath and do Puja before performing this dance, in order to maintain the sacredness of dance as the characters in the dance are of gods. Generally, fire poles called Mashaal surround the dance arena, for the purpose of light. The masks generally used for Chhau are made up from the clay and paper. In the performance of the Chhau, some of the characteristics of primitive ritualistic dances are noted. This is also seen through its vigour, style and musical accompaniment mainly with the drum.

SAHIBGANJ(JHARKHAND)---- It can be made a tourist place

2012-08-31T23:52:00.001-07:00

Sahibganj district is located in the north east of the state JHARKHAND. It is bounded by

Bhagalpur and Godda district in the west, Maldah and Murshidabad district of

West Bengal in the east, Ganga river and Katihar district in the north.

MANGALHAT: Situated 10 K.m west of Rajmahal, it is the site of an important monument Jama Masjid which was built during the reign of Emperor Akbar.

Rajmahal is a city and a notified area in Sahibganj district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Rajmahal is the only sub-divisional town in Sahibganj district. It is one of the most historic place in Jharkhand. It includes many historical places such as Singidalan, Neel-Kothi, Jama-Masjid, Khaniyathan and China clay mines etc.RAJMAHALSituated on the right bank of the river Ganges, Rajmahal is a small but historically important town. It was the seat of Government during the Mughal period when Raja Man Singh, general of Emperor Akbar made Rajmahal the capital of Bengal in 1592. Even today relics of the old and prosperous Rajmahal are visible in this one time capital of Bengal. The town has following important monuments.i) Singhi Dalan.ii) Akbari Masjidiii) Tomb of Maina-Bibiiv) Tomb of Mira

SHIVGADI: This Shiva temple is located in the Barhait block 8 K.M north of Barhait ,sahibganj district and is inside the cave. Water from the mountain drips continuously on the Shivling. Devotees gather here in large numbers on Mahashivratri and whole of Shravan month.

KANHAIYASTHAN: this beautiful and exotic temple located at sahibganj district,jharkhand.it is Situated on the bank of the river Ganges, is a village situated about 13 km. north-west of Rajmahal town and owes its name to the temple of Lord Krishna (Kanhaiya). It is believed that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu once stayed here on his way to Brindaban from Bengal and got the vision of Lord Krishna. Footstep of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is also preserved here.

Save Jharia from Underground Fire

2012-07-03T01:09:00.001-07:00

The Jharia coalfield in Jharkhand is the biggest storehouse of coking coal in the India, consisting of 23 large underground and nine large open cast mines. The mining activities in these coalfields started in 1894 and had really intensified in 1925. The history of coal-mine fire in Jharia coalfield can be traced back to 1916 when the first fire was detected. At present, more than 80 mine fires are reported from Jharia region.

A laborer chips away at a seam of coal as she scavenges at an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

A young laborer chips away at a seam of coal as he scavenges at an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand ..

A laborer chips away at a seam of coal as he scavenges at an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand ..

A coal scavenger carries a block of coal illegally taken from an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand ..

Laborers carry baskets of coal illegally gathered from an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand..

Laborers carry large baskets of coal as they illegally scavenged from an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand ..

Laborers carry baskets of coal illegally taken from an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand ..

People carry baskets of coal scavenged illegally at an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand ..

Youths fly a kite as coal fires from scavenged coal burn near an open-cast mine in the Jharia District of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand .

A girl dances near plumes of smoke from fires of coal scavenged by her family in the New Colony village in Jharkand, India .

Children stand near a Hindu temple in the New Colony village where a community of coal scavengers lives and works in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.

A person stands next to small piles of coal burning after scavenging from an open-cast mine in the Jharia district of Jharkand, India

Laborers stand next to small piles of coal burning after scavenging it from an open-cast mine in the Jharia district of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand

Stray dogs stand on the parched and burnt earth where underground coal fires are burning in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. ..

Smoke from an underground coal fire rises from the ground near an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari, where a community of coal scavengers live and work in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand

Men stand next to the glowing embers of an underground coal fire in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand .

A man and child stay warm next to small piles of burning coal illegally scavenged near an open-cast mine in the Jharia district of the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand

Young coal scavengers stand together next to a burning pile of coal in Jharia in Jharkand, India

Coal scavengers warm themselves by a pile of burning coal near an open-cast mine in the village of Bokapahari in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand where a community of coal scavengers live and work.

Finally, Bokaro 'China town' set to close down

2012-06-26T04:36:00.000-07:00

Russians roaming the streets of Bokaro has long been a familiar sight here. Now, it’s the Chinese who are flocking in large numbers, prompting many to dub the steel city “Little China”.

In 1965, work started on the Bokaro Steel Plant with Russian collaboration. Now, thanks to the upcoming plant being put by Electrosteel Castings Limited (ECL) at Chandankyari block of Siyaljora, more than 800 Chinese engineers have been at work since early 2008.
Chinese workers, both men and women, who had come in large numbers for construction of the ESL plant and set up a small township at Siyaljoli are now leaving Bokaro. The story is similar to Russian workers who had arrived in the city for construction of the Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL), who finally left about two decades ago.
While the 2.51 million tone (MT) Electrosteel steel plant is based on Chinese technology the city's major 4.5 MT capacity BSL plant, a unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), is running on Russian technology. There are some Russian families still residing in the town.

However, the residents will now miss watching Chinese men and women wandering in markets, restaurants, hotels, parks and other places. Besides, the SP office will no longer witness Chinese nationals forming long queues for visa verification. The local market is also losing out on the Chinese clientele who had become their major buyers in a short span of time.

Is reservation based on religion acceptable?

2012-06-26T04:34:00.000-07:00

At the time of independence, in India people from certain religion and class were really backward and a immediate measure was required to strike equilibrium in this secular republic recently formed. Reservation was the answer to it. But it was a practice for a while which we are blindly following may be because of Vote Bank politics. this has emerged as one of the major disadvantage of democracy in recent times.
Quota in the name of religion will increase the tension between religious groups in our country. reservation is the worst ill of democratic system in which the majority takes advantage of everything by creating lies against the minority . today India's biggest problem is cast based reservation.
Reservations shouldn't be based on religion / Caste etc.. Everyone is equal in our democratic India.
In fact, there should be some reservations for EBC (Economically Backward Classes)
For all others, it should be as per their credentials.

The teacher who has become an icon

2012-06-18T01:16:00.000-07:00

Anand Kumar's Super 30, a coaching institute in Patna which prepares 30 poor kids for the Indian Institute of Technology entrance exam free of cost, has achieved iconic stature because of its success rate.
       Like many Indians, Kumar had had his own youthful dreams of escaping from poverty by doing well in his studies. He had finished a BA Honours in M...aths and was accepted for a post graduate degree by Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.
     The thought behind setting up Super 30 came to Kumar in 2001 when a poor student told him he could not afford the Rs 1,500 annual fee.
Anand Kumar then started the Super 30 institute to coach the poorest students and prepare them for the IIT-JEE. His only criteria was that they had to be bright and talented.
News about Super 30 spread through word of mouth primarily by the 300 students who were already taking coaching from Anand Kumar. For his Super 30 initiative, Kumar received more than 800 applications. The application fee was Rs 10.
      An entrance test was conducted and 100 students were short-listed. The economic background of these students was checked and the poorest among them were selected.
The students of Super 30 receive coaching for a whole year. They get free food cooked in Anand Kumar's home and are housed in rooms spread over the city.
     The students are taught four days a week from 4 pm to 8.30 pm. The rest of the time, they study or hold group discussions amongst themselves. Tests are conducted everyday.

    The other two teachers at the institute are Praveen Kumar and Amit Kumar. Super 30's first batch appeared for the IIT-JEE entrance test in 2003. 18 of the 30 cleared the exam. In 2004, 22 were successful; in 2005, 26; in 2006, 28; in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 -- all 30 and in 2012 27 out of the 30 students made it.

     Just then fate struck and his father Rajendra Prasad, a clerk in the postal department, passed away.
This is the best way to uplift the neglected people of society. Its better to teach how to fish than giving fishes to poor people. There is limit how many time you can give roti to them. But if they learn skills to earn money for roti it will be long lasting help for them. This will only make the healthy society. So dont give direct help but teach them skills which generate roti for them. I think Megha patekar, Mamta, Sonia, Arundhati roy (award winner) need to learn this matter for this teacher.
     Its really briliant work,which cab't be expressed in language.The real joy can be enjoyed by 2 persons.One is Teacher(as his student got through) and second one the student(who done it).God bless u Mr.Anand for making us and our country proud.

Discoveries Indians made before rest of the world

2012-06-08T04:20:00.000-07:00

Indians are well known throughout the world for their numerous achievements and innovations. None can deny the fact that India has got some of the best potentials in this planet. We have been the pioneers in bringing some of the most exciting scientific inventions and discoveries well before rest of the world had any idea about those. Let’s review some of the most notable discoveries, Indians are credited with.

Wireless Communication / Radio

Indian Inventor: Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose

Western Inventor: Marconi

While the entire world talks about Marconi and credits him with the invention of wireless telecommunication, the technology emerged from our own backyard only.

Radio or Wireless Technology is the actual brainchild of none other than the Indian scientist and mathematician,

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose

. This remarkable breakthrough was achieved by Sir Bose on course of his extensive research carried out in the area of Microwaves. He went on to generate extremely short waves and also brought in some considerable modifications on Hertz’s detector of electronic waves. Sir J.C Bose also fashioned a flash of radiation, capable of generating waves of about half an inch. The receiver was pretty sensitive and it did respond to even the slightest of reactions.

Of course, it’s Marconi who provided newer and finer dimension to this entire technology. But the world witnessed the power of telecommunications via Sir J.C Bose, much before Marconi could come up with the re-defined stuff.

In-vitro Fertilization

Indian Inventor: Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay

Western Inventor: Dr. Robert Edwards and Patrick Steptoe

In-vitro Fertilization

( IVF)

, the much talked about birth procedure of modern age, was an artifact of another Indian scientist

Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay

. Indian reproductive biologist, Dr. T.C Anand Kumar while turning over the pages of Dr. Subhash Mukherjee, got familiar with the efforts put in by the latter to script a new chapter in the history of Indian medical science. In fact, Dr. Kumar played a key role in throwing new lights to the whole concept of test tube baby. The efforts put in by Dr. Mukherjee resulted in the birth of India’s first test tube baby, Kanupriya Agarwal. Since she was born on the first day of Durga Puja, she was also named as ‘Durga’.

Kanupriya alias Durga is employed in a Multinational Company based in Delhi as a Marketing Executive. She also spoke out for the first time in public about her real identity dismissing all allegations of her ‘creator’s claim as bogus.

Atom

Indian Inventor: Maharshi Kanad

Western Inventor: John Dalton

Way long before John Dalton propounded his theories and came in with the concept of Atom, Maharshi Kanad, who is considered as the First Nuclear Scientist of India made his mark.

Maharishi Kanad’s theories date way back to second century. In the book Darshan-Grantha, one can find a well written description of

Kanad’s concept of Atoms

. It was Kanad, who first opined that elements are formed mainly because of electrons arranged in a specific and synchronized manner.The world might recognize John Dalton as the father of atomic theory, but we definitely can’t take anything away from Maharishi Kanad.

Heliocentric Theory

Indian Inventor: Aryabhatta

Western Inventor: Copernicus

Widely considered as the father of Indian Astronomy, Aryabhatta came up with the notion that planets move in an axis around the sun. This very

theory

later went on to become famous as Heliocentric Theory, with further details and explanations inked by Copernicus.

Aryabhatta’s

limited access to technology and infrastructure never proved to be a detrimental factor in his research. His numerous measurements and calculations based on earth were perfectly accurate for his time. In fact, he is the first ever astrologer in this world to discover that planets revolve in their own axis around the sun. Further, his studies also led to the discovery of how lunar and solar eclipse take place.

Value of Pi

Indian Inventor: Baudhayana

Western Inventor: Archimedes, William Jones, John Wrench

Most of us have solved numerous mathematical equations based on the famous mathematical value of Pi, better known as Pythagoras Theorem. However, the value of Pi was calculated by none other than the Indian mathematician Baudhayana, who belonged to the Yajurveda School.

In fact,

Baudhayana

is widely credited for being the first ever person to come up with the value of Pi, much before Pythagoras introduced the value.

Plastic Surgery

Indian Inventor: Sushruta

Western Inventor: Dr. Illouz, French Plastic Surgeon

What’s widely believed to be the offshoot of modern science and technology is actually an Indian invention. We are talking about Plastic Surgery that was actually formulated by an Indian surgeon

Sushruta.

Sushruta’s famous book ‘Sushruta Samhita’ which is considered as one of the oldest discourse, vividly deals with several methods of performing plastic surgery. In fact, Sushruta Samhita is looked upon as one of the most precious treasure in the history of Indian medical literature.

Aerial pictures of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center - Never Seen Before!

2012-06-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

Newly released aerial photos of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack show the towers coming down from a dramatic new angle. The photos, taken from a police helicopter, were obtained by ABC News under a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

In this photo, the upper floors of a World Trade Center tower burn after terrorists flew a pasenger jet into it.

Smoke billows from a World Trade Center tower after the attack, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

The first World Trade Center tower begins to implode. Both buildings collapsed within two hours of being struck, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others.

A world Trade Center Tower Implodes.

Smoke and ash engulf lower Manhattan as one of the towers collapses.

Another view of the destruction. New York state was home to about two-thirds of the trade center victims.

Smoke billows from the grounds of World Trade Center.

Smoke and ash rise as a tower burns.

Downtown high-rise buildings are engulfed by smoke and ash.

Another shot of smoke and ash engulfing lower Manhattan.

A view of lower Manhattan after the implosion.

White ash covers the downtown area near the grounds of World Trade Center.

These Dramatic images were taken from a police helicopter — the only photographers allowed in the air space near the towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

INDIA's 1st Independence Day Celebration (some rare pics)

2012-06-04T04:45:00.000-07:00

INDIA

's 1st Independence Day Celebration

India 100 Years Back

2012-06-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

The daughter of an Indian maharajah seated on a panther she shot, sometime during 1920s.

A British man gets a pedicure from an Indian servant.

The Grand Trunk Road , built by Sher Shah Suri, was the main trade route from Calcutta to Kabul.

A group of Dancing or nautch girls began performing with their elaborate costumes and jewelry.

A rare view of the President's palace and the Parliament building in New Delhi!

Women gather at a party in Mumbai ( Bombay ) in 1910. (It's the time to Disco)

A group from Vaishnava, a sect founded by a Hindu mystic. His followers are called Gosvami-maharajahs.

An aerial view of Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi , built between 1650 and 1658.

The Imperial Airways 'Hanno' Hadley Page passenger airplane carries the England to India air mail, stopping in Sharjah to refuel.

India Pakistan Partition 1947 - A sad day in History

2012-05-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

WORLD'S BIGGEST MIGRATION OF HUMAN BEING ON EARTH

The Partition of India and Pakistan which took place on 14th August, 1947 is still known as the WORLD'S BIGGEST MIGRATION OF HUMAN BEING ON EARTH, where Over 1 million people migrated from India to Pakistan
Millions left for their promised new homeland with smiles on their faces as trains left both India and Pakistan.
This is a train to Pakistan being given a warm send-off.

In 1947, the border between India and its new neighbour Pakistan became a river of blood, as the exodus erupted into rioting.
These pictures are by Margaret Bourke-White from Khushwant Singh's book Train to Pakistan, Roli Books.
Overcrowded trains leaving for Pakistan following the partition.

Another image of people on the train to Pakistan.

Over 10 million people were uprooted from their homeland and travelled on foot, bullock carts and trains to their promised new home.

In a couple of months in the summer of 1947, a million people were slaughtered on both sides in the religious rioting.
Here, bodies of the victims of rioting are picked up from a city street.

The massive exchange of population that took place in the summer of 1947 was unprecedented.
It left behind a trail of death and destruction. The Indian map was slashed to make way for a new country - Pakistan.

The street was short and narrow. Lying like the garbage across the street and in its open gutters were bodies of the dead

With the tragic legacy of an uncertain future, a young refugee sits on the walls of Purana Qila, transformed into a vast refugee camp in Delhi.

Men, women and children who died in the rioting were cremated on a mass scale.
Villagers even used oil and kerosene when wood was scarce.

WORLD'S BIGGEST MIGRATION OF HUMAN BEING ON EARTH

IF YOU ENJOYED MY POST PLEASE HIT AND REPLY!!

A tour of old Bangalore(50 Years Back) Rare Pics!!

2012-05-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome into the past. here are some images of Bangalore, generations old, that are apparantly lost in the pages of history. Come, travel with me back in time to the banglore in the days of the raj, when it was still a small cantonment town. the year was 1946. And the place, Namma Bengaluru.

Does this frame look familiar??? It should. This is the BRIGADE ROAD. The left hand side building is still standing, and housed the Ashok Electricals, the Post Office, now it is the LEE and Luis Phillips showroom. The road hasn’t got any bigger, but the traffic and the crowd definitely has.

1955 photo of Vidhana Soudha under construction. The construction began in 1952 and was inaugrated in 1956.

The above picture is of Hosur Road. the present day electronics, IT and BPO Hub.

This strong stone building is now only known as the Oriental Building( presently houses the LIC) and is at the intersection of MG Road (then called as, South Parade) and St. Marks Road. There apparently was a large circle at this juncture as can be seen in the photograph. The road you are looking at is St. Marks Road.

The town hall area….

This is the Mayo hall. It sure looks much more regal than what it does today. It houses the Courts and was apparently also one of the main Police Station jails. I do not believe that the staircase shown in the picture still exists, and the view is supposedly that from Residency Road, only after taking a print out will I be able to compare because the building is so symmetrical.

Observe something?? The licence plate shows BAN565 suggests that there were under 1000 cars in Bangalore in 1946. or in the entire state (then known as the state of Mysore).

How Language Created Borders...

2012-05-29T00:46:00.000-07:00

I recently saw a beautiful advertisement on television. It was an ad by Idea, featuring Abhishek Bacchan and many other characters. The theme of this ad centered around the idea that linguistic divide is not a barrier instead it can be used to resolve differences. It is a fascinating thought. The India that they try to show in the ad is the India of my dreams.Sadly that is also the India that I might never get to see.

Language was created to bridge the gap between people. It was "supposed" to be the medium of communication. The way through which one man could express himself to others. It was created to spread love. But, hasn't it become another cause of conflict between various sections of society? Tamilians say Tamil is the greatest, Hindi speakers would say Hindi is the greatest of all. The Marathi people have become so obsessed with their language that they are willing to forget humanity for the sake of their native language. What kind of barbaric society have we become? Makes me feel like hating all the languages!

But then again, is "language" the real issue behind the conflict ? Hell No! Language in itself is so great that it does not need this high voltage drama to save it. It is the politicians who use such sensitive subjects to antagonize people and play politics over it. The day they made a decision to divide states linguistically our fate got sealed. Linguistic division created small societies and we got used to being a part of the small societies so much that we forgot everything about our common identity. In this country everyone became a Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi , Madrasi and finding an Indian in this crowd became "Mission Impossible".

There are so many examples one could name that are a bi-product of this linguistic divide. The Tamil Nadu language trouble(Read Dravidian Movement ), the Telangana row, the whole Marathi Manoos crap , U.P. government banning English; our country is full of such issues. A Karunanidhi or Jayalalitha wins an election based on this issue. Karunanidhi recently spent some Rs.480Crores on a Tamil language festival. This is a huge amount to spent on such a cause. Why didn't Karunanidhi think of other means of spending this money. Aren't we a "poor nation"?

All these efforts that every group is making to save their own language, according to me, are murdering the spirit of the language. Why can't we just let certain things be? Its important to save our languages from dying a bad death I know, but can't we do it together as one nation? Does saving one language means killing the other one? What about co-existence? Whatever happened to brotherhood? Where did our sense of oneness go? Why did we let politics enter within ourselves so much that we forgot the difference between right and wrong? Why???

The Life and Lies of Lalu

2012-05-28T22:12:00.000-07:00

In the very first class of journalism our broadcasting professor asked us: Who is the one Indian Politician who has made the best possible use of media ? No one in the entire class had a clue. We came up with names such as the Gadhi's or Advani but the answer was Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Recently I came across a blog which was written in the form of an Obituary to Lalu Prasad Yadav called Once there was a man called Lalu. The blog is a tale of Lalu's rise to fame and his not so sad demise. Lalu or the Indian Politics' funny man was one of shrewdest brains of Indian politics. He was the man who changed the face of Bihar from bad to worse and of Indian Railways from a constant looser to a profit making machine.

He will also be remembered for all the wonderful speeches which tickled our funny bones. But Lalu will always be best remembered the Chara Ghotala or the Fodder Scam which sent Lalu to jail and Rabri,his wife, straight to the CM's chair.

During his regime most Bihar was living under the light of a LALTEN (lantern) which coincidently was also his party symbol. He lasted in Bihar for 10 long years and with all his devotion he sucked money out of the state and into his bank account. Now if you think that it's selfish act, think twice. Remember the weddings of Lalu's kids? It was a popular saying in those days: the place where Lalu marry's his kids, flourishes. So all the money he spent on those wedding might have been public money, but in the end it was the public who was gaining from it, right?

Well Lalu never thought that he will ever lose his hold on Bihar. Who would have thought that after 10yrs of love the people will forget him? Life was so much interesting in his times. Elections were never peaceful they always entertained people with nice fights. Who doesn't enjoy bit of an action? There was no electricity in the state. No electricity meant no work and full family time. Very bad literacy ratio as the kids never went to school, so more playing time and all-round grooming.

After all the wonderful gifts he just won 4 seats this time. It seems like Lalu’s era is truly over. Now Bihar is growing and doing better at uninteresting things like GDP’s and NDI’s. Life was much simpler in his time but sadly those are the times no one seems to be missing. This truly is the demise of Lalu, India’s best funny man ever.

Proud To Be an Indian,

2012-05-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Last night I was searching something in GOOGLE based on Indian culture and values. Suddenly I saw a website containing some amazing facts related to India, which were really informative and interesting. I have decided to collect more and then published by this blog. I hope you would like it and at last you will say; “Jai Ho” !!!
1. The name “India” is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshipers referred to the river Indus as the Sindhu. The Persian invaders converted it into Hindu. The name “Hindustan” combines Sindhu and Hindu and thus refers to the land of the Hindus.
2. The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
3. India exports software to 90 countries.
4. Martial Arts were first created in India, and later spread to Asia by Buddhist missionaries.
5. Yoga has its origins in India and has existed for over 5,000 years.
6. The World’s first university was established inTakshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. TheUniversity of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
7. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software.(a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987).
8. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidatedAyurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.
9. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India’s wealth.
10. The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit ‘Nou’.
11. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart in 5th century that time taken by earth to orbit the sun 365.258756484 days.
12. The value of “pi” was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as thePythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.
13. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BC during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10**12(10 to the power of 12).
14. IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Chandra Bose and not Marconi.
15. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
16. According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 BC, a beautiful lake called Sudarshana was constructed on the hills ofRaivataka during Chandragupta Maurya‘s time.
17. Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
18. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
19. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians establishedHarappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
20. The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world’s population.
21. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
22. India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.
23. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.
24. India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.
25. India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.
26. The first six Mogul Emperor’s of India ruled in an unbroken succession from father to son for two hundred years, from 1526 to 1707.
27. The World’s First Granite Temple is the Brihadeswara temple at Tanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The shikhara is made from a single ‘ 80-tonne ‘ piece of granite. Also, this magnificient temple was built in just five years, (between 1004 AD and 1009 AD) during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.
28. India is the Largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country in the world AND one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at least 10, 000 years old).
29. The game of snakes & ladders was created by the 13th century poet saint Gyandev. It was originally called ‘Mokshapat.‘ The ladders in the game represented virtues and the snakes indicated vices. The game was played with cowry shells and dices. Later through time, the game underwent several modifications but the meaning is the same i.e. good deeds take us to heaven and evil to a cycle of re-births.
30. The world’s highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after leveling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
31. India has the most post offices in the world!
32. The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people!
33. Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. (Source: Gemological Institute of America)
34. The Baily Bridge is the highest bridge in the world. It is located in the Ladakh valley between the Dras and Suru rivers in the Himalayan mountains. It was built by the Indian Army in August 1982.
35. Jainism and Buddhism were founded in India in 600 B.C. and 500 B.C. respectively.
36. Islam is India’s and the world’s second largest religion.
37. There are 300,000 active mosques in India, more than in any other country, including the Muslim world.
38. The oldest European church and synagogue in India are in the city of Cochin. They were built in 1503 and 1568 respectively.
39. Jews and Christians have lived continuously in India since 200 B.C. and 52 A.D. respectively.
40. The largest religious building in the world is Angkor Wat, a Hindu Temple in Cambodia built at the end of the 11th century.
41. The Vishnu Temple in the city of Tirupathi built in the 10th century, is the world’s largest religious pilgrimage destination. Larger than either Rome or Mecca, an average of 30,000 visitors donate $6 million (US) to the temple everyday.
42. Sikhism originated in the Holy city of Amritsar in Punjab. Famous for housing the Golden Temple, the city was founded in 1577.
43. India provides safety for more than 300,000 refugees originally from Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who escaped to flee religious and political persecution.
44. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, runs his government in exile from Dharmashala in northern India.
45. India is the world’s largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
46. India never invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of history.
47. India is the world’s largest democracy.
48. Varanasi, also known as Banaras, was called “the ancient city” when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
UPDATED ON 14/12/2010.
49. Most historians agree that the first recorded account of plastic surgery is found in ancient Indian Sanskrit texts.
50. India has the world’s largest movie industry, based in the city of Mumbai (known as the “City of Dreams”). The B in “Bollywood” comes from Bombay, the former name for Mumbai. Almost all Bollywood movies are musicals.
51. With 150,000 post offices, India has the largest postal network in the world.
52. India is the world’s largest producer of dried beans, such as kidney beans and chickpeas. It also leads the world in banana exports; Brazil is second.
53. The earliest cotton in the world was spun and woven in India. Roman emperors would wear delicate cotton from India that they would call “woven winds.” Mogul emperors called the fabrics “morning dew” and “cloth of running water.
54. India is the birthplace of chess.l The original word for “chess” is the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning “four members of an army”—which were mostly likely elephants, horses, chariots, and foot soldiers.
55. Hindi and English are the official languages of India. The government also recognizes 17 other languages (Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu). Apart from these languages, about 1,652 dialects are spoken in the country.
56. India’s pastoral communities are largely dependent on dairy and have made India the largest milk-producing country in the world.
57. India has the world’s third largest road network at 1.9 million miles. It also has the world’s second largest rail network, which is the world’s largest civilian employer with 16 million workers.
58. India experiences six seasons: summer, autumn, winter, spring, summer monsoon, and winter monsoon.
59. India is the world’s largest tea producer, and tea (chai) is its most popular beverage.
60. The Taj Mahal (“crown palace”) was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666) for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal (1593-1631). This architectural beauty has been called “marbled embroidery” for its intricate workmanship. It took 22,000 workmen 22 years to complete it.
61. The first and greatest civilization in ancient India developed around the valley of the Indus River (now Pakistan) around 3000 B.C. Called the Indus Valley civilization, this early empire was larger than any other empire, including Egypt and Mesopotamia.
62. After the great Indus Civilization collapsed in 2000 B.C., groups of Indo-Europeans called Aryans (“noble ones”) traveled to northwest India and reigned during what is called the Vedic age. Aryans spoke and imported Sanskrit into India, which is the mother of all European languages. The mingling of ideas from the Aryan and Indus Valley religions formed the basis of Hinduism, and the gods Shiva, Kali, and Brahma all have their roots in Aryan civilization. The Aryans also recorded the Vedas, the first Hindu scriptures, and introduced a caste system based on ethnicity and occupation.
63. Alexander the Great invaded India partly because he wanted to solve the mystery of the “ocean,” which he had been told was a huge, continuous sea that flowed in a circle around the land. When he reached the Indian Ocean, he sacrificed some bulls to Poseidon for leading him to his goal.
64. Greek sculpture strongly influenced many portrayals of Indian gods and goddess, particularly after the conquest of Alexander the Great around 330B.C. In fact, early Indian gods had Greek features and only later did distinct Indian styles emerge.
65. Chandragupta Maurya (340-290 B.C.), a leader in India who established the Mauryan Empire (321-185 B.C.), was guarded by a band of women on horseback.
66. When the first independent prime minister of India, pacifist Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), was featured in Vogue, his distinctive close fitting, single-breasted jacket briefly became an important fashion statement for the Mod movement in the West. Named the Nehru jacket, the prime minister’s coat was popularized by the Beatles and worn by such famous people as Johnny Carson (1925-2005) and Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990)

THE TOTAL COMES OUT TO BE 73000000000000 cR. = 73 LAKH CRORE RUPEES

2012-05-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

1992 - Harshad Mehta Sec Scam - 5000 Cr.
1994 - Sugar Import Scam - 650 Cr.
1995 - Prefereential Allotment Scam - 5000 Cr.
Yugoslav Dinar Scam - 400 Cr.
Meghalaya Forest Scam - 300 Cr.
1996 - Fertilises import scam - 1300 Cr.
Urea Scam - 133 Cr.
BIHAR FODDER SCAM - 950 Cr.
1997 - Sukh Ram Telecom Scam - 1500 Cr.
SNC Lavalin Power Project Scam - 374 Cr.
Bihar kand scam - 400 Cr.
C.R.Bhansali Stock Scam - 1200 Cr.
1998 - Teak Plantation Scam - 8000 Cr.
2001 - UTI SCAM - 4800 Cr.
Dinesh Dalmia Stock Scam - 595 Cr.
Ketan Parekh Sec. Scam - 1250 Cr.
2002- Sanjay Agrawal Home Trade Scam - 600 Cr.
2003 - TELGI STAMP PAPER SCAM - 172 Cr.
2005 - IPO Demat Scam - 146 Cr.
Bihar flood relief scam - 17 Cr.
Scorpene submarine scam - 18,978 Cr.
2006 - Punjab's City Centre project Scam - 1500 Cr.
Taj Corridor Scam - 175 Cr.
2008 - Pune Billionaire Hassan Ali Tax default - 50,000 Cr.
Satyam Scam - 10000 Cr.
Army Ration Pilfrage Scam - 5000 Cr.
2-G Spectrum - 60000 Cr.
State Bank of Saurashtra Scam - 95 Cr.
Illegal monies in Swiss bank - 71,00,000 Cr.
2009 - Jharkhand Medical Equipment Scam - 130 Cr.
Rice export scam - 2500 Cr.
Orrissa mine scam - 7000 Cr.
MADHU KODA SCAM - 4000 Cr.

THE TOTAL COMES OUT TO BE 73000000000000 cR. = 73 LAKH CRORE RUPEES

iT ALL STARTED AFTER THE INDIAN ECONOMIC REFORMS. wE MAY BLAME ANYONE FOR THIS BUT THE REALITY IS ONE IN TWO INDIAN VOTES FOR OR HIMSELF IS CORRUPT.

Lets Drive the CHANGE

2012-05-21T04:08:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

Today we would like to tell you about a bureaucratic turned politician whose 30 years of service has been against corruption and injustice. Single handily he has fought against the system and yet survived through it. Now after his retirement the war continues for him.

In 2004 he contested the parliamentary election as an independent candidate from Pune and received over 60,000 votes without any infrastructure or organisational support and without adequate time.

Work Experience :
Management experience (Asia, Africa) in United Nations multi-disciplinary rural development projects included monitoring, report writing, training, liaising with NGOs and national governments and the formulation of funding proposals for UN agencies. In India, appointments were at secretariat and field levels and in rural and urban local bodies. Work pertained to physical and social infrastructure (watershed improvement, health etc.), rural employment, tribal development, land reforms, anti-poverty schemes, famine relief, drought recovery, resettlement of urban slums, project displaced persons and political refugees, and governance reform.
There was a focus on creating mechanisms for client participation in planning, execution and monitoring. Detected wide spread corruption. But the continuous effort to combat corruption met with limited success in the long term.
Main areas of interest :
Governance
Gender
Rehabilitation
Poverty
Social Mobilisation

CASES EXPOSED:

Whenever Bhatia detected corruption and initiated action against the culprits protected by the establishment, he was transferred. In subsequent postings when he raised the old issues and asked for action against offenders, he was told that this was no longer his concern. Transfer is an instrument not only of harassment but also of silencing protest within the system. Bhatia's protests and findings remained suppressed and law breakers walked away unpunished, unassailable and stronger than before.

And so in 26 years of service (excluding the training period and service in the United Nations), Bhatia was removed from his post (transferred) 26 times.

For more details you can refer to http://www.arunbhatiaelect.com/

Indian Politics - A Family business

2012-05-13T01:10:00.000-07:00

At present parliament of India is full of relatives more than ever before. Fathers and sons, Mother and daughters , wives of the politicians , widows, uncles and nephews of the politicians . Has democracy in India become a monarchy ?

A few years ago, when standards of behavior in the parliament of india were nose-diving – what with acrimony, physical demonstrations, un-parliamentary language and constant shrill bickering, a perpetual partisan divide and even occasional exchange of physical blows becoming the order of the day – former BJP prime minister Vajpayee wished that politics of india would live up to the age-old ideal of vasudeva kutumbikam (universe is a family ). In present scenario it seems that vajpayee's wish has come true, and at list Indian politics has become a family business or a family affairs.The biggest winner of the 2009 general elections was not the UPA but rather the dynasty in India.

Over the years, many young faces from political families have entered the parliament with free ticket to Politics – Rahul Gandhi , Rajeev Gandhi , Priyanka Gandhi , Uddhav Theray , Raj Thakeray , Sameer Bhujbal, Nilesh Rane, Milind Deora, Priya Dutt, Varun Gandhi, Jyoti Mirdha, Deependra Hooda – to name a few.

At present, 27 Members of parliament in Lok Sabha belong to political families proving my point that Indian politics has become a family affair, where parliamentary seats are heirlooms to be passed on. Grass root Leaders and young leaders with no patronage matter little, and given the huge money and muscle power involved in elections, non-family upstarts can only dream of power from the sidelines. All this has reduced politics of India to a kind of family business where merit is not valued and there are no opportunities for Common man.

Politicians from rich family background don’t understand the problem of common man as they are habitual of sitting in ACs and they know only how to do business and Make money. With this mindset they earn lots more but never understand difference between Politics and Business i.e. Social Work Vs Work for Earnings.
When i see present politicians of India i find most of them coming from or some way related to the prominent political families of India. Its make me think that whether the Indian politics has become such a family affair in India.