Arise Bharat

Report on Personality Development Programme for Abhyasikas

2010-12-27T03:59:00.000-08:00

SEVABHARATHI, SECUNDERABAD

Report on Personality Development Programme conducted on December 5, 2010

Sevabharathi-Secunderabad Vibhag conducted a two and half hour interactive session on personality development for class X students (both boys & girls) studying in Abhyasikas (study centers for boys) and Kishori Vikas Kendras (study centers for girls) in and around Secunderabad, at Hindu Public school, Sanatnagar on December 5, 2010. At present 16 Abhyasikas and 17 Kishori Vikas Kendras are running in Secunderabad Vibhag.

A total strength of 150 participated in this programme. This programme was taken by
Sri Jaladurgam Ramu, Psychologist, consultant in CARE Hospital and an expert trainer for the corportae IT profesionals, in association with Sri Ramkumar Raju of Manavatha Navodaya Foundation.

The main intention of the programme is to enrich the inclination of students towards education and to build their personality. This emphasises on how to overcome the general weaknesses and misconception of pupils towards learning the subjects. In a nutshell, session covers all the mistakes committed while studying and also enhances the ones self confidence levels to set the targets and to reach them efficiently and with elegance. As this being an interactive session, entire session was lively and every student could recognise their inherent strengths. This programme certainly enriches their studying pursuits for the future.

Anti Cancer Drug developed by Cow Urine gets Patent

2010-06-18T23:38:00.001-07:00

RSS-developed cancer drug gets US patent
PTI, Jun 17, 2010, 02.49pm IST,

NAGPUR: An anti-cancer drug extracted from cow urine and developed by an affiliate of the RSS has got a US patent for the third time for its anti-genotoxicity properties, a senior official has said.

The drug developed by RSS-backed Go Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra had earlier got the US patent as a bio-enhancer with antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs.

The research for the drug brand named ‘Kamdhenu Ark’ was carried out jointly by the Anusandhan Kendra and National Environmental Engineer Research Institute (NEERI), Acting Director of NEERI Tapan Chakraborty said.

The research found that Re-distilled Cow Urine Distillate (RCUD) was useful for protecting and repairing DNA from oxidative damage, Chakraborty and Sunil Mansinghka of Kendra told reporters yesterday.

Oxidative DNA damage is a leading cause of ageing, cancer and other diseases.

RCUD works against genotoxicity, a harmful action on a cell’s genetic material, they said, adding research has strengthened the efficacy of ‘Kamdhenu Ark’ as an anti-cancer drug.

The research was carried out on three patients, two of them having throat and uterus cancer, Mansinghka said.

http://timesofindia .indiatimes. com/articleshow/ 6058657.cms? prtpage=1

A Study Tour on Hindu Seva Pratishtana - By Vasu

2010-05-25T20:55:00.000-07:00

Sri Vasu, A Pracharak of the RSS from Indur (Nizamabad dist) completed a study tour of Hindu Seva Pratisthana and has written an excellent report in Telugu on the various initiatives & inspiration he derived from the work of HSP.

The article is posted at http://lokahitam.com/getarticlefromdb.php?Article_Id=685

AND the scribd link below

Vasuji's - Hindu Seva Pratisthan Tour

Nanaji Deshmukh - An Inspiration

2010-03-09T04:19:00.000-08:00

http://www.expressb uzz.com/edition/ story.aspx? 1 March 2010

Nanaji’ as Nana Deshmukh was known in political and social circles, which he dominated for almost six decades, is no more. Many who were inspired by him in politics and outside saw and knew him as a towering idealist; his admirers and friends experienced and rated him as a great political strategist. Joining the RSS at a young age and becoming its pracharak (whole-time volunteer), he was undoubtedly a great organiser. He had intimate friends in high places everywhere. He was equally at ease with both the noble Bhoodhan movement of Vinobha Bhave and the gutter politics of Delhi. He had friends even in the garrisons of his adversaries. When Jawaharlal Nehru had banned the RSS in 1948, Nanaji Deshmukh began organising the underground movement. From where? Believe it, from the house of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, a minister in Pandit Nehru’s government. It was public knowledge that Nehru had regarded RSS as his archenemy and had even declared that he would not give an inch in India for the Bhagwa (the flag of the RSS) to fly. Still Kidwai, a great friend of Nehru, had no issues about keeping Nanaji in house and more — allowing him to organise underground activities. This indicates the magnetic personality of Nanaji who must have been then in his twenties!

My association with Nanaji Deshmukh started with my friendship with Ramnath Goenka. Ramnathji and Nanaji were not only great friends, they both thought and felt about the country almost alike. The mutual trust and admiration that they had was rooted wholly in their love of the motherland, totally devoid of any kind of personal interest. The Nanaji-Ramnathji combine felt that no goal other than what they thought was the good of the nation. Ramnath Goenka had shaped the Indian Express not as just a newspaper. It was an active partner with all nationalist forces in the cause of the country, setting the agenda for political and social discourse. Ramnathji never knew what fear meant in life. So was Nanaji. And these two courageous persons could effortlessly infect many others of high relevance, journalists or others, with fearlessness. It was the Ramnathji-Nanaji duo that persuaded Jayaprakash Narayan to agree to lead the Bihar movement in 1974, which changed the political picture of the country.

An incredible incident made Jayaprakash Narayan to agree to the plea of Nanaji and Ramnathji to lead the movement against Indira Gandhi. I came to know of this in the late 1980s when at a dinner in the Express Towers in Bombay I asked Nanaji and Ramnathji how they brought JP into the movement. Nanaji described the thrilling and unbelievable episode. A historic meeting of Ramnathji, Nanaji, Achyut Patwardhan, the hero of the 1942 underground movement and Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, a great Hindi poet, took place sometime in 1973 in the Indian Express Guest House in Bangalore. Ramnathji, Nanaji, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and Achyut Patwardhan, began insisting that JP should lead the movement as Indira Gandhi had become highly autocratic and had begun destroying the institutional framework of democracy including the judiciary and bureaucracy. Incidentally, Dinkar was one of the greatest friends of the Nehru family and particularly of Indira Gandhi herself. But that did not detract him from doing what he thought was his duty to the nation. JP was hesitant mainly because of his health. He was a diabetic and had acute prostrate gland issues. He said that he would not be able to live for long and his health did not permit him to undertake such an arduous task. Ramnathji assured him that he would have his prostrate operation done in Vellore, which he eventually got done later. But JP could still not make up his mind. At that point, Ramnathji suggested that all of them should go to Tirupati, have darshan and prayers and from there, go to Madras as it was known then, and continue the discussions. And they all left for Tirupati.

During the darshan at Tirupati, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar openly prayed to Lord Balaji, to the hearing of JP and the others, that whatever remaining years of life Dinkar had the Lord should give them to JP to help him serve the cause of the motherland. And they all returned to Madras and to Ramnathji’s house in the Express Estates in Mount Road. Within hours Ramdhari Singh Dinkar fell on the lap of Ramnath Goenka and died — yes he died when JP, Nanaji and Achyut Patwardhan were around. It was clear that Lord Balaji had answered Dinkar’s prayers. JP’s decision to lead the movement came in no time. Despite my several requests Nanaji had refused to write about it in the Indian Express. When I asked him how will the people of India know about it, he said that he had written in his diary and he would like it to be known after his death. Now that he is no more I felt free to write about it.

After the operation JP began to lead one of the biggest mass movements against corruption in free India and that led to the imposition of Emergency, arrest of all national opposition leaders and a ban on the RSS. That was the best period in the life of Nanaji. He was one of the initiators of the underground movement that finally exploded as the Janata wave when in 1977 Indira Gandhi, with a view to securing mandate for her autocracy declared elections to Parliament, not knowing that, without her intelligence agencies having a whiff of it, the underground movement had generated a political tornado against her. Nanaji was the architect of the Janata Party. He contested elections for the first time and won. He refused to join the ministry when Morarji Desai insisted.

Later when the Janata Party split and the Bharatiya Janata Party was formed in 1980, Nanaji announced that he would like to retire from active politics as he was attaining the age of 65. A new role — that of a social worker — to lift moral and spiritual values and to promote economic and social well-being of the distanced people awaited him. He started his work first in the most backward districts of Gonda in UP and next in the equally drought-prone and poverty-ridden Bead district in Maharashtra and finally settled to do a more comprehensive work of socio-economic progress with moral values covering some 500 villages in Chitrakoot district. The President of India Abdul Kalam visited Nanaji’s Chitrakoot project, praised and blessed it as the most suitable one for India noting that almost 80 villages in the district had become litigation free. That was his final karma bhoomi even though the whole country was his karma bhoomi. He once told me that when he was a child many days he had had nothing to eat. But that did not turn him into a naxalite. But his introduction to the RSS at the right age, and association with the right persons, had turned him into a great nationalist who lived for his motherland’s glory and nothing else.

comment@gurumurthy. net

India's 'green and clean' village

2009-10-06T04:02:00.000-07:00

India's 'green and clean' village
Author: Jyotsna Singh
Publication: BBC News
Date: September 25, 2009
URL: http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/south_ asia/8259789. stm

A small village in the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya has
become the envy of its neighbours.

Large crowds of visitors have been thronging to the village curious to
find out why Mawlynnong has earned the reputation for being arguably the
cleanest and best educated in India - all its residents can read and
write and each house has a toilet.

That is no mean achievement in a country that is still struggling to
educate its population and address basic water and sanitation issues.

About 90km (55 miles) from the state capital Shillong and barely 4km
(2.4 miles) from the Bangladeshi border, Mawlynnong is much loved by its
inhabitants who work hard to keep it clean.

Bamboo dustbins

It is five in the morning and pouring with rain. But that does not deter
a group of volunteers in the village from rising early to sweep the
roads. It is a process that is repeated several times a day.

"Some cleaners have been hired by the village council to sweep the
roads - but many villagers take turns to make sure they are swept
several times a day because it is not possible to pay so many people,"
says young volunteer Henry Khyrrum.

The streets are all dotted with dustbins made of bamboo. Every piece of
litter and almost every leaf that has fallen from a tree is immediately
discarded.

Plastic is completely banned and all waste disposal is environmentally
friendly. Rubbish is thrown into a pit dug in a forest near the village
where it is left to turn into compost.

The villagers here say that lessons in hygiene start in school so that
children can be taught from an early age how to keep their surroundings
clean and green.

Mawlynnong is one of the wettest parts of the country - and while many
parts of India are suffering under drought-like conditions this year,
the south-western monsoon has not disappointed the north-east.

While the supply of clean water and sanitation is a huge problem in
India's teeming cities, it is an even bigger challenge for the
authorities in the country's villages where these facilities are almost
non-existent.

Keeping it clean now comes naturally to most people here. The village
headman says the village council - or Darbar - maintains very strict
discipline.

'Global warming'

"There is a fine imposed by the village council for anybody found to be
throwing litter around or cutting trees. You see, the fine is just one
dollar for each such offence committed. But due to the humiliation and
embarrassment that our self-respecting people feel at being fined, they
make sure to follow the rules," says village headman Thomlin
Khongthohrem.

"Besides, the council carries out strict inspections of the sanitation
facilities in each house.

"Workshops are also being organised to make people aware of the dangers
from global warming."

Experts say Mawlynnong, like the rest of the state, has a very effective
local governance system. The society is matrilineal - meaning that land
is passed down through the female side of families - making women
economically more powerful.

Mawlynnong's reputation for being clean and green has been well
documented, and its Khasi tribal inhabitants are known to be worshippers
of nature.

Their reverence for nature is seen by some as an effective way of
preserving the forest cover.

Thambor Lyngdoh, in charge of a sacred community forest in a
neighbouring village, says the while it is true that many Khasi people
are "nature worshippers" the drive for cleanliness and education is not
about faith only.

"Even today we are very strict about how the forest can be used," he
says.

"People are allowed to take whatever they need from the forest for their
own use. But they cannot take anything more than that for any kind of
commercial use. They are punished for any violation."

Local initiative

Mawlynnong's reputation for cleanliness has even earned it a place on
the state's tourism map.

Hundreds of visitors from all over India now visit the village
throughout the year. Most of those visitors are impressed with what they
see.

"This is the first time I have come to this place. I really want to
congratulate the villagers who have made the place so beautiful and the
cleanest in the continent. There is something special about the place.
We just came to see why it has become so famous. It really is clean and
you have to give them 10 out of 10 for that," says Sanjay Saraogi, a
tourist from Shillong.

Another tourist, Euginea, says the rest of country should learn from
Mawlynnong's experience.

"I have come to this village to see its cleanliness and I think
everybody should follow the example of the villagers," she says

Mawlynnong's success is entirely driven by local initiative. It has been
so successful that the state government has been prompted to promote
eco-tourism in the area but the locals are resisting this.

"There is a fierce sense of self-determination among these people. There
are certain rules they have followed traditionally. They do not want
government to borrow ideas from outside and impose it on them," says
Deepak Laloo, a member of the Meghalaya Tourism Development forum."

The villagers are treading a path that the rest of India should be keen
to follow.

Flood Relief Activity in Kurnool, Mahabubnagar by Seva Bharati

2009-10-03T00:39:00.000-07:00

Media News
At least 130 people have been killed in Andhra Pradesh and neighboring Karnataka due to floods resulting from heavy rains since Wednesday (1st Oct). Andhra Pradesh is facing the worst ever floods in its 60 years, as 60 per cent of Kurnool district was submerged on Friday leaving thousands homeless and stranded without food and water. Nearly two lakh people have been evacuated to relief camps in the worst-affected districts of Kurnool, Mahabubnagar and Krishna district.

The gates of several projects on the Krishna river — including Jurala, Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Prakasham — have been opened to release the flood water. While the inflow into Srisailam reservoir has touched an all-time high of 21 lakh cusecs, 10 lakh cusecs of water has been discharged from Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar reservoirs.

“This is a never-before-seen situation. Never in the past has the Krishna basin witnessed such floods and inflow of water into the dams. I am urging the people in the low-lying areas not to take the threat lightly. Move out to the safer places and cooperate with the officials,” said the State Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasad Rao in Hyderabad.

Army boats and Air Force helicopters Friday began to rescue hundreds of people marooned at several places. Thousands have been rendered homeless. Over 40,000 houses have been damaged. Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said the flood situation was grim and army personnel have been deployed for rescue operations. Six helicopters have been pressed into service to rescue people. While four helicopters are being used to airlift the flood-hit in Kurnool district, two choppers were deployed in Mahabubnagar district.
Preliminary first hand report from Seva Bharati Team
Seva Bharati volunteers have already started launching relief camps in affected towns of AP & Karnataka and now food is being provided to the people. As per the preliminary report received from volunteers for below 2 districts the situation is as below:

Kurnool District:
Affected Data
- Total 8 Revenue Mandals- About 6 lakh people- About 1,00,00 acre crop- Kurnool town 50% affected (2.5lakh people)- Mantralaya – famous temple of Raghavendra Swamy completely immersed in water. ( now cleared).
Relief Centre in Kurnool town being organised at G.Pulla Reddy Engineering College.
About 60,000 Food packets are being carried from Nandyala and neighbouring mandals to the relief centre.

Palamoor District (Mahabubnagar District):Affected Data
-Total 2 Revenue Mandals- About 2 lakh people- About 5,000 acre crop- 130 small lakes got cut due to floods causing at least 130-150 villages completely sub-merging in water.
15 relief centres.

How to contribute
A time for action is here again. Let us donate generously for the relief and rehabilitation of the affected people many of whom have lost everything overnight.

Online transfer of funds can be done to Seva Bharathi A/c No: 630501065297, ICICI Bank, Himayat Nagar Branch, Hyderabad. You can also draw a cheque/draft in the name of Seva Bharathi and post/courier it to below address

SEVA BHARATHI
H No:3-4-228,Opp Jain Mandir
Lingampally, Kachiguda, Hyderabad 50007
Mob: + 91 9701226830, +91 9849262868
[Please note that all contributions to Seva Bharathi are tax-exempt under 80G.]

If you are interested in joining the Seva Bharathi team at ground zero, please send email to http://arisebharat.wordpress.com/mc/compose?to=sewabharathi@gmail.com or arisebharat@gmail.com
Him I call a Mahatma whose heart bleeds for the poor – Swami Vivekananda

Extraordinary Indians: Doc who charges only Rs 2

2009-09-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

Extraordinary Indians: Doc who charges only Rs 2

Author: A Ganesh NadarPublication:

Rediff.com

Date: December 17, 1999URL:

http://news. rediff.com/ slide-show/ 2009/aug/ 17/slide- show-1-extraordi nary-indians- ravindra- koelhe.htm

'If you want to serve mankind, go and work among the poorest and most neglected,' Dr Ravindra Koelhe, who has been serving the tribals of Melghat, Maharashtra, for 24 years, tells A Ganesh Nadar.Continuing our series on Extraordinary Indians.Dr Ravindra Koelhe, MD, lives and runs a clinic in Melghat, Maharashtra. His fee is Rs 2 for the first consultation and Rs 1 for the second.Not only is he a doctor and social worker, Dr Koelhe has also taken the government to court for having failed in its duty to protect the Korku tribals of the region.After completing his MBBS, he worked in Melghat for a year-and-a-half only to realise that he needed more expertise to handle the problems of the tribals. So he went back to medical college for an MD in preventive and social medicine."I have now been here for 24 years. In those days there were two public health centres and no roads. Once a week, I used to walk 40 kms from Dharni to Bairagarh to reach my clinic. I used to see at least one tiger every month. Since the last three years I haven't seen a single one," he says remembering his early days as a young doctor.After completing his MBBS from Nagpur University, he decided to work in rural India. An ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi and Vinoba Bhave, he was also influenced by Ruskin Bond who wrote, 'If you want to serve mankind, go and work among the poorest and most neglected.'He toured the rural areas of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and decided that Gadricholi in Maharashtra was the most backward amongst his travels and decided to work there. His mother discouraged him since it was a Naxalite affected area. She told him that Melghat was equally backward and that he should work here instead.Dr Koelhe has been in Melghat since then. It has been 24 years now.

Youth for Seva- School kit drive

2009-07-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

Namaste ,
Youth for Seva ( YFS) is an organisation which works towards networking of Youth, esp professionals towards service activities. Last month,a few software professionals from YFS joined hands together and embarked on a program to collect funds to distribute school kits to children of government schools. After finishing the collection drive, they went to Ramayanpet, which is about 100 kms from Hyderabad and distributed the school kits in the schools and finally spent some time in the Seva Bharati hostel for destitute children. They played with the children as well. Pl find below links to the photographs. I thought this would interest you.

Ramayampet:
http://tinyurl.com/lsn89l

Sewa Bharathi Hostel:
http://tinyurl.com/ntufnm

best regards
Ayush

An experiment of economic empowerment by Sewa Bharati in Jharkhand

2009-05-19T00:19:00.000-07:00

By Maya Singh
The experiment of Self-Help Group (SHG) by Sewa Bharati proved a major success in the remote areas of Jharkhand. Presently, there are over 1400 SHGs in the state run by Sewa Bharati activists. Every group normally has 15-20 women. This number goes over 25,000. Today, these women are writing a new chapter of change after achieving self-respect and self-dependence with the help of SHGs.SHGs have brought about a sea-change and awareness among the women who are mostly illiterate. They not only developed the feeling of taking group decisions but also to get rid themselves of the clutches and atrocities of private moneylenders. They not only changed their own life but also extended a helping hand to the needy persons of the society. Women of a similar group in Ranchi helped in eye operation of a minor child at Shankar Eye Hospital in Chennai. The women in the group of Meera, Rani and Neetu make bari, papar, pickle, spices, jute bags, etc. Arati, Anuradha and Sanyukta impart training of making candles, growing mushroom, making jam and jailly and also sell the goods made by them. Malati and Keshwanti of Tupudana received the training of making bangles by lakh and goods of jute from Jaipur. Now they not only make all these things themselves but also impart training to other women. They organise stalls of the goods made by them under the banner of Sewa Bharati in various fairs and exhibitions. Some sell the products in local markets while some move up to Delhi to participate in the trade fair organised at Pragati Maidan every year.The group of women, led by Malati of Tupudana purchased a tractor with the help of a bank and earned money by running it on hire. When the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Khunti misguided Mateshwari Devi regarding the time of foundation stone laying ceremony of a road at 6.00 am in the morning, she, along with other women, went to the spot at 4.00 am and blocked the road to protest against the mischief of the BDO. Finally, Malati got the contract of making that road and she did the work with dedication and received appreciation from all. The SHG of women led by Arati of Namkom purchased an auto-rickshaw and got contracts of building roads, ponds and government buildings.The women take part in social activities too with full activism. Sarika of Khunti district foiled the game plan of a married person who was going to marry another woman despite having one wife. She earned praise from the people through this conduct. Similarly, Arati, Sanyukta and Anuradha of Namkom jointly got a wedding ceremony stopped, as the groom was addict. They also forced the groom's parents to pay the expenditure of the bride's family on the marriage. They later married that girl with a suitable boy after some time. The women of Bokaro who mostly work as midwives helped their husbands who are mostly rickshaw-pullers and work as collie, to learn at least doing signature. Now they proudly say that nobody in their group is illiterate. They are also very punctual in their activities, which is praised by all.Sumitra Devi and Manodevi of Dhanbad admit that their life has changed considerably after joining the SHGs and Samskar Kendras run by Sewa Bharati. They not only felt the change in their individual life but also got more respect by their husbands and the society. The women of Gumla purchased foodgrains in bulk and sold it after some time, which helped them in earning good profit.A woman of Gumla was not going to her in-laws' house. She had the bad habit of fighting with everybody. She levelled various allegations against her husband and every time she refused to go with him. The women of SHG persuaded her husband and sent her with him. The women of Pakud district organised a mass marriage ceremony and got married 125 pairs.Such change comes silently and leaves lasting impact. All this has been possible only due to the involvement of the Sewa Bharati workers with the projects from hearts.

Panini to the rescue for a computational grammarian

2009-05-19T00:10:00.001-07:00

Panini to the rescue for a computational grammarian

Research team turns to the “world’s first computational grammarian!”.
http://www.thehindu businessline. com/ew/2009/ 05/18/images/ 2009051850090301 .jpg
K.V. Kurmanath
Panini, the legendary Sanskrit grammarian of 5th century BC, is the world’s first computational grammarian! Panini’s work, Ashtadhyayi (the Eight-Chaptered book), is considered to be the most comprehensive scientific grammar ever written for any language.
According to Prof Rajeev Sangal, Director of IIIT (Hyderabad) and an expert on language computation, Panini’s epic treatise on grammar came to the rescue of language experts in making English unambiguous. English is more difficult (as far as machine translations are concerned) with a high degree of ambiguity.
Some words have different meanings, making the analysis (to facilitate translations) a difficult process. Making it disambiguous is quite a task, where Panini’s principles might be of use.
Ashtadhyayi, the earlier work on descriptive linguistics, consists of 3,959 sutras (or principles). These highly systemised and technical principles, some say, marked the rise of classical Sanskrit.
Sampark, the multi-institute effort launched to produce a translation engine, enabling users to translate tests from English to various languages, will use some of the technical aspects enunciated by Panini. “We looked at alternatives before choosing Panini,” Prof Sangal says.
Incidentally, Prof Sangal co-authored a book, Natural Language Processing – A Panini Perspective, a few years ago.
Besides the technical side, Panini would be of great help to researchers on the translation engine on the language side too.
A good number of words in almost all the Indian languages originate from Sanskrit. “That is great because Indian languages are related to each other,” Prof Sangal points out.
kurmanath@thehindu. co.in
http://www.thehindu businessline. com/ew/2009/ 05/18/stories/ 2009051850090300 .htm
Break the language barrier
Word for word: More on the Sampark initiative to enrich translation. .
Look at the sentence — The Chair chairs the meeting. How will a machine understand this?
http://www.thehindu businessline. com/bline/ ew/2009/05/ 18/images/ 2009051850070301 .jpg
K.V. Kurmanath
Telugus, Kannadigas and Malayalis can read Subrahmanya Bharati, the legendary Tamil poet, and relish the sweetness in his poetry. Similarly, Premchand, Tagore, M T Vasudeva Nair, and U R Ananthamurthy too could be read and understood by readers in other languages.
All this will soon be a reality, thanks to a project initiated by IIIT (Hyderabad) and eight other universities and institutes. To be precise, the beta translation solutions of a few languages will go live next month (June 2009).
The project, whose public Internet interface will be known as Sampark, will let users translate texts among various Indian languages. All one needs to do is copy-paste the text in an appointed box and press ‘enter’, and get the translated version in another box beside it. Not just text, you can translate the whole of a Web page. Copy the URL (a site’s Web address) and paste it in the relevant box in Sampark’s Web site. “You will get the translated page, with photos and other images intact,” says Prof Rajeev Sangal, Director of IIIT (Hyderabad), who is leading the team.
The nine institutions have roped in over 120 experts in computer engineering, language, and translators to take up the ‘machine translation’ programme, which is aimed at breaking the language barrier.
The project is broadly divided into two areas. Translation of the four Southern languages into Hindi (vice versa too) and translation of Bangla, Punjabi, Marathi and Urdu into Hindi (and back). Simultanesouly, the consortium is working on direct translations among Telugu-Tamil, Malayalam-Tamil. To begin with, the consortium has put two ‘systems’ Punjabi-Hindi and Urdu-Hindi beta versions live. “By June 2009 end, we will be adding Tamil-Hindi, Marathi-Hindi and Telugu-Hindi to the project,” Prof Sangal says.
How it works
Broadly, the machine translation happens in three phases — the source side, transfer aspects and the target side action. The two important factors in translation are grammar and dictionary. “Languages have many exceptions and idiosynchrosies. These will be addressed effectively,” Prof Sangal says.
On the source side (the text you want to translate), the machine analyses the text sentence by sentence and keeps a representation of the text. The analysis will include morphological analysis, how words are formed. It will check whether the text carries any local phrases. It will search for nouns and parts of speech before going for sentence analysis.
In the second phase (transfer phase), the machine does lexical and grammar transfer. “The grammars of source and target languages may not be similar. This phase would see change of grammatical structure. The later phase would involve target language generation.”
common architecture
The step-by-step process is done on a common architecture. This allows for addition of a new language to the project quite easily. “If you want to add Kashmiri, you need to develop an analyser, generator and add a Kashmiri-Hindi dictionary. These, in fact, are parallel dictionaries,” Prof Sangal says.
“The project, unlike earlier projects, hinges on dictionaries that give meanings based on concepts rather than just meanings,” Prof Uma Maheshwar Rao, who is working on the Telugu-Hindi aspect of the project, says.
Formed by the Union Ministry of Information Technology in 2006, the consortium comprises IITs (Kharagpur and Bombay), Anna University, C-DAC, University of Hyderabad, Tamil University Jadhavpur University, IISC (Bangalore) and IIIT (Allahabad).
Prof Rao, who works at the Centre of Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies at University of Hyderabad, says the Sampark project is more advanced than earlier attempts that sought to offer translation solutions.
The earlier efforts failed to take the meanings of the words contextually. Citing the example of the word ‘bank’, he points out that the earlier efforts would not make out whether it was a bank used in the expression river bank, or a bank that deals with money.
“In the present project, we cross-link words with all the synonyms in the other language. This will help resolve the ambiguity problem, the knottiest one in the translation process,” he explains.
The immediate task of the consortium is to add more servers and more engineering to make the machine faster.
“We are going to add three languages to the system every two months till November,” Prof Sangal says.
He, however, admits that it is not a complete translator. But the beta versions will definitely give a flavour of the meaning in the source language. You can see improvements constantly, he adds.
Machines learn!
Prof Sangal says the machine can learn based on the data you give it. Look at the sentence — The Chair chairs the meeting. How will a machine understand this sentence? The one developed by the consortium, thanks to the conceptual dictionary, would look at the context and tell apart the meaning of the two chairs in the sentence. “Earlier, we used to give rules to the machine to follow. Now, we have algorithms to let the machines learn from this. We have combined artificial intelligence approach with the linguistic process,” he explains.
More to come
Busy finalising modules, the team members continue to set their eyes on long-term goals. “We will continue the long-term research independently and collaboratively. The next stage is to build more robust sentence analysers. They will be able to do translations more correctly. The quality of the output will go up,” he says. Prof Sangal, who has been working on machine translation for the last 25 years, says it is team work that helped the group to give a shape to the machine. “We discussed several issues physically and through mailing groups. We have set up sub groups to address specific issues.”
English to Indian languages
Simultaneously, a different consortium, in which IIIT-H is also a member, is working on translations from English to several Indian languages and back. C-DAC (Pune) is leading the consortium. The researchers take a different approach.
Unlike popular belief, English is a difficult language for the machine to understand. “Unlike Indian languages, there is a high degree of ambiguity. When a machine analyses, it has to do disambiguation, which is a difficult process,” Prof Sangal says. The research team is almost ready with the English-Hindi version, which is in test mode. At a later stage, these two different projects could technically work in tandem and offer users a better translation experience.
kurmanath@thehindu. co.in
http://www.business line.in/cgi- bin/print. pl?file=20090518 50070300. htm&date=2009/05/ 18/&prd=ew&

India enters supercomputing race

2008-11-08T05:26:00.000-08:00

A year old news , but nevertheless something that makes us proud.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7092339.stm
Ayush
A computer system designed in India has made it into a top ten of the world's fastest supercomputers.
Computer giant IBM continues to dominate the list - which is compiled twice a year - with a total of 232 out of the top 500 supercomputers.
Its Blue Gene/L supercomputer - used to ensure the US nuclear weapons stockpile remains safe and reliable - comes out at number one.
The Indian system - known as EKA - made it into fourth place.
The world's fastest supercomputer - BlueGene/L - has been significantly upgraded in the last six months.
It can now deliver a sustained performance of 478 trillion calculations per second (478 teraflops), nearly three times faster than any other machine on the list.
Petaflop barrier
TOP FIVE SUPERCOMPUTERS
IBM's BlueGene/L - 478 teraflops
IBM's BlueGene/P - 167.3 teraflops
SGI Altix ICE 8200 - 126.9 teraflops
HP Cluster Platform 3000 BL460c (EKA) - 117.9 teraflops
HP Cluster Platform 3000 BL460c - 102.8 teraflops
Second place went to another IBM system - a newer version of BlueGene/L known as BlueGene/P. The system, introduced this June is the first in a batch of IBM machines designed to operate at a petaflop and beyond.
Breaking the petaflop barrier - the ability to process 1,000 trillion calculations every second - has long been a key milestone in supercomputing and would allow highly detailed simulations.
For example in earthquake simulations it could show building-by-building movements of regions in earthquake zones, improving future structural designs.
India has also entered the exclusive list for the first time with a Hewlett-Packard designed system that has a performance of 117.9 teraflops.
Codenamed EKA - Sanskrit for number one - it is installed at the Computational Research Laboratories in Pune.
The system will be initially targeted at developing applications such as neural, molecular and crash simulations, and digital media animation and rendering.
"The supercomputer system will have a direct effect on the lives of Indians, espcially in areas such as earthquake and Tsunami modelling, modellings of the economy and potential for drug design," said Mr S. Ramadorai, chairman of the Computational Research Laboratories, which is a subsidiary of Indian firm Tata.
The next step for the system is to put more applications on it.
"While the ranking is important the more important thing is to keep on improving performance and applications," said Mr Ramadorai.
Third place on the top 500 list went to a new supercomputing centre based in New Mexico.
Fifth place went to another Hewlett-Packard system installed at a Swedish government agency

Indian-origin mathematician honoured

2008-05-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

Posted May 29th, 2008 by rkm

SYDNEY:Nalini Joshi, an Australian of Indian origin, has become only the third woman inmathematics to be elected to the prestigious Australian Academy of Sciences(AAS), founded in 1954 by Australian Fellows of the Royal Society ofLondon.Joshi, head of the School ofMathematics and Statistics at the University of Sydney, was made a fellow of AASin recognition of her life-long achievements in the field ofmathematics.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indians_Abroad/Indian-origin_mathematician_honoured/articleshow/3080938.cms

As Jaipur bleeds, volunteers apply much-needed balm

2008-05-18T22:12:00.000-07:00

Source: TIMES OF INDIA

As Jaipur bleeds, volunteers apply much-needed balm

16 May 2008, 0312 hrs IST,Avijit Ghosh,TNN

JAIPUR: Calamity often brings out the best in humans. And the Tuesday serial blasts in Jaipur was no exception. From sewadaars of Dera Sacha Sauda to RSS swayamsevaks, from Muslim youths of Pathan Chowk to Nirankaris, not to forget corporate houses and co-operative groups, everyone has set up their tents and stalls outside the city's Sawai Man Singh hospital where a majority of the blast victims are undergoing treatment. Donating blood, working as hospital's unofficial fourth-grade employees, ensuring relief money reaches the right people, offering free food, medicine and telephone services â€” they are doing it all.

Dera Sacha's sevadars arrived with 30-odd members within an hour of the blast, says Kulbhushan, among the the organisation' s senior volunteers. By morning, the number of volunteers dressed in their cream and green uniform had swelled to 350. "So far we have donated 132 units of blood. We are ready to donate more units but the doctors say there is no more requirement, " he says. They plan to hang around for a couple of days more in case of an emergency.

The blast also prompted a group of Muslim youths who call themselves Pathan Chowk Vikas Samiti into action. Shahid Khan, an advocate and the group's leader, says that the decision to help the blast victims was carried out with rapidfire immediacy. "We not only helped lift the dead but also carried the injured to the hospital. Thirty of our members have donated blood," he says. Now, says Murad Baig from another youth group in the Amagarh area, their efforts are to ensure that the injured and the relatives of the dead get prompt relief. He says there is no competition, only co-operation, among the different groups.

"We have also been co-operating with the RSS volunteers and they with us," says Baig. Relatives of injured are happy with the work done by RSS volunteers who are prominently visible in their khaki shorts. "They have been almost working as ward boys," says Manoj Chhipa, whose father was injured in the blast. Even the Nirankaris of Jaipur have joined relief work in a big way. They have opened a 24-hour langar and donated 150 units of blood. Like the RSS volunteers, they also have sewa dal members who are acting as parallel fourth-grade staff. "We have the phone numbers of 647 volunteers with us. We have their blood group with us. We are ready to provide help at a moment's notice," says Satish Khurana of Sant Nirankari Mandal. That apart even a couple of mobile phone companies have set up their help vans where free calls can be made. Small organisations such as Seva Bharti, Jaipur and Shri Agarwal Vaishya Samaj Samiti have provided free services. Even Rajasthan Co-operative Consumer Federation has, as its assistant manager O P Verma puts it, come up with "a human response." The organisation is providing free medicine to every injured victim. So far, 16 have availed the facility.

PSLV-C9 blasts off from Sriharikota

2008-05-05T02:31:00.000-07:00

PSLV-C9 blasts off from Sriharikota

28 Apr 2008, 0935 hrs IST,INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK & AGENCIES

SRIHARIKOTA: India's PSLV-C9 blasted off into space, carrying ten satellites including the country's latest remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2A, from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre here on Monday.

Scientists cheered as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its thirteenth flight, soared into the clear sky in a perfect lift off at 9.23 am from the second launch pad.

Besides the 690 kg CARTOSAT-2A, the PSLV is also carrying ISRO's Indian Mini Satellite-1 (IMS-1), weighing 83kg, and eight nano satellites built by universities and research institutes in Canada and Germany.

While the CARTOSAT-2A, carrying state-of-the-art panchromatic camera (PAN), will be used for mapping purposes and management of natural resources, the IMS-1 will be used as a platform for trying out advanced technology in future launches.

Initiative by priest for Rama Navami celebrations

2008-04-15T04:58:00.000-07:00

Namaste

A sankalpa karyakram was held at Sri Sainagar Weaker Section Society on Ugadi by the assistant priest of Raamalayam, Sri Srinadh who is also a swayamsevak. Twenty Two (22) families of the basti vowed to recite the japa "Sri Rama Jaya Rama Jaya Jaya Rama" 21 times everyday and lay off from liquor and meat during the 9 days ( Navaratri). They also put some rice grains aside every day which was then collected and used as "talambraalu" during the Seeta Rama Kalyanam during Sri Rama Navami

On Rama Navami day, the women of the basti came to the temple singing bhajans and then participated in the kalyana utsav.The initiative was taken by the families of Guru Gobind Prabhat Shaka, Saidabad, Bhagyanagar.

dhanyavaad
Ayush

Bringing light to needy students

2008-04-02T00:47:00.000-07:00

Bringing light to needy students
Wednesday April 2 2008 09:08 IST

P S Dileep

TUNIVALASA: Reddipalle Jagadish is just one among thousands of government teachers working in rural schools across the State.

There is nothing out of the ordinary about his duties at the Mandal Parishad Elementary School in Tunivalasa of Padmanabham mandal, about 15 km from Vizianagaram. But what makes him truly stand out is that since his appointment as a secondary grade teacher (SGT) in 2003, he has been doing whatever he can to make a difference to the lives of his students and has helped 45 indigent ones continue their education beyond Class X.

“I had seen many friends drop out of school and college due to financial problems. They ended up working in small jobs for paltry amounts only because they hadn’t the means to study further,” says the 27-year-old youth.

Jagadish spends about Rs 30,000 (nearly 50 per cent of his annual income) to sponsor students every year. Currently, he is helping 10 boys through Inter, four to complete graduation and a visually-impaired student B Ed.

“I am single. My family does not require my income. I keep some for my expenses and the rest is for helping the poor,” he says.

Many junior colleges in Vizianagaram who are familiar with Jagadish’s efforts get into the spirit of things by waiving the fee - in part or in two - while Jagadish takes care of the books and other expenses.

“Some friends too chip in. I hope to see these students go on to help others in need,” he says.

“Helping others is not a matter of capability, but rather that of commitment and determination,” observes Jagadish. And determination is a quality he has in ample measure.

It is proved by the fact that his own visual impairment has not come in the way of his lighting the path for others - and lightening their difficulties.

http://newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEA20080401224642&Title=Southern+News+%2D+

Andhra+Pradesh&rLink=0

We do not want Sarabjit in exchange for terrorists: wife

2008-03-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.hindu. com/2008/ 03/20/stories/ 2008032060470100 .htm

Amritsar: In a bold statement on Wednesday, the wife of Sarabjit Singh said the family did not want him repatriated from Pakistan if it meant India releasing some terrorists in exchange.

"Myself and my daughters would never like Sarabjit freed in exchange for any hardcore Pakistani terrorist lodged in Indian jails," Sarabjit's wife, Sukhpreet Kaur, told PTI.

Ms. Kaur said that for the family, "nothing is above the nation and we can't go against the interests of our motherland."

Sister's visit

She said the family was informed by journalists that Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur would be going to Pakistan and the government had assured her a passport and visa.

"I would urge the government to give me and my daughters travel documents for visiting Sarabjit in the Kot Lakhpat Jail," she added. - PTI

Setting Standards through Community Binding

2008-03-19T03:29:00.000-07:00

An oasis of abstinence
Author: Shyamlal Yadav ; Publication: India Today; Dated: March 13, 2008

As far as villages and Indian values go, Miragpur in Uttar Pradesh stands out as an examplary model of social conduct. Not only do people here keep away from tobacco, liquor and non-vegetarian food, they also do not consume cabbage, garlic and onion. This is a tradition they have been following for over 400 years- since the seventeenth century. Even the hukka, synonymous with north Indian villages, is frowned upon here.

Located near Deoband of Saharanpur, around 120 km from Delhi, Miragpur has a population of around 10,000. The village is proud that only two shopkeepers,out of a dozen, sell bidis and cigarettes.

Says Rajpal, a shopkeeper: "Only two shops have started storing bidi and cigarettes and that too for labourers from other states." According to the villagers, the unique tradition started in 1610 AD when mendicant Baba Faqira Das settled down here. The villagers, who still recall his saying,
"Jovan, dhan, jal nadi ka aur megha ki chhaon; kahe faqira sthir nahi, jaise jal par nao," (Youth, wealth, river water and the shade of clouds are not constant, like a boat on water), have built an ashram in his memory and offer prayers twice a day.

This is a tradition that is followed religiously. Says, village pradhan Karan Pal, "Once our daughters marry, they are free to decide whether they want to follow these traditions, but it is mandatory for our daughters-in- law to follow these once they step into the village." A fair, held in the first week of March every year, brings together their relatives from far flung places across the country.

The village which is located on the bank of river Kali is dominated by Gujjars but has a significant number of other castes-Valmiki, carpenters, Brahmins and Dheemars-as well.

The villagers are steadfast about their beliefs. Says Ompal Singh, a villager, "We do not let off the violators. Sometimes we punish them and at other times our guruji punishes them."

But they are not usually harsh on violators as they believe their guruji will take care of that. They say some families were wiped out due to unnatural deaths when they did not follow the tradition. The Gujjars strictly enforce prohibition and other restrictions amongst their community but allow other castes to take their own stand.

Ompal adds: "Though it is voluntary among other castes but they also follow these usually." But it is remarkable that the village, located in one of the richest farming areas, does not need either a campaigner or an activist minister to rid them of smoking and alcohol.

Heart Surgery - Free of cost

2008-02-28T20:44:00.001-08:00

I received this message from one of my friends.

For any kind of heart surgery free of cost ....
Contact : Sri Sathya Sai Institute Higher Medical Sciences, E.P.I.P. Area, WhiteField, Bangalore
Write to us
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences
EPIP Area, Whitefield,
Bangalore 560 066,
Karnataka, INDIA.
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Telephone: +91- 080- 28411500
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Employment related +91- 080- 28411500 Ext. 415
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General Queries: adminblr@sssihms.org.in

Bana Singh : a hero of our times

2008-02-20T22:58:00.000-08:00

Bana Singh : a hero of our times

Bana Singh was born on 6 January 1949 and now lives in R.S.Pura near Jammu. He joined Indian Army's Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (JAK LI) on 6 January 1969 After training at the High Altitude Training School along with his battalion at Gulmarg, he was posted in Siachen in April 1987. Pakistan had already occupied a vantage point called Quaid Post named after Mohammad Ali Jinnah. This is the most important and highest post in the area. From the top of this post the
entire Saltoro range is visible, including other posts like the Amar and Sonam which get food and other materials by Indian helicopters. On April 18, 1987, the Pakistan army at Quaid post began
firing at the Indian troops. A Junior commissioned Officer and five soldiers were killed at Sonam. It became necessary to gain control over the post for the safety of the men and supporting helicopters. It was therefore decided to recapture Quaid Post.
On 26th June 1987, Bana Singh got the green light to lead his platoon up the 90° slope with iced walls, after two previous attempts failed with heavy casualties. This is how he remembers it:
"Though it was day time, because of the heavy snowing we could not say if it was day or night. The Pakistanis must have been knowing that something was going on because our troops were firing at them from the base camp (to divert their attention). When we reached the top, there was a single bunker. We had been trained for such a fight. I threw a grenade inside and closed the door. At the end, a total of six Pakistanis were killed. We brought back their bodies which were later handed over to the Pakistanis authorities during a flag meeting in Kargil. Some must
have escaped towards the Pakistani side, perhaps over the cliff. I think that I have bayoneted three or four persons, I don't remember now."

For this act of valor Bana Singh was awarded Param Vir Chakra.and was presented the Param Vir Chakra on January 26 1988.The Quaid Post was renamed as Bana Post after its liberation by Bana Singh. Today some twenty years after liberating Quiad Post and earning a PVC, Bana Singh
is sad man, because of the indifferent attitude of the J&K government who pays him paltry Rs 166 per month whereas neighboring state of Panjab, HP and Haryana pay much higher amounts to PVC winners. (in Punjab a PVC winner gets Rs 12,500 every month, in Haryana it is Rs
10,400 and in Himachal Pradesh it is Rs 10,000).
How can a nation retain its independence if it does not reward its defenders suitably? Does it behove a great country like India to treat one of its greatest present day heroes, one of the
three living PVC recipients, so shabbily? This is why we have decided to bestow our
first Shivaji-FACT award of Courage to Captain Bana Singh and are trying to raise money to hand him over as well a substantial prize money. the Shivaji-FACT award of Courage, which will be handed over by HH Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on 12th March 2008 in Mumbai on the occasion of the opening of the Shivaji exhibition (see below), " A Hero for Modern India".

François Gautier
SHIVAJI EXHIBITION
Venue P.L. Deshpande, Maharashtra Kala Academy, Prabhadevi, Mumbai
Date 12th March 2008.
Time: 4.30 pm.
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
4.30 pm - Arrival of Chief Guests His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Chief Minister Gujarat Shri Narendra Modiji, Shri Uddhav Thackerayji, Shri Gopinath Mundeji
4.40pm – His Holiness chants a mantra at the venue
4.45pm – His Holiness and Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modiji, Shri Uddhav Thackerayji and Shri Gopinath Mundeji light the lamp in turns to inaugurate the exhibition
4.45 to 5.00pm - the Chief guests view the exhibition.
5.00pm - Chief guests proceed to auditorium
5.05pm - Vande Mataram
5.10pm – Francois Gautier gives the welcome address
5.15pm- Film 'Heros of Kargil' to be screened
5.20 pm- All the Chief guests are requested to sit on the stage.
5.25pm- Shri Gopinath Munde will address the audience.
5.35pm – Shri Uddhav Thackerayji will address the audience
5.55pm- Hon Chief Minister Gujarat Shri Narendra Modiji will address
the audience. Topic " Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj- a Hero for Modern India"
6.10pm - His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji will address the audience
Session will end with a guided meditation by His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji

Foot soldiers of Jaipur

2008-02-19T23:33:00.001-08:00

Foot soldiers of Jaipur
Author: Rohit Parihar
Publication: India Today
Date: February 25, 2008
URL:
http://indiatoday. digitaltoday. in/index. php?option= com_content& Itemid=1& task=view& id=4605&sectioni d=24&issueid= 41&latn=2

Introduction: An organization working for the handicapped takes the
science of artificial limbs forward

It is probably the only city in the world to have lent its name to a
prosthetic, but now limbs other than foot-like a Jaipur knee or
wheelchair-may soon be associated with the pink city.

The leader of the team that invented the Jaipur foot, Dr P.K. Sethi,
died recently but the organisation which helped make it a reality, the
Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti, is still working to take this
legacy forward.

The Samiti, founded in 1975 by retired IAS officer D.R. Mehta runs
institutes in its endeavour to provide low-cost limbs and tools to the
physically challenged.

In January, Steve Goldband, director of private sector initiatives,
Centre on Longevity, Stanford University, US, visited the Samiti to
assess its functioning. Also on the agenda was development of low-cost
above-knee limb replacement. "Our major challenge is to create a cheaper
version of an above-knee limb," says Goldband.

Work on this project is proceeding at a brisk pace. The needy will be
identified in Jaipur through video conferencing and trials of the
prototype will take place here. "It may turn out to be as revolutionary
as the invention of the Jaipur foot," says Mehta.

In what could be a major diversification project for the Samiti,
production of low-cost, high quality wheelchairs is also set to begin
soon in collaboration with Whirlwind Wheelchair International, US, a
non-profit organisation.

The initial numbers to be produced, within a year if everything goes on
schedule, are slated to be 500 chairs a month. The Samiti will donate
150 chairs to Iraq through the Joint Iraqi Development and Unity
Foundation which provides chairs for exports.

At present the Samiti procures and donates 100 wheelchairs every month.
Mehta says last year the organisation donated 20,000 limbs compared to
8,800 by an international agency like the Red Cross.

Besides providing the Jaipur foot and wheelchairs, the Samiti caters to
the needs of the handicapped by giving them calipers and hearing aids
also.

As the number of the Samiti's beneficiaries crosses a million mark, a
retired Mehta-who also headed the Securities and Exchange Board of
India- has reason to smile. Having been conferred the Padma Vibhushan on
Republic Day this year, Mehta says "it is crucial for us to move ahead
and tie up with the best in the world to improve upon technology."

He nearly lost a limb in an accident in Jaisalmer decades ago. But that
miraculous escape seems to have become a source of inspiration for him
to do the same for others.

Mystery Factor Gives Ganges a Clean Reputation

2008-02-18T23:07:00.001-08:00

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17134270

DELHI, INDIA, FEBRUARY 17, 2008: Hindus have always believed that water from India's Ganges River has extraordinary powers. The Indian emperor Akbar called it the "water of immortality" and always traveled with a supply. The British East India Co. used only Ganges water on its ships during the three-month journey back to England, because it stayed "sweet and fresh."

Indians have always claimed it prevents diseases, but are the claims wives' tales or do they have scientific substance?

Independent producer Julian Crandall Hollick searched for the "mysterious X factor" that gives Ganges water its mythical reputation.

He starts his investigation looking for the water's special properties at the river's source in the Himalayas. There, wild plants, radioactive rocks, and unusually cold, fast-running water combine to form the river. But since 1854, almost all of the Ganges' water has been siphoned off for irrigation as it leaves the Himalayas.

Hollick speaks with DS Bhargava, a retired professor of hydrology, who has spent a lifetime performing experiments up and down Ganges in the plains of India. In most rivers, Bhargava says, organic material usually exhausts a river's available oxygen and starts putrefying. But in the Ganges, an unknown substance acts on organic materials and bacteria and kills them. Bhargava says that the Ganges' self-purifying quality leads to oxygen levels higher than any other river in the world.

The best answer for the Ganges' mysterious substance may come from Jay Ramachandran, a molecular biologist and entrepreneur in Bangalore. In a short science lesson, Ramachandran explains that benign microorganisms fight the harmful bacteria found in the water. But even the scholar can't, however, explain why the river alone has this extraordinary ability to retain oxygen.

Jagannath temple in Gaya takes a step forward

2008-02-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

http://www.thaindia n.com/newsportal /india-news/ jagannath- temple-in- gaya-has- a-low-caste- priest_10017603. html

Jagannath temple in Gaya has a low caste priest

February 14th, 2008 - 6:29 pm ICT by admin - Email This Post
Gaya, Feb 14 (ANI): Jagannath temple in Bihar took a bold initiative
by anointing a low-caste to perform temple rituals, considered a
strict prerogative of the Brahmins.

In a path-breaking reconciliatory gesture, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS) Chief K.S. Sudarshan graced the ceremony kicking off the
renovation of the temple under the guidance of the new head priest
Deepak Das, a low-caste person.

"We are all children of god. Nobody is a low-caste (dalit). That is
the reason why the word dalit is not mentioned in our Constitution, "
said Sudarshan.

Buddhist monks from the Mahabodhi temple, who attended the ceremony,
said the move would go a long way in the betterment of the Hindu
society.

"It is done as an experiment. I think if it is continued, it will lead
to the betterment of the society," said Pragyadeep, General Secretary
of the All-India Monks Union.
At present, non-Brahmin priests perform rituals in just a few temples
of certain sects.

In 2002, the Supreme Court had ruled that members of the so-called
dalit could also be appointed as priests in temples as long as they
were qualified to conduct the rituals. (ANI)

Doctor's initiative saves thousands of patients

2008-02-06T23:23:00.000-08:00

Pathologist Dr. Himmatrao Bhavaskar hails from Jalna, Maharashtra (Bharat). He worked in Bhiwandi near Mumbai, where 30 % deaths were caused by scorpion bite. He discovered that the PRAZOSIN tablet available in medical stores is a cure. He saved many with this tablet. He used to sleep in the night outside his house in Mahad under a net so that patients were not sent back. His workload increased. He traveled from village to village explaining the treatment to doctors, treated more than 4,000 patients and brought down deaths due to scorpion bite to less than 2%. In 1986, in a single month, 65 patients survived. It was published in LANCET, the renowned medical journal. Prazosin is used today on scorpion bites and snake bites. Countries like Israel, Peru and Brazil use it.

From an interview of the doctor in FROZEN THOUGHT, April, 2007.

NOVEL WAY OF PONGAL CELEBRATIONS

2008-02-04T23:11:00.000-08:00

NOVEL WAY OF PONGAL CELEBRATIONS

Dharmapuri, (VSK) --
Jan 2008
Swayamsevaks of Kurinjipuram village in Dharmapuri district (Tamilnadu) celebrated the Makar Sankranti (Pongal) this year in a novel way. They gathered the youngsters of the village and explained to them the harm done to human beings and the cattle by plastic bags and other wastes. It was rightly understood by the villagers and they immediately swung into action. With the guidence and support of Swayamsevaks numbering 21, the entire village was completly rid of plastic waste. The celebration of Sankranthi thus got tuned to a neighbourhood cause. A couple of villages nearby quickly followed the example and became plastic-free

Samskrita Bharati and TTD - Initiatives for propagating Samskrit

2008-01-31T21:42:00.000-08:00

At Bal Mandir, an orphanage run by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (in Andhra Pradesh, Bharat), no child is an orphan; every child has the initials `SV' added to its name. For example, `S.V.Ramudu'. Incidentally, SV stands for Lord Sri Venkateswara of Tirupati. Shri. Mukteswara Rao, Joint Collector of Hyderabad, shared this heartening information with senior Samskrita Bharati functionaries at Hyderabad (formerly known as Bhagyanagaram) on March 17, 2007. He was present at the inaugural of the two day `Akhil Bharatiya Upavesanam' (annual all Bharat meet) of Samskrita Bharati. He reminisced how how 400 chidren of Harijan community once recited Samskrit shlokas soulfully at the altar of Tirupati Venkateswara. He described the work of Samskrita Bharati in taking Samskritam – "that is a unifying force" – to all sections of society as an "extremely great service". As part of of its growth in all the 32 provinces of Bharat, Samskrita Bharati recorded a phenomenal 350 % increase in the number of Shibhirams (10 day spoken Samskritam course). These 12,500 Shibhirams were conducted during the Shri. Guruji Golwalkar Centenary Year (February 2006 - February 2007), as per the provincial reports. Remarkable was the visit of Shri. Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, to one of those Shibhirams in Akola, Vidharbha province (Maharashtra, Bharat). Prakashji was "greatly impressed by the work of Samskrita Bharati", the Vidarbha karyakartha said. Nearly 700 of these Shibhirams were held in Harijan localities, according to Samskrita Bharati.

Synthesis of scientific knowledge and agriculture yields results

2008-01-25T04:54:00.001-08:00

Though I feel that BT cotton could get him into problem in the long run, it is a great initiative by Venugopal.

Engineer spurns dollars, strikes white gold
Friday January 25 2008 02:59 IST

S Nagaraja Rao

PRODDATUR: Who could have imagined a young engineer striking it rich in farming at a time when others of his kind are frantically chasing dollar dreams?

K Venugopal Reddy, Best Farmer awardee, from Rajupalem mandal in Proddatur, just smiles away the query.

Growing cotton is a risky venture but by adopting modern pre and post-harvest practices and following the advice of scientists, Reddy has realised 13 quintals of cotton per acre that won him the award from the State Government.

A mechanical engineer by education, Reddy toiled hard for years raising the risky cotton crop, also known as White Gold. The engineer-turned-agriculturist adopts modern harvesting and management practices.

He has raised cotton in a 15-acre plot out of his 20-acre holdings. In the remaining five acres, he has raised other crops.

“I cultivated three varieties of BT Cotton of which Mico Nikanj and Krushidan have given good yield. I produced 13 quintals of cotton per acre.

It’s possible if we follow the advice of agricultural scientists and officials. Investment was less and the yield, much better,” he explains.

Recognising his hard work, the State Government has conferred the Adarsa Rythu award on him at the district level. Kadapa Mayor Ravindranath Reddy gave away the award during the recent Sankranthi Sambaralu.

“Even though I did a course in mechanical engineering, I have always been interested in agriculture and wanted to convert our fields into money spinners. I am happy and proud that my efforts are bearing fruit,” Venugopal Reddy says

http://newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEA20080124163733&Page=A&Title
=Southern+News+%2D+Andhra+Pradesh&Topic=0

PSLV successfully puts the Israeli satellite Tecsar into orbit.

2008-01-22T20:39:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, we would take the help of foreign countries to put our satellites up into orbit. It is a matter of pride that our scientists at ISRO have now not only made us self-reliant but also put us up in the global map of successful service providers for satellite launching.

Ayush

http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/22/stories/2008012250280100.htm

Photo courtesy: ISRO

ON A MISSION: The PSLV-C10 lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Monday. —

CHENNAI: On a cloudy day when the mist hung heavily in the air, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C10, successfully put the Israeli satellite Tecsar into orbit. It was a textbook launch with the “core-alone” configuration of the PSLV lifting off on time from the first launch pad at Sriharikota at 9.15 a.m. on Monday and injecting Tecsar into its precise orbit 19 minutes and 45 seconds after the lift-off. Tecsar, weighing 300 kg, is a remote-sensing satellite that can take pictures of the earth 365 days of the year, 24 hours of the day, through rain, clouds, day and night. It has a one-metre resolution. It was earlier known as Polaris.

It was a smooth countdown without any hiccup. At the appointed time of 9.15 a.m., the PSLV-C10 rose from the launch pad, built up momentum, and knifed into the sky with a reverberating roar. It was visible for a few seconds as it sped into a bit of a clear sky, then disappeared and became visible to be sheathed by the clouds again. The four stages of the PSLV-C10 ignited on time and jettisoned immaculately. Finally, the fourth stage put Tecsar into orbit. This was the 11th successful launch in a row for the trusty PSLV.

Contrary to custom, reporters and photographers were barred from entering the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota to cover the event. Israel reportedly wanted the launch kept under wraps.

The launch was executed under a commercial contract between the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), to which belongs Tecsar, and the Antrix Corporation, marketing agency of the Department of Space. Antrix has received a handsome amount from the IAI for launching the satellite. Satellite builders from Israel were present at Sriharikota.

G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, told The Hindu at Sriharikota: “It was an absolutely perfect launch. Whatever we planned, we achieved on the dot. The satellite was injected into the desired orbit.”

Top ISRO rocket engineers said it was “one of the very best launches” of the PSLV. They called it “an excellent performance with a perfect injection of the satellite into orbit” with an apogee 580 km and a perigee of 450 km. The injection was done by the PSLV core-alone in which the six strap-on booster motors are removed.

Scientists, pundits, converge on Vedic Science

2008-01-20T23:32:00.000-08:00

Scientists, pundits, converge on Vedic Science
( Ashok B. Sharma )

Visakhapatnam, January 6:

Scientists and pundits were of the view that essence of scientific truth in ancient Vedic and post-vedic Sanskrit literature was still relevant in modern times. Particularly the prescriptions of life style away from today's consumerism and deep insight into reality can be of help to the society.

The vacuum state described in quantum physics can be compared to the Brahman of Hindu metaphysics. This was for the first time in the history of the Indian Science Congress that vedic science got recognition and two successive plenary sessions were held on the issue on Sunday. The plenary session on Vedic Science was chaired by the Chancellor of the Tirupati-based Rashtriya Sanskrit University, VR Panchamukhi. The other plenary session on Brahman of Physics: Interface Between Physics and Vedanta, was chaired by SS Rama Rao Pappu of Miami University, US.

An exclusive exhibition was arranged to display scientific insight of Vedic rishis and scholars. Panchamukhi spoke about the essence of social sciences like economics, law, political science found in ancient texts. PV Arunachalam from Triupati highlighted the simple formulae of calculation in Vedic mathematics developed by the former Puri Shankaracharya, Swami Bharatiya Krishna Tirth from Atharva Veda mantras. However, VLS Bhimasankaram of Osmania University was of the view that the scientific knowledge contained in many Sanskrit
texts cannot to termed as Vedic, as these literatures were written in post-Vedic periods.

The keynote speaker of the second plenary session, ECG Sudarshan of the University of Texas said, "Physics deals with existence and change. As per quantum physics, an observer is an active agent in the process of change, while as per Adwaita Vedanta philosophy, he can be the presiding intelligence, ie. the Brahman of Physics." Sudarshan, who is a professor in Physics, is also reputed for discussing the relevance of Adwaita Vedanta philosophy in the West. He had been awarded Padma Vibhushan.

P Venugopal Rao from the US-based Emory University said: "the vacuum state described in quantum physics is nothing but Brahman of Hindu metaphysics. "

SS Rama Rao Pappu of US-based Miami University said, "Newtonian physics is similar to the Hindu Sankhya philosophy."

BD Nageswar Rao of Indiana University said: "the biological molecules cannot be explained without the help of bio-physics. In physics there are four force fields - ultimate substratum - namely gravitational field, electromagnetic field, weak interaction field and strong interaction field.

Nano technology not new to Indians - Robert Curl

2008-01-16T22:26:00.000-08:00

HYDERABAD: Nanotechnology might be of raging interestto scientists world-over now. But Indians had usednano materials in the 16th century “unwittingly” andenabled Arab blacksmiths in making “Damascus steelsword” which was stronger and sharper.

Delivering a talk on ‘The contributions of elementalcarbon to the development of nano science andtechnology’ at the Indian Institute of ChemicalTechnology (IICT) here on Monday and while interactingwith the media, Nobel laureate Robert F. Curl saidthat carbon nanotechnology was much older than carbonnano science.For the Damascus sword, Indians produced the rawmaterial -- mined iron ore and exported it. He saidthat up to the middle of 18th century, the steelswords depended on this particular material and whenthe mines in India stopped, “they lost thetechnology.” The Damascus sword when subjected toscrutiny by an electron microscope in 2006 had shownto contain large amounts of nanotubes.Similarly, glass materials produced in the Roman timehad nano materials. He said the glass was covered withnano particles of gold and silver. He said the peoplewere using such materials without understanding whatthey were doing for a long time.Prof. Curl shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996for discovery of fullerenes along with Richard Smalleyand Harold Kroto.

Replying to a question about the use of nano materialsin facial creams, he wondered whether they made anydifference. Asked whether he approved of their use, hereplied that he did not approve of using chemicalswhich were not thoroughly evaluated. “I feel with newmaterials, you have to be careful.” Asked about thediscovery of fullerenes, he said “this was all a luckyaccident.”

Prof. Curl was later given the ‘Lifetime AchievementAward in Science’ instituted by B.M. Birla ScienceCentre. Nirmala Birla, president of the sciencecentre, presented the award. The Nobel Laureate gaveaway B.M. Birla Science prizes to six young scientistsin the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Biology andMathematics.Dr. Krishna Dronamraju, President, Foundation forGenetic Research, also spoke.

http://www.thehindu .com/2008/ 01/01/stories/ 2008010155200600 .htm

New institute for Ramayana studies

2008-01-15T02:14:00.000-08:00

New institute for Ramayana studies 13 Jan 2008, 1103 hrs IST , PTI

NEW DELHI : People across the globe interested in studies on the Ramayana can now look forward to Assam's main city of Guwahati where an institute devoted to research on the epic will come up later this month. "The institute will be solely devoted to research on the Ramayana," noted Assamese litterateur Indira Goswami, in whose residence the institute will be set up, said. "At the beginning two students -- from anywhere in the world -- will be admitted for research work on the epic," Goswami told reporters over phone. The institute will be declared open on January 20. "Assam has a vibrant cultural tradition and the Ramayana and the Mahabharata have linked the state with the rest of the country in a strong way," she said. Goswami had approached the Assam government seeking sponsorship of scholarships for the researchers and the state promised to extend all possible help to her endeavour, she said. "The government's response has been positive," she said. There has also been an attempt to get affiliation of the studies at the institution with the Gauhati University. Goswami, given the Jnanpith Award in 2000, acquired her PhD in 1973 from Gauhati University for her thesis "Comparative Study of Goswami Tulsi Das' Ramcharita Manas and Madhab Kandali's Assamese Ramayana ". The first-ever Ramayana in the modern Indo-Aryan languages is believed to have been written in Assamese in the 14th century by Kandali.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/New_institute_for_Ramayana_studies/articleshow/2696126.cms

Samartha Ramdas Swami - an inspiration

2008-01-15T01:33:00.000-08:00

Had a darshan of Samartha Ramdas Swami’s “Samadhi” which has in the Sajjangarh fort. Ramdas swami remains an inspiration for the technique he developed in infusing Nationalism and Dharmic devotion among ordinary people across the country by his concept of Hanuman temple, a akhaada and a Paathashaala. His emphasis on Rashtra chintana along with spiritual sadhana is more relevant today than it was anytime before.
Ayush

Makara sankranti

2008-01-15T00:44:00.000-08:00

May this Makara Sankranti give us the light and vision to work together for a "Samarasa Bharat".

Ayush