Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Indian engineer builds glaciers to stop warming
By siliconindia news bureau
Wednesday,28 October 2009, 02:44 hrs
New Delhi: A retired Indian engineer, Chewang Norphel, 76, has built 12 new glaciers already and is racing to create five more before he dies, and by then he hopes to train enough new 'icemen' to continue the work he is doing to save the world's 'third icecap' from being transformed into rivers, reports Telegraph.
His race against time is shared by Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister, who called on the region's Himalayan nations, including China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan, to constitute a united front to tackle glacial melting.
The Himalayan glaciers, including Kashmir's Siachen glacier, feed the region's most important rivers, as they irrigate farm lands in Tibet, Nepal and Bangladesh and throughout the Indian subcontinent. The acceleration in glacial melting has been blamed as the reason for the increase in floods that have destroyed homes and crops.
But Chewang Norphel, the "Iceman of Ladakh", believes that he has an answer.
By diverting melt water through a network of pipes into artificial lakes in the shaded side of mountain valleys, Norphel states that he has created new glaciers.
A dam or embankment is built to keep the water in, which freezes at night and remains frozen in the absence of direct sunlight. This water remains frozen until March, when the start of summer melts the new glacier and releases the water into the rivers downside.
His glaciers have been able to each store up to one million cubic feet of ice, which in turn can irrigate 200 hectares of farm land. This can make the difference between crop failure and a bumper crop of more than 1,000 tons of wheat for the farmers.
Norphel says that he has seen the effects of global warming on farmland as snows have become thinner on the ground and ice rivers have melted away.
His work has now been recognized by the Indian government, which has given him 16,000 pounds to build five new glaciers. But time is his enemy, he told The Hindustan Times. "I'm planning to train villagers with instruction CDs that I have made, so that I can pass on the knowledge before I die," he said.
Monday, 21 December 2009
History of the Indian Railways
This train was the first passenger service in India on the Great Indian Peninsular Raiway(G.I.P.R) which is known today as the Central Railway(CR). This line was later extended upto Kalyan
In 1855, the Bombay Baroda & Central India Railway(BB&CI) was formed with a line from Mumbai to Surat. The BB&CI is now known as the Western Railway(WR).
Friday, 18 December 2009
INDIA - FACTS TO KNOW
The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat.
INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga ( Golden Age )
More INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT India
The name `India' is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers 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.
The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).
Chess was invented in India.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
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.
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
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).
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 cowrie 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.
The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh.
Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
India has the most post offices in the world !
The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.
The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.
The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.
Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India. Quadratic equations were used 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 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).
Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )
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.
Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
Did you know ?
India also celebrates the birthday of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President and Vice-President and great statesman, as "Teachers' Day".
Born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, 40 miles to the north-east of Madras, Radhakrishnan grew to become the most famous Indian teacher and philosopher of all times. In his honour, this day is celebrated as Teacher's Day.
He was also the Vice-President of India from 1952-1962. He held the office of the Chancellor, University of Delhi, before taking over as the President of India in May 1962.
"What makes a nation, is the past, what justifies one nation against others is the past", says the noted historian Eric Hobsbawm.
Hence, when talking of a nation, it becomes very imperative that the past should also be talked about. And the past of India is as fascinating and interesting as it is momentous.
Jai Hind !
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Amazing India
Amazing India . . .
The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat. The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers 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.
The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).
Chess was invented in India.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
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.
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
The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
India has the most post offices in the world !
The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.
The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.
The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.
Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )
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.
Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
Born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, 40 miles to the north-east of Madras, Radhakrishnan grew to become the most famous Indian teacher and philosopher of all times. In his honour, this day is celebrated as Teacher's Day.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
IMPORTANT HISTORICAL DATES OF BANGALORE
850 AD 'Bengalooru' appears on Mauryan empire milestone
1015 Chola Empire takes over City
1120 Veera Ballala II calls it 'Benda Kalooru' or 'Town of Boiled Beans' (after a poor woman feeds him beans in the forest)
1537 Kempe Gowda I designs City as it exists today. (Kempe Gowda II builds the 4 towers)
1638 Shahaji Bhonsle (Shivaji's father) captures City for Adil Shah who gifts it to him
1640 Shivaji marries Bangalore girl
1687 Aurangzeb's army captures City
1690 Sells it to the Wodeyars for 3 lakhs!
1759 Wodeyar gifts it to Hyder Ali who builds Lal Bagh
1791 Cornwallis defeats Tipu Sultan but returns City to him
1799 Tipu Sultan dies. City returned to Wodeyar
1800 Bangalore GPO opened
1809 Cantonment established
1812 St. Mark's Cathedral built
1831 British take-over administration
1853 Sunday declared weekly holiday
1859 1st train steams out of City
1864 Sankey builds Cubbon Park
1867 Attara Kacheri built
1887 Bangalore Palace built
1898 The great plague.
1898 The first telephone Rings
1903 1st motorcar pollutes city
1905 India's 1st electric bulb lit in Bangalore City Market
1909 Indian Institute of Science built
1940 1st flight Bangalore/Bombay
1948 Deccan Herald launched
1954 Vidhana Soudha built
DID YOU KNOW........ ......... ...
Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i. e.Kannadigas) .
Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians, 15% Telugites, 11%
Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons
in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
1015 Chola Empire takes over City
1120 Veera Ballala II calls it 'Benda Kalooru' or 'Town of Boiled Beans' (after a poor woman feeds him beans in the forest)
1537 Kempe Gowda I designs City as it exists today. (Kempe Gowda II builds the 4 towers)
1638 Shahaji Bhonsle (Shivaji's father) captures City for Adil Shah who gifts it to him
1640 Shivaji marries Bangalore girl
1687 Aurangzeb's army captures City
1690 Sells it to the Wodeyars for 3 lakhs!
1759 Wodeyar gifts it to Hyder Ali who builds Lal Bagh
1791 Cornwallis defeats Tipu Sultan but returns City to him
1799 Tipu Sultan dies. City returned to Wodeyar
1800 Bangalore GPO opened
1809 Cantonment established
1812 St. Mark's Cathedral built
1831 British take-over administration
1853 Sunday declared weekly holiday
1859 1st train steams out of City
1864 Sankey builds Cubbon Park
1867 Attara Kacheri built
1887 Bangalore Palace built
1898 The great plague.
1898 The first telephone Rings
1903 1st motorcar pollutes city
1905 India's 1st electric bulb lit in Bangalore City Market
1909 Indian Institute of Science built
1940 1st flight Bangalore/Bombay
1948 Deccan Herald launched
1954 Vidhana Soudha built
DID YOU KNOW........ ......... ...
Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i. e.Kannadigas) .
Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians, 15% Telugites, 11%
Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons
in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
Saturday, 22 August 2009
India - Facts
The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat.
INDIA has been called Bharat even in Satya yuga ( Golden Age )
More INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT India
The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers 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.
The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero. Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).
Chess was invented in India.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
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.
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
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).
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 cowrie 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.
The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
India has the most post offices in the world !
The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.
The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
Although modern images & descriptions of India often show poverty, India was one of the richest countries till the time of British in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth and was looking for route to India when he discovered America by mistake.
The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.
The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.
Algebra, trigonometry and calculus also orignated from India. Quadratic equations were used 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 ( i.e 10 to the power of 53 ) with specific names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera: 10*12( 10 to the power of 12 ).
Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )
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.
Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
Any of us Could relate to this...
When???
When gulli-danda and kanche (marbles) were more popular than cricket...
When we always had friends to play aais-paais (I Spy),
chhepan-chhepai and pitthoo anytime ...
When we desperately waited for 'yeh jo hai jindagi'...
When chitrahaar, vikram-baitaal, dada daadi ki kahaniyaan were so fulfilling ...
When there was just one tv in every five houses and
When bisleris were not sold in the trains and we were worrying if papas will get back into the train in time or not when they were getting down at stations to fill up the water bottle...
When we were going to bed by 9.00pm sharp except for the 'yeh jo hai jindagi' day...
When Holis & Diwalis meant mostly hand-made pakwaans and sweets and moms seeking our help while preparing them.
When Maths teachers were not worried of our mummys and papas while slapping/beating us...
When we were exchanging comics and stamps and chacha-chaudaris and billus were our heroes...
When we were in nanihaals every summer and loved flying kites and plucking and eating unripe mangoes and leechis ...
When one movie every Sunday evening on television was more than asked for and 'ek do teen chaar' and 'Rajni' inspired us...
When 50 paisa meant at least 10 toffees...
When left over pages of the last years notebooks were used for rough work or even fair work...
When 'chelpark' and 'natraaj' were encouraged against 'reynolds and family'...
When the first rain meant getting drenched and playing in water and mud and making 'kaagaj ki kishtis'...
When there were no phones to tell friends that we will be at their homes at six in the evening...
When our parents always had 15 paise blue colored 'antardesis' and 5 paise machli wale stamps at home...
When we remembered tens of jokes and were not finding 'ice-cream and papa' type jokes foolish enough to stop us from laughing...
When we were not seeing patakhes on Diwalis and gulaals on Holis as air and noise polluting or allergic agents...
The list can be endless...
On the serious note I would like to summarise with...
When we were using our hearts more than our brains,
even for scientifically brainy activities like 'thinking' and 'deciding' ...
When we were crying and laughing more often, more openly and more sincerily...
When we were enjoying our present more than worrying about our future...
When being emotional was not synonymous to being weak...
When sharing worries and happinesses didnt mean getting vulnerable to the listener...
When blacks and whites were the favourite colors instead of greys...
When journeys also were important and not just the destinations...
When life was a passenger's sleeper giving enough time and opportunity to enjoy the sceneries from its open and transparent glass windows instead of some superfast's second ac with its curtained, closed and dark windows ...
Bharat
The name Bhārat[2] is used for the Republic of India. Bhārata is the official Sanskrit name of the country, Bhārata Gaṇarājya, and the name is derived from the ancient Indian texts, the Puranas, which refers to the land that comprises India as Bharata varsa, and uses this term to distinguish it from other varsas or continents[3]. For example, the Vayu Purana says he who conquers the whole of Bharata-varsa is celebrated as a samraj (Vayu Purana 45, 86).[3]
The Sanskrit word bhārata is a vrddhi derivation of bharata, which was originally an epithet of Agni. The term is a verbal noun of the Sanskrit root bhr-, "to bear / to carry", with a literal meaning of "to be maintained" (of fire). The root bhr is cognate with the English verb to bear and Latin ferō. This term also means "one who is engaged in search for knowledge".
The Bhāratas were Indians mentioned in the Rigveda, notably participating in the Battle of the Ten Kings.
The term Bhārata as a name for India as a whole is derived from the name of Bharata son of Dushyanta, a legendary ruler mentioned in the Mahabhārata (the core portion of which is itself known as Bhārata). The realm of Bharata is known as Bharātavarṣa in the Mahabhārata and later texts. The term varṣa means a division of the earth, or a continent. [1]
From: Vishnu Purana (2.3.1)[2][3]
uttaraṃ yatsamudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇam
varṣaṃ tadbhārataṃ nāma bhāratī yatra santatiḥ
उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।
"The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."
The term in Classical Sanskrit literature is taken to comprise the territory of Republic of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, as well as portions of eastern Afghanistan. This corresponds to the approximate extent of the historical Maurya Empire under emperors Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the Great (4th to 3rd centuries BC). Later political entities unifying approximately the same region are the Mughal Empire (17th century), the Maratha Empire (18th century) , and the British Raj (19th to 20th centuries).
Akhanda Bharata ("undivided Bharat") is a term of Hindu nationalism calling for a re-unification of the region.
From the perspective of the Malayans, Indian traders were the most common ones coming from "the West", therefore the word was absorbed into the Malay language. In the Malay language, "Barat" literally means "West".
The Sanskrit word bhārata is a vrddhi derivation of bharata, which was originally an epithet of Agni. The term is a verbal noun of the Sanskrit root bhr-, "to bear / to carry", with a literal meaning of "to be maintained" (of fire). The root bhr is cognate with the English verb to bear and Latin ferō. This term also means "one who is engaged in search for knowledge".
The Bhāratas were Indians mentioned in the Rigveda, notably participating in the Battle of the Ten Kings.
The term Bhārata as a name for India as a whole is derived from the name of Bharata son of Dushyanta, a legendary ruler mentioned in the Mahabhārata (the core portion of which is itself known as Bhārata). The realm of Bharata is known as Bharātavarṣa in the Mahabhārata and later texts. The term varṣa means a division of the earth, or a continent. [1]
From: Vishnu Purana (2.3.1)[2][3]
uttaraṃ yatsamudrasya himādreścaiva dakṣiṇam
varṣaṃ tadbhārataṃ nāma bhāratī yatra santatiḥ
उत्तरं यत्समुद्रस्य हिमाद्रेश्चैव दक्षिणम् ।
वर्षं तद् भारतं नाम भारती यत्र संततिः ।।
"The country (varṣam) that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bhāratam; there dwell the descendants of Bharata."
The term in Classical Sanskrit literature is taken to comprise the territory of Republic of India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, as well as portions of eastern Afghanistan. This corresponds to the approximate extent of the historical Maurya Empire under emperors Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the Great (4th to 3rd centuries BC). Later political entities unifying approximately the same region are the Mughal Empire (17th century), the Maratha Empire (18th century) , and the British Raj (19th to 20th centuries).
Akhanda Bharata ("undivided Bharat") is a term of Hindu nationalism calling for a re-unification of the region.
From the perspective of the Malayans, Indian traders were the most common ones coming from "the West", therefore the word was absorbed into the Malay language. In the Malay language, "Barat" literally means "West".
Good ol' days
Now children are bored and so are many of the kids we see around. Their life revolves around the TV, the PC and the Game boy.
There were no TVs then and PCs were the stuff of fantasy, but we were never bored. During the summer holidays, those long never ending days in the sun, we never felt the heat, we ran around through the day playing and fighting and shouting and being scolded.
Books were a source of never ending joy then and now and we remember days when we used to hide somewhere to read in peace. Today most of the kids never seem to have the time or patience to read. We in those days were dedicated readers who read any and everything that came to our hand be it Disney comics or sleazy stuff with yellow cellophane covers lol!
Well in those days we would save our money and buy the book long afterwards in a second hand book shop years after its release. And then we and our siblings and parents would fight as to who would read the book first,
Those were good old days we had plenty of time to stand and stare as we stood in line at the ration shop, at the bus stop, at the cloth shop and every other place. ( We friends even stood in line to take a puff from the common cigarette which we the smokers co-operative bought.).
How did one survive growing up in the 80's and 90's?
We had no seatbelts, no airbags..
Cycling was like a breath of fresh air…
No safety helmets, knee pads or elbow pads, with plenty of cardboards between spokes to make it sound like a motorbike…
When thirsty we only drank tap water, bottled water was still a mystery…
We kept busy collecting bits & pieces so we could build all sort of things … and we were fearless on our bicycles even when the brakes failed going downhill…
We were showing off how tough we are, by how high we could climb trees & then jumping down….It was great fun….
We could stay out to play for hours, as long as we got back before dark, in time for dinner…
We walked to school, or sometimes we even rode our bicycle.
We had no mobile phones, but we always managed to find each other…. How?
We lost teeth, broke arms & legs, we got cuts and bruises and bloody noses…. nobody complained as we had so much fun, it wasn't anybody's fault, only ours
We ate everything in sight, cakes, bread, chocolate, ice-cream, sweet sugary drinks, fruits..yet, we stayed skinny by fooling around.
And if one of us was lucky to find a 1 litre coca cola bottle we all had a swig from it & guess what? Nobody picked up any germs...
We did not have Play Stations, MP3, Nintendo's, I-Pods, Video games, 99 Cable TV channels, DVD's, Home Cinema, Home Computers, Laptops, Chat-rooms, Internet, etc ...
BUT, we had REAL FRIENDS!!!!
We called on friends to come out to play, never rang the doorbell, just went around the backdoor…
We played with sticks and stones, played cowboys and Indians, doctors and nurses, hide and seek, soccer games, over and over again…
When we failed our exams we were given a second chance by simply repeating the same grade…without visiting psychiatrists, psychologists or counselors…
Such were the days…
We had freedom, success, disappointments and responsibilities. ..
Most of all, we learned to respect others…
Are YOU from that generation?? If that's the case, email this to all your friends from the same era…
Maybe this message will help them forget the stress that surrounds us these days….and just for a few moments puts a smile to their faces as they remember what life was really like in the good old days……
We used to play as our wish. Every thing is a wonder for us in those days esp regarding technology. Just because of Mahabharat, Jungle book we liked Hindi very much. we still remember Ek se bhadkar ek on saturday nights and Amitabh movies on Friday nights. Just to watch Rangoli, we used to wake up in sunday morning. While watching Ek se bhadkar ek which was sponsored by BPL at that time, we used to think Made in India song by Alisha is their advertisement.
the cartoons that came at 10 on Sunday mornings...
There were no TVs then and PCs were the stuff of fantasy, but we were never bored. During the summer holidays, those long never ending days in the sun, we never felt the heat, we ran around through the day playing and fighting and shouting and being scolded.
Books were a source of never ending joy then and now and we remember days when we used to hide somewhere to read in peace. Today most of the kids never seem to have the time or patience to read. We in those days were dedicated readers who read any and everything that came to our hand be it Disney comics or sleazy stuff with yellow cellophane covers lol!
Well in those days we would save our money and buy the book long afterwards in a second hand book shop years after its release. And then we and our siblings and parents would fight as to who would read the book first,
Those were good old days we had plenty of time to stand and stare as we stood in line at the ration shop, at the bus stop, at the cloth shop and every other place. ( We friends even stood in line to take a puff from the common cigarette which we the smokers co-operative bought.).
How did one survive growing up in the 80's and 90's?
We had no seatbelts, no airbags..
Cycling was like a breath of fresh air…
No safety helmets, knee pads or elbow pads, with plenty of cardboards between spokes to make it sound like a motorbike…
When thirsty we only drank tap water, bottled water was still a mystery…
We kept busy collecting bits & pieces so we could build all sort of things … and we were fearless on our bicycles even when the brakes failed going downhill…
We were showing off how tough we are, by how high we could climb trees & then jumping down….It was great fun….
We could stay out to play for hours, as long as we got back before dark, in time for dinner…
We walked to school, or sometimes we even rode our bicycle.
We had no mobile phones, but we always managed to find each other…. How?
We lost teeth, broke arms & legs, we got cuts and bruises and bloody noses…. nobody complained as we had so much fun, it wasn't anybody's fault, only ours
We ate everything in sight, cakes, bread, chocolate, ice-cream, sweet sugary drinks, fruits..yet, we stayed skinny by fooling around.
And if one of us was lucky to find a 1 litre coca cola bottle we all had a swig from it & guess what? Nobody picked up any germs...
We did not have Play Stations, MP3, Nintendo's, I-Pods, Video games, 99 Cable TV channels, DVD's, Home Cinema, Home Computers, Laptops, Chat-rooms, Internet, etc ...
BUT, we had REAL FRIENDS!!!!
We called on friends to come out to play, never rang the doorbell, just went around the backdoor…
We played with sticks and stones, played cowboys and Indians, doctors and nurses, hide and seek, soccer games, over and over again…
When we failed our exams we were given a second chance by simply repeating the same grade…without visiting psychiatrists, psychologists or counselors…
Such were the days…
We had freedom, success, disappointments and responsibilities. ..
Most of all, we learned to respect others…
Are YOU from that generation?? If that's the case, email this to all your friends from the same era…
Maybe this message will help them forget the stress that surrounds us these days….and just for a few moments puts a smile to their faces as they remember what life was really like in the good old days……
We used to play as our wish. Every thing is a wonder for us in those days esp regarding technology. Just because of Mahabharat, Jungle book we liked Hindi very much. we still remember Ek se bhadkar ek on saturday nights and Amitabh movies on Friday nights. Just to watch Rangoli, we used to wake up in sunday morning. While watching Ek se bhadkar ek which was sponsored by BPL at that time, we used to think Made in India song by Alisha is their advertisement.
the cartoons that came at 10 on Sunday mornings...
Good ol' days of Nostalgia
When we used to come home after playing in the park to watch Giant Robot while mom made the newly introduced Maggi noodles for us.
When watching an English movie meant watching an English adult movie on Doordarshan on Friday night at 11 pm.
When the concept of a daily soap was unheard of and Hum Log, Ye jo hai Zindagi, Buniyaad, Karamchand and Rajni was ruling the roost.
When eating food cooked by mom’s hands was an everyday affair. (*Sigh*)
When Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiya and Mile sur mera tumhara were watched a zillion times and still never bored us.
When a comedy movie meant Jane bhi do yaroon and not Partner.
When bread used to cost 4 Rs and Tata salt 2 Rs.
When we used to sit with our family on Sundays to enjoy the morning programmes. (Mahabharat, Chandrakanta, Jungle bookthe list is endless)
When going to Delhi University didn’t meant going to a fashion show and 20 Rs were more than sufficient to survive for a day in the college.
When the streets were deserted every Sunday for one hour when Mahabharat was aired.
When mobile phones and Gtalk were not in the picture and you have to rush to the nearest PCO to talk to a loved one.
When we used to rent video tapes and borrow a video player from the neighbours to watch Karma and Shahenshah back to back.
When mom used to forcefully put oil in our hair every saturday night despite hues and cries and we had to put an old cloth on the pillow before sleeping so that we won’t spoil the cover
When we used to make a list of 10 songs to be provided to the Alok casette shop so that he can copy those songs in a single cassette which can then be enjoyed in the tape deck.
When buying novels meant going to the Sunday Daryaganj market and buy pirated novels from the roadside after a heated bargaining
When Spiderman and He-Man cartoon series were on the I’ll die if I don’t watch them list.
When despite the warnings, we used to sneak up to the first floor of the double decker bus and moms used to come up then and sit beside us.
When Ambassadors were the most luxurious cars you could buy and we used to crib that there is no variety of cars on Indian roads whenever we watched some English movie.
When a black and white Texla television and two channels were sufficient for entertainment.
When mom always filled two glass bottles of Rasna(mango flavour) and kept them in the refrigerator and we used to grab them as soon as we came back from school.
When living didn’t meant running and we had time to stop and smell the roses.
When watching an English movie meant watching an English adult movie on Doordarshan on Friday night at 11 pm.
When the concept of a daily soap was unheard of and Hum Log, Ye jo hai Zindagi, Buniyaad, Karamchand and Rajni was ruling the roost.
When eating food cooked by mom’s hands was an everyday affair. (*Sigh*)
When Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiya and Mile sur mera tumhara were watched a zillion times and still never bored us.
When a comedy movie meant Jane bhi do yaroon and not Partner.
When bread used to cost 4 Rs and Tata salt 2 Rs.
When we used to sit with our family on Sundays to enjoy the morning programmes. (Mahabharat, Chandrakanta, Jungle bookthe list is endless)
When going to Delhi University didn’t meant going to a fashion show and 20 Rs were more than sufficient to survive for a day in the college.
When the streets were deserted every Sunday for one hour when Mahabharat was aired.
When mobile phones and Gtalk were not in the picture and you have to rush to the nearest PCO to talk to a loved one.
When we used to rent video tapes and borrow a video player from the neighbours to watch Karma and Shahenshah back to back.
When mom used to forcefully put oil in our hair every saturday night despite hues and cries and we had to put an old cloth on the pillow before sleeping so that we won’t spoil the cover
When we used to make a list of 10 songs to be provided to the Alok casette shop so that he can copy those songs in a single cassette which can then be enjoyed in the tape deck.
When buying novels meant going to the Sunday Daryaganj market and buy pirated novels from the roadside after a heated bargaining
When Spiderman and He-Man cartoon series were on the I’ll die if I don’t watch them list.
When despite the warnings, we used to sneak up to the first floor of the double decker bus and moms used to come up then and sit beside us.
When Ambassadors were the most luxurious cars you could buy and we used to crib that there is no variety of cars on Indian roads whenever we watched some English movie.
When a black and white Texla television and two channels were sufficient for entertainment.
When mom always filled two glass bottles of Rasna(mango flavour) and kept them in the refrigerator and we used to grab them as soon as we came back from school.
When living didn’t meant running and we had time to stop and smell the roses.
Talacauvery - A Place of Pilgrimage and Nature
Talacauvery is at the foot of Brahmagiri hills. It is about 44 kms from Madikeri, the district headquarters of Kodagu. The road to Talacauvery passes through zigzag route on either side of which you can see coffee plantations interspersed with pepper and orange crops, paddy fields, banana and cardamom crops. On the way to Talacauvery, we come across another holy place, a small village, called Bhagamandala where Sri Bhagandeshwara temple is situated. According to Skanda Purana, this temple is named after Bhagandamuni who installed a Shivalinga at this site. This is also the place where Agastya Rishi is said to have meditated. The king Dodda Veerarajendra renovated this temple which had been partially damaged in a bitter battle in 1790. On the main door of the temple, ‘V’ in Kannada is found inscribed to indicate that the king Dodda Veerarajendra had renovated it.Bhagamandala is also known for its famous ‘Triveni Sangam’ which is the confluence of three rivers, Cauvery, Kannike and the imaginary (invisible) Sujyothi. Cauvery is called the ‘Ganga of South’ and is one of the seven holy rivers of India, the others being Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada and Sindhu. A dip in the ‘Triveni Sangam’ completes the Hindu ‘shraddha’ (a ritual performed for the deceased parents) rites for the departed soul. It is a common sight to see people from various southern states coming to Bhagamandala for tonsuring of their heads as a part of ‘shraddha’ ritual and taking a dip in the holy sangam.From Bhagamandala, the road to Talacauvery passes through steep hills with sharp curves. (Distance from Bhagamandala to Talacauvery is 8 kms.) Along the way, we encounter a spot called ‘viewpoint’ where one could enjoy the breathtaking view of overlapping hills and valleys. This spot is at a height of 3700’ from the mean sea level.Talacauvery is the place where river Cauvery originates. Here, we see a ‘kundike’ (a perennial water-pot or a tiny pond) which is the source of the river, at the foot of the Brahmagiri hill. Every year, on October 17/18, (on the day of Tula or Kaveri Sankramana) at an auspicious moment, water from this ‘kundike’ gushes forth, and people in lakhs throng this place to witness this event. In front of the ‘kundike’, is a bigger pond where devotees dip their heads in water and move near the ‘kundike’ where a priest pours the sacred water from the ‘kundike’ in a copper tumbler on their heads. Then a puja is performed on behalf of the devotees by the priest to the ‘kundike’ (or Goddess Cauvery).If we climb a few steps from one corner of the ‘kundike’, we can see two small shrines dedicated to Lord Ganapathi and Lord Agasthyeshwara. To the right of these shrines is Brahmagiri Dwara (Gateway to Brahmagiri hill) which leads to Brahmagiri hill. The peak of Brahmagiri hill (three hundred feet from the source of the river) can be reached by devotees by climbing steep stone steps. According to legend, seven sages had meditated at the peak ages ago. One can enjoy the panoramic view of the blue hills, clouds and valleys from this peak. Cool, incessant breeze keeps company of the tourists as they savour the beauty of the distant horizon hugged by layers and layers of hills.Talacauvery is not only a place of pilgrimage but also a popular destination for lovers of nature.
Akrit Jaswal: The Seven Year-Old Surgeon
Akrit Jaswal is a young Indian who has been called "the world's smartest boy" and it's easy to see why. His IQ is 146 and is considered the smartest person his age in India—a country of more than a billion people.Akrit came to public attention when in 2000 he performed his first medical procedure at his family home. He was seven. His patient — a local girl who could not afford a doctor — was eight. Her hand had been burnt in a fire, causing her fingers to close into a tight fist that wouldn't open. Akrit had no formal medical training and no experience of surgery, yet he managed to free her fingers and she was able to use her hand again.He focused his phenomenal intelligence on medicine and at the age of twelve he claimed to be on the verge of discovering a cure for cancer. He is now studying for a science degree at Chandigarh College and is the youngest student ever accepted by an Indian University.Letter by our former President Mr.APJ abdul kalam
plz read this mail once and think about it if u r reallly an indian!!!!!!
I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me formy autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India .For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You mustproclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.YOU say that our government is inefficient.YOU say that our laws are too old. YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage. YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach theirdestination. You say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.YOU say, say and say.What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore .Give him a name? YOURS.Give him a face?YOURS.YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores.YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road ) between 5 PM and 8 PM.YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over-stayed, identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai .YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else." YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington andthen tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost." YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand .Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates inBoston ?????We are still talking of the same YOU.YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will thro w papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground.If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal Commissioner of Bombay ,Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make."Rich people"s dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said. "And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency anddirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done thejob.Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right.We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to doeverything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations andcontinue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my son's rights to a dowry." So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of?Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government.But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to thesystem we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask intheir glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England .When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf.When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought homeby the Indian government.Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.Dear Indians, the article is highly thought inductive, calls for agreat deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too?.. I am echoing J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow American to relate to Indians?."ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKEINDIA WHATAMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY " Lets do what India needs from us.Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending Jokes or junk mails. Thank You,Dr. Abdul Kalaam
**********************************************************************
I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me formy autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India .For her, you and I will have to build this developed India . You mustproclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.YOU say that our government is inefficient.YOU say that our laws are too old. YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage. YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach theirdestination. You say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.YOU say, say and say.What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore .Give him a name? YOURS.Give him a face?YOURS.YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores.YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road ) between 5 PM and 8 PM.YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over-stayed, identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai .YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else." YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington andthen tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost." YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand .Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates inBoston ?????We are still talking of the same YOU.YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will thro w papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground.If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India ?Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal Commissioner of Bombay ,Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make."Rich people"s dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said. "And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency anddirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done thejob.Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right.We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to doeverything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations andcontinue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my son's rights to a dowry." So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of?Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the government.But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to thesystem we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask intheir glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England .When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf.When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought homeby the Indian government.Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.Dear Indians, the article is highly thought inductive, calls for agreat deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too?.. I am echoing J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow American to relate to Indians?."ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKEINDIA WHATAMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY " Lets do what India needs from us.Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending Jokes or junk mails. Thank You,Dr. Abdul Kalaam
**********************************************************************
Indian Railway Stations
Indian Railway Stations
For those interested in Indian Railways and want to become a railfan like me, visit IRFCA Site and have great fun with Indian Railways.
For those interested in Indian Railways and want to become a railfan like me, visit IRFCA Site and have great fun with Indian Railways.
Friday, 21 August 2009
Bangalore
IMPORTANT HISTORICAL DATES OF BANGALORE
850 AD 'Bengalooru' appears on Mauryan empire milestone
1015 Chola Empire takes over City
1120 Veera Ballala II calls it 'Benda Kalooru' or 'Town of Boiled
Beans' (after a poor woman feeds him beans in the forest)
1537 Kempe Gowda I designs City as it exists today. (Kempe Gowda II builds the 4 towers)
1638 Shahaji Bhonsle (Shivaji's father) captures City for Adil Shah who gifts it to him
1640 Shivaji marries Bangalore girl
1687 Aurangzeb's army captures City
1690 Sells it to the Wodeyars for 3 lakhs!
1759 Wodeyar gifts it to Hyder Ali who builds Lal Bagh
1791 Cornwallis defeats Tipu Sultan but returns City to him
1799 Tipu Sultan dies. City returned to Wodeyar
1800 Bangalore GPO opened
1809 Cantonment established
1812 St. Mark's Cathedral built
1831 British take-over administration
1853 Sunday declared weekly holiday
1859 1st train steams out of City
1864 Sankey builds Cubbon Park
1867 Attara Kacheri built
1887 Bangalore Palace built
1898 The great plague.
1898 The first telephone Rings
1903 1st motorcar pollutes city
1905 India's 1st electric bulb lit in Bangalore City Market
1909 Indian Institute of Science built
1940 1st flight Bangalore/Bombay
1948 Deccan Herald launched
1954 Vidhana Soudha built
DID YOU KNOW........ ......... ...
Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
ú Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
ú Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
ú Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
ú Bangalore has 21 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in any given city. Bangalore University has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
ú Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
ú Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
ú Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
ú Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i. e.Kannadigas) .
Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians, 15% Telugites, 11%
Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
ú Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
ú Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
ú Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
ú Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
ú Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
ú Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons
in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
ú Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
ú Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
850 AD 'Bengalooru' appears on Mauryan empire milestone
1015 Chola Empire takes over City
1120 Veera Ballala II calls it 'Benda Kalooru' or 'Town of Boiled
Beans' (after a poor woman feeds him beans in the forest)
1537 Kempe Gowda I designs City as it exists today. (Kempe Gowda II builds the 4 towers)
1638 Shahaji Bhonsle (Shivaji's father) captures City for Adil Shah who gifts it to him
1640 Shivaji marries Bangalore girl
1687 Aurangzeb's army captures City
1690 Sells it to the Wodeyars for 3 lakhs!
1759 Wodeyar gifts it to Hyder Ali who builds Lal Bagh
1791 Cornwallis defeats Tipu Sultan but returns City to him
1799 Tipu Sultan dies. City returned to Wodeyar
1800 Bangalore GPO opened
1809 Cantonment established
1812 St. Mark's Cathedral built
1831 British take-over administration
1853 Sunday declared weekly holiday
1859 1st train steams out of City
1864 Sankey builds Cubbon Park
1867 Attara Kacheri built
1887 Bangalore Palace built
1898 The great plague.
1898 The first telephone Rings
1903 1st motorcar pollutes city
1905 India's 1st electric bulb lit in Bangalore City Market
1909 Indian Institute of Science built
1940 1st flight Bangalore/Bombay
1948 Deccan Herald launched
1954 Vidhana Soudha built
DID YOU KNOW........ ......... ...
Bangalore has the impeccable record of highest growth in 20 years.
ú Bangalore has highest number of Pubs in Asia.
ú Bangalore has highest number of cigarette smokers in India.
ú Bangalore has the highest number of software companies in India 212, followed by Hyderabad -108, Pune - 97. Hence called the Silicon Valley of India.
ú Bangalore has 21 engineering colleges, which is highest in the world in any given city. Bangalore University has 57 Engineering Colleges affiliated to it, which is highest in the world.
ú Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defence airport operating from the same strip.
ú Bangalore has highest number of Public sectors and Government organizations in India.
ú Bangalore university has highest number of students going Abroad for higher studies taking the first place from IIT-Kanpur.
ú Bangalore has only 41% of local population(i. e.Kannadigas) .
Hence a true cosmopolitan with around 21% Tamilians, 15% Telugites, 11%
Keralites, 6% Europeans, 6% a mixture of all races.
ú Bangalore police has the reputation of being the second best in India after New Delhi Police.
ú Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
ú Bangalore has the highest number of 2-wheelers in the world.
ú Bangalore is considered the Fashion Capital of East comparable to Paris.
ú Bangalore is rated the cleanest city in India.
ú Bangalore has produced the maximum International Sports persons
in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
ú Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.
ú Bangalore has produced the highest number of professionals in USA almost 60% of the Indian population abroad is from Bangalore (except Gulf).
INDIAN Railways
1. INDIAN RAILWAYS: A GREAT INSTITUTION AND A GREAT TRADITION
Indian Railways! It truly reflects India! It is complex, sometimes unwieldy and unmanageable, and yet full of life. It prospers against all odds! It is not just a transport organization. It is a great social institution. So many things may go wrong in the country, but the Indian Railways somehow manages to keep its head up above the waters, and it always runs the trains, serving millions of people everyday! Indian Railways is patient with and sad about those who try to bring damage to its network of passenger and goods trains, hoping that these people one day will repent for their sins and recognize the merit of the institution that has served the nation with great distinction.
2. INDIAN RAILWAYS AND INDIAN LANGUAGES
This institution of merit has evolved very interesting language policies since its inception. Since the railways are a public transport, serving people from different regional, ethnic, and linguistic groups, the policy of the organization has been geared towards communicating with its passengers using their language and script. Advertisements, announcements, information signs, cautioning remarks within the compartments, and helpful suggestions about the use of the toilet facilities, and so many other areas of contact within and outside the train and in the railway station have been presented in the dominant language and script of the region. The ultimate goal is to help its passengers to have a pleasant journey! In a country where literacy has been low for generations, the Indian Railways chose to give the essential information using visuals as well.
3. DEVANAGARI IN INDIAN RAILWAYS
The answer to the question "When was Devanagari script used first on the Indian Railways?" is difficult but not impossible to find. A quick study done on the subject by me has revealed some interesting facts. This study is a part of the comprehensive research I have undertaken on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. The facts mentioned here are some quick references on the use of the Devanagari script in the Indian Railways, culled together for the Indian Railways 150th Anniversary Year celebrations.
4. THE FIRST INDIAN TRAIN
The first train started running on the Indian soil on 16 April, 1853. It had 14 carriages and three engines - Sindh, Sahib, and Sultan. The opening of the railway in the East was a major occasion and the day was declared as a public holiday in the city of Bombay. 1853, just four years ahead of the First War of Independence, otherwise called the Sepoy Mutiny!
Preparations for this great event might have been done on a grand scale, and special attention might have been devoted to the decoration and embellishment of the locomotives and its carriages. And if we go by the conventions and the traditional practices of the day, I have no doubt that some pujas to the engines, to the railroad, and other equipments might have been performed by the Indian people associated with the project.
5. PEOPLE'S LANGUAGEIt can be safely stated that the public notices and general instructions put up in the carriages had to be in the language the people understood.
Hence, the strongest possibility is that the carriages of the first train in India must have had the scripts of Marathi and Urdu, besides English, for the signboards. There is a reason for that.
Marathi, being the local language of Bombay, was given preference. Since Hindi, as it is today, was not yet evolved then (1853), the spoken language used then was Hindoostani. The scripts of Persian and Urdu had had been widely written in upper India. But the British government in India had already laid down a policy to give preference to the local vernacular language.
"Yes," says M. S. Thirumalai, the editor of the online monthly journal Language in India, http://www.languageinindia.com//. "I can only guess that the system of writing in the Indian vernacular must have been introduced right from the beginning when the first train started moving from Bombay to Thane."
Thirumalai says, in his personal communication, that the then British India language policy was to use the Indian vernacular, (they used Persian only for a brief period). The replacement of the Perso-Arabic script for writing Hindi was done even before the first Indian War of Independence in 1857. Since Marathi was being written in the Devanagari script, the first train in India, I assume, must have had the Indian vernacular script, that is, Devanagari."
With the introduction of the competitive examinations for the civil services in 1853, and even earlier, the British Raj had introduced an incentive scheme for the officers of the civil services to learn and use Indian languages in the British Raj administration. The use of the Indian vernaculars in government documents and properties had been encouraged by the British rulers.
6. PROOF IN GOVERNMENT RECORDS
What Mr. Thirumalai says seems correct. Further research on the subject by me has more or less proven the fact that the local language was, indeed, used in one of the references to the earliest inscriptions found in the railway infrastructure in Bombay.
According to the Gazetteer of Bombay City and Island, published in 1909 by the executive editor and secretary of the gazetteer department of the state government of Maharashtra, the Frere bridge - named after the Governor of Bombay, Sir Bartle Frere, and built by the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CI) in 1866 at Grant Road, has an inscription on the bridge in English, Marathi, and Gujarati.
Similar is the case with the Kennedy Bridge (English, Marathi, and Gujarati), the Wodehouse bridge (English and Marathi), and the French bridge (English, Marathi, and Gujarati). Gujarati was prominently used on the BB&CI Railway as the third language because the line had come down from Surat to Bombay. The common sense approach of the Indian Railways to the linguistic complexity of the country is evidenced in this early record.
The Great Indian Peninsula (GIP) Railway, however, used Urdu as the third language on its system as its script was readily available.
7. MORE PROOF
The practice of using English, Marathi, and Urdu did continue for some period. About seventy years later, the official picture released by the Central Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer showing the crowd awaiting at Kurla station for the country's first electric train has the name of the station painted in three languages - English, Marathi, and Urdu.
So, we can safely conclude that the GIP Railway used English, Marathi, and Urdu as its first, second, and third language respectively. After the Constitution of India was formed in 1950, the railways decided to use English, Hindi, and the local language. Since the same train may pass through several states, the carriages always had more than the minimum two languages. The notices always carried the main languages of the states through which the trains ran.
8. PROMINENT HINDI TERMS USED ON THE INDIAN RAILWAYS
I give below a list of some Hindi terms that are commonly used on the Indian Railways. Satish Pai, the moderator of the Indian Railways Fans Club Association mailing list has taken some effort to gather this list. Although these are classified here as Hindi terms, some (not all) of these are widely used or understood in many areas of India.
'Dibba,' a passenger car (coach).'Maal Gaadi,' a freight (goods) train'Patri,' the tracks'Karshan,' electric traction'Kaka,' (Bombay division) a driver'Aagwalah,' (also anglicized as "Augwala"), literally fireman, but generally used for the assistant driver even today.'Chhavni,' Cantonment'Chhoti rel,' (colloquial) MG or NG (literally, "small rail")'Baramasi,' permanent-way worker or gangman. (Literally this means '12-month-er', referring to the nature of gangman's job, which requires going out at all times, and in all kinds of conditions.)'Bada-fast,' is a mixed-language term; 'bada, 'big in Hindi.The following are some of the "official terms" used in Hindi translations by the Indian Railways.
'Shayan yaan,' sleeper coach'Paryatan yaan,' tourist coach'Vatanukool,' air-conditioned'Vatanukool kursi yaan,' AC Chair Car'Vatanukool shayan yaan,' AC Sleeper Car'Rasoi yaan,' pantry car'Upari upaskar,' pantograph'Chalak,' driver'Sahachalak,' assistant driver'Parichalak,' guard (?)'Aaybhaar,' tare weight'Mandal,' division'Samay saarani' timetable9. TERMS IN OTHER LANGUAGES
'Khekda' = crab, affectionate name for the WCG-1 locos; see the entry above on 'crocodiles'. There are quite a few terms from other Indian languages also used in the terminology used by the Indian Railways.
10. TO CONCLUDE
Since 16 April, 1853, the Indian Railways have come a long way. The Indian Railways today rank as the largest rail network in Asia and the world's second largest under one management. Devanagari script is now firmly established itself on the railways front --- so firm that there's also a Rajbhasa department in the Indian Railways.
Unfortunately, the Indian linguists have not done any serious research on the use of Indian languages in the Indian Railways. More than any other wing of the government, the Indian Railways have been receptive to the communication needs of its patrons. It is important to study the language policies adopted by the Indian Railways because these policies could provide some useful models for language use in India. The syntax used in the linguistic styles used by the Indian Railways needs to be studied in depth. Likewise the study of the technical terms used in the loco sheds would throw light on the dynamic nature of the coinage of technical terms by the railway personnel.
Indian Railways! It truly reflects India! It is complex, sometimes unwieldy and unmanageable, and yet full of life. It prospers against all odds! It is not just a transport organization. It is a great social institution. So many things may go wrong in the country, but the Indian Railways somehow manages to keep its head up above the waters, and it always runs the trains, serving millions of people everyday! Indian Railways is patient with and sad about those who try to bring damage to its network of passenger and goods trains, hoping that these people one day will repent for their sins and recognize the merit of the institution that has served the nation with great distinction.
2. INDIAN RAILWAYS AND INDIAN LANGUAGES
This institution of merit has evolved very interesting language policies since its inception. Since the railways are a public transport, serving people from different regional, ethnic, and linguistic groups, the policy of the organization has been geared towards communicating with its passengers using their language and script. Advertisements, announcements, information signs, cautioning remarks within the compartments, and helpful suggestions about the use of the toilet facilities, and so many other areas of contact within and outside the train and in the railway station have been presented in the dominant language and script of the region. The ultimate goal is to help its passengers to have a pleasant journey! In a country where literacy has been low for generations, the Indian Railways chose to give the essential information using visuals as well.
3. DEVANAGARI IN INDIAN RAILWAYS
The answer to the question "When was Devanagari script used first on the Indian Railways?" is difficult but not impossible to find. A quick study done on the subject by me has revealed some interesting facts. This study is a part of the comprehensive research I have undertaken on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway. The facts mentioned here are some quick references on the use of the Devanagari script in the Indian Railways, culled together for the Indian Railways 150th Anniversary Year celebrations.
4. THE FIRST INDIAN TRAIN
The first train started running on the Indian soil on 16 April, 1853. It had 14 carriages and three engines - Sindh, Sahib, and Sultan. The opening of the railway in the East was a major occasion and the day was declared as a public holiday in the city of Bombay. 1853, just four years ahead of the First War of Independence, otherwise called the Sepoy Mutiny!
Preparations for this great event might have been done on a grand scale, and special attention might have been devoted to the decoration and embellishment of the locomotives and its carriages. And if we go by the conventions and the traditional practices of the day, I have no doubt that some pujas to the engines, to the railroad, and other equipments might have been performed by the Indian people associated with the project.
5. PEOPLE'S LANGUAGEIt can be safely stated that the public notices and general instructions put up in the carriages had to be in the language the people understood.
Hence, the strongest possibility is that the carriages of the first train in India must have had the scripts of Marathi and Urdu, besides English, for the signboards. There is a reason for that.
Marathi, being the local language of Bombay, was given preference. Since Hindi, as it is today, was not yet evolved then (1853), the spoken language used then was Hindoostani. The scripts of Persian and Urdu had had been widely written in upper India. But the British government in India had already laid down a policy to give preference to the local vernacular language.
"Yes," says M. S. Thirumalai, the editor of the online monthly journal Language in India, http://www.languageinindia.com//. "I can only guess that the system of writing in the Indian vernacular must have been introduced right from the beginning when the first train started moving from Bombay to Thane."
Thirumalai says, in his personal communication, that the then British India language policy was to use the Indian vernacular, (they used Persian only for a brief period). The replacement of the Perso-Arabic script for writing Hindi was done even before the first Indian War of Independence in 1857. Since Marathi was being written in the Devanagari script, the first train in India, I assume, must have had the Indian vernacular script, that is, Devanagari."
With the introduction of the competitive examinations for the civil services in 1853, and even earlier, the British Raj had introduced an incentive scheme for the officers of the civil services to learn and use Indian languages in the British Raj administration. The use of the Indian vernaculars in government documents and properties had been encouraged by the British rulers.
6. PROOF IN GOVERNMENT RECORDS
What Mr. Thirumalai says seems correct. Further research on the subject by me has more or less proven the fact that the local language was, indeed, used in one of the references to the earliest inscriptions found in the railway infrastructure in Bombay.
According to the Gazetteer of Bombay City and Island, published in 1909 by the executive editor and secretary of the gazetteer department of the state government of Maharashtra, the Frere bridge - named after the Governor of Bombay, Sir Bartle Frere, and built by the Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CI) in 1866 at Grant Road, has an inscription on the bridge in English, Marathi, and Gujarati.
Similar is the case with the Kennedy Bridge (English, Marathi, and Gujarati), the Wodehouse bridge (English and Marathi), and the French bridge (English, Marathi, and Gujarati). Gujarati was prominently used on the BB&CI Railway as the third language because the line had come down from Surat to Bombay. The common sense approach of the Indian Railways to the linguistic complexity of the country is evidenced in this early record.
The Great Indian Peninsula (GIP) Railway, however, used Urdu as the third language on its system as its script was readily available.
7. MORE PROOF
The practice of using English, Marathi, and Urdu did continue for some period. About seventy years later, the official picture released by the Central Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer showing the crowd awaiting at Kurla station for the country's first electric train has the name of the station painted in three languages - English, Marathi, and Urdu.
So, we can safely conclude that the GIP Railway used English, Marathi, and Urdu as its first, second, and third language respectively. After the Constitution of India was formed in 1950, the railways decided to use English, Hindi, and the local language. Since the same train may pass through several states, the carriages always had more than the minimum two languages. The notices always carried the main languages of the states through which the trains ran.
8. PROMINENT HINDI TERMS USED ON THE INDIAN RAILWAYS
I give below a list of some Hindi terms that are commonly used on the Indian Railways. Satish Pai, the moderator of the Indian Railways Fans Club Association mailing list has taken some effort to gather this list. Although these are classified here as Hindi terms, some (not all) of these are widely used or understood in many areas of India.
'Dibba,' a passenger car (coach).'Maal Gaadi,' a freight (goods) train'Patri,' the tracks'Karshan,' electric traction'Kaka,' (Bombay division) a driver'Aagwalah,' (also anglicized as "Augwala"), literally fireman, but generally used for the assistant driver even today.'Chhavni,' Cantonment'Chhoti rel,' (colloquial) MG or NG (literally, "small rail")'Baramasi,' permanent-way worker or gangman. (Literally this means '12-month-er', referring to the nature of gangman's job, which requires going out at all times, and in all kinds of conditions.)'Bada-fast,' is a mixed-language term; 'bada, 'big in Hindi.The following are some of the "official terms" used in Hindi translations by the Indian Railways.
'Shayan yaan,' sleeper coach'Paryatan yaan,' tourist coach'Vatanukool,' air-conditioned'Vatanukool kursi yaan,' AC Chair Car'Vatanukool shayan yaan,' AC Sleeper Car'Rasoi yaan,' pantry car'Upari upaskar,' pantograph'Chalak,' driver'Sahachalak,' assistant driver'Parichalak,' guard (?)'Aaybhaar,' tare weight'Mandal,' division'Samay saarani' timetable9. TERMS IN OTHER LANGUAGES
'Khekda' = crab, affectionate name for the WCG-1 locos; see the entry above on 'crocodiles'. There are quite a few terms from other Indian languages also used in the terminology used by the Indian Railways.
10. TO CONCLUDE
Since 16 April, 1853, the Indian Railways have come a long way. The Indian Railways today rank as the largest rail network in Asia and the world's second largest under one management. Devanagari script is now firmly established itself on the railways front --- so firm that there's also a Rajbhasa department in the Indian Railways.
Unfortunately, the Indian linguists have not done any serious research on the use of Indian languages in the Indian Railways. More than any other wing of the government, the Indian Railways have been receptive to the communication needs of its patrons. It is important to study the language policies adopted by the Indian Railways because these policies could provide some useful models for language use in India. The syntax used in the linguistic styles used by the Indian Railways needs to be studied in depth. Likewise the study of the technical terms used in the loco sheds would throw light on the dynamic nature of the coinage of technical terms by the railway personnel.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
India s Most Expensive Items
These are some of India s Most Expensive Possessions;
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1. Petrus Wine - Bottle cost mere Rs. 92000/-. It is served @ The Taj Mahal, Mumbai
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2. Mortlac Whisky, 1936 - A peg costs Rs. 24000/- & the bottle Rs. 6, 00,000/-. It is served @ The Grand, Delhi
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3. Wasabi, Traditional Japanese Restaurant @ Taj Mahal, Mumbai's most expensive restaurant & the dinner with serving of SUSHI & SASHI will cost Rs. 12000/-
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4. Hotel Rooms- Kohinoor Suite, The Oberoi's, Amarvil as. One Night costs only about Rs. 1.27 Lacs. Presidential Suite, The Taj Mahal, Delhi. One Night costs only about Rs. 2.50 Lacs.
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5. Maybach, 21 feet long car, costs a mere 6.0 Crores
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6. Mont Blanc Pen - The range of these pens is from a mere Rs. 11,000 to Rs. 1.0 Lac
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7. Napoleon Bonaparte, range of watches starts from a around Rs. 12,000 & runs into Crores
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8. Most expensive house in India is situated very much in our own Mumbai. It is in Maker Towers, Cuffe Parade and costs a Bomb of 18.0 Crores.
************
1. Petrus Wine - Bottle cost mere Rs. 92000/-. It is served @ The Taj Mahal, Mumbai
************
2. Mortlac Whisky, 1936 - A peg costs Rs. 24000/- & the bottle Rs. 6, 00,000/-. It is served @ The Grand, Delhi
************
3. Wasabi, Traditional Japanese Restaurant @ Taj Mahal, Mumbai's most expensive restaurant & the dinner with serving of SUSHI & SASHI will cost Rs. 12000/-
************
4. Hotel Rooms- Kohinoor Suite, The Oberoi's, Amarvil as. One Night costs only about Rs. 1.27 Lacs. Presidential Suite, The Taj Mahal, Delhi. One Night costs only about Rs. 2.50 Lacs.
************
5. Maybach, 21 feet long car, costs a mere 6.0 Crores
************
6. Mont Blanc Pen - The range of these pens is from a mere Rs. 11,000 to Rs. 1.0 Lac
************
7. Napoleon Bonaparte, range of watches starts from a around Rs. 12,000 & runs into Crores
************
8. Most expensive house in India is situated very much in our own Mumbai. It is in Maker Towers, Cuffe Parade and costs a Bomb of 18.0 Crores.
Monday, 10 August 2009
Amazing India
Amazing India . . .
The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat. The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers 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.
The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).
Chess was invented in India.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
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.
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
The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
India has the most post offices in the world !
The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.
The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.
The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.
Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )
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.
Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
Born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, 40 miles to the north-east of Madras, Radhakrishnan grew to become the most famous Indian teacher and philosopher of all times. In his honour, this day is celebrated as Teacher's Day.
The official Sanskrit name for India is Bharat. The name `India’ is derived from the River Indus, the valleys around which were the home of the early settlers. The Aryan worshippers 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.
The number system was invented by India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit zero.
Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages. This is because it is the most precise, and therefore suitable language for computer software. ( a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987 ).
Chess was invented in India.
Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus are studies which originated in India.
The' place value system' and the 'decimal system' were developed in 100 BC in India.
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.
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
The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh. Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.
India has the most post offices in the world !
The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway system, employing over a million people !.
The World's first university was established in Takshila in 700 BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to mankind. The father of medicine, Charaka, consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago.
The art of Navigation & Navigating was born in the river Sindh 6000 over years ago. The very word 'Navigation' is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya rightly calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. His calculations was - Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: ( 5th century ) 365.258756484 days.
The value of "pi" was first calculated by the Indian Mathematician Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century, which was long before the European mathematicians.
Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. ( Source . Gemological Institute of America )
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.
Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India medicine. Detailed knowledge of anatomy, embryology, digestion, metabolism, physiology, etiology, genetics and immunity is also found in many ancient Indian texts.
Sushruta is regarded as the father of surgery. Over 2600 years ago Sushrata & his team conducted complicated surgeries like cataract, artificial limbs, cesareans, fractures, urinary stones and also plastic surgery and brain surgeries.
Born on September 5, 1888, at Tiruttani, 40 miles to the north-east of Madras, Radhakrishnan grew to become the most famous Indian teacher and philosopher of all times. In his honour, this day is celebrated as Teacher's Day.
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
Wax Sanskritic - Latest Trend Sanskrit
trend: learning sanskrit
Wax Sanskritic
Urban young are rediscovering the lure of the classical language
Read Full Article at this link
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Is India headed the right way?
Francois Gautier February 05, 2007
Today, there is a sense of deep satisfaction, of gloating even, in India. The economy is booming, there are more and more cars on the roads, shares are soaring, a plane is taking off every six seconds, hotels are full, shops do roaring business. It looks as if India has moved from tamas to rajas, and has come out of its slough of depression and inertia of the last so many centuries, which was characterised by lack of self-esteem, confidence and dynamism. Today, we see a much more dynamic and self-confident India, galvanised by the
liberalisation taking place at this very moment.
But if one looks closer at what is happening here, one is bound to feel a little unsettled. For what we see today is an India veering blindly, without restraint, towards total globalisation and Westernisation. Yes, there are great values in the Western world: Freedom, democracy, equality (not always though), respect for the environment, less corruption. And India must, and has already borrowed from these qualities.
But since the last two, three years, it seems the Indian political and intellectual mind is pushing these qualities to an illogical extreme, as if it wants to prove to the West that 'we are as democratic, as liberal, as free as you are.' Thus, democracy in India has been hijacked. It takes a fortune to be elected. Politicians, elected by and for the people, once they are locked in the ivory tower that is Delhi, forget all about the people.
Thus we see that freedom is such an obsessive mantra in India that an artist who paints one of the most revered ancient Hindu gods doing unmentionable things to a Hindu goddess is defended by India's intellectuals. Thus we see that someone who is part of a diabolical plot to kill Indian leaders and storm Parliament gets the benefit of the doubt from the same intelligentsia in the name of judicial correctness.
This process of copying the West to the point of aping it has, of course, already happened many times in the developing world. And it killed the soul of many countries, making them just another replica of the West -- with a youth that wears the latest Calvin Klein jeans, knows the No 1 bestseller on the Time list, can quote a few lines from Dante, reads The Times of India, but knows nothing about pranayama, has never read a verse from Kalidasa and does not know who Sri Aurobindo is.
The Westernisation of India must not be at the cost of her culture and spirituality. Yet, there are signs that it is already happening here. You may notice in the Indian media, that there is a witch hunt against gurus, a deriding and mocking of Indian spirituality, a marginalising of Hinduism and Hindus, who constitute the immense majority in India and are a billion worldwide, one of the most law-abiding, religious, educated, affluent communities in the world.
More and more, Indian television particularly, but also newspapers and magazines, are casting a look on India that is not only very critical (if you open any newspaper nowadays, you can only end up depressed), but which in its very nature is a Western look -- which judges India according to Western standards.
But these Western standards do not necessarily apply to this country, which has a different psyche, different culture and different standards. Why not judge India according to Indian wisdom, which is much more ancient than Western democracy and philosophy? More importantly, some Indians are more and more divided. Instead of feeling first Indians, they feel they are first Muslims and then Indians, first Dalits and then Indians, first Christian and then Indians. This is a dangerous trend and it spells the death of the minimum unified nationalistic pride that can take a country forward. Instead, Indians today take pride in melting abroad, or adopting a 'secular' creed, which basically makes them soul-less and identity-less, however brilliantly they ape the West. What is it that which India is fast losing as you read this article? Its culture, firstly. Entire patches in the northeast are being converted to Christianity. Tribals are told by missionaries that it is sinful to enter a temple, women are asked not to wear bindis, children are taught to look down on their culture as animist or heathen. Its communal harmony, secondly. Whatever the shocks of invasions, there was
always a certain syncretism in Jain, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim communities. The ordinary Muslim in Kashmir or the Christian in Kerala, even if he thought that his or her god was the only true one, had a certain understanding and acceptance of the age-old Indian culture. Reverence for women, respecting others' festivals and customs, harmony with one's neighbours were hallmark traits. Today, even the Sikh community feels it wants to separate from its Hindu brothers and Christian and Muslims are encouraged to look down upon Hindus.
As a foreigner who loves India, I feel that this blind copying of the West's ignorant and doubting mind, the aping of whatever is has proved wrong in the West -- wild consumerism, or savage capitalism -- will be a tragedy for India. And what is India's soul? The knowledge that there is life beyond life, the understanding of
the different planes above the mind, the ancient wisdom on reincarnation, karma, maya. And above all, the acceptance that god manifests himself at different times under different names and that god is one in his infinite diversity. This knowledge, which once roamed the shores of the world from Egypt to China, is today lost everywhere. Yet it is the knowledge that humanity needs for the 21st century if it does not want to go towards catastrophe as it is now, with the world's two major so-called monotheistic religions still believing that only their god is the true one and that it is their duty to convert 'pagans.'
India must thus achieve its liberalisation and industrialisation, by taking the best of the West, but preserving what is good, pure, wise in her own culture. On a material level, for instance, there should be a revival of authentic Indian traditional forms, such as ancient medical systems like Ayurveda, or Siddha, instead of the total dependence on Western antibiotics.
And what about Indian yogic sciences? Pranayama, for instance, is the most exacting, precise, mathematical, powerful breathing discipline one can dream of. It is also true of hatha yoga, a 3,500-year-old technique, which has inspired all kind of aerobic, so-called yoga techniques and gymnastic drills around the world. Meditation is also India's gift to the world. The art of relaxing the mind and cooling the nervous system, using simple methods such as observing the breath, or repeating one's god's name.
If these three disciplines were taught in a secular, scientific manner to all Indian children in school, not only it would unify them in the same knowledge, but it would provide them wonderful tools of intuition, endurance and peace of mind, which they could use all throughout their life. But what we see today instead in India are IIMs or IITs churning out scores of Western clones good for export -- the greatest cause of the intellectual brain drain of India. And this will be India's gift to this planet during this century: to restore to the world its true sense, to recharge humanity with the real meaning and spirit of life.
India should become the spiritual leader of the world.
Francois Gautier is the editor-in-chief of La Revue de l'Inde (lesbelleslettres. com) and the author of the Guru of Joy (India Today book Club).
Francois Gautier
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Line of Fire...
Its something really heart touching. So, please read it in full.
Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the First Class air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do. He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.
"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop. Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car. "You people have brought so much advancement to the country sir. Today everything is getting computerized."
"Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and stocky like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the most of his free travelling pass. "You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside." Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning not anger. "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. "It is complex, very complex." "It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the reply.
This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence came into his so far affable, persuasive tone. "Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in." "Hard work!" "Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing."
He had the man where he wanted him and it was time to drive home the point. "Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrency; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"
The man was stuck with amazement, like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such things." "I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "But now I am the Project Manager," "Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life is easy now." It was like being told the fire was better than the frying pan. The man had to be given a feel of the heat.
"Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end always changing his requirements, the user wanting something else and your boss always expecting you to have finished it yesterday."
Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realisation. What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth. "My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in the line of fire." The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek. "I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire," He was staring blankly as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time.
"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive."
"You are a..."
"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a land assignment. But tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded. His own personal safety came last, always and every time. He was killed as he shielded that soldier into the bunker. Every morning now, as I stand guard I can see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know sir, I know what it is to be in the line of fire."
Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of his reply. Abruptly he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a word document in the presence of a man for whom valour and duty was a daily part of life; a valour and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes. The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight.
"It was nice meeting you sir." Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This hand had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the tricolour. Suddenly as if by impulse, he stood at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute. It was the least he felt he could do for the country. Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn!
Winners are too busy to be sad, too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful and too determined to be defeated. You are a winner any day, any time.
PS: The incident he narrates during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the Kargil war. Major Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and his various other acts of bravery he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra the nation's highest military award.
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