Panchaamritam 26 - 50
ONE
The following observation is made Glen P.Kezwer of Canada in an article by in his Desh-Videsh Online: “Indian currency notes bear the motto Satyamayv jayatay under the national seal. The meaning of these words is "Truth alone prevails", a phrase which brings to one's mind the unique truth which is the underlying reality behind all of material existence. This truth is the essential spiritual message which is India's great gift to the world, and it is this same truth which permeates every aspect of Indian life. This incident illustrates what I mean: I was once in the office of the Registrar of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh. I sat there for over an hour and watched as he was constantly harangued by countless lawyers and other applicants pressing him to present their cases to the court as soon as possible. I noticed that throughout it all he maintained an attitude of calmness and fairness to everyone, whereas most people in his position would have become agitated or annoyed. During a break I asked him what the secret was to his easy, unruffled attitude. He smiled, and then indicating a picture of Lord Krishna which was on his desk said, "I know that he is doing everything."
(Glen Kezwer (mailto:glenk@mailandnews.com) has been practising and studying meditation for the past twenty years at a meditation institute in northern India. He holds a Ph.D. in physics and is the author of the book Meditation, Oneness and Physics, and the soon-to-be-released The Art of Meditation).
TWO
In reply to a query by a newsperson, 65-year old Saroja of Vellore, Tamilnadu, Bharat, says: “In death, it is this punyam alone that accompanies one, you see”. Now, about Saroja and what she does. When Saroja’s husband died 18 years back, she was left with two daughters, poverty and nothing else. Vallalar Middle School headmaster M.Parvatarajan took pity on the family and in 1982, appointed Saroja as helper in the school kitchen at Rs.50 a month. Saroja took upon herself the additional responsibility of escorting schoolchildren across the national highway near the school. This thoughtful voluntary service has been going on for the past 21 years. No child sustained even a single scracth while crossing the road all these years, thanks to the old lady’s imaginative escort service that occupies a major part of her time during the day, now that she has been retired from her school job at the age of 58 in 1997. Saroja, who has successfully married off her daughters, wants to continue to do this good work till death. Till then, she wants to live under a roof. She now lives in a dilapidated thatched hut on the wayside close to Parvatamalai hills.
(Based on a report by Shri.R.Ramalingam in DINAMANI of November 19, 2003).
THREE
Thakka, a hamlet near Kannarampattu, in Tirukkoilur taluk of Cuddalore district, Tamilnadu, Bharat, is experiencing change for the better in many aspects: 8 Devotion has come to stay in people’s lives. 8 Children ask for the blessings of their parents on every occasion. 8 Everyday, boys bow down to Bharatamata. 8 Parents and children look forward to HINDU SANGHA SEIDHI, the Tamil bulletin that brings Hindutva news every month. 8 People here know RSS first-hand. 8 An awareness about Coke and Pepsi has spread all around. It is T.Aravazhi, a class IX student who managed to set in motion every one of these changes. The methodology that he designed for this with his elder sister’s help is simple. On Sundays he collected children of Thakka, taught them the devotional and patriotic songs that he learnt in the RSS shakha (he is a swayamsevak), regaled them with inspiring stories and trained them in good habits which was all news to them and their parents. by and by, the changes set in, in the life of the village. Aravazhi calls this once-a-week culture course ‘Siruvar Panpaattu Payirchi Vakuppu’.
(Based on information received from Shri.Bhaktavatsalam, in charge of service activities of RSS in north Tamilnadu).
FOUR
This happened in 1968. Dr.Raghuvanshi was on his way to New York from San Francisco. He was on a UNESCO mission there. (Born in Bulandshear, he studied in Pusa). during the travel, a few American friends invited him to join them at lunch. The conversation at table turned to agricultural production and wheat production in particular. Offering items on the menu to Dr.Raghuvanshi, the Americans quipped, “we will not allow you to die”, hinting at the fact that a non self-reliant India depended on heavy wheat imports from the US those days. Swallowing the insult silently, Dr.Raghuvanshi then and there resolved to achieve certain things. On reaching New York, the first thing that he did was to give up the UNESCO assignment. He returned to Bharat, resigned his government job and went to his village. His well-wishers and other officials advised him against playing with his future like that by giving up such a lucrative job. Fired by patriotism, Raghuvanshi was firm in his resolve. He settled down on the small bit of agricultural land that he owned, performing many an experiment with new farm techniques and at last developed high-yielding seed varieties. He went from village to village spreading the message. He was overjoyed to find that his efforts bore fruit. It was owing to the endeavours of scientists like him and scores of others that Bharat could become not only self-reliant in food production but also reached a stage when she could export foodgrains.
FIVE
It is a phenomenon. In a palatial building in Vadaveeranaickenpatti, situated on the Theni-Periakulam Road, near Madurai in Tamilnadu, Bharat, lives an extraordinary family. There are 24 rooms, two kitchens and one Pooja room in this building. There is a television set where only Doordarshan programmes can be watched. Among the 127 inhabitants between the ages of 1 to 72, there are 20 couples. Almost all in the family including women are engaged in agriculture in the 300 acres of land jointly owned by them. Two women amongst them do the common cooking in turn by rotation every month. One kitchen is used for the common cooking while the other can be used by anybody to prepare coffee, tea, hot water, etc as and when they require. Cooked food is taken to their rooms for eating. Children, mostly going to schools, help elders in their household chores during their leisure hours. Work has been delegated to all. Sri Ramaraj has been chosen to manage all the families and maintain the accounts. Paddy, Ragi, Jowar, Corn and Cardamom are grown in the fields. For their income, they sell away Jowar, Ragi and cardomom, keeping the other pdoducts for their own use. Accounts are maintained properly and are scrutinised and approved by all once in a year. Any problem in the families, suggestions in farming are all discussed and settled. This system has been going on for the past four generations. They make it a point to give their girls in marriage outside this household. Weddings are performed jointly. In 1998, at a time, six marriages were celebrated. Any expense for education, marriage, medical treatment, etc., is met from the common kitty. If anyone wants money urgently, he can take from the common kitty. During elections everyone has the liberty to vote for any political party he or she likes. Kannupandi of the family says that since everyone feels that the unity maintained for the past four generations should not be broken by anyone, they have plenty of forbearance.
(Based on a report in Tamil weekly THUGLAK , June 13, 2003).
Panchaamritam - 27
ONE
A sustained public and political campaign by two small regional Australian towns has resulted in the 13-year-old son of an Indian doctor couple being granted a visa. Treating Shivam Agrawal's application for ministerial intervention as the rarest of rare cases, Australian Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone has overruled an earlier decision by her department and granted visa to the Indian teenager. The Agrawals are overwhelmed by the public campaigns to keep them in Australia. Earlier the rural community living in and around Wellington and Dubbo in New South Wales was up in arms against an Australian Immigration Department decision to deny visa to Shivam Agrawal as he suffers from haemophilia. The non-extension of the Indian youngster's visa would have forced his parents, general practitioner Sunita and paediatrician Rajiv Agrawal, to leave their jobs as doctors in two public hospitals and return to India with Shivam. Such scenario enraged the residents of Wellington and Dubbo who already suffer from an acute shortage of competent medical staff in their rural community. The doctor couple is being referred to as "valued" doctors in the regional media. Australian Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson and the federal MP from Parkes, John Cobb, approached Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone for extension of visa to young Agrawal. Various community groups, meanwhile, lodged signature campaigns supporting his endeavour. “The concern and support everyone has shown has been overwhelming," Sunita Agrawal told Dubbo Liberal Times after the decision was conveyed to her. "Patients have been asking me what is happening and offering to sign petitions," Dr. Sunita said. Support extended to her paediatrician husband was of a different hue. "They said they would chain me to a hospital bed if I tried to leave," Agrawal jocularly told reporters about his supporters' sentiments. "I have never seen such support for a family and this is further evidence of just how valued they are," Cobb told a local newspaper, Wellington Times. The intensity of the campaign is gauged from the fact that all the schoolmates of Shivam, Shivi to his friends, signed a petition and submitted it to the local MP requesting him to get his visa extended.
(Based on an IANS report in The New Indian Express, November 1, 2003).
TWO
Mumbai is not peopled by “mechanical” office-goers, after all. Within half an hour of an ambulance bringing in the first casualties of today’s (August 25, 2003) blasts to the JJ Hospital, Byculla, Mumbai, serpentine queues were visible outside the casualty ward — all offering their services, including blood. An eager crowd appealed to the hospital administration to let them help. Some manned the traffic outside, kept the gates free for ambulances, more insisting to the hospital security staff that they wanted to donate blood.‘‘Nek kaam karne aaye to kaise roke? (How does one stop those who want to help?)’’ asked one guard. Outside the blood bank, an encore was unfolding. Six stretchers, donors, doctors, nurses and paramedical staff — all collecting blood from donors, some breaking the queue in their eagerness. ‘‘Even women are braving the sight of blood to offer help,’’ said a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit. Those turned away didn’t lose heart. Like Nandkumar Shenoy, they helped ward boys wheel out trolleys, soaked in blood.‘‘I think everyone needs to help and assist at times of such crisis,’’ says Mohammed Iqbal (40), a stone trader and resident of Zaveri Bazaar, Kalbadevi. Iqbal was seen collecting scattered body parts of the dead and injured at the site of the blast, a plastic bag and gloves in hand. The soft-spoken man looked everywhere, under taxi seats, beneath rubble, at street corners. Then, pointing at various collected items in his bag, he said, “These fingers, teeth and bones will aid doctors in making accurate identification”. Balwant Rajpurohit (29) was at work when he got to know. He rushed from Bhuleshwar to Zaveri Bazaar and began pulling out people trapped in Navnidhan Bhavan, which had caught fire. A salesman and designer at a jewel manufacturing unit, he carried almost 25 bodies to taxis, to be ferried to JJ Hospital.
(Indian Express of August 25, 2003).
THREE
Sundar, an engineer by profession, and a PANCHAAMRITAM reader, shares an experience he had: “This happened 12 years back. One morning, around 7.00 A.M, as all of us in the family were at our regular chores, we heard a "thud" sound at the back portion of our house. It was my sister. She was studying, sitting on the parapet on the terrace and had a fall. She became unconscious and all of us in the house were shocked. Our neighbour, an autorikshaw driver, brought his auto to our house immediately, put my sister as well as my parents in it and drove to the nearest hospital. This act saved my sister's life. She fully recovered, thanks to his timely help. He refused to accept any money from us though his income was meager. He was neither a social worker nor did he attach any publicity to this. I am awaiting a chance to serve him or his family during my lifetime.”
(Based on an email from Shri. R. Sundar in May, 2003).
FOUR
Date: May 22, 1999. Place: Tololing hillside in Kargil, Jammu & Kashmir, Bharat. Captain Ajit Singh of the ’18 Granediars’ had to make a crucial decision. He was inching his way up on the 80-degree steep hillside towards the top where the enemiy was very well entrenched. The climb was rendered a nightmare by the weight of the arms, ammunition and the ration. Every excess gram on his back hindered the progress. The options Ajit singh had: to drop the gun or the food pack. He had been climbing for the past 11 hours in a temperature between minus 5 degrees celcius to minus 11 degrees at an altitude of 16,000 feet. Without any hesitation, Ajit Singh dropped his food pack. He went without food for three days in all. Every soldier in ’18 Granediars’ took the same decision at that spot. That led them to victory. They reached the top and eliminated the enemy. This hill top had a great strategic significance; the Kargil conflict that could have otherwise prolonged for another month was over in the next six days with the quick fall of all the hill top positions once Tololing became enemy-free. And that had hinged on this crucial decision by those dutiful soldiers like Ajit singh.
(Based on the cover story of India Today of July 5, 1999).
FIVE
Meet Chitra (40), a resident of Laspet, Pondicherry, Bharat. A chemistry graduate, a post-graduate in Hindi and English, and a star holder in physical education, Chitra is now a garment manufacturer. She visited the Swadeshi exhibition held in Coimbatore. Utensils made of the bark of arecanut tree displayed at one of the stalls caught her imagination. She set out to work on that. She visited several states and gathered information about processing arecanut bark. Short of climbing an arecanut tree, she did everything. Now she procures raw bark from half a dozen places in truckloads and employs 40 women to produce seven types of utensils like dishes and plates. They are a cheap and eco-friendly replacement for the plastic, the bane of modern development, says an upbeat Chitra netting a profit of Rs. 15,000 every month in this new venture.
(Based on a report in Aval Vikatan, June 20, 2003).
Panchaamritam - 28
ONE
Here is an unusually insightful narration of a routine annual temple festival in an English daily. Read on: “It was ‘Laksha Deepam’ celebration (on December 7) at Sri Soundararaja Perumal (Vishnu) temple in Thadikombu, 10 km from Dindigul town, Tamilnadu. The main temple, inner and outer praakaarams,sannidhis around the sanctum sanctorum, roofs and its vast campus, were illuminated with one lakh clay diyaas. After puja, the lighting of all the one lakh lamps began. It was amazing to witness all the lamps come alive within half an hour. It was certainly not one-man show. Meticulous planning, perfect team work, mutual understanding of team mates, wonderful cooperation and coordination and above all, conviction and commitment with whole-hearted devotion of participants, all contributed to the grand success of the festival. About volunteers from private mill, colleges and various organisations, guided thousands of devotees from neighbouring villages who had converged on the temple campus to make the temple glitter in radiant light. The volunteers took 72 hours to arrange one lakh lamps on the campus. The whole exercise was scientifically planned. The team had drawn straight lines on the 200 feet long campus to arrange the lamps. Meanwhile, a section of the team members arranged lamps inside the temple. Another group filled lamps with oil. An hour before commencement of festival, candles and match boxes were distributed quickly to all participants. Thousands of devotees witnessed the grand event celebrated with religious fervour”. all
(Based on a report by Shri. K.Raju in THE HINDU of December 19, 2003).
TWO
Deivasikamani, is a farmer and a cocoanut grove owner of Padaalam, near Chingleput in Tamilnadu, Bharat. His land is blessed with plenty of water. He is philantropic enough to offer 150 tanker-loads of water to the water-starved Chennai everyday. Officials from Metrowater Board, Chennai came, tested the water and agreed to take 100 tankers everyday at Rs.40 per tanker. They wanted to drive extra bores, which he did, spending about a lakh of rupees. He was willing to give these 100 tankers water free of cost with the noble idea of helping citizens in Chennai. In spite of this, the offtake was only 10 to 15 tankers per day for a week. Reward for this was, a charge from the Electricity Department for misuse of electricity and complaint from the Highways Department that water tankers are causing obstruction on the Highway. Shri. Nagaraj, an advocate, learnt of all this through newspaper reports and promptly filed a Public Interest Litigation case. He obtained a judgement to the effect that the Water Board should lift water from the wells of Deivasikamani and should ensure that there is no hindrance to him in this regard. Deivasikamani felt happy at this judgement though after a lot of struggle. The Board agreed to take 100 tankers per day at Rs.40 each. Deivasikamani intends to spend the amount (about Rs.10,000) by donating clothes and notebooks to schoolchildren.
(Based on a report by Shri. S.R.Senthilkumar in the Tamil weekly VIJAYABHARATAM of November 28, 2003).
THREE
“If you happen to see an obscene advertisement (in the media including the TV), write down a simple complaint on a postcard and send it to either of the following addresses: “Advertising standards Council Of India (ASCI), Bajaj Bhavan, II Floor, Nariman Point, MUMBAI - 400 021”; “The Monopolies And Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTP), Kota House Annexe, Shahjehan Road, NEW DELHI - 110 001”. Even if just 10 letters reach the offices, the advertisement will be withdrawn”, asserts Smt. Shakuntala Narasimhan, South India Representative of Consumer Education And Research Centre (CERC), Ahmedabad, living in Jaya Nagar, Bangalore. Shakuntala was an Assistant Editor of FEMINA. She quit the job in 1986 and protested against beauty contests. Blessed with two children, she has won two Ph.Ds as well. Her husband Narasimhan is a scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee. She is a votary of Carnatic Sangeet and has given performances in Chennai’s Music Academy. She questions the claims of advertisements of ‘fair skin cream’ and hair dye. She warns that hair dye, if regularly used, causes cataract of the eyes even before 40 years of age.
(From an interview to MANGAYAR MALAR, Tamil Monthly, September, 2003).
FOUR
Shri. Chandrakant Hariba Shirote works as a security guard in a major establishment in Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra, Bharat. On an official work recently, he went to the Shivneri Bank. He found a bundle of currency notes lying near the cash receipts counter. The amount was Rs. 5,000. Chandrakant handed over the bundle to the cashier. Afteer some time, the person who had lost the money came looking for it to the bank. The cashier told him what happened and gave him the money. The person then went to Chandrakant’s office and offered him a gift of Rs. 100. Chandrakant accepted it only because everyone around pressed him to take it, but promptly donated it to Seva Bharati, a service organisation. He is a swayamsevak of the Rashtreeya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
(A box item contributed by Shri. Prashant Kulkarni, Ichalkaranji,
in VIVEK, Marathi weekly, Mumbai, December 14, 2003).
FIVE
Many countries around the globe are intent on finding a way out in the drinking water shortage problem. Bharat has succeeded in developing a method to convert the salt water of the oceans into sweet water fit for human consumption. Scientists of Baba Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, Bharat, have been experimenting desalination of sea water right from 1970 and have perfected two processes. One is the ‘Nuclear Base Desalination’and the other, the ‘Membrane Base Desalination’. Salt and sweet water can be separated using either of these two processes. According to the BARC sources, Membrane Base Desalination method makes use of a membrane (film). So far only the USA hasbeen successful in pruducing the membrane that could yield water with purity levels from 99.6 to 99.7 percent. Now, scientists of Bharat have succeeded in achieving purity level of 99 percent. An experimental desalination plant has started functioning inside the BARC campus. This plant, using the Membrane technique, produces 1,00,000 litres of pure water per day. By the thermal technique, 4.25 lakh litres of water can be drawn every day. It is to be noted that sea water contains 35 percent of salt.
(Source: VICHAR-SAMACHAR, Mumbai Vishwa Samvad Kendra’s
Hindi Monthly, August 2003).
Panchaamritam - 29
ONE
1. It was a three-nation affair. Philip of Paris (France) adopted Sudarshan of Jafna (Sri Lanka) as his son. Sudarshan married Aneus of Pondicherry (Bharat) in September 2003 in Paris before a registrar of marriages. On December 4, 2003, however, Philip (now Mahesh) performed their marriage in accordance with Hindu traditions at the Karthikeya temple in Thiruchendur in Tamilnadu, Bharat. Mahesh is a devotee of Karthikeya and is a regular annual visitor to the temple for the last three years (DINAMANI Tamil Daily, December 6, 2003). 2. Carl Belle was the First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Kolalumpur, Malaysia. His mother was seriously ill and the doctors gave her just 6 weeks. Carl took refuge in Hinduism and became Vadivela. He peformed the Kavadi vrarta with all devotion at a Karthikeya temple in Malaysia. His mother lived for another 3 years. He renamed his daughter as Valli, the consort of Karthikeya and his son as Ganesan. Australian authorities gave him the choice: ‘Religion or Job?’ Vadivela gave up his job rather than Hinduism. A contented man, now he lives in Adilaide, Australia . (Source: A social worker based in Sydney).
TWO
V.R.Vivek is doing his 4th year BE in Electronics and Communix\cation at Satyabhama Deemed University, Chennai, Tamilnadu, Bharat. He has developed a ‘jammer’ equipment that can prevent attempts by terrorists to explode, with the help of a remote switch, bombs planted by them on VIP routes. Traditional jammers fitted to VIP vehicles are very expensive. The equipment developed by Vivek (Remote Triggered Bomb Jammer using ICXR2206) costs just Rs. 500. It jams the trigger signal by changing the modulation index. This prevents the bomb from receiving correct signal and so that it cannot explode. The jammer also renders the communication network of terrorists in the vicinity ineffective. As the jammer is easily portable it will be of much use for Army men who patrol our borders, says Vivek. This can be upgraded by further research and thus could be accommodated in a cellphone itself, adds Vivek. He is eager to do M.S in Mobile Communications in the US after BE. Both his parents -- Shri. V.T.Ramanathan and Smt. Usha -- are doctors at the TB Hospital and Research Centre in Chetput, Chennai
(DINAMANI December 10, 2003).
THREE
Shri. Natesan living in Chidambaram, Cuddalore district, is a labourer on daily wages. He has married off his daughter Lakshmi (21). Muniappan (21) and Saravanan (17) are his sons. Natesan found it difficult to meet the educational expenses of his two sons within his meagure wages. Muniappan was doing his B.Com at the Annamalai University. Two years back, then in class IX at the RCT Higher Secondary School in Chidambaram, Saravanan, younger of the two, thought: ‘My elder brother is good at studies. He should be enabled to pursue his studies up to PG level. To that end, the only way is that I must discontinue my study in order to increase the family income’. He stopped going to school. He started accompanying his father to work as a helper at building construction sites earning Rs. 70 per day. The plan worked well. Now the family is out of financial difficulties. The elder brother is doing his II year M.Com., thanks to the sacrifice of Saravanan. At this juncture, Shri. Gagandeep Singh Bedi, the District Collector of Cuddalore, who had geared up the government machinery to see that the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education For All) scheme is implemented fully, had a friendly talk with Natesan’s family. After that, it was decided that Saravanan should once again join the same school. “I am eager to study also. I will try my best”, says Saravanan now. Bedi says, of the 4,040 school dropouts in Cuddalore district, “3,800 have been admitted to parallel schools or the regular ones”.
(DINAMANI, December 10, 2003).
FOUR
The ‘cluster concept’ gathers momentum. It means, a particular industry with several plants located contiguously can thrive better, once the community of industrialists function in unison, as in Coimbatore. There, the machine tool and textile industries attract Japanese and German businessmen. They come accompanied by translators who mostly render into Hindi. When that was found not suitable in Tamilnadu, an alternative was sought. The guests preferred Samskritam. So, CODISSIA, the forum of small-scale industrialists of Coimbatore, has tied up with P.S.G.Tech, the premier educational instituition of the locality for training persons in industrial Samskritam. This is one of the 12 arrangements CODISSIA has made with the educational instituitions of the area to fine-tune the industrial community’s operations. This kind of an awareness is mainly due to the efforts of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch working for strengthening indigenous contribution to nation’s well-being.
(Source: SWADESHI SEIDHI Tamil monthly, Coimbatore - 12).
FIVE
Meet Shri. Venipalli Panduranga Rao (39), Panchayat President of Alakadappa in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, Bharat. He is a Brahmachari. For the last two years he worked hard for developing the village. On August 17, 2003, he conducted a referendum in the village to ascertain whether he should continue in his post or not. The ballot paper contained just two words in Telugu: ‘Stay’ and ‘Go’. Of the 1,783 valid votes polled, ‘Stay’ votes were 1,710 and ‘Go’ votes were just 73. Rao had invited a few Non Government Organisations based in Hyderabad to conduct the referendum. He bore the cost of Rs. 3,000 for this. In fact, the referendum was not necessary. Rao had done a lot for the village. He has managed to make it a liquorless village. He has banned smoking and chewing paan masala in public places in the village. He has carried out desilting of the village lake and irrigation canals at a cost of Rs. 20 lakhs. This has provided sufficient irrigation for single crop cultivation in 3,000 acres of lands surrounding Alakadappa. He has ensured that all the children in the village attend school.
(Based on a report by Shri.Amarnath K. Menon
in INDIA TODAY Tamil weekly dated October 22, 2003).
Panchaamritam - 30
ONE
Smt. Linda Johnsen quotes Professor Subhash Kak of Louisiana State University (USA) in her book Yoga at the speed of Light and writes: “The Surya Siddhanta is the oldest surviving astronomical text in the Indian tradition. Some Western scholars date it to perhaps the fifth or sixth century A.D., though the text itself claims to represent a tradition much, much older. It explains that the earth is shaped like a ball, and states that at the very opposite side of the planet from India is a great city where the sun is rising at the same time it sets in India. In this city, the Surya Siddhanta claims, lives a race of siddhas, or advanced spiritual adepts. If you trace the globe of the earth around to the exact opposite side of India, you'll find Mexico. Is it possible that the ancient Indians were well aware of the great sages/astronomers of Central America many centuries before Columbus discovered America? Does this sound unlikely? Yoga Sutra 3:26-28 states that through, samyama (concentration, meditation, and unbroken mental absorption) on sun, moon, and pole star, we can gain knowledge of the planets and stars”.
Courtesy: Yoga International, English Bi Monthly.
TWO
1.Ammachatram is a village situated at 4 kms from Kumbakonam on the Kumbakonam - Mayiladuthurai road in Tamilnadu, Bharat. A signboard displayed at the ‘Madurai Subramanian Saloon’, a haircutting shop run by Sri. Selvaraj here, announces: “Free haircut done here for orphaned children, handicapped persons and destitute elders on the 10th, 20th and 30th of every month”. On an average, 30 to 40 persons avail this offer every month. This seva has been going on for the past 7 years. Last year (2003), Selvaraj has introduced an additional offer. A 50 % concession in haircutting charges for bona fide persons living below the poverty line in the village. A note from the ward member of the Panchayat to that effect will be necessary to avail of the concession, says Selvaraj (Source: Sri. A.Suresh Kumar, Kumbakonam). 2. In Erode, a district place in Tamilnadu, lives Sri. Thangavel. He is employed in the Maruti Haicutting Saloon in the town. During leisure hours, he flawlessly recites slokas in Samskritam such as Lalita Trisati (a bunch of 300 verses on Ambika), Saundarya Lahari by Adi sankara and Rajarajeswari Ashtakam. He recites the Gayatri Mantra, the Mrityunjaya Mantra and Navagraha Stotram in addition to Tamil hymns like Thevaaram and Thiruvachakam. All this he learnt in 10 years. His dream: to compose a verse on a Devata in Samskritam
(Courtesy: Chennai Media Centre News, June 19, 2003).
THREE
Internal security will be in danger without the participation of the public. Bearing this in mind, the Mumbai police have launched a project by name ‘Eagle Brigade’. Under this scheme, a team of service-minded youth is organised in every locality. These youngsters aged 15 to 30, patrol their neighbourhood in the nights. A constable of the local police station accompanies the patrol team. Due to the strict vigil of these unpaid sentinels, a majormishap was averted in the Vile Parle area on February 2, 2003. A bomb blast occurred there at 6 pm that very day injuring 26 persons. Senior police officials and politicians rushed to the spot. Even as the inspection was on, they received a startling information: Two young men of Vile Parle, Shri. Sunil Jadav and Shri. Mohan Devghare, accompanied by police constable Shri. Pravin Baria, were patrolling a street close to the scene of blast. They noticed a suspicious looking tiffin box placed on the carrier of a bicycle on the roadside. They at once alerted the police. Just a few minutes later, there occurred another blast. But thanks to the courage of the two youngsters, there was no damage. In commendation of this good work, the two young men and the police constable were awarded Rs.5,000 each by the Mumbai police. Sunil and Mohan are Swayamsevkas of the RSS.
(Based on a report by Shri. Paresh Navinchandra Bhat
in the Panchajanya of March 9, 2003).
FOUR
Meet Shri. S.A.P.Varadhan. This astrologer of Chennai, Tamilnadu, Bharat is 70 plus. He has this unique practice: as soon as he reads a news item in the daily paper about anyone who is honest, he sends a cheque for Rs.5,000 as gift to that person. Two recent instances: 1. A bank employee lost a bag containing cash of Rs. one lakh in Tirupur. Shri. R. Murugesan, 30, driver and Shri. K.Velan, 24, conductor of a mini bus, found the bag lying on Tirupur Kumaran Road, when they drove that way on regular duty. They handed over the bag in tact to the police. The bank employee got back the cash bag the next day from the police. Varadhan promptly gave Rs. 5,000 each to Murugesan and Velan as gift when he read a report in DINAMANI, Tamil daily, about their honest act. This was in October 2003. 2. Shri. Nagarajan, a conservancy worker with the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, says he will be able to pay the fees for his daughter Valarmathi’s last semester out of the gift of Rs. 5,001 that he received from astrologer Varadhan in appreciation of his act of honesty. While on duty, Nagarajan found a bundle containing ornaments worth Rs. 60,000 in the dust bin. He duly handed it over to the authorities. This was reported in DINAMANI in August 2003. Valarmathi is doing her III B.Sc. Computer Science. Nagarajan .has to work as a casual labourer during off duty hours to earn more so that he could meet the educational expenses of his daughter.
FIVE
This is one village where the police won't be suspended or transferred if they are caught napping. After all, what else will they do when there is no crime? In Seehmai Kari Rat village, residents keep their doors unlocked. They believe their lives and belongings are protected by Shiv Baba, whose shrine is situated in this village on the Akbarpur-Faizabad (UP) road, about 5 km from the district headquarters. The legend goes that about 300 years ago, an ascetic, Shiv Deo Nath Tiwari stayed here for a day while on his way to Prayag to bathe in the Sangam. A local talukdar, Khama Singh, went there while Shiv Deo was meditating near the Veera pond. When the talukdar challenged the saint, the latter threw his dhoti into the air. Shiv Deo told the talukdar that he would have to give away the land over which the dhoti drifted and fell. Subsequently, the talukdar was forced to gift 3,300 bighas of land to the ascetic. Later when Khama Singh's sons tried to grab the donated property the ascetic started a fast unto death and eventually died after 19 days. He was cremated there. The pillars of the pyre turned into a large Vat Vriksh (banyan tree) and began to be worshipped as Shiv Baba. The talukdar's family all died in mysterious circumstances. Since then, natives of Seehmai Kari Rat claim their ancestors were continuously directed through dreams by the ascetic soul not to make doors while building houses. That tradition continues even today. Surprisingly, no incident of loot or theft has been reported in the village for the past 300 years.
Based on a report by Shri. Ravindra Kumar Singh
in the HINDUSTAN TIMES of January 8, 2004.
