1. FESTIVALS: Gita
Jayanti, also referred as Bhagawad
Geetha Jayanthi falls on the Ekadasi day of Shukla Paksha of the Margashirsha,
December 23 this year.It is the day when the Bhagvad Gita was rendered
by Bhagwan Sri Krishna to Arjuna in the Kurukshetra on the first day of the
famous 18-day battle in the Mahabharata. When prince Arjuna refused to fight
against his cousins- the Kauravas in the battle, Sri Krishna expounded the
truth of life and the philosophy of Karma and Dharma to him, thereby giving
birth to one of the world's greatest scriptures, the Gita.Gita Jayanthi is celebrated
worldwide by all those who revere Bhagavad Gita as Mother and respect her,
especially devotees of Krishna. Verses from
all 18 chapters of the Gita are chanted throughout the day. At Kurukshetra, devotees and pilgrims from all
over Bharat gather to take part in the ritual bath in the sacred ponds -
Sannihit Sarovar and Brahm Sarovar. A fair is also organized that lasts for
about a week and the people participate in prayer recitals, Gita reading,
bhajans, aartis, dance, dramas, etc. The
fair has gained immense popularity and a
large number of tourists visit Kurukshetra during the event. At the temples of
ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) across the globe,
Geeta Jayanthi is celebrated with special offerings to Lord Krishna. Gita
Jayanti is also celebrated as Mokshada Ekadashi when devotees observe fast.
2.
HINDU-AMERICAN ELECTED TO US
CONGRESS FOR THE FIRST TIME: Tulsi
Gabbard has created history by becoming the first Hindu-American to have
entered the US House of Representatives, winning the Hawaii seat by trouncing her Republican
rival in a one-sided contest. An Iraq war veteran, 31-year-old
Gabbard defeated K Crowley of the Republican Party with a handsome margin. She
is also the first female combat veterans to serve in the Congress. "Although
there are not very many Hindus in Hawaii,
I never felt discriminated against. I never really gave it a second thought
growing up that any other reality existed, or that it was not the same
everywhere," Tulsi said. Born in American Samoa to a Catholic father and a Hindu mother,
Gabbard moved to Hawaii
with her family when she was two years old. Her parents gave all their five
children Hindu names — Bhakti, Jai, Aryan, Tulsi and Vrindavan. Keen to visit
Bharat at the earliest, Gabbard has pledged to work for closer US-Bharat
relations.
3.
RSS AKHIL BHARATIYA KARYAKARI MANDAL met in Chennai from 2nd to 4th
of November. On 4th of
November, RSS Sarkaryavah, Shri Suresh Bhayyaji Joshi, alongwith Dakshin
Kshetra Sanghachalak Vanniarajan, and Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Dr
Manmohan Vaidya addressed the Press after conclusion of the baithak. Bhayyaji
said that in the baithak, current situation in the country and RSS plans for
the next year were discussed. RSS shakhas are held at 52,000 places in the
country out of which 40,000 are daily and 12,000 weekly/monthly, increased by
3,000 as compared to those held last year. 75% of those who attend daily
shakhas are below 45 years of age and out of those about 20,000 are below 25.
In 11,000 colleges, there are 1000 plus activities for the students. Another
area of focus is IT Professionals. In Pune, Bengaluru and NOIDA, more than 500
shakhas are held by IT professionals. More than 1, 50,000 service projects
especially in slums, urban, tribal areas and remote villages conducted by RSS
swayamsevaks. In the last 2 to 3 years, focus has been on rural development.
250 villages in 15 states have been adopted for carrying out programmes to
improve health, agriculture, self reliance and social harmony. Six hundred new
Goshalas/research units have been started as an outcome of the movement on cow
protection launched by saints called the Vishwa Mangal Gou Gram Yatra in which
RSS volunteers also participated. Two resolutions were passed in the baithak
which follow hereunder:
Resolution No. 1: VIOLENCE IN ASOM AND
NATIONWIDE CHALLENGE OF BANGLADESHI INFILTRATORS: The Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal strongly condemns
the July 2012 violence perpetrated by the Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators in
the Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts of Asom, the violent demonstrations
organized in various parts of the country and the conspiracy to terrorize the
people of North-East living in different parts of the country to flee from
their places and considers all these acts as a serious challenge to the
country. Continuously growing
infiltration in the Asom and nearby areas has created state of a serious
crisis.
The infiltrators have
settled in large numbers in all the four districts of Bodoland Territorial Area
District (BTAD) which was created as a result of an agreement with the Central
and State Govts in 2003. These infiltrators have vitiated the social, cultural,
natural, economic, religious and political environment over there with far
reaching consequences. Muslims had
called for a bandh on May 29, 2012 demanding reservations in the Bodoland
Territorial Council (BTC). The
unconstitutional assurances of providing reservations to Muslims, given by some
political parties of the country flared up the situation. The situation went
beyond control after the brutal murder of four Bodo youths by the Muslims on
July 20, 2012. In the violence that followed, as per Govt records Ninety
persons were killed and four lakhs were displaced into relief camps. Large number of infiltrators are staying in
these relief camps, they need to be identified and deported. From this point of
view, the resolve of several organizations of Asom, expressed from common platform,
of not allowing rehabilitation of these infiltrators is praiseworthy.
Indeed, on
account of illegal assistance and support being extended by the political
parties having vested interests and the local residents having communal
sympathy towards the Muslim infiltrators, these infiltrators are increasing
their clout in local politics besides capturing land, forests, employment
opportunities and other resources. Stern action against such elements extending
assistance and support to these infiltrators is necessary.
The ABKM
decries attempts to portray the Asom incidents in particular and Bangladeshi
infiltrators’ issue in general as a Muslim issue. Inflammatory utterances of
certain leaders inside and outside the Parliament about fresh wave of
radicalization of Muslims and visit of MP’s belonging to only Muslim community
to some select camps in the violence affected areas should be condemned by all
right thinking sections of the society as efforts to give communal colour to
the essentially natives versus foreigners issue.
People in the
country are deeply concerned about the preplanned, aggressive and violent
demonstrations organized by the Muslim fundamentalists in Mumbai, Prayag, Lucknow, Kanpur, Bareilly, Ahmedabad, Jodhpur,
etc. in the aftermath of Asom
incidents. Violent demonstrators in
Mumbai have not only attacked media persons and citizens, snatched away arms
from policemen and dared to derogate and destroy national monuments but also
targetedly humiliated and manhandled women police personnel. It is even more
serious that the Administration could neither anticipate such incidents nor is
showing keenness to identify and punish the culprits. The ABKM strongly condemns all these acts.
At the same time,
the anti national elements began issuing, personally and through communication
channels, threats to the people of North East residing in different parts of
the country of vengeance after the Ramzan.
This forced people from Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai to flee in large
numbers to their homes in the North East. In this hour of crisis, thousands of
patriotic persons demonstrating highest
sentiments for national integrity and sense of responsibility , stood up to
provide security and all kinds of help to these fear stricken people and persuaded
them not to leave their places. That is
the reason why the wave of fear did not spread to other places and the self
confidence of the people of North East was restored. The ABKM expresses hearty appreciation for
all those citizens and reassures the people of North East that the whole country
stands by them. The ABKM demands from
the Government to identify and bring to book such anti-national scare mongers
for stringent punishment.
In spite of the
Supreme Court striking down the infiltration-friendly Illegal Migrant
Determination by Tribunals Act 1983, orders of Honourable High Courts of Delhi
and Guwahati for deportation of the infiltrators and senior and responsible
officials repeatedly drawing the attention towards the gravity of the issue,
both the Central and various State Govts motivated by their vote bank politics
are only encouraging these forces, rather than acting firmly against them. Bangladeshi infiltrators have today spread in
the entire nation. These infiltrators, besides disturbing the demographic
balance, are posing serious threat to the security of the country by indulging
in various objectionable and illegal acts. They are involved in the circulation
of fake currency, illegal trade of arms, drugs and cattle smuggling and several
other criminal acts besides becoming a tool in the hands of the ISI.
The ABKM demands
that the Central and State Govts, in the light of the Foreigners Act 1946 and
the orders of various Courts, including the Supreme Court, should meticulously
detect, deny citizenship facilities and deport all Bangladeshi infiltrators.
Names of those persons who have got enlisted in the voter lists too need to be
deleted immediately. While rehabilitating the persons displaced in
Asom violence, care must be taken that the infiltrators do not get resettled
over there and no infiltrator gets the Adhar card. The ABKM also demands from
the Govt that the work of fencing the Bangladesh border be completed
without delay. The National Register of Citizens be completed systematically.
The ABKM calls
upon the patriotic citizens to treat this issue as a national problem and play
active role in detecting these infiltrators and deleting their names from the
voter lists and also to keep in mind that engaging the infiltrators in any work
assignment is not only illegal but, also a grave danger to the country.
Resolution
No. 2: Need for a Comprehensive National
Security Policy vis-a-vis China: On
the eve of 50 years of China - Bharat war of 1962, the Akhil Bharatiya
Karyakari Mandal pays rich tributes to the thousands of brave soldiers who had
laid down their lives in that war trying to defend our country's borders.
Countless stories of inspiring chivalry have been buried under the glaciated
battle fields of the Himalayas in Ladakh and
Arunachal Pradesh alongwith the bodies of those brave soldiers. Even after 50
years bodies of some of those soldiers are being found on the mountains.
Our soldiers
were made to fight a war in which they were ill-equipped and grossly
outnumbered by the enemy. What is most unfortunate is that in its ignoble
attempt to hide its failures, the then political leadership of the country also
suppressed the courage and sacrifice of these brave soldiers. The ABKM appeals
to the nation to respectfully remember their valour and sacrifices.
The ABKM reiterates
its solemn and firm commitment to the integrity of Bharat. The outcome of the
war of 1962 remains a sad memory for the nation. We lost around 38,000 sq. km
of our territory to the Chinese aggressors in that war. The Aksai Chin region
continues to be under Chinese control. Our Parliament had passed a unanimous
resolution on 14 November 1962 swearing to take back every inch of the
territory occupied. However, the ABKM notes with regret that instead of working
towards that objective the Governments are engaged only in legalising the LAC
in the name of border talks. On its part, China has not stopped its invasion
after 1962. It continues to nibble away our territory through endless
incursions along all the three sectors of the Bharat-Tibet border.
It is universally
acknowledged that the debacle of 1962 was essentially the making of the
political and diplomatic leadership of our country. Warnings by several eminent
people including Sardar Patel and Sri Guruji were unheeded to by the then
leadership which went about with its romantic world view totally ignoring the
ground situation. China had
annexed Tibet
first and then launched aggression on our territory. Unfortunately, the facts
of the Bharat - China
war of 1962 are still hidden in the South Block cupboards. It is most
unfortunate that successive Governments have refused to declassify key
documents like the Henderson Brooks - PS Bhagat Report. The ABKM demands that
the report be immediately declassified so that the nation would be benefitted
by the knowledge of the blunders committed while the political, diplomatic and
military leadership too would be able to learn many a lesson from those
mistakes.
China has strategically built and upgraded its border
infrastructure along Bharat-Tibet border that includes a network of air bases,
missile launching pads, cantonments and other physical infrastructure. The ABKM
calls upon our Government that in view of the enhanced threats from the
aggressive manoeuvres of China
along the border Bharat also should invest adequately in border management and
security preparedness. The demand of the
Armed Forces to develop special Mountain Strike Corps is still hanging fire due
to lethargy and red tape in the Government. Modern wars are not necessarily
fought only on the borders. We need to develop comprehensive military
technological superiority keeping in view the rapid strides China has made
in this field. While we can take pride in our advances and successes in missile
technology we are still dependent in a big way on imports for major military
hardware.
The deep penetration of China
in vital sectors like energy, information and communication technology,
industry and commerce in Bharat and its designs to divert our river waters are
a serious cause of concern.
The ABKM underscores
the threat from China
in the field of cyber technology and communications. China
has invested heavily in developing strong cyber warfare capability using which
it can cripple the technological capabilities of even the advanced countries
like the US.
Those countries are also concerned about this threat from China and are
taking counter measures. While our advances in hi tech areas are noteworthy the
ABKM urges the Government should give necessary importance to augmenting our
cyber-security capability also. Bharat
has always strived to
maintain good relations with various countries. About two decades ago we
exhorted a new Look East Policy thereby trying to establish closer relations
with countries to our East and South-East. We have all along been the champions
of peace in the world. In order for us to achieve these lofty ideals the ABKM
urges the Government that it should learn lessons from the 1962 experience and
give highest priority to developing a comprehensive national security policy
vis-a-vis China.
4. SEWA SERVES SANDY
VICTIMS: The US North East witnessed
terrible destruction from Hurricane Sandy last week of October 2012 onwards. As
always SEWA volunteers came with a quick action plan to cater to the victims.
One such event was held at the Community Food Bank in Hillside, NJ
4th November. Twelve YOUTH volunteers from Sewa International USA spent
the Sunday morning at the food bank helping with sorting and packing about 100
large boxes of food & groceries. The
Community Food Bank of New
Jersey fights hunger and poverty by distributing food
and groceries, to help people with low incomes. Traci, the volunteer
co-ordinator at the FoodBank noted, “It was a pleasure to see SEWA volunteers
in action today and I’m looking forward to building a huge Volunteer
Relationship in the future”. In addition to weekend volunteering, Sewa is also
conducting a Diwali Food Drive
to aid the hurricane victims.
5. A UNIQUE PATH SANCHALAN: 16,000
Swayamsevaks of Indore set an unparalleled example by taking out a relay
‘Charaiveti’ path sanchalan covering
54 kilometres in 12 hours, starting at 7.00 in the morning from Samarth Math,
Rambagh and culminating at 7.00 in the evening at Chimanbagh after taking a
round of the city. The path sanchalan reached
at every spot in the city at the predetermined time, accurate minute to minute.
Indore city has
been divided in four districts – Dwarika, Rameshwaram, Badrinath and Jagannath
– and in 24 nagars by RSS. The
swayamsevaks of every nagar took over
as soon as the path sanchalan reached
their nagar. In his bauddhik at the end of sanchalan at Chiman Bagh, Vibhag pracharak Pramod Jha called
upon the swayamsevaks to become brave
as the God likes brave persons.
6. Naga IAS
officer builds 100-km road in Manipur without govt help: A 2005 graduate from St
Stephen's College in Delhi,
Armstrong Pame is the sub-divisional magistrate of Tamenglong, his home
district, and the first IAS officer from the Zeme tribe. He has, of his own
volition, begun the construction of a 100-km road that would link Manipur with
Nagaland and Assam.
Incidentally, the Centre had sanctioned Rs 101 crore in 1982 for the
construction of this road, but the project never took off. In June-July 2012,
there was an outbreak of tropical diseases like typhoid and malaria. It takes
two days for anyone in the village to make it to the nearest hospital on foot
in the absence of a motorable road. Hundreds of patients had to be carried on
makeshift bamboo stretchers, but very few made it to the town alive.
To
construct an all-weather, motorable
road in an area untouched by the progress made by independent Bharat in the
last six decades was an uphill task. And with no help coming from the
government, Pame turned to his family and well-wishers.
"Armstrong
and I grew up in a village in Tousem
amid a lot of hardships. Our father was a schoolteacher and had a limited
income. We used to walk down to the district headquarters, about 60km away, and
carry 25 kilos of rice back home. It used to take us four days to go and come
back and the rations used to last for two weeks. The remoteness of our village
ruined its economy. So, when Armstrong proposed to undertake the venture, we
all threw our lot with him," said Jeremiah Pame, an assistant professor at
the Delhi University and elder brother of
Armstrong. "My wife and I donated our one month's salary, Armstrong paid five months' of his,
and our mother paid our dad's one month's pension of Rs 5,000. Our youngest
brother, Lungtuabui, recently started working. He donated his entire first month's
pay for the project," he added.
The
family together pooled Rs 4 lakh to
start the project. They hired a bulldozer and bought two earthmovers. "But
it was not enough; we needed more. So, we turned to internet. We created a
page, seeking donations. In the last three days, we have received Rs 1.2 lakh
from friends all over the globe, with contributions varying from Rs 50 to
$1000. And they are willing to contribute more," the young bureaucrat
said. "The villagers, too, have contributed as per their capabilities:
some are providing food and accommodation for the workers; some are supplying
fuel for the earthmovers. They have also provided manpower for the project.
We did not have to engage a contractor with so many
people volunteering to shoulder that responsibility," he added. Donation centres have been set up in Delhi, Pune,
Bengaluru, Chennai, Guwahati, Shillong and Dimapur and NRIs from Canada, USA
and the UK
have been sending their contributions for the project christened as Tamenglong-Haflong Road.
The road will form a tri-junction with Nagaland and Assam
over the Jiri River
before entering the Dima Hasao district (formerly North Cachar Hills district)
of Assam.
Construction began in August this year, but stopped midway due to the rains. It
resumed in September, and so far, work on 70km has been completed.
7.
SHARADOTSAVA 2012 AT CHITRAKOOT: A 3-day cultural programme 29th-31st
October 2012 was held at Chitrakoot on the occasion of the 96th birth anniversary of Rashtrarishi Nanaji
Deshmukh. The programme was jointly organised by Deendayal Research Institute, New Delhi and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government
of Madhya Pradesh at Ramnath Goenka Ghat on the banks of the holy Mandakini River. In the inaugural evening,
Classical Singer Pawan Tiwari sang devotional songs; and a dance troupe, led by
renowned film actress Gracy Singh enacted dance performances based on the life
of Radha-Krishna. Sharat-Poornima Prasad of Amratmayee Kheer was distributed to
thousands of participants at the end of the programme.
The
second evening, had performances by the folk dancers of Madhyapradesh and Rajasthan
famous classical & Bharatnatyam performer Deepti Dimple Shah enacted dance
performances based on the life of Sita-Ram. Renowned Singer Nitin Mukesh
delighted the audience by his excellent singing on the final day programme
organized at Deendayal Khel Parisar, Udyamita Vidyapeeth.
8. RAMANUJAN’S GENIUS FINALLY PROVEN: Hence proved! A US scientist has finally proven the
mathematical relation — discussed by great Bharatiya mathematician Srinivasa
Ramanujan with his mentor G.H. Hardy in one of his last letters. Ramanujan, the
young genius who died at the age of 32, often managed to leap from insight to
insight without formally proving the logical steps in between. Ken Ono of Emory University
in Atlanta, Georgia settled on a discussion in
the last known letter that Mr. Ramanujan wrote to Mr. Hardy, concerning a type
of function now called a modular form.
Functions are equations that can be drawn as graphs on an axis, like a sine wave, and produce an output when computed for any chosen input or value. The functions looked unlike any other modular forms, but Mr. Ramanujan wrote that their outputs would be very similar to those of modular forms when computed for the roots of 1 like the square root —1.
Characteristically, Mr. Ramanujan offered neither proof nor explanation for this conclusion.
It was only 10 years later that mathematicians formally defined this other set of functions, now known as mock modular forms.
However, still no one fathomed what Mr. Ramanujan meant by saying the two types of function produced similar outputs for roots of 1.
Now Mr. Ono and colleagues have exactly calculated one of Mr. Ramanujan’s mock modular forms for values very close to —1, and said the difference in the value of the two functions, ignoring the functions signs, is tiny when computed for —1, just like Mr. Ramanujan said.
The result confirms Mr. Ramanujan’s incredible intuition, said Mr. Ono.
Functions are equations that can be drawn as graphs on an axis, like a sine wave, and produce an output when computed for any chosen input or value. The functions looked unlike any other modular forms, but Mr. Ramanujan wrote that their outputs would be very similar to those of modular forms when computed for the roots of 1 like the square root —1.
Characteristically, Mr. Ramanujan offered neither proof nor explanation for this conclusion.
It was only 10 years later that mathematicians formally defined this other set of functions, now known as mock modular forms.
However, still no one fathomed what Mr. Ramanujan meant by saying the two types of function produced similar outputs for roots of 1.
Now Mr. Ono and colleagues have exactly calculated one of Mr. Ramanujan’s mock modular forms for values very close to —1, and said the difference in the value of the two functions, ignoring the functions signs, is tiny when computed for —1, just like Mr. Ramanujan said.
The result confirms Mr. Ramanujan’s incredible intuition, said Mr. Ono.
9. NEW WORLD RECORD FOR PLANTING TREES
IN LEH: On October 29, Leh became
witness to an event in which 9,814 volunteers planted 99,103 saplings of
Ladakhi willow within the stipulated time of one hour. Although short of the
targeted 1 lakh trees, the number was enough to set a world record. It bettered
the previous record of planting 66,000 trees set in the Philippines in
January last year.
The event was organised by Live to Love International, an NGO founded by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, the supreme spiritual head of the Drukpa lineage of Mahayana Buddhism. Volunteers had travelled several kilometres to participate in the record breaking event. Chhewang Spalwar, who was the leader of one of the groups, had come from Nubra, about 150 km from Leh. Tanzi Mongo had come from Phukte, 30 km from the plantation site while Rigzin had come from a village located 35 km away from the Hemis monastery. The event also coincided with the ongoing fourth Annual Drupka Council (ADC) and hence there were volunteers from countries like Bhutan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. The event concluded with cries of 'gyospa' (hurry up) and 'kikisoso largayallo'. The facilitating ceremony was celebrated with the traditional Zabra dance and a performance by the Ladakh Scouts.
The event was organised by Live to Love International, an NGO founded by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, the supreme spiritual head of the Drukpa lineage of Mahayana Buddhism. Volunteers had travelled several kilometres to participate in the record breaking event. Chhewang Spalwar, who was the leader of one of the groups, had come from Nubra, about 150 km from Leh. Tanzi Mongo had come from Phukte, 30 km from the plantation site while Rigzin had come from a village located 35 km away from the Hemis monastery. The event also coincided with the ongoing fourth Annual Drupka Council (ADC) and hence there were volunteers from countries like Bhutan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. The event concluded with cries of 'gyospa' (hurry up) and 'kikisoso largayallo'. The facilitating ceremony was celebrated with the traditional Zabra dance and a performance by the Ladakh Scouts.
10. GOD’S TREASURE SHOULD REMAIN IN
SHRINE: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen
Chandy on November 9 rejected the CPI(M) argument that the treasures at the Sri
Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram were public property even as
Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan said he would implead in the case pertaining
to the shrine in the Supreme Court. Chandy said the assets should remain within
the temple itself. “These treasures belong to the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.
It can never be seen as public property,” Chandy told mediapersons in
Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, within 24 hours of State CPI(M) secretary
Pinarayi Vijayan making the claim that a major portion of the invaluable treasures
kept in the shrine’s six secret vaults was public property.
11. SUPER 30 FOUNDER BECOMES 'PEOPLE'S
HERO': Anand Kumar, founder of Super
30 institute, which provides free residential coaching to students from underprivileged
families for IIT-JEE exams, has found a place in the People magazine as the
"People's Hero." People magazine of the Time magazine group in its
latest Bharatiya edition issue carries a detailed feature on Anand, listing him
as a "People's Hero," a release said.
This is a rare occasion as the magazine, which usually profiles celebrities from films and other fields, has chosen a person who is a teacher by profession.
"Anand has done it on his own, which is remarkable," the magazine has said.
"It feels great to find a place in 'People'. It will inspire me to work even harder. I am not a celebrity. I am just an ordinary man, but it is a great gesture from the magazine to find me good enough for this honour," the release quoted Kumar as saying.
This is a rare occasion as the magazine, which usually profiles celebrities from films and other fields, has chosen a person who is a teacher by profession.
"Anand has done it on his own, which is remarkable," the magazine has said.
"It feels great to find a place in 'People'. It will inspire me to work even harder. I am not a celebrity. I am just an ordinary man, but it is a great gesture from the magazine to find me good enough for this honour," the release quoted Kumar as saying.
12. BHARATIYA-AMERICAN DESIGNS FLYING
ROBOT: Bharatiya-American computer
scientist Ashutosh Saxena and his team at Cornell University
have created a flying robot as smart as any bird, with a tremendous potential
in search-and-rescue operations. Designed by Saxena, assistant professor at
Cornell, the flying robot, the size of a card table is able to guide itself
through forests, tunnels or damaged buildings.
The toughest part is keeping the object from slamming into walls and tree branches.
Saxena, who did his B.Tech. in 2004 from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, in a bid to overcome these limitations is building on methods he previously had developed to turn a flat video camera image into a 3-D model.
Saxena plans to improve the robot’s ability to respond to environment variations such as winds and enable it to detect and avoid moving objects, like real birds. The results were presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Portugal during early October.
The toughest part is keeping the object from slamming into walls and tree branches.
Saxena, who did his B.Tech. in 2004 from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, in a bid to overcome these limitations is building on methods he previously had developed to turn a flat video camera image into a 3-D model.
Saxena plans to improve the robot’s ability to respond to environment variations such as winds and enable it to detect and avoid moving objects, like real birds. The results were presented at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Portugal during early October.
13. Yoga is
Truly Universal: Father John Ferreira, a Catholic priest in Agra,
whose book on yoga, "Health, Wealth and Happiness Through Yoga" was
recently released by Archbishop Albert D'Souza of Agra, said the exercise is beyond religion
and "truly universal". “The book is a primer, aimed at popularising
the intricate knowledge of the esoteric science of yoga, which is beyond
religion and truly universal," he added. He further said that modern
society with its cup full of stresses, and a package of mental and physical
ailments, stands in dire need for Bharat's yogic knowledge.
"Yoga
integrated into the school curriculum
will provide a holistic approach to education as a science that not only
prepares a student for life but provides the art of living well. Fr.
Ferreira said he has been a follower of
many yoga gurus and has extensive research to produce the book. The book also
includes views of Christian priests who have approved his yoga experiments.
14. Harappan people used an older form of Brahmi
script: Expert-- A palm leaf manuscript discovered from Harappan site in Afghanistan has
strengthened the belief of existence of a proto Brahmi script, which was used
by Indus Valley people, said Dr DP Sharma, Harappan archaeologist and director,
Bharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in the International
Conference on Harappan Archaeology held recently in Chandigarh. Sharma has
carried out research on the palm leaf manuscript with Archaeological Survey of
India (ASI) for the last five years. The palm leaf has Harappan as well as Kohi
script engraved.
"Kohi
symbols and letters have an affinity
with the Harappan script and hence can be very significant in the decipherment
of Harappan scripts. At the same time the palm leaf manuscript has seven lines,
which is the longest script recovered from any Harappan site. So far the
scripts or the signs of Indus Valley script engraved on tablets, seals,
potteries and other objects had not more than 18 letters or pictures,"
informed Sharma.
15. SEVA SANGAMA—2012 IN
SHIMOGA: The two-day Sewa Sangama -2012 jointly organised by Rashtriya Sewa
Bharati and Hindu Seva Pratishthana concluded at Shimoga - Karnatak on October
28 with the call to ‘get involve of in regular sewa and involve others in
sewa’. At the concluding ceremony presided
over by the Akhil Bharatiya Sah Sewa Pramukh Shri Ajit Prasad Mahopatra and
attended by Director of the Hindu Seva Pratishtana Shri Shridhar Sagar and
Uttar Kannada Prant Pracharak Shri Gopal Bhat; Shri gopal Bhat said we have to
serve the society not to ‘do and die’ but for ‘do and live’. He said the sewa
is not only service during calamities but also serving the needy and the
society in our day-to-day life.
On October 27, the Sewa Sangam was inaugurated by
Shri Prasannanatha Swamiji of Adichunchungiri Mutt who spoke on the need to
preserve dharma through sewa by quoting examples of lessons from Ramayana,
Mahabharata, Vedas and Upanishdas.
16. Prime Minister of Canada visits Someshwara
Temple at Bangalore: Canada PM Stephen Harper, along with his wife Ms Laureen Harper, visited the historic Sree
Someshwara Temple at Ulsoor in
Bangalore, on November 8 evening. Mr Harper and his spouse came to the temple
barefoot. The Temple Priest Sri Sundar Dixit explained the history of the
temple, which has a mixture of Chola, Hoysala and Vijayanagar architecture, to
the Harpers. The Prime Minister had a deep look at the Gopuram (the Main
Entrance) and was amused to see the temple architecture inside. The Harpers
stood in front of the Sree Kaamakshaamba and Sree Someshwara Swamy Uyyale
Mantapa, where the decorated idols of Lord Shiva and Parvathi were there. The
priest chanted mantras and performed Aarathi. The Harpers took the Aarathi and
touched their eyes.
17. World's
longest married couple is FROM Bharat: In an age where few marriages endure the test of
time, a centurion Bharatiya couple have lived in wedded bliss for 87 years
making them the world's longest married couple. 107-year-old Karam and his wife
Katari Chand, 100, who have eight children and 28 grandchildren together, say
that the key to success is looking after each other in every way possible. The marriage of the NRI couple, who now live
in Bradford, has lasted nearly five years
longer than that of the current Guinness world record holders and the couple is
in the process of getting confirmation from the company that they will be named
as the new record holders. "I have been told laughing makes you live
longer. My wife is still alive so it must have worked! I love her so much and I
want to spend another 80 years by her side," said Karam. From romantic
meals to sharing jokes, the couple hailing from Punjab
ensure to do little things to keep the romance alive.
18. Hindu
Funeral Hall in Melbourne: The first Hindu Funeral Hall in Melbourne was recently inaugurated at Le Pine
Funerals in presence of Rakesh Kawra, representing the Consulate General of
Bharat and approximately 70 people from different faiths and religions. Addressing
the audience, Kawra said that the Government of Bharat has made many provisions
for funeral help to those Bharatiyas who meet death overseas. Dr. Jayant Bapat,
a prominent priest, serving the community for about 30 years, spoke about the
significance of final Samskara at the time of a death, as per the Hindu philosophy.
The Le Pine hall was well decorated with the large canvass drops of the shloks
from Bhagvat Geeta which were specially imported from Nagpur. There were also picture frames of
gods and an idol of Krishna. Dr. Ravi Bhave,
President Maharashtra Mandal and Mrs. Geeta Devi, President VHP both emphasised
the need of such services for the reapidly growing Hindu community in Victoria.
19. GANGA SAMAGRA YATRA: The month long Ganga Samagra Yatra conducted by senior
BJP leader and head of the party’s Save Ganga Project, Uma Bharati, concluded
in Gangotri on October 28. She made it clear that her Yatra has no political
intention and her endevour is purely to save the holy river.
20. CHINA,
BHARAT SET TO DWARF G7 BY 2030: OECD:
China's economy is likely to
overtake the Eurozone's this year, Bharat is leapfrogging Japan and by 2030 the Asian pair will be bigger
than the US, euro area and Japan
combined, the OECD said on Friday. In a crystal-ball exercise to tease out
long-term trends in the global economy, the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) said the combined gross domestic product of China and Bharat
was likely to exceed that of all the current Group of Seven rich economies by
around 2025. Their output in 2010 was less than half the G7's GDP. The
projections of the Paris-based OECD, a club of industrial democracies, are
based on 2005 purchasing power parities (PPP).
21. SHRI VISHWA NIKETAN: Visitors:
Pravaas: Dr. Sadanand Sapre
sahsamyoak Vishwa Vibhag will visit Mauritius,
South Africa and Kenya in Dec – Jan. Shri Shyam Parande,
Secretary Sewa International will visit UK and Finlandd in Nov – Dec.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: If you really want the good of others, the whole
universe may stand against you and cannot hurt you. – Swami Vivekananda.
JAI SHREE RAM
P.O.BOX 5728 SRT NAGAR, NEW DELHI 110055 (BHARAT);
Email: vishwav@bol.net.in
No. Sm1216/2069 (For Private Circulation OnlyTel: 91-11- 23684445;
Fax: 91-11-23517
P.O.BOX 5728 SRT NAGAR, NEW DELHI 110055 (BHARAT);
Email: vishwav@bol.net.in
