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www.abplgroup.com - Asian Voice 27th April 2013
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A Brahmin comes to Dhritharashtra’s court
hile the Pandavas were in the forest, many Brahmins would come to stay with them. One of these Brahmins who had spent some time with the Pandavas, went to Hastinapur and met king Dhritharashtra. The Brahmin, who was an expert storyteller, started narrating to the king the plight of the Pandavas in the forest. He told the king of how the five brothers had become thin and emaciated, exposed to the sun and at the mercy of the elements and the forest for such a long time. He recounted how their queen Draupadi was in terrible mental anguish and pain. After hearing all this, the king cried out in pain. Karna and Duryodhana’s uncle Sakuni came to hear of what the Brahmin had told the king and immediately went to Prince Duryodhana to tell him that the Pandavas were in the forest called Dwaita and were staying along the banks of a lake. They told Duryodhana that if he appeared with a large retinue of dancing girls on
the other side of the lake, the Pandavas would see him having a very good time and feel jealous. This way, he would be able to increase their suffering. Duryodhana told Karna that this was a very good idea, but his father, the king, would never permit him to go anywhere near the Pandavas. Duryodhana said, “I would love to make the Pandavas jealous. I am now the undisputed king of the whole land but all this wealth cannot compare to the happiness I will get watching the Pandavas suffer.” Duryodhana told Shakuni and Karna that the next day, while he would be sitting in court with this father and Bhishma Pitamah, they should come and declare that all the cows in the kingdom had wandered off to graze near the lake in the forest and that Duryodhana should go there to check on his cows. Duryodhana was sure the king would agree without sensing anything amiss in
the plan. And so Duryodhana went into the forest with a large retinue. They camped down near the lake, revelling at a spot where the Pandavas could see them and burn with jealousy. There was music, dancing, food and the sounds of the merry laughter of dancing girls. Duryodhana, together with Karna and his brother, went on hunting expeditions and returned with several of their kills. They then decided to build a dancing hall along the lake. When Duryodhana sent his people to clear the area, they were stopped by a group of Gandharvas who also lived there. The king of the Gandharvas had already chosen that area for a huge retinue of Gandharvas and Apsaras to practice their dancing there. So the Gandharvas told Duryodhana’s men that they would not be allowed on the bank of the lake. (To be continued)
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Lessons in career management from
Hanuman Chalisa
Dhruv Chhatralia
T
he world has yet to have a manager like Hanuman. The first reason for this is that He is an absolutely successful person. He has never failed in life. There are six reasons why He is successful. The first is a positive mind. Second, His goal inspired Him: RamKaaj (the work of Ram). We must ask ourselves: what is the purpose for which I have come here. Every individual has a gift inside them that is unique. Ask yourself two questions: if you had no limitation of time and no compulsion to earn money then would you do what you are doing? If the answer is “yes” then you are fulfilling your purpose. Third He accepts challenges with a positive attitude. Fourth, He bowed down to everyone. He is not an egotist at all. The definition of Hanuman is Hanu (to destroy) and maan (ego); one who has destroyed His ego is Hanuman. Fifth, Hanuman had faith towards His mission. When you have faith in your work then your work will be worship. Sixth, emotional intelligence. If an intelligent person is not emotional then he will not be successful and a person must be spiritually orientated to use his intelligence and emotions in
the right combination. Hanuman is described as having all three. The second reason why Hanuman is an excellent manager is because He breaks boundaries. When going to find Sita, Hanuman did the job He had to do but He is not remembered in Lanka for meeting Sitaji but for burning Lanka. Third, a person’s inner wealth is determined by how much efforts are needed to break his self-esteem. In Lanka, everyone was taunting Hanuman but it did not affect Him. There are some people who support us and some who are opponents. Both of these people are always in a minority. Not more than 5% are supporters and not more than 5% are opponents. Then there is the 90% who cannot take a clear stand. Our success in life depends not how you behave with the supporters or opposers but how you deal with the 90% independent people. If we think 95% of people are our opponents then that energy works against us but if we think 95% of people are our supporters then that energy supports us. Hanuman understood this law of nature and won 95% supporters. You can watch Dhruv's talks at www.gitaclass. org and www.twitter. com/ DhruvChhatralia.
Actor Rajesh Khanna received his Padma Bhushan, India's thirdhighest civilian award. The award was collected on his behalf by his wife Dimple Kapadia. Khanna died on July 18 last year. An emotional Twinkle, Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia's elder daughter, was also present at the ceremony. Comedian Jaspal Bhatti also received his Padma Bhushan posthumously. He died last October and his wife Savita collected his award. Industrialist Adi Godrej and boxer Mary Kom also received the Padma Bhushan. Artist S H Raza received his Padma Vibhushan, India's secondhighest civilian award. Wrestler Yogeshwar
Dutt, shooter Vijay Kumar, Sholay director Ramesh Sippy and actor Nana Patekar received the Padma Shri. Boxer Mary Kom was awarded the Padma Bhushan but was not present at the ceremony to collect it. The awards were handed out by President Pranab Mukherjee. The first batch of awards were
Pull back troops from Ladakh, India tells China
25
handed out on April 5, when actresses Sharmila Tagore and Sridevi, and cricketer Rahul Dravid collected their awards. The list of honours were announced on January 25 and the selection committee this year included actress Ratna Pathak Shah, scientist Anil Kakodkar and Union Home Secretary RK Singh, among others.
Eight killed in Bengal storm
India asked China to maintain status quo at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) prior to the intrusion into Ladakh on April 15. Syed Akbaruddin, spokesperson at the Ministry of External Affairs, told a press briefing that the second flag meeting between the two Armies was held and that the government hopes to resolve the matter peacefully. "Similar incidents in the past have been resolved peacefully," Akbaruddin said. He was referring to the intrusion by a platoon of Chinese troops 10 km inside the Indian territory in Ladakh's Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector. The Chinese soldiers are still camping there and India has moved more
troops to the region amid escalating tensions. The MEA spokesperson rejected China's denial that its troops had camped deep inside the Indian territory. Earlier, Chinese troops apparently made inroads into the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector of eastern Ladakh and erected a tented post there last week. Indian Army officials were, however, not too perturbed about the incursion, holding that it was a common occurrence. "In that area, patrols do have a faceoff every now and then due to differing perceptions of where the Line of Actual Control lies. We resolve it through existing consultative border mechanisms," said a senior officer.
At least eight people were killed in the storm that lashed parts of West Bengal, an official said. While three deaths were reported from the state capital Kolkata and adjoining districts, five more deaths were reported from other parts of the state. The state government has announced a compensation of `200,000 to the victims' next of kin, an official said. The storm lashed Kolkata and other districts with a maximum wind speed of 116 km per hour, disrupting normal life as road, rail and air services were badly hit. Locally known as Nor'wester, the storm also uprooted hundreds of trees. A number of wall collapse incidents were reported from various parts of the city and the state.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the 2G spectrum scam in its draft report sought to give a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P Chidambaram, saying then telecom minister A Raja had failed to keep them in the loop about changes made in the policy. According to sources, the draft report, which is yet to be approved by members, said the norms for allocation of spectrum under the "first-come-firstserved" policy were tweaked at the last minute to enable a few companies to jump the queue, and neither Singh or Chidambaram played any role in this. Raja reportedly changed the rules without informing the PM. According to reports, "the committee is inclined to conclude that the PM was misled about the procedure decided to be followed by the Department of Telecommunications in
respect of issuance of UAS licences." It added that the "assurance" given by Raja "in all his correspondence with the PM to maintain full transparency in following established rules and procedures of the department stood belied". Sources said the draft report also rubbished the loss figure of Rs 1,760 billion estimated by CAG, saying it was "ill-conceived". JPC chairman P C Chacko has to get the backing of a majority of the 30 members of the committee to carry through the draft report. The UPA has 12 members on the panel. Meanwhile, DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan said: "If the JPC makes any charges against Raja without hearing him and calling him for deposition, then the report will be incomplete and biased. It will be a one-sided report."
Opposition protests JPC report: A political storm broke out over the draft JPC report with Raja claiming that all decisions were taken in consultation with Manmohan Singh and the BJP accusing PC Chacko of trying to save the government. Chacko, however, sought to defend the draft saying it was based on the terms of reference which covered a 10-year period. "We have to go in a chronological order...it is not that we are targeting one person or period," he said adding that the members should look at the draft on the basis of merit and not with a "political mind". BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad said, "The draft report looks like a Congress document and not a JPC report in which there is an overpowering desire to save its leaders including the Prime Minister and the finance minister in the 2G scam."
2G case: JPC gives clean chit to Manmohan, Chidambaram