Sulabh Swachh Bharat - Vol-2 - (Issue 04)

04 08 Jatayu Sumukhi Sculpture Suresh The Myth comes alive in a remote hill in Kerala

“Call Us Comics, Not Female Comedians”

16 Viewpoint Youth symbolises immense energy and hope

26 Dragon Dance in Kolkata The revival of Pei May school teaching Mandarin Chinese sulabhswachhbharat.com FIND US ONLINE

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RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561

A Good News Weekly

Protecting man and animal The Pilibhit Tiger Rescue Centre promises to curb man-beast conflict

Vol - 2 | Issue - 04 | January 08 - 14, 2018 | Price ` 5/-

srawan shukla

T

o check the increasing conflict between the majestic predators – tigers – and the human beings, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has decided to set-up the state’s first Tiger Rescue Centre at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve.

As many as half a dozen people were mauled by a tiger and a leopard in the past year in Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri and Bahraich districts. About a dozen cases of the attacks were reported in the last four months alone.

Spread over an area of 703 kms in three districts, one of the major problems in areas falling under Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is that there are patches which are only 3 to 5 km in width. “They provide easy access and route to leopards and tigers to enter human habitat in search of food,” said S.K. Upadhyaya, Chief Wildlife Conservator.

It has been noticed that villages in the close vicinity of these smallwidth patches are more prone to attacks from the big cats than the

Quick Glance Half a dozen people were mauled by a tiger and a leopard in 2017

A fear psychosis has prevailed with predator attacks

The Tiger Rescue Centre will have facilities to keep 15-20 tigers at a time

02

Cover Story

January 08 - 14, 2018 the chief wildlife conservator.

Work on the Detailed Project Report (DPR) has already begun but since it will take time, the state government has already sanctioned Rs 3.5 crore to start work on setting up the Tiger Rescue Centre at the earliest.

The state government has also sought permission from the Supreme Court and the Central Zoo Authority to develop the

The Yogi Adityanath government decided to set up the first tiger rescue centre

others. “Majority of attacks took place in these villages in the area,” Upadhyaya pointed out.

Since it is a sugarcane belt, the wild beast finds it easy to attack and disappear in large sugarcane fields making it difficult for the forest officials to lay trap for catching them. Recently, forest officials returned empty handed when they laid a trap for over a month to catch a wild leopard, which killed two persons.

Villagers living in close vicinity of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve have horrifying tales to share about their encounters with the wild beasts.

“We were sleeping outside when a tiger attacked us. Before we could understand anything, the tiger took away my brother’s son. His remnants were later found in the jungle,” said Shailendra Singh, a farmer.

A fear psychosis has prevailed among villagers after spurt in incidence of predator attacks. “We have stopped sleeping outside.

After sunset, an eerie silence prevails in majority of our villages.

Despite so many complaints, the forest department has failed to protect our lives,” said Lakhvinder.

The chief wildlife conservator said that the work on solar fencing in an area of about 100 kms has already begin but it will not be that effective since the beast can jump over the fence easily and, moreover, solar fencing will not be effective at night when they enter human habitat.

“Taking into account the uneven geographical boundaries of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Tiger Rescue Centre is the only effective solution to check predators entering human habitat,” claimed

Villagers living near

the Tiger Reserve have horrifying tales to tell

Cover Story

January 08 - 14, 2018

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve into a Tiger Safari but since approval is yet to come it has decided to set up rescue centre in an area of 10 hectares to prevent man-beast clashes.

The Tiger Rescue Centre will have all facilities to keep 15-20 tigers at a time. It will have a team of wildlife experts, a panel of doctors, guards armed with tranquilliser guns, a mini hospital, rest houses, canteen, sheds for keeping tigers etc.

“The main aim of this rescue centre would be to catch tigers and leopards before they enter villages and keep them at the centre for sometime before setting them free in Tiger Reserve again,” said Upadhyaya.

It will also act as rehabilitation centre where tigers would be kept under continuous watch of wildlife experts to study their behavioural changes and make them acclimatize to their natural life in the wild.

There were about 28 tigers in the forest when Pilibhit Tiger Reserve came into existence in 2008. Now the number has increased to well over 50. “We can increase their population further once the rescue centre is set up,” he said.

A study conducted by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) claims that Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is one of the most suitable eco-system for ecological and behavioural adaptations of tigers in the country.

It has a great potential of increasing the population of endangered Bengal Tiger due to its biodiversity.

It is home to over 127 animals

03

The Centre will act as

rehabilitation centre where tigers would be kept under watch and 326 bird species, including majestic Bengal Tigers, leopards, Bengal Florican, red jungle fowl, hornbill, pea fowl, black francolin, drongo, spotted owl jungle babbler, Indian vulture etc. It has a large prey base consisting of swamp deer, cheetah, spotted deer, hog deer, sloth bear, wild boar, blue bull etc to support food for carnivores.

“The Terai eco-system and biodiversity in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is the most suited natural surrounding for the growth in the population of endangered Bengal Tigers. With little extra effort, we can further increase the number of the majestic animal.

The rescue centre is one such major step in this direction,” added Upadhyaya. After losing Corbett

Tiger Reserve to Uttarakhand, the state government has always been keen in promoting Pilibhit Tiger Reserve due to its huge potential of natural eco-system, marshy grasslands, water bodies, open space and adequate availability of food for Bengal Tigers and leopards.

Plans are afoot to increase the boundaries of the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve by including new areas of Khuta ranges of Shahjahanpur, Kishenpur Sanctuary and Pilibhit district to provide more space for free movement of the predators and other animals.

“We are very happy at the news of Forest department’s decision to set up Tiger Rescue Centre. We hope that it will safeguard the lives of villagers as well as predators entering our areas and attacking

us,” said Ram Naresh, one of whose relatives was recently attacked by a leopard. Naresh pointed that there were occasions when angry villagers killed leopards and critically wounded tigers when they attacked them. Will the Tiger Rescue Centre end human-beast conflict in Pilibhit Tiger Reserve and help increase their population, only time will tell.

But forest department officials, who are finding it difficult to check increasing number of incidence of human-beast conflicts in the area, hope that the rescue centre will act as a strong wall to curb predators entering villages.

04

Good News

January 08 - 14, 2018

jatayu sculpture

A Myth Comes Alive When the giant sculpture of the mythological bird Jatayu is inaugurated in March 2018, in Kerala, India will be home to the world’s largest bird sculpture

G. Ulaganathan

T

heRE is a story that is familiar to almost every resident in Chadayamangalam village in Kollam district, Kerala.

Legend has it that it was on a rocky peak near the village that the mythological giant eagle fell while fighting Ravana. Thereafter, the place came to be known as ‘Jatayumangalam’ ( Jatayu’s home).

Over the years, it has become Chadayamangalam and the peak on the nearby hillock became Jatayupara ( Jatayu rock).

Now, this place is all set to become a major tourist attraction from this year.

Sculptor/filmmaker Rajiv Anchal had heard the story over a thousand times. “It is a powerful story with a fascinating character and has driven my imagination all these years,” says the master sculptor, who has spent the last 10 years bringing the legend to life.

In an amazing blend of imagination and creativity, a giant bird is beginning to spread its wings on this hillock. Lying flat on its back with wings spread across 150 ft, while stretching 200 ft from tail feathers to its head, and talons rising 70ft into the air, the Jatayu sculpture – built on top of the 1,000 ft high Jatayupara – towers above the green expanses of Chadayamangalam.

The Jatayu Adventure Centre, which

Jatayu died protecting a woman’s honour and that is what the sculpture stands for

offers an assortment of rock-based adventure activities, has already been opened for thrill-seekers.

The sculpture, along with the adventure centre and a Siddha healing centre, spread over 65 acres, form the Jatayu Earth Centre. The construction took just a few years, but the idea is more than 10 years old. “I had presented a model for this sculpture to the Department of Tourism during my Fine Arts College days in the 1980s.

Although they were impressed, it didn’t take shape back then,” Anchal says.

Later, when a proposal for an eco-tourism project came up, he was approached to work on it.

Anchal says, “The aim is to protect the rock and preserve Nature around it.

Nothing dominates the rock – as all the construction, including the sculpture – is designed and textured to seem like a part of the landscape.” Most of the area was barren when the project kicked off. Trees were planted well ahead, and today, the fallen Jatayu lies in a green haven!

One can explore the sculpture through an entrance that opens beneath one of its wings. The sculpture is, in

fact, a spacious five-storied building, housing a museum and a multidimensional theatre that will screen an animated movie, featuring the epic battle between Jatayu and Ravana.

With animated visuals, sounds and sculptures, the wildlife of Treta Yuga will be brought alive here. “Just like the planet in Avatar was a product of director James Cameron’s imagination, the Treta Yuga I am building –

Quick Glance Jatayumangalam is all set to become a major tourist attraction this year Jatayu Adventure Centre has already been opened for thrill-seekers Jatayu will be the biggest bird sculpture in the world

everything from sky and landscapes to plants and animals – will be a representation of my creative mind,” says the sculptor.

The project is envisaged as a monument on the lines of The Statue of Liberty. “Jatayu died protecting a woman’s honour and that is what the sculpture stands for. People of all faiths have invested in the project and people of all faiths will be coming to see it. My work is for all of them. For those looking for religion, there is the old temple just outside the compound,” he adds.

For the award-winning art director turned filmmaker, the Jatayu Earth’s Centre is a movie set that will never be pulled down. The biggest challenge was getting the building materials to a height of 1,000 ft. Once that was solved using a winch specially made for the purpose, the sculpting kicked off in full swing.

When finished, the Jatayu will be the biggest bird sculpture in the world.

In March, the sculpture and the cable car ride will be opened to the public. Visitors can scale the wings of the Jatayu to reach the chest and click a selfie with the bird.

The entry fee will be Rs. 250. For a group of 10, the cost is Rs. 3,500 and includes lunch, water, juice and snacks.

The official inauguration will be towards the end of 2018, after the completion of the museum, the theatre and a Siddha healing centre.

A heli-taxi service will be launched in future.

Jatayu Earth’s Centre Jatayu Earth’s Centre is a Rs. 100 crore eco-tourism project designed on a BOT (build-operate-transfer) model between the Government of Kerala and Guruchandrika Builders and Property, a company owned by Rajiv Anchal. The company has leased the Governmentowned land for 30 years.

Although the project took flight in 2008, construction began only by 2011.

The Jatayu sculpture, a building with a 15,000 sq ft floor area, is made of rollercompacted concrete (RCC), except for the talons which are stainless steel.

The sculpture, adventure centre and a Siddha healing centre form the Jatayu Earth’s Centre.

Good News

January 08 - 14, 2018

microsoft

aadhaar

Microsoft India To Nurture Unicorn Firms & Start-ups Microsoft will give a renewed thrust to nurturing unicorn firms and the startup community in India this year IANS

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rmed with Intelligent Cloud and Edge capabilities, Microsoft will give a renewed thrust to nurturing unicorn firms and the start-up community in India this year, Anant Maheshwari, the company’s India President, said.

“For us, the growth verticals will clearly be banking and finance, manufacturing and IT/ITeS sectors.

But the next goal we have added to our focus areas for 2018 is to empower unicorn companies and the start-up community.”

A Unicorn, a term coined in 2013 by venture capitalist Aileen Lee, is a start-up company valued at over $1 billion.

Microsoft currently caters to nearly 5,000 tech start-ups and over 200,000 large and small-and-medium businesses (SMBs) in India.

Microsoft “Accelerator” programme is helping start-ups help boost their enterprise readiness and go-to-market (GTM) activities.

“We have seen a fundamental

change in India in the last 12 months when it comes to connectivity. So the focus in 2018 will also be on over 50 million SMBs who are increasingly using Cloud solutions while adopting digital payments and GST,” Maheshwari emphasised.

Microsoft globally, including in India, has been uniquely positioned and has done a lot of work over the last 40 years to build a massive partner eco-system that is serving SMBs. According to a recent ASSOCHAM-Deloitte joint study, adoption of advanced business digital technologies can lead to increase in revenues by up to 27 percent, increase in employment by up to 84 percent, and enhanced access to international markets by up to 65 percent for SMBs in India.

According to the apex IT industry body Nasscom, India’s growing SMB segment is set to spend big to upgrade its digital infrastructure in the next few years.

For Microsoft India, the coming year will again be about skilling more people on disrupting technologies

India’s growing SMB segment is set to spend big to upgrade their digital infrastructure

Quick Glance

Aadhaar data fully safe, no breach possible: UIDAI “The Aadhaar data, including biometric information, is fully safe and secure,” ensures authority

The focus in 2018 will be on over 50 million SMBs Microsoft declares AI updates in merchandise, partnership with Reddit India offers a $100 billion opportunity for Intelligent Cloud solutions

like Artificial Intelligence (AI) so that the country can have a talent pool to realize its Intelligent Cloud and Edge dreams.

India now offers a $100 billion opportunity if we can leverage Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge solutions across industries.

“The largest Intelligent Edge market today is the mobility market.

Cloud is now connected to Edge devices. There is not just one device that is a smartphone but everything – from airplanes to cars – is now being connected in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT),” the Microsoft India head told IANS. For us, the word Intelligent is not an accident but a movement to take India from a mobile-first country to an Intelligent Edge-first country,” Maheshwari said.

“AI is getting democratised, becoming more inclusive from agriculture to healthcare. We look at AI not just as a product that you switch on but something that is embedded in whatever we do and develop,” added Maheshwari.

Having set up India operations in 1990, Microsoft currently employs more than 8,000 people in the country.

With a modern workplace, business apps, the AI infrastructure and Cloud coming together, it becomes an endto-end play for SMBs to become truly software firms of the future.

05

IANS

U

nique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has denied breach or leak of Aadhaar data after a newspaper reported it provided unrestricted access to the details of over one billion Aadhaar numbers – for just Rs 500.

“The Aadhaar data, including biometric information, is fully safe and secure,” the authority said in a statement, calling the report in The Tribune “a case of misreporting”.

“UIDAI assures that there has not been any Aadhaar data breach,” the statement said, adding that the data was secure with a “robust uncompromised security”.

The authority said it had given search facility for the purpose of grievance redressal to designated personnel and state government officials to help residents only by entering their 12-digit Aadhaar numbers.

It said the authority maintains complete log and traceability of its search facility and any misuse was traceable.

Common Services Centre operators were initially entrusted with the task of making Aadhaar cards across the country but were withdrawn later. The service was restricted to post offices and designated banks to avoid any security breach in November last year.

06

Sanitation

January 08 - 14, 2018

ganga river banks

Ganga Gram Project Launched The project aims holistic sanitation development in villages on the banks of River Ganga

An Advisory Board has been created as a policy framing and decision-making body

ssb bureau

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he Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has formally launched the Ganga Gram Project, under the Namami Gange Programme, for holistic sanitation development in villages on the banks of River Ganga. Ganga Gram is a project for sanitation based integrated development of all 4470- villages along the River Ganga.

In August 2017, with active cooperation with the five Ganga States (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal), the Ministry declared all 4,470 Ganga Grams Open Defecation Free (ODF). The Ministry is the nodal Ministry for the Government’s flagship programme, Swachh Bharat Mission.

Since the launch of Mission in October 2014, the Ministry has constructed 5.2 crore toilets and has made 2.95 lakh villages, 260 districts, 6 States and 2 Union Territories, open defecation free.

Subsequent to making all Ganga Bank villages ODF, the Ministry and State Governments identified 24 villages to be taken up as a pilot project to transform them into Ganga Grams. They will

Quick Glance Ganga Gram is for sanitation based development of 4470 Ganga-banks Government has also identified 24 villages to transform them These will set benchmark of cleanliness and integrated efforts

set the bench mark of cleanliness and integrated effort of development. These will be converted into Ganga Grams by 31st December 2018.

Ganga Gram vision is an integrated approach for holistic development of villages situated on the banks of River Ganga with active participation of the villagers. The objectives of Ganga Gram Project include solid and liquid waste management, renovation of ponds and water resources, water conservation projects, organic farming, horticulture, and promotion of medicinal plants.

An Advisory Board has been created as a policy-framing and decisionmaking body under the chairmanship of Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation. Another Committee has been constituted as Project Committee for project supervision, implementation and co-ordination.

Ganga Swachhata Manch, a forum of individuals, academicians, civil society organisations and the like, which has been formed upon the initiative of Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation has also been launched. This Manch has been created for awareness creation, knowledge sharing, learning and advocacy for the Ganga Gram Project. The Ganga Gram Swachhta Sammelan was presided over by the Minister DWS, Sushri Uma Bharati.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Water Resources, Ganga Rejuvenation and River Development was the chief guest and Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj was the Guest of Honour. The sammelan was attended by about 1200 delegates including 500 village sarpanches from Ganga States, State and District government officials, NMCG Members and Ganga Swachhta Manch volunteers.

Sanitation

January 08 - 14, 2018

07

udupi

Udupi Becomes First ODF District Of Karnataka Siddaramaiah government aims to achieve ODF Karnataka by October 2, 2018

G. Ulaganathan

U

dupi district in North Karnataka, popular as a destination for Krishna devotees in view of the beautiful Krishna temple there, has become the first open defecation free (ODF) district in Karnataka. This temple town, about 50 km from Mangalore, is also closer to the Arabian Sea and there are quite a few resorts dotting the coast.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced this recently at the inauguration of a hospital in Udupi.

“Today Udupi has been declared as the first open defecation free district in the state. By October 2, 2018, the whole of Karnataka will be declared open defecation free,” the Chief Minister assured.

Under this scheme, the government is helping the villagers to construct their own toilets at homes besides constructing community toilets in every village and mandal in the state.

He also said that his government

was also aiming to make Karnataka a hunger-free state, too.

“Our aim is to achieve a hunger free state. Projects like Annabhayga, Vasathi Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya and Krushi Bhagya are for achieving this goal,” he claimed. These are various schemes under which the poor families get free rice and essential commodities at a very nominal cost.

On October 31, 2017, about 200 Indira Canteens were inaugurated in Bengaluru which serve breakfast and some rice varieties for less than Rs 10.

Attributing the setting up of Indira canteens in the state as a tribute to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Siddaramaiah said besides the 200 such canteens functioning in Bengaluru, all taluk and district headquarters would have a canteen. “One canteen per one lakh people is our aim. We will have 300 more such canteens in the state,” he declared.

He said that the rice provided to Indira canteens was of good quality

“By October 2, 2018, the whole of Karnataka will be declared open defecation free” - CM

Quick Glance State government is helping the villagers construct their own toilets Government is constructing community toilets in every village The government is also aiming to make Karnataka a hunger-free state

and refuted allegations that they were of substandard quality.

He made this announcement significantly after the Union Urban Development Ministry criticised that the IT capital Bengaluru was not yet Open Defecation Free.

Swachh Bharat Mission joint secretary Praveen Prakash had said after a review meeting with the state top bureaucrats, that the appalling hygiene on the city’s streets crossed it off the list of Open Defecation Free (ODF) cities.

“While neighbouring states are inching towards zero open defecation in the urban areas, Karnataka has only three among 28 cities and towns, which are ODF. These three cities are Mysuru, Mangaluru and Udupi,” he said.

Bengaluru doesn’t even come close!

“When will Bengaluru have a Google map based toilet locator?”

Prakash asked red-faced bureaucrats.

Prakash said there are about 500 cities and towns in the country which have achieved 100% ODF. Kerala is inching towards becoming 100 per cent ODF. Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai have achieved 100 per cent ODF.” “Andhra Pradesh has 110 urban areas with zero ODF, 178 in Gujarat, 100 in Maharashtra and 40 in Tamil Nadu,” he added. The SBM director observed that the Union Government has set a target to have ODF India by 2019, adding that the Union Government is going to make segregation at source mandatory across India from June 5, 2018.

Explaining the rationale behind the Swachh Bharat cess, Prakash pointed out that the Union government has collected Rs 30,000 crore in three years, which boils down to Rs 10,000 crore per year.

“The annual expenditure on SBM is Rs 2,000 crore for urban areas and Rs 8,000 for rural areas. Apart from it, Rs 10,000 crore has been earmarked for treating and recycling sewage to stop pollution of water bodies,” he said.

08

Gender

January 08 - 14, 2018

Quick Glance

stand-up fare

She hopes more women write roles and characters for themselves

“Call Us Comics, Not Female Comedians”

Sumukhi is back with her web series Pushpavalli Suresh feels “we as a nation have become very touchy”

Biggest change will be being called just comics, says Sumukhi Suresh

IANS

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all us comics, not female comedians, says Sumukhi Suresh, known for breaking stereotypes with her acts, including her latest web series “Pushpavalli”.

She feels women are trying stand-up comedy but says a big change is yet to come.

“There are more number of us than before. Not many, but still a lot more. More women are trying stand-up, there are more -- not too many but it’s a start -- sketches/ content being written with women in mind. All of this hopefully gets more women to come forward and be part of the scene,” Suresh told IANS in an email interview.

“I just hope that more women write roles and characters for themselves and not wait for someone else to write for them because a man can’t always understand the complexities a comic who is a woman can portray.

All I really want is for more women to be part of the comedy circuit so that we will be called as just comics and not ‘female comedians’ and

Suresh has written the Amazon Prime Video web series Pushpavalli, which addresses the issue of stalking in lighter vein

that will be the biggest change,” she added.

Suresh has made a place for herself in showbiz as an improviser, a comedy sketch artiste and an actor. She is known for her YouTube videos like the Maid Interview, her role in “Better Life Foundation” and The Officeinspired web series documenting the workings of an NGO. She is back with “Pushpavalli”, in which she plays the role of female protagonist. Suresh has written the Amazon Prime Video web series, which address the issue of stalking in a lighter vein.

“Pushpavalli” is about a girl who is smitten by a “charming man and she decides to pursue him by moving cities and ends up inadvertently stalking him while he is clueless”.

Talking about the thought behind the show, she said: “I love playing different characters and I really wanted to play someone who seems bubbly friendly but has a greyish layer to her. That’s also because women are either shown as a positive or a negative character; we hardly explore her greyish layers. That was a strong motive.

“Secondly, every woman has made that one mistake or fallen head over heels for someone and done irrational things for him or her and that is a very strong memory. I wanted to tap into that trigger.”

Stalking is a very serious issue not only in India, but the world over. Suresh hopes the audience will read between the lines and understand the gravity of the issue.

“The show is humorous and playful initially but as the series progresses, you see that Pushpavalli falls flat because of her actions.

Regardless of what your gender is, stalking never works out and thus you see this lively character broken by the end of it.

As a writer, I don’t believe in spelling things out and I am sure the audience is smart enough to see her failure and understand stalking leads to nowhere,” she said.

Suresh feels “we as a nation have become very touchy”.

“The problem isn’t the lack of freedom. The problem is intolerance. We as a nation have become very touchy and somehow criticism, a joke on politics has become sensational. We want to, and some of us actually, use comedy as a tool to speak about politics and I hope the audience is ready to take it rather than threatening and shutting it down,” she said.

Apart from the web series, the comic star is working on “two other shows and building my one hour stand-up special. 2018 looks busy for sure”.

Gender

January 08 - 14, 2018

farida jajal

09

street plays

Farida’s ‘Mehram’ To Be Screened In US, Egypt Mehram is an effort to trigger debates around Hajj laws against women

Street plays to fight child marriage in Bihar Kranti Kumari, terms child marriage a “curse” for all IANS

K

V

IANS

eteran actress Farida Jalal’s short film “Mehram” will be screened in the US and Egypt.It will screened at CAM International Film Festival, Egypt, on December 26 and at the DFW south Asian Film Festival, Dallas, in February 2018.

Under Saudi Arabian laws, women without a ‘Mehram’ (a male blood relative) are forbidden to perform the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

“Mehram” is a story of Aamna (played by Farida) who decides to stand up to the patriarchal system to claim her right to perform the Hajj. Written and directed by Zain Anwar, the short film is coproduced by Vishakha Singh and Gaurav Bharadwaj.

Bhardwaj said in a statement: “It feels great when your ideas turn into reality and even better

Mehram is a story

of Aamna who decides to stand up to the patriarchal system to claim her right to perform the Hajj at Mecca Quick Glance Farida Jalal’s ‘Mehram’ will be screened at CAM Film Festival In the story, protagonist stands up to the patriarchal system Mehram won Best Film Award at Delhi International Film Festival

when it gets appreciated. After discussing ‘Mehram’ script with Zain, we instantaneously decided to begin our journey. “’Mehram’ is an effort to start discussions around the discriminating laws of Hajj against women while also pointing at various religions and cultures where gender inequality is accepted as a tradition.

“Though we were mentally prepared to face both appreciation and criticism, we have only got appreciation and acclaim so far and after winning two awards (in Indian festivals) ‘Mehram’ is now ready to be screened in Egypt, US and many other countries,” he added. The short film, which features Rajit Kapur and Sushma Seth, won the Best Film Award at the Delhi International Film Festival and the Best Music Award in Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival.

ranti Kumari, Ramrati Kumari, Rupa Kumari and Soni Kumari have one thing in common. They are part of a small team performing street plays across this remote and underdeveloped rural pocket of Bihar’s Gaya district to educate girls and their parents to say “no” to child marriage.

These girls move from village to village of Lakhaipur panchayat in Mohanpur block -- one of the areas dominated

by Maoist extremists -- with their nukkad natak creating awareness and emboldening adolescent girls to take a stand against marriage before they are 18 years old.

As part of the unique initiative to fight against an age-old menace, rampant in Bihar, team of nine girls has been performing nukkad natak in more than halfa-dozen villages spread over nearly three to four kilometres in Lakhaipur panchayat, about 19 km from the Buddhist shrine of Bodh Gaya.

The girls, all students of a government-run school and residents of Kenduari village, regularly perform the plays ‘Gudiya Ka Saapna’ (Little Girl’s Dream) and ‘Shiksha ke Bina Jaan Jaye’ (No Life Without Education), spreading the message against child marriage and promoting education and empowerment of girls.

10

Health

January 08 - 14, 2018

PTSD

obesity

Your Body’s Built-In Weighing Scale Can Combat Obesity Non-Invasive Brainwave Technology For PTSD A non-invasive brainwave mirroring technology developed to significantly reduce symptoms of posttraumatic stress IANS

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esearchers have developed a non-invasive brainwave mirroring technology that can significantly reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress, especially in military personnel.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a disorder characterised by failure to recover after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event.

The symptoms include insomnia, poor concentration, sadness, re-experiencing traumatic events, irritability or hyperalertness, as well as diminished autonomic cardiovascular regulation.

“Ongoing symptoms of posttraumatic stress, whether clinically diagnosed or not, are a pervasive problem in the military,” said lead investigator Charles H. Tegeler, professor, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre in North Carolina.

“Medications are often used to help control specific symptoms, but can produce side effects.

Other treatments may not be well tolerated, and few show benefit for the associated sleep disturbance.

Additional non-invasive, non-drug therapies are needed,” Tegeler added.

The net effect is to support the brain to reset stress response patterns that have been rewired by repetitive traumatic events, physical or non-physical, the researchers said.

Human body consists of an internal body weight sensing system that operates like bathroom scales SSB BUREAU

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he National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Central government to bear 70 per cent of the cost for constructing 14 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) under the first phase of the Yamuna river revival project which has been delayed by over eight months due to lack of cooperation among agencies and a fund crunch.

The bench, headed by NGT Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar, also directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to bear the remaining 30 per cent of the cost.

“For sewage management in Yamuna at Delhi, NMCG and DJB will share 70-30 per cent of the cost.

“If the cost exceeds 30 per cent, then the Delhi government will provide financial assistance to the DJB,” Kumar said.

Currently only active on papers, the “Maily Se Nirmal Yamuna” plan aims at treating the sewage and waste water reaching Yamuna through drains. Under the first phase, supposed to have been completed

by March 31 2018, 14 STPs are to be made at Najafgarh drain and Delhi Gate -- the most polluting.

More STPs are to be constructed at other drains along the Yamuna under Phase-II that will include drains along Shahdara, Barapullah

and others.

The DJB had earlier said that it will construct seven out of 14 STPs, and expected the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to extend financial support -- the major cause of delay.

At present, DJB has started working on five STPs while a survey is being done for the other two. The estimated cost of Phase-I of the project, under which 14 STPs are to be built, is still unclear.The tribunal, in a January 2015 judgment, ordered to deal with all components of controlling and preventing pollution in the Yamuna. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, while the river’s stretch between Wazirabad barrage to downstream Okhla barrage is less than two per cent of the entire river stretch, it receives around 70 per cent of the total pollution load there.

Exercise

Bi-Weekly Exercise May Boost Cognition, Memory Exercising twice a week can improve thinking and memory in elders with mild cognitive impairment SSB BUREAU

E

xercising twice a week may improve thinking ability and memory in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a new guideline released by the American Academy of Neurology.

Worldwide, more than six per cent of people in their 60s and over 37 per cent of people aged 85 or above have MCI. The level of exertion should be enough to work up a bit of a sweat but doesn’t need to be so rigorous

that you can’t hold a conversation.

“Regular physical exercise has long been shown to have heart health benefits, and now we can say exercise also may help improve memory for people with mild cognitive impairment,” said lead author Ronald C. Petersen, MD at the Mayo Clinic – a US-based healthcare non-profit.

“What’s good for your heart can be good for your brain,” Petersen added. MCI is a medical condition that becomes common with ageing.

While it is linked to problems with thinking ability and memory, it is not

the same as dementia. People with MCI have milder symptoms.

People with MCI may struggle to complete complex tasks or have difficulty understanding information they have read, whereas people with dementia have trouble with daily tasks, such as dressing, bathing and eating. However, there is strong evidence that MCI can lead to dementia. “Exercising might slow down the rate at which you would progress from mild cognitive impairment to dementia,” Petersen said.

Health

January 08 - 14, 2018

cancer

human emotions

Why Boys Are Not As Emotional As Girls A research study found boys to be more callous displaying unemotional traits when compared to girls of the same age SSB Bureau

B

oys tend to be callous and display unemotional traits because of difference in brain structure, finds a research.

Callous-unemotional traits are characterized by a lack of empathy, a disregard for others’ feelings and shallow or deficient affect, such as a lack of remorse or guilt.

These traits have been linked to deficits in development of the conscience and of empathy.

The findings showed that in typically-developing boys, the volume of the anterior insula or gray matter volume – a brain region implicated in recognising emotions in others and empathy – is larger in those with higher levels of callous-unemotional traits.

The volume explained 19 per cent of the variance in callousunemotional traits seen only

in, but not in girls with the same personality traits.

“Our findings demonstrate that callous-unemotional traits are related to differences in brain structure in typically-developing boys without a clinical diagnosis,” said lead author Nora Maria Raschle from the University of Basel in Switzerland. In the study, using magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers were able to take a closer

Longevity

look at the brain development of typically-developing 189 teenagers to find out whether callousunemotional traits are linked to differences in brain structure.

The researchers found that the relationship between callousunemotional traits and brain structure differs between boys and girls. Differences in reports of increased or decreased gray matter in anterior insula in community samples of boys, or boys as compared to girls, with elevated callous-unemotionaltraits may reflect maturational effects (i.e. delayed maturation of this region in males), the study noted.

“In a next step, we want to find out what kind of trigger leads some of these children to develop mental health problems later in life while others never develop problems,” Raschle said.

depression

Eating Probiotics Can Help Prevent Depression A diet rich in probiotics may help protect against depression by promoting a balance of neurotransmitters IANS

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esides keeping your gut healthy, consuming a diet rich in probiotics -- also called as “good” or “helpful” bacteria -- may help protect against depression, finds a mice study.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for health, especially the digestive system.

The findings showed that rats which lived solely on the fatty diet were found to develop behaviour similar to depression, while the rats receiving the probioticsenriched drinking water remained neutral in their behaviour.

Further, the rats that did not receive probiotics had an increased number of white blood cells in their brain

11

tissue, which can be a sign of chronic inflammation, and is also seen in the fatty tissues and livers of overweight people and diabetics.

Conversely, these cells were found to have decreased in the brains of the rats with probiotics in their drinking water.

After 12 weeks, the researchers observed that the rats on the fatty compound feed without probiotics behaved more depressively when they were given a swimming test.

Although it is difficult to say whether the results can be transferred to people with depression, it is possible to imagine some of the people who suffer from depression benefiting from probiotics, Abildgaard said.

This nanowire device can detect cancer with a urine test This non-invasive technique can detect microscopic levels of cancer markers in urine samples

ssb bureau

A

novel nanowire device that is able to noninvasively detect microscopic levels of cancer markers in the urine, has been developed by Japanese researchers and could aid in improving diagnosis and treatment of the deadly disease.

The device was found with potential to efficiently capture extracellular vesicles (EVs) from urine and potentially use them to screen for cancer.

“The ongoing challenge for physicians in any field is to find a non-invasive diagnostic tool that allows them to monitor their patients on a regular basis – for example, a simple urine test,” said lead author Takao Yasui, from the Nagoya University in Japan.

However, the content of EVs in urine is extremely low, at less than 0.01 per cent of the total fluid volume, which becomes a major barrier to their diagnostic utility.

The new device – embedded with zinc oxide nanowires into a specialised polymer – was found highly efficient at capturing these vesicles.

Compared with the standard approach, they found a substantially greater number and different types of microRNAs with just 1 milliliter of urine, the researchers said.

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Science & Technology

January 08 - 14, 2018

detection

nasa

NASA Eyes 3-D Printing Tech To Cut Costs NASA is testing 3-D printed parts to cut costs of powering the heavy-lift rocket

ComputerBased Method To Detect Early Cancer This Method Can Pin-Point Precancerous Cervical Cells And Healthy Cells IANS

A

Computer-based optical method, developed by Indian scientists, cans pin-point precancerous cervical cells and healthy cells, thereby providing early indications of cervical cancer.

The optical method, devised by scientists from Indian institute of science education and research (IISER), Kolkata, and Indian institute of technology, Kanpur, taps into machine learning algorithms to classify healthy and abnormal tissues.

“By using a light-based probe to identify certain complex repeating patterns (called multifractals), present on developing cancer cells, we can get early indications of the disease,” Sabyasachi Mukhopadhyay, from IISER-Kolkata, told IANS. The basis of this technology is that cells which are progressing towards cancer show more of these complex geometric patterns than the normal, unaffected and healthy ones.

“Based on this correlation, we created a novel lightscattering based method to identify these unique patterns for detecting cancer progression,” Mukhopadhyay said.

This algorithm could be used in clinical set-ups for screening cervical and other types of cancers, the researcher said about the low cost technology.

SSB BUREAU

A

S NASA builds its most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), the US space agency is testing engines with 3D printed parts to cut costs of powering the heavy-lift rocket.

A major milestone towards that end was achieved this month when engineers successfully hot-fire tested an RS-25 rocket engine with a large 3-D printed part, the US space agency said on Friday.

The 3-D printed part, called the pogo accumulator, is a beachball-sized piece of hardware that acts as a shock absorber by regulating liquid oxygen movement in the engine to prevent the vibrations that can destabilise a rocket’s flight, NASA said.

By 3-D printing the hardware, more than 100 welds were eliminated, reducing costs by nearly 35 per cent and production time by more than 80

per cent.

Initial reports show the 3-D printed hardware performed as expected, opening the door for more components scheduled for future tests, the US space agency said.

The test was part of the SLS Programme’s RS-25 affordability initiative -- a collaborative effort between NASA and industry partner Aerojet Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, California, to reduce the engine’s overall production costs while maintaining performance, reliability and safety.

“As we build future RS-25s, NASA and our partners are taking advantage of innovative manufacturing techniques, including additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, to make the engines more affordable,” said Andy Hardin of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

“This 3-D printing is greatly revolutionising

The Launch Of RS-25 Rocket Engine Opened The Door For More 3-D Printed Components Scheduled For Future Tests

Quick Glance NASA engineers used 3D printing for the RS-25 rocket engine This could potentially be used for NASA’s Space Launch System 3-D printed hardware performed better than expected

manufacturing, and the pogo accumulator is the first of many components that can be built more quickly and less expensively,” Hardin said.

To minimise the costs of developing SLS, NASA selected the RS-25 engine.

“With modern fabrication processes, including additive manufacturing, the ‘next generation’ of the RS-25 will have fewer parts and welds, reducing production time as well as costs,” said Carol Jacobs, RS-25 engine lead at Marshall.

“Reducing the number of welds is very important,” she said.

“With each weld comes inspections and possible rework. By eliminating welds, we make the hardware more reliable and the process much more lean and efficient, which makes it more cost-effective,” Jacobs said.

The SLS Program has ordered six new engines to be built by Aerojet Rocketdyne for future flights.

The test conducted on December 13 was the first in a series of four tests designed to evaluate the operation of the 3-D printed pogo accumulator, and the first in the series to certify the next generation of RS-25 engines.

The First SLS Flight Is Scheduled To Take Place No Earlier Than 2019, But NASA Recently Stated That This Launch Could Be Pushed Back To 2020 Depending On The Manufacturing And Production Schedule, Space.Com Reported. This Flight Will Use SLS To Send An Uncrewed Orion Spacecraft Around The Moon And Back To Earth.

A Crewed Mission Will Follow Later, In The 2020s.

Science & Technology

January 08 - 14, 2018

13

robotics

space travelling

Space Travel In 2018: Looking For Aliens From the observations of a merger between two neutron stars to discoveries of a number of exoplanets, space travel will be exciting Quick Glance

Scientists Teach Robots How To Respect Human Space Scientists are now giving mobile robots a crash course in avoiding collisions with humans

2017 saw the First observations of a merger between two neutron stars Spitzer Space Telescope revealed the first known system of Earth-size planets The Cassini spacecraft ended it’s 13-year tour around Saturn

SSB Bureau

O

ne year passes in the blink of an eye in terms of the age of our universe, but 2017 has made significant contributions towards unravelling the deep mysteries hidden in its vast expanse, giving the search for alien life a big boost.

From the first observations of a merger between two faraway neutron stars to stunning discoveries of a number of exoplanets in the habitable zone of a nearby star and the continued march of China as a serious space player, 2017 has had plenty of memorable developments to excite scientists and the public at large.

Marked as the “breakthrough of the year” by the journal Science, the merger of the two neutron stars 130 million light years away generated tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time called gravitational waves.

The first detection of gravitational waves two years ago has already brought scientists the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics, but sensing the space-time ripples after the merger of the neutron stars marked the firstever detection of gravitational waves as well as light produced and emitted during the same cosmic event, a phenomenon that scientists like to describe as hearing and seeing the violent universe.

While the observation of this collision provides scientists clues on how heavy elements like gold and platinum are produced in our

cosmos, and advances understanding of the universe in myriad other ways, the discovery of several Earth-sized planets orbiting stars outside our solar system has whetted the thirst for finding signs of life in worlds other than our home planet.

In February, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope revealed the first known system of seven Earth-sized planets around a single star – the TRAPPIST-1 star – an ultra-cool dwarf located at about 40 light-years from Earth.

The researchers determined that three of these planets are firmly located in the habitable zone, the area around the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water.

The discovery set a new record for maximum number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system.

In yet another first for the year, scientists spotted an “interstellar object” entering our solar system.

The discovery was made on October 19 by the University of Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS 1 telescope during the course of its nightly search for near-Earth objects for NASA. The discovery, termed “historic” by the US space agency, revealed the interstellar interloper to be a rocky,

cigar-shaped object with a ratio of length to width unlike any asteroid or comet observed in our solar system.

The team from the Pan-STARRS observatory has chosen the name “Oumuamua” for their discovery. Of Hawaiian origin, the name means a messenger from afar arriving first.

In 2017, NASA made progress in the preparations to send astronauts to Mars and it became clear that the agency would have to make plans for returning astronauts to the Moon in preparation for human missions to the Red Planet and other destinations of our solar system.

The year also marks the end of Cassini’s 13-year tour of Saturn as the spacecraft made a fateful plunge into the atmosphere of the ringed planet on September 15. The mission is often credited for transforming our understanding of ocean worlds, where life may potentially exist beyond Earth.

The year also marks some giant strides taken by China to emerge as a formidable space power. One of its satellites, which was sent to the skies to look for evidence of the annihilation or decay of dark matter particles in space, detected for the first time unexpected and mysterious signals in its measurement of highenergy cosmic rays, bringing scientists closer to proving the existence of the invisible matter.

2017 has made significant contributions towards unraveling the mysteries hidden in space, giving spaceflight life a big boost

ssb bureau

I

n a bid a to teach robots how to respect personal space, scientists are now giving mobile robots a crash course in avoiding collisions with humans.

Using “impedance” control, the researchers at the Institute of Automatics of the National University of San Juan in Argentina aimed to regulate the social dynamics between the robot’s movements and the interactions of the robot’s environment.

The team did this by first analysing how a human leader and a human follower interact on a set track with well-defined borders.

The feedback humans use to adjust their behaviours - letting someone know they’re following too closely, for example - was marked as social forces and treated as defined physical fields.

“Humans respect social zones during different interactions.

When a robot follows a human as part of a formation, it is supposed that it must also respect these social zones to improve its social acceptance,” wrote Daniel Herrera, and an author on the study.

“The results show that the robot is capable of emulating the previously identified impedance and, consequently, it is believed that the proposed control can improve the social acceptance by being able to imitate this humanhuman dynamic behaviour,” the team noted in the paper appeared in the IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica ( JAS).

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Environment

January 08 - 14, 2018

energy

Sustainable Energy Balance Needed

The International Energy Agency estimates that a sustainable energy balance needs to be achieved to meet global energy requirements Quick Glance The global energy demand is expected to grow 30 per cent by 2040 A stable, safe energy balance requires different sources of clean energy This requires a mix of wind and solar power combined with nuclear power

IANS

W

ith global energy demand expected to grow 30 per cent by 2040 as per International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates, a sustainable energy balance needs to be achieved to meet this requirement while also ensuring reduction in hazardous emissions, experts said.

A stable and safe energy balance will require a combination of different sources of clean generation -- with a mix of wind and solar combined with nuclear power -from every country worldwide, they said.

The Director General of the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, said that there will be no place for monogeneration in the future global picture.

“In any case, both stability and peak loads will be provided by different types of generation: Solar, wind, and certainly

nuclear, geothermal and many other renewables. We definitely consider nuclear energy to be a clean energy source that is environmentally comfortable for humankind,” he said.

In recent times, carbon emissions have reached extremely high levels globally, raising questions about how the world’s energy system should develop in the future. An increasing number of experts believe that a carbon-free power industry should be developed with all those types of energy generation that are called carbonfree: Wind, water, solar and nuclear.

More and more regions and countries are enthusiastically developing renewable energy projects. The UAE government

has announced its intention to invest $163 billion in renewable energy projects to meet more than half of its needs by renewables.

In 2016, China invested $32 billion in overseas renewable energy projects and is planning to invest at least $360 billion by 2020.

India is also actively developing renewables. The installed capacity of the country’s wind energy farms, mainly concentrated in the western, southern and northern regions of the country, exceeds 28 GW. India also plans to achieve the target of 100 GW of solar power capacity by 2022.

Incidentally, even Rosatom is not

A combination of solar, wind, and nuclear power seems to be ideal in achieving a balance

relying on nuclear generation alone these days. “We believe that the only possible way to achieve sustainable development and preserve the environment of our planet is to create a green energy balance. The solution of the global warming problem lies in the transition to green carbon-free electrical energy generation, to the energy of the atom, sun, wind and water. This is what future generations are demanding from us,” Likhachev said.

According to Kirill Komarov, Rosatom’s First Deputy Director General for Corporate Development and International Business, the renewables and nuclear power industry should “work as a team” to achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep the rise in temperature to less than two degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

“Balance is very important not only for good, normal and properly organised consumption but also for power systems as a whole.” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Deputy Director General Mikhail Chudakov said nuclear energy is not the opposite of the green and renewable energy and there is a space for both in the global energy balance.

“We do not have sufficient power generation units to meet the requirements of the climate agreements that we have committed to. So we need to advocate the positives of nuclear energy to build trust in the same,” he said.

Chudakov said that generation of one gigawatt of nuclear energy only needed a space of three square kilometres as against 900 square kilometres in case of wind energy. “That’s the size of a city like Moscow.”

Environment

January 08 - 14, 2018

15

lake

UN Action Set To Revive Kenyan Lake The United Nations Environment Protection stepped in to initiate a five-year Freshwater Strategy

IANS

T

he Naivasha wetlands, nestled amidst the volcanic mountains of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, are dying a slow death. Concerned at the impending ecological crisis, United Nations Environment Agency stepped in to initiate a five-year Freshwater Strategy, part of its global action plan, to protect Lake Naivasha from certain extinction.

Roughly, half of the country’s 127 flower farms are concentrated around Lake Naivasha.

UN Environment Freshwater Unit Head Joakim Harlin told IANS that tackling water pollution and quality and the health of freshwater ecosystems owing to urbanisation are two of the cornerstones of UN Environment’s global Freshwater Strategy 2017-2021.

He said the new initiative aims to address water-related disasters and the use of integrated science-based water resources management approaches to protect, manage and restore freshwater resources.

The Freshwater Strategy, by involving governments and local partners at national, regional and global levels, provides actionable guidance to support implementation of sustainable freshwater management practices globally.

Lake Naivasha supports a mammoth population of hippos, is the wintering ground of myriad avian species and sometimes also supports a small population of flamingos. It is a major tourism destination.

Besides, the lake is the only source of water for this town, some 90 km northwest of capital Nairobi.

Experts attribute the shrinkage and water deterioration of Kenya’s second-largest freshwater lake to pollution from pesticides, fertiliser and sewage effluents, water abstraction

for floriculture, overgrowth of weeds, siltation and the mushrooming of resorts that are pushing this Ramsardesignated site towards certain death.

Imarisha Lake Naivasha Catchment Management Programme Chief Executive Officer Kamau Mbogo blamed the growing population in urban slums that are ringed around the lake for its water deterioration and shrinkage.

“The lake is now turning fast into a dump for domestic and agricultural wastes generated from business, tourism and housing within its catchment area.

The deterioration started in the late 1980s. Now it’s shrinking fast and its deepest point has reduced to 18 metres (off Crescent Island),” he told this visiting IANS correspondent.

He said pollution from fertilisers and pesticides in the run-off from fields is boosting the growth of algae, which is

suffocating the fish.

Over 700,000 people live in the lake’s approximately 3,400 sq km catchment area that is semi-arid with an average annual rainfall of 1,350 mm in the mountains and 600 mm on the lake’s shores.

Lake Naivasha, which almost dried up in 2010 owing to scarce rains, provides water for irrigation that supports one of the biggest floriculture hubs in Kenya that caters mainly to the European Union.

Kenya is the world’s third-largest exporter of cut flowers, accounting for around 35 per cent of all sales in the European Union.

Experts say the receding water level and rising water toxicity are posing a serious challenge to the cut-flower industry that employs tens of thousands of people.

According to the Horticultural Crop

UN’s Environment Freshwater Unit is spearheading this initiative to tackle the water pollution using science-based water management techniques

Quick Glance This is part of its global action plan to protect Lake Naivasha The Kenyan lake is at the brink of extinction due to an ecological crisis The Freshwater Strategy is set to be implemented from 2017-2021

Directorate, the country’s floriculture industry, which generates 1.1 percent of GDP, earned 70.8 billion Kenyan shillings ($688 million) in 2016.

Fishermen too expressed concern over a possible extinction of the tilapia fish species due to pollution.

“Earlier we used to catch three to four tilapias in a day. Now there is hardly any catch, even for days. I don’t know where our fish have gone,” a perturbed fisherman, Paul Okello, remarked.

Growers in the region have adopted sustainable farming methods to check the lake’s deterioration.

Longonot Farm is one such in the Lake Naivasha area that introduced its own constructed wetlands -- a natural system that filters chemicals from the farm and allows water to be re-used to irrigate flowers instead of ending up in the lake. It produces around one million roses daily for export to British, European and other markets and employs 12,000 people.

The farm has also created a biogas system that uses waste biomass, rejected flowers and other agricultural produce to generate enough clean energy to power the farm and light up 15,000 homes. It is able to produce so much energy from waste that it sells electricity to the national grid. The system also generates enough organic compost for the entire farm.

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January 08 - 14, 2018

“The World’s Biggest Power is the Youth”

urooj fatima Urooj Fatima is an emerging journalist and a post-graduate in Media Governance from Jamia Millia Islamia

VIEWPOINT

Acharya Chanakya

Youth symbolises immense energy and hope Swami Vivekananda’s

Advice For Youth!

Vivekananda himself was the embodiment of youth, dynamism and vibrancy. The life and ideals of Swami Vivekananda are the greatest inspiration for the youth of our nation

“S

upreme value of youth is incalculable and indescribable. Youth is the most precious part of human life. The way in which you utilize this period will decide the nature of the coming years that lie ahead of you. Your happiness, success, honours and good name all depend upon the way in which you like now, in the period.”

“This wonderful period of the first state of your life is related to you as the soft wet clay in the hands of a potter. Skillfully the potter gives it the right and correct shapes and forms, which he intends to give. You can wisely mould your life, character, physical health and strength; you make up your mind to do in any way.”

“When you talk of success with reference to life, it does not merely mean succeeding in everything that you undertake or do; it does not merely mean succeeding in fulfilling all wants or getting whatever you desire; it does not just mean acquiring a name or attaining a position or imitating fashionable ways, appearing modern up-to date. The essence of true success is what you make of yourself.

It is the conduct that you develop, it is the character that you cultivate and it is the type of person you become. This is the central meaning of successful living.”

Editor-in-Chief

Kumar Dilip Edited, Printed and Published by: Monika Jain on behalf of Sulabh Sanitation Mission Foundation, owned by Sulabh Sanitation Mission Foundation Printed at: The Indian Express Limited A - 8, Sector -7, NOIDA (UP) Published at: RZ - 83, Mahavir Enclave, Palam - Dabri Road, New Delhi - 110045 (India) Corporate Office: 819, Wave Silver Tower, Sector - 18, NOIDA (UP) Phone: +91-120-6500425 Email: editor@sulabhswachhbharat.com, ssbweekly@gmail.com

There is no power like that of youth because it surges forward and it cannot be stopped

I

n words of novelist Henry James “Youth is the joy, the little bird that has broken out of the eggs and is eagerly waiting to spread out its wings in the open sky of freedom and hope.”

National Youth Day is celebrated in India every year on 12th January on the birthday of the great spiritual leader, Swami Vivekananda.

His words and quotes are energising the life of thousands of youth in the country.

The reason for declaring Swami Vivekananda’s birthday as the youth day was due to the fact that he symbolised the youth of the country, and his inspired speeches and writings have been inspirational for many generations. He had a positive outlook and he believed that India needed to get rid of superstitious traditions and that should follow ideals of humanitarianism.

The Government of India in a communication explained the rationale of declaring Swami Vivekananda’s birthday as National Youth Day: “It was felt that the philosophy of Swami ji and the ideals for which he lived and worked could be a great source of inspiration for the Indian Youth”.

Swami Vivekananda has been a role model or an icon for the youth of the country who seek wisdom and empowerment in his words.

Even though he has been largely adored by the youth, he is much admired by men and women of all ages in the country and in the world.

Youth is the spring of Life. It is the age of discovery and dreams.

The future of a nation lies in the hands of youth. The quality of its youth determines the kind of future the nation will have.

Therefore, if we want to ensure a bright future for our country, we first need to strengthen and empower our youth. The youth of any nation and society are its potential energy. They are the powerhouse and storehouse of infinite hope and power. They are the pride of the nation. It is

the youth which brings laurels to the country.

I believe that teenagers have the ability to inspire and improve the lives of others. When we debate on something, we are required to take into account all the aspects related to it. It’s true that power is a great force. With power in hand, you can change the country as well as the whole world.

Humans are endowed with the unique powers of memory and empathy. This is why, only humans have the power to understand the passage of events and feel the needs and pain of others.

India has the largest youth population in the world today.

The entire world is eyeing India as a source of technical manpower. They are looking to our youth as a source of talent.

If Indian youth work closely

Creative potential of the younger generation coupled with their zeal, enthusiasm, energy and versatility can work wonders for the country

January 08 - 14, 2018

Power of the youth is so immense because they have all the qualities required for achievers with working class people, they can wield immense political power. Indian youth has the power to turn the country from a developing nation into a developed nation.

The best way to strengthen the youth is to provide them with an education. Not just any kind of education, but the right kind of education which makes them scientific, logical, open-minded, self-respecting, responsible, honest and patriotic. Without developing these virtues, the youth cannot walk the straight and difficult path into an enlightened future. Swami Vivekananda believed in a constant process of personal development, growing without knowledge seemed incomplete to him and it can only be attained by oneself. On this note he said. “You have to grow from the inside out. There is no other teacher but your own soul.” He constantly strived to show the youth the power of being an individual with a strong frame of mind, which is decisive and persuasive and focused, never letting go of one’s sight from the goal. His words bring solace and strength.

The wisdom that Vivekananda has left behind him can create a nation where the youth have the discretion and potential not only to guide their own path but also to build a country with power and high quality of living. He represented India for what it was and what it could be, by constantly stimulating the potential of the youth with the aim of creating a country which shines with the power of knowledge, wisdom and decisiveness, where every youth is an icon of virtue, sensibility and determination.

The power of youth can never be harnessed. It’s like a gushing stream or a mighty river which follows its course no matter how big the obstacles in its way.

Energetic youth can do the greatest of things if used in the right way. Youth is the make-or-break period in a person’s life. A young person often faces pleasant or unpleasant situations, but he or she is gifted with the ability to change the unpleasant condition into pleasant, and learn from the unpleasant events.

Let us focus on constructively using the power of the youth for the betterment of the nation. Let us frame such policies which aim at empowering our youth so that we can be assured of a better and a brighter tomorrow. Just leaving you now with my favourite quote of Swami Vivekananda: “You have to grow from the inside out. none can teach you, none can make you spiritual. there is no other teacher but your own soul”.

OpEd

17

Why Altruism Is Good For You

mihir paul

Mihir Paul is a graduate of Philosophy and Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States

From releasing endorphins to psychological benefits, altruism can be really good for you indeed

upfront

A

ltruism (also called the ethic of altruism, moralistic altruism, and ethical altruism) is an ethical doctrine that holds that the moral value of an individual’s actions depend solely on the impact on other individuals, regardless of the consequences on the individual itself. James Fieser states the altruist dictum as: “An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favourable than unfavourable to everyone except the agent.” Auguste Comte’s version of altruism calls for living for the sake of others. One who holds to either of these ethics is known as an “altruist.”

Altruism is most commonly thought of as a selfless act that benefits the recipient. However, the science behind good deeds suggests that altruism isn’t entirely selfless.

In fact, some research suggests that helpers may gain more from their altruistic acts than recipients.

The word “altruism” (French, altruisme, from autrui: “other people”,

derived from Latin alter: “other”) was coined by Auguste Comte, the French founder of positivism, in order to describe the ethical doctrine he supported. He believed that individuals had a moral obligationto renounce self-interest and live for

others. Comte says, in his Catéchisme Positiviste.

Here are just a few of the ways that altruism can improve your attitude and make you healthier, happier, and less stressed: • Releases endorphins - the positive energy that you feel from doing a good deed can act on your body in much the same way that exercise

does, releasing endorphins that make you feel good naturally. That’s why the “rush” that good deeddoers sometimes experience after performing an altruistic act is referred to as the “helper’s high.”

• Feeling of satisfaction - just because you’re being altruistic doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t feel good about it. You’re making a difference in someone else’s life and that should make you feel good. There is no reason to try to suppress that feeling or feel guilty about it. Think of it as a perk.

• Helps you feel more grateful for what you have - it’s not unusual for people to experience a “grass is greener” feeling from time to time. However, because good deeds are often done for those who are going through a difficult time, the experience can serve to remind helpers that their own lives are actually pretty good.

• Distracts you from your own problems - focusing on someone else can actually pull you away from your own self-preoccupation and your own problems.

letters to the editor

Future ready!

The article ‘Indian Education System Future- Ready in 2018’ can provide a vision for the betterment of the nation. It can suggest a road

to its success and prosperity.

But after analyzing the past educational systems, it makes one feel a bit too depressed and hopeless. Every New Year we hope for a better future but by the end of the year we usually conclude that the work progress is not up to the mark or at that rate which we hope for. We go on paying taxes, setting budgets, and planning for great education. But we find that we are still unable to provide the future students with better facilities. We feel that we have somewhere in our mind entertained the view that education sector is a money making industry. If we are given the promise that this situation will really change and if the government really works on to improve the quality of studies in the nation, then that will

definitely be a better future.

Amitabh Pandey, Bihar fatter wallets for 2018 The article ‘Come 2018, Job Opportunities and Fatter Wallets Await’ attracts a lot of attention from the reader. It provides the hope that 2018 might be different from the other years gone by and the hope makes us believe that the quality of life might improve. With this hope we need to move on with real efforts. As they say, ‘when there is hope, one finds out a way to move forward ‘. We need to face the ups and downs of life with hard work and determination. No schemes can make our future if we are not alert. Similarly job opportunities and start salaries will not come by magic.

Sharad Sharma, Delhi

Please mail your opinion to - ssbweekly@gmail.com or Whatsapp at 9868807712

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Photo Feature

January 08 - 14, 2018

Happy New Year 2018!

2018 brings new energy and enthusiasm to kick-start our year Photos and Photo Research: jairam

January 08 - 14, 2018

The reasons to celebrate may be plethora in 2018, and with that expectation the nation welcomes the new year with joy

Photo Feature

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Karnataka

January 08 - 14, 2018

Digital India

500 Villages To Get Free Wi-Fi The state is now connected to Internet across cities and villages, a unique achievement G. Ulaganathan

Snapshots Bengaluru today boasts of free wifi available at most tourist spots within the city The state government initiated to provide 2,560 gram panchayats with free Wi-Fi The Wi-Fi services will be provided up to a range of 1 kilometre from the Gram Panchayat office

I

n keeping with its reputation as the Silicon city of India, Bengaluru today can boast of free Wi-Fi being available at most of the tourist spots

inaugural session of the Bengaluru Technology Summit on November 1

by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

With more than 90 per cent of the state’s villages covered under the Bharatnet programme of the stateowned BSNL, providing Wi-Fi services to the villages did not pose much of a challenge, officials said.

In November last year, a pilot

project was launched in 11 villages and now the project will scale up rapidly to include all 2,560 gram panchayats by the end of the financial year. The Wi-Fi services will be provided up to a range of 1 kilometre from the Gram Panchayat office.

Villagers can browse the internet at high speeds for the first 100 MB after which there would be a speed reduction or a fee. Keonics is the implementing partner for this service.

“While we continue to remain the leaders in the IT industry across the country, it is my dream to see Bengaluru and Karnataka become a global destination for the IT and biotech sectors. We are working towards this by launching incubators in other cities like Kalaburagi, Hubbali and Mysuru as well,” Siddaramaiah says.

the cylinder automatically.”

“The buzzers will also set off. Our objective is to save women, especially mothers. We would also like to integrate the GSM technology also as it will be able to send messages, too,” he adds.

The teenagers’ innovation gains significance from the fact that the total number of accidental deaths from cooking gas cylinder and stove explosions in India was 3,667 during

2015, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. In Karnataka, there were 359 deaths during 2015.

Of the total 3,667 dead, 2,736, or 74.6 per cent, were women.

The teenagers’ parents Krishnamurthy, an autodriver, and Kalavathi, a tailor, said they felt proud of their children’s achievement and hoped that their innovation would help bring down the deaths due to LPG leaks.

‘‘It is my dream to see

Bengaluru and Karnataka become a global destination for the IT and biotech sectors” - Siddaramaiah within the city.

Now It has been extended to more areas and from December residents of 500 gram panchayats across the state began using Wi-Fi services to access the internet from the comfort of their homes.

The state government initiative to provide 2,560 gram panchayats with free Wi-Fi was launched at the

Home Security

Kids Design Sensor To Detect LPG Leaks

The teenagers’ parents Krishnamurthy, an autodriver, and Kalavathi, a tailor, said they felt proud of their children’s achievements ssb bureau

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s the incidents of accidental explosions and fires caused by domestic gas cylinders keeps increasing, two Bengaluru youngsters, both teenagers, have designed a sensor which can detect gas leaks and alert people in advance.

Purushottam N (14), a Class 9 student of Government High School, Uttarahalli, and his sister Shravani N (16), a first-year Preuniversity Commerce student of DayanandSagar College, have

designed the sensor to exhibit it at the college’s talent search competition.

Purushottam says , “To solve the problem of accidental fires and explosions of gas cylinders, we used Arduino Uno, a micro-controller, MQ5 sensor, which exclusively senses LPG gas, LCD, a potentiometer (an instrument for measuring voltage) to increase and decrease the voltage of the LCD, and an LED and a buzzer for the output.

If there is a gas leak, the LED turns red and the servomotor will turn off

Northeast

January 08 - 14, 2018

manipur

No Dustbin, No Shop License Manipur government to issue trader license to establishments with dustbins provisions only State’s Municipal Administration, Housing and Urban Development ( MAHUD) minister Thounaojam Shyamkumar

Raj kashyap

F

rom now on, Manipur government will issue trader license to only those establishments which have provisions for dustbins.

State’s Municipal Administration, Housing and Urban Development ( MAHUD) minister Thounaojam Shyamkumar said licence will not be issued to shops without dustbins.

“From 2018, all the shops in all the municipal areas need to procure licence and for this all the shops have to compulsorily use dustbins.

To procure licence for a big shopping complex it will be mandatory to have basement parking facility,” he added.

The mission of keeping our environment clean is one of top priorities of our present government.

It has to be performed by department of MAHUD, said Shyamkumar.

The minister also announced Rs 1 lakh each to all the towns under municipal and Nagar Panchayats for town cleanliness survey.

He also announced Rs 1.5 lakh to those towns that are able to get the ‘open defecation free’ status.

Shyamkumar was addressing the media sensitisation workshop on ‘Swachh Survekshan 2018’ held at the City Convention Centre, Palace Compound. The workshop was jointly organised by Directorate of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) and MAHUD department.

It discussed on Swachh Survekshan (cleanliness inspection), which is a survey conducted to rank cities on various sanitation and cleanliness parameters.

The minister appealed to the media persons to spread awareness about the survey so that the state can attain top ranking.

Meghachandra Kongbam, director, DIPR said his department is ready to help all the state government departments including the MAHUD department in creating mass

awareness regarding various schemes and programmes. Stating that cleanliness is a part of our age old tradition, he said with the help of media and the public, the state will get a good ranking in the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2018’. Gitkumar Singh, director, MAHUD said that

27 towns of the state including Imphal are competing in the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2018’. He said MAHUD ministry focuses on urban areas targeting open defecation free and scientific elimination of municipal solid waste. Stating that all municipal areas are organising series of

“The mission of keeping our environment clean is one of top priorities of our present government” Thounaojam Shyamkumar, MAHUD Minister

awareness programmes for the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2018’, he stressed on the need for creating mass awareness by the concerned authorities and media persons among the public.

Ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA), formerly ministry of urban development, had conducted Swachh Survekshan 2016 among 73 top cities of India followed by Swachh Survekshan 2017 covering 434 cities. MoHUA now proposes to conduct its third survey ‘Swachh Survekshan 2018’ to

rank all 4,041 statutory towns of India (competition among 500 AMRUT cities) under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).

The survey will be conducted anytime by a third party between 4th January 2018 and 31st March 2018.

Swachh Survekshan is a part of the Swachh Bharat Mission started on 2nd October 2014. India has pledged to become open defecation free and clean by 2nd October 2019, as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his

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Snapshots Dustbins a must for getting shop license Minister announces Rs 1.5 lakh to towns which attain ODF status Manipur wants to lead Swachh Bharat campaign

150th birth anniversary.

A total of 27 towns of Manipur will participate in the third survey ‘Swachh Survekshan 2018’. Imphal was ranked 15th among other cities of India and topped among the North East cities during the first survey held in 2016. The ranking slipped to 122nd position in comparison to other cities of India and the state slipped to 3rd position in the North East during 2017 survey. There is an additional parameter related to the survey this time. Citizens can use mobile application Swachhata App to instantly lodge a complaint by uploading a picture of littered areas which can be viewed immediately by the officials. After cleaning the specific location, the status report will be available on the Swachhata App. Uttam Singh, joint director, MAHUD, lauded minister Th. Shyamkumar for announcing monetary assistance for Municipal and Nagar Panchayats and hoped that it will encourage public participation. He also appreciated the municipalities for keeping the areas even at the Nagar Panchayat areas from Imphal-Keibul areas clean during the recently concluded Manipur Sangai Festival 2017.

Shyamkumar also handed over cheques to the winners of the cleanliness competition held under the ‘Mission Imphal-Keibul’ organised by the MAHUD Department from November 19 to December 2, 2017, during the Manipur Sangai Festival. The winner of the competition, Kumbi Municipal Council, received Rs 80,000, second-ranked Nambol Municipal Council received Rs 50,000 and third-ranked Moirang Municipal Council received Rs 30,000. Consolation prizes of Rs 10,000 each were also handed over to Bishnupur Municipal Council, Ningthoukhong Municipal Council and Oinam Municipal Council. A compact disk (CD) on ‘Swachh Survekshan 2018’ song was also released at the function.

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Northeast

January 08 - 14, 2018

Cooperatives etc. on the supply side based on calls made to the 1917 toll free number allotted to Meghalaya and the requirement for agriculture produce / products from buyers on the demand side and pass this information on through a demand supply matrix that will be made available to registered farmers and buyers initially over the phone or SMS and later on in an easy to read format via an app that will be made available to users on their mobile phones. In addition, the ARC will also have a content dissemination section and knowledge management system that will push out expert advisories on crop, weather, animal health, input dealers, market price, plant protection etc. based upon content generated by the 1917iTEAMS ecosystem and through the app driven interface of the 1917iTEAMS. By leveraging on the outreach of the app and market information generated by the 1917iTEAMS platform, both buyers and sellers will be able to make informed marketing choices. Unlike

other online trading platforms, the 1917iTEAMS platform is not a place where trade or buying and selling will happen. It is simply a Cloud based level playing field where buyer and sellers are made aware of each other’s needs and prices and decide on whom to shake hands with. Once the deal is done the farmer / buyer places the call to the ARC on the toll free 1917 number for lifting and transportation of the produce.

The 1917iTEAMS will also have a fleet of dedicated ARVs leased out from local entrepreneurs and aggregators across the state which will move out, under the direction and tracking of the ARC, to lift farmer’s produce / livestock from aggregation sites and transport the produce directly to the farmers’ choice of markets based on calls requests made to the ARC and on payment of a minimal user fee. It is anticipated that this initiative will result in significant employment generation as service providers for many entrepreneurs / unemployed youths across the state. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said that the inauguration was a great moment for the government to empower the most important sections of the society, the farmers, who take care of the food and nutritional security and people who are often not attended to in a manner as they deserved. Sangma also added that the government has come up with a comprehensive plan.

Sanitation ministry, constant monitoring by the state’s Public Health Engineering department and other stakeholders.

Pema said he was “overwhelmed” to find people participating in construction of toilets even in remote villages along the international borders like Vijoynagar, Taksing and Pipsorang, despite communication bottlenecks, requiring strenuous

trekking for days together, carrying construction materials and ration as head load.

PHE Minister Bamang Felix said the government has finally won the battle. “We have finally liberated ourselves from the open defecation menace. The tiring and rigorous fight against open defecation was a Herculean task but not impossible,” he said. He thanked all the legislators, deputy commissioners, NGOs, panchayat members, youths and the stakeholders who contributed in their own way to achieve the target.

He said the ODF status could not have been achieved without the sincere efforts of the department’s officials. “The battle is not complete yet,” Felix cautioned, “the way ahead is more treacherous and challenging. We have to maintain the status of an ODF state and not allow open defecation to raise its ugly head.”

Felix also lauded the department for inventing “toilet technology” which he said has been a massive success, especially in inaccessible areas.

meghalaya

Farming Revolution In Meghalaya Government launches farmer-centric technology service raj kashyap

I

n a first of its kind initiative in the country, Meghalaya government has launched a farmer-centric and market-oriented technology service that will offer affordable transportation, evacuation and logistics services to farmers and facilitate them to access markets, buyers and sellers of their choice through a Cloud-based technology driven centre.

Called the ‘1917 Integrated Technology Enabled Agri Management System’ (1917iTEAMS), the service was launched by Chief Minister Mukul Sangma. The system aims at easing and enabling access to remunerative markets, information, crop advisories and agriculture related services for farmers, buyers, sellers and entrepreneurs of the state.

The technology driven centre called the Agri Response Centre (ARC) has been set up by the State’s Agriculture Department at the District Agriculture Office complex in Shillong and it has

been linked through the Cloud to a fleet of dedicated Agri Response Vehicles (ARV) spread out across the state.

The ARC which is essentially a customized 31 seater call center, will host an omnibus IT platform comprising an Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS), Fleet Management Application and a User Fee Management System will receive and collate produce, evacuation and logistics demand of farmers, SHGs,

arunachal pradesh

Arunachal Becomes ODF The state is now the second ODF region in the Northeast after Sikkim

ssb bureau

A

fter Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh became the second northeast state to be declared open defecation free.

Arunachal government made the announcement on the occasion of New Year Day. The last three districts - Upper Subansiri, Siang and Changlang which were lagging behind in the programme were declared ODF on December 31, the deadline set by the state government for all the districts.

The state government had cut short the national ODF target by

one year and ten months ahead of the national target and set 31 December, 2017, as the final target to achieve ODF status in Arunachal Pradesh. The national deadline is 2 October, 2019.

The project, undertaken under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), was carried through after the state government provided an additional incentive of Rs 8000 per toilet, in addition to the state’s matching share and the support given by the Centre, raising the cost to Rs 20,000.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu said the Herculean task has been made possible with the support of the Union Drinking Water &

Northeast

January 08 - 14, 2018

Snapshots

assam

Traditional Textile Designs To Be Included In Registry The HRDC proposal has received approval from the Patent Information Centre

ssb bureau

T

he Assam government has begun the process to register the traditional textile designs with the Design Registry as a safeguard against plagiarists.

According to media reports, a proposal that has been prepared by the Handloom Research and Designing Centre (HRDC) under the state government has received approval from the Patent Information Centre (PIC) of the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC).

The HRDC had earlier developed designs for handloom fabrics since the past several decades. HRDC has been developing new designs based either on some themes relating to current developments or some old designs.

The decision by the government comes years after the Geographical Indication which is a form of patent was secured by the Assam Science and Technology Environment Coucil

(ASTEC ) for muga silk in 2006, which was the first item from the northeast to get a registration certificate from the GI Registry of India. HRDC has also proposed that the GI registration should cover all varieties of gamosas like the phulam (embroidered), the anakata (the gamosa woven for some special rituals without effecting any cut) and the tiyoni (the gamosa used while bathing) varieties.

Traditionally textile designs from

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Assam have been based on themes from the epics and nature, with prominent floral designs produced in shades for the ethnic costumes.

Brindavani was the most famous traditional Assamese fabric produced with designs depicting the different incarnations of God Vishnu. Major textile designs presently used for ethnic fabrics include Kimkhwab, Boro diamond, Ohol jonberi, Cosa sazia, Miri and Hatipati designs consisting of geometrical and floral, inspired by nature and traditional festivities.

The themes of the traditional designs were also conceptualised as the base with the particular colours that are inseparably linked with them in matters of expressing some ideas which are associated with the traditional festivals of the state. For example, if such a design is meant for a gamocha, red colour usually becomes the lone option. For red colour has a connection with Rongali Bihu, the festival related with productivity.

Assam’s handloom industry is basically silk oriented. Four varieties

The government has been making efforts to preserve the traditional dyeing techniques to benefit those connected with the loom sector

HRDC proposes that the GI registration to cover all varieties of gamosas Traditionally textile designs from Assam have been based on themes from the epics and nature The cultivation of the host plant - som and soalu - requires an ordinary method of cultivation

of silk worms and their host-plants, mulberry, Eri, Muga and Oak Tassar are popular and important for economic and commercial purposes.

Sericulture is an important cottage industry of Assam. Oak tassar was introduced in Assam only in 1972.

Nearly 90% of the silk produced is from the mulberry sector only.

The cultivation of the host plant som and soalu - requires an ordinary method of cultivation.

Strains of silk worms, developed at the central silkworm feed station at Sivasagar, provides large quantities of moth eggs. The eggs are kept in cold storage until they are hatched. Muga reared in the open air, needs to be protected from birds and bats. The female moth lays eggs on the kharika, and the hatched eggs are subsequently hung upon specially selected twigs of young plants. The tiny worms immediately crawl up the leaves to start feeding.

To spin cocoons, they are put on bundles of dry leafy twigs called tali and taken indoors. The treatment and disposal of cocoons involves unwinding cocoons to make raw silk. The pupae are killed inside the cocoons before they emerge as adults. This is done either by exposing them to the sun or by heating them in a special drying chamber. The cocoons are sorted out for reeling. Before reeling, the muga cocoons are cooked in an alkaline solution of soda ash for an hour which helps to soften the natural gum, serecin, which holds the filaments together. The government has been making efforts to preserve the traditional dyeing techniques. On regular occasions, it has showcased the natural dyeing processes in different parts for the benefit of those connected with the traditional loom sector.

HRDC provides free services and consultation in installing handlooms and develops the designs as sought for by the weavers and their cooperative societies. It has recently set up a library-cum-information cell and a testing laboratory as well.

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Livelihood

January 08 - 14, 2018

Uttar Pradesh livelihood

Beggars… yes… can be choosers The efforts of one person has turned a voluminous begging community in Uttar Pradesh capital city Lucknow, into self sustaining, proud individuals

sravan shukla

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eggars can be choosers now. After failing to get a job, Satish Pal was begging for alms at the famous Hanuman Setu temple and main crossings in Lucknow for over a decade. But today, he is a rickshaw-puller and earns his own living with dignity.

Like Satish, there are about 27 other beggars in Lucknow who have quit begging and are rehabilitated to stand on their own feet.

This was made possible by a 28-year-old social activist Sharad Patel. Hailing from Mirzapur village in Hardoi district, Sharad patiently worked on beggars in Lucknow collecting data, studying their behaviour, social standing, understanding their problems and

Snapshots 28-year old Sharad Patel worked on beggars in Lucknow to settle data on them He was disturbed to find that the government had no data on the beggars Sharad got them ration cards, widow, elder person and handicapped-persons’ pensions

family background, etc., to rehabilitate as many as 27 beggars without any government support. It took him three years to accomplish the job.

After completing High School,

Sharad had to shift to Lucknow along with his parents for the treatment of his mother suffering from blood cancer. During the course of his mother’s treatment, the young lad was perturbed seeing the plight of cancer and other patients due to poor medical care in government hospitals. He had then decided to become a doctor to treat patients free of cost.

But fate had decided something different for him. In 2010, he came in contact with Sandeep Pandey, the Magsaysay Award winner and social activist, and Sharad started working with him. Sharad claims that his family supported him when he decided to opt for social services than to choose a career in medicine. He did his Masters in Social Work (MSW) to broaden his knowledge about the field he has chosen as

social service to help the poor and needy.

While working on a project on destitutes, he was shocked to find that population of beggars was higher in Lucknow than any other city in Uttar Pradesh.

“There were hardly any beggars in my village in Mirzapur. But I was surprised to find that besides temples, railway and bus stations, crossings etc beggars dot the city everywhere, despite the fact that begging is a cognizable offence and crime under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Beggary Act 1975,” he said.

One day a beggar approached him and asked for Rs 10 to buy food.

Instead of giving him money, he took the beggar to a shop and ordered for ‘puris’ to feed his empty belly. “I spent about two hours with the beggar trying to understand the circumstances which led him to beg on the streets. He shared all his personal details and when I checked, I found that many of them were blatant lies. He was a habitual beggar getting easy money or food without doing any work,” said Sharad.

Majority of the beggars he met were hooked to some form of cheap intoxicants. Many of them admitted that they can’t go for begging if they don’t take a dose of ‘ganja’ or ‘bhang’.

While working on finding a solution for their permanent rehabilitation, three of his friends Jaideep Kumar, Mahendra Pratap and Prince volunteered to support in the cause.

Sharad approached the social welfare department of the state government to seek data on beggars in Lucknow. He was shocked when his request was turned down. saying that the department has no data on beggars in Lucknow. Ironically, the department runs eight beggars’ homes all over the state.

The beggars’ home in Lucknow is housed in a 100-year-old dilapidated building in Thakurganj and, unfortunately, for the past decade it had not had a single inmate as a beggar, despite the fact that government has a substantial budget of over Rs 10 lakhs for rehabilitation

Livelihood

January 08 - 14, 2018

of beggars.

After studying the state government’s model for beggars’ rehabilitation, Sharad realised that it was of no use. “We spent about three months collecting data on our own and made a one-year plan to work on their rehabilitation. The plan was launched on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2 2014 through ‘Badlaav ’(Change), a social organisation working for the rehabilitation of beggars,” said Sharad.

After establishing a close rapport with beggars, the group got them ration cards, widow, elder person and handicapped-persons’ pensions, and other documents and benefits from government’s welfare schemes.

This boosted their confidence.

Beggars were divided into three groups. First were those who were above 60 years, second handicapped and disabled and third less than 40 years of age.

For the older, handicapped and disabled beggars, the group arranged funds for selling milk, bread, butter, eggs etc., to make them selfemployed. For the remaining, they were given options to choose training in the fields they had interests in but little past experience.

Some of them opted for pulling rickshaws, others preferred painting, a few were ready to work as dailywagers and domestic helps.

“We approached builders,

contractors, businessmen, caterers, hotels and others who were ready to help them get jobs. Five among them were picked up by a painting contractor, 10 were given jobs by

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The beggars’ home is housed in a 100-year-old building but unfortunately, for the past one decade it had not had a single inmate as a beggar caterers, builders and shop owners, seven started selling daily-use items at railway stations and bus stations, and we collected funds to arrange rickshaws for the remaining five,” shared Sharad. Within two years ‘Badlaav’ was successful in bringing qualitative changes in the lives of over 100 beggars and was successful in rehabilitating 27 others. “They are now leading a respectable life by quitting begging and standing on their own feet to earn their own living instead of stretching their hands out to others for survival,” claimed Sharad, who is now doing Ph.D on begging and its solution.

The group of 27 rehabilitated beggars help Sharad hold weekly camps, nukkad nataks to motive other beggars. “I was a junkie. The pain and efforts Sharad bhaiyya took to change my life I will repay him by participating in his noble work motivating and helping other beggars to stand on their own feet,” said Vijay Bahadur Bhola, who now pulls a rickshaw to earn his living.

Together, they motivated about

1,250 beggars in Lucknow. The group has a complete profile of 230 beggars in which a few are graduates but were forced by circumstances to go for beggary. The group has also started a ‘Pathshala’ (school) at Dubbaga where about 80 children, who were begging on streets, are now studying.

Pankaj is now thinking of asking his family to join him. “My wife left me after my elder brother threw me out of our ancestral home. Failing to get any work I ended up as a beggar.

Now I earn enough by painting houses and buildings to ask my wife and two kids to join me,” shared a confident-looking former beggar.

The group’s next step is to build a home for such people in Lucknow.

“Most of them still live on footpaths, even after self-employment. We have applied for homes for them under the Prime Minister Awas Yojana but a home is required for such a large number of beggar population in Lucknow to provide them safe accommodation,” said Sharad.

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Dragon Dance

Kolkata

January 08 - 14, 2018

Dragon Dance

‘Cha’: Under Dragon’s Protection

The planned revival of the Pei May school, the oldest school teaching Mandarin Chinese in Kolkata, will add glamour to the next Dragon Dance

Snapshots The Chinese have been among the oldest settlers in Calcutta, since 1778 Their culture and economics took a hit after the 1962 Indo-Pak war

Now they are ready to revive their culture and education, especially their language

prasanta paul

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ome mid-January and Tangra, the famous China Town on the fringes of east Calcutta, known for its terrific Chinese culinary offerings,will feel more elated than in the previous years during the fabled Dragon Dances. The Dragon, you see, holds and protects the Gem, the essence of Chinese culture. And in the City of Joy, Kolkata, the Dragon has held forth, because for the dwindling population of Chinese residents of the city, the school teaching Mandarin will be reopened.

Pei May, the last surviving Chinese language school in the city is poised to reopen after several years. Members of the community in Chinatown are extremely happy and busy drawing up plans to reopen the institute.

Pei May has the unique distinction of teaching Mandarin to at least two generations of ethnic Chinese in the city prior to the sudden closure of the school. The Chinese Tannery Owners’ Association, that was keen to get the school reopened for imparting Mandarin lessons to their kids, has finally succeeded in its efforts.

Due to their small population (and sensitive to India’s difficult relations with their homeland), the Chinese in

India have largely stayed out of politics and remained clustered in their own tight-knit communities. Many Chinese in India fled the country in the wake of the brief Sino-Indian war of 1962 – indeed, many Chinese-Indians were also interned in military camps and prisons in northern India following that conflict.

Those who were not imprisoned saw their movements restricted, and some even had their Indian citizenships revoked. It was during that crucial period — more than nine decades back that the school had started functioning and began to teach Mandarin and

Chinese culture to the kids of the community.

“In fact, very few among the present generation of Chinese are aware about the history of the school; the kind of pain and trouble our grandfathers have gone through while building this institution can’t be described in words,” said Chu Ying Wah, the new vice president of the school.

“Our community was hardly rich and people used to struggle a lot. They used to sell leather wastes and lived almost in penury. Yet their determination to impart education to their children saw them contributing a lot to building this institution.”

“In Tangra, we speak the purest form of Hakka anywhere in the world. Even in its original home it has been diluted”

The Chinese people have been living in Kolkata since 1778, when a traveller, Atchew, reached Bengal. After the Indo-China conflict, a sizable population has migrated to Canada, Singapore, Australia and other foreign lands. A decision by the Indian Supreme Court in 1995 to close down Kolkata’s tanneries due to environmental concerns, also sparked another exodus of Chinese from the city (to other parts of India, or out of the country entirely).

Kolkata’s remaining tiny Chinese community generally operates restaurants (which offer Indo-Chinese fusion cuisine), shoe shops, tea gardens and beauty parlours.

Often, family ties tend to be the strongest draw. Seeing that his four siblings had left for destinations like

Air Medical

January 08 - 14, 2018

27

Dragon dance as performed in China

centre to ne

air ambulance to take-off soon ssb bureau

T Los Angeles and Toronto, William Wong decided to stay back in Kolkata with his parents. He took control of Shanghai Co, a dry cleaning shop his father had set up in 1936. Wong says that even though he has never been to his village in China, he doesn’t believe there is any reason for his Chinese inheritance and Indian roots to be in conflict.

“My children and I grew up here.

We feel comfortable in India.” His elder son is studying at the Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi, while the younger one goes to school in Chandigarh and plays badminton at the national level.

“They like Indian music, Indian films, they have an Indian palate too. I just wish they also knew a little Mandarin,” Wong smiles.

Another longtime resident of Chinatown, SM Hsiung, complained that the youths of the area simply want to move to the developed countries. “Chinatown is being deserted by the new generation,” he said. “In Tangra, we speak the purest form of Hakka anywhere in the world. Even in its original home it has been diluted.

Hence, the revival of the institution is being welcomed by everyone in the community. ”However, the community leaders insist that even though Chinese will be taught in the revamped school, the medium of education would be English and the Mandarin will be available as second or third language. This apart, students will have the option of learning Indian history and geography along with Chinese history and geography. Pei May has already applied to the CICSE authorities for affiliation

and the nod is likely to come any day,” the vice president said. Finally the Cha project - aptly named cha which is the common word for tea in both Bengali and Chinese and the beverage is part of everyday living in both parts of the world aims at reviving the Tiretta Bazar.

The Kolkata chapter of the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Buzz Media in Singapore have been working together on the Cha Project, which aims at preserving the area’s authentic flavour.

“This place(Tiretta Bazar) is full of history. There’s an Armenian church here, a Portuguese church, a Zoroastrian temple and the AngloIndian Bow Bazaar barracks. There used to be a Jewish synagogue too, but only the plaque remains now.

This used to be the main commercial area when the British were around.

It was the hub of traders. The docks were nearby and you could see the ships over the top of the buildings in the distance,” INTACH bureau chief G M Kapur said.

According to him, the idea is to preserve Chinatown in Kolkata through a series of programmes. “It will be an urban-regeneration initiative as well as a tourism opportunity,” he said. “It will not only attract tourists but also people from the city itself. Basically, it will recreate the old Chinatown days.”On a more optimistic note, now given that many IndianChinese” from across the globe are planning to return to Kolkata to attend the festive Chinese New Year’s celebrations and other programmes, there is perhaps, hope that the community will not vanish entirely.

he central government’s plan to launch mobile air dispensary services – helicopters with equipment and doctors – for medical emergencies in remote and hilly areas of the northeast region may be a reality soon.

Informed sources said that the government has agreed to allocate Rs 80-Rs

100 crore for the proposed launch of two air dispensaries in the region.

The sources said the two air dispensaries will operate from Shillong and Imphal for six states. The services will cater to six northeastern states, barring Assam.

It has been decided that the project will be a joint venture of the Health, DoNER and Civil Aviation ministries.

The DoNER Ministry had stated that the initiative should come from the Health Ministry with the help of the Northeastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEGRIMS) in Shillong for medical and para medical assistance and emergency.

28

Entertainment evolution

January 08 - 14, 2018

movies in space

Astronauts Watch ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ in Orbit Astronaut Mark Vande Hei watched the latest Star Wars movie at the International Space Station with his crew

Nawazuddin to narrate evolution of TV via film From black and white to the era of plethora of options, it will mark revolutionary change IANS

A

ctor Nawazuddin Siddiqui will lend his voice for a brand film of soon-to-be-launched entertainment channel Discovery JEET. Conceptualized and written by Glitch and produced by Two Nice Men Mediaworks, the film is called “Look, who’s watching!”, read a statement.

The film captures the evolution of time from television’s perspective and highlights the evolution of consumption pattern.

It puts the spotlight on the evolution from the black and white era when the entire family used to sit together every evening and enjoy limited entertaining content available, to the era where consumers had plethora of options for entertaining content, to now where video consumption is increasingly becoming very ‘individual centric’.

Sameer Rao, Vice President at Head of Mass Entertainment-South Asia, Discovery Communications India, said: “Nawazuddin’s story is inspirational, an extraordinary tale of someone who made it possible with ‘hai mumkin’ (it’s possible) attitude. The depth of his voice helps in connecting the viewers with the times gone by and convey Discovery Jeet’s proposition.”

ians

E

ven as “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” continues its run in theatres across the world, it also got an audience at a place away from our home planet - the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei tweeted a photo of the astronauts

aboard the space station enjoying the flick.

While Vande Hei did not mention “The Last Jedi” by name, you can clearly see the image of X-wing pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) on the station’s big screen, Space.com reported on Sunday.

“Space Station movie night, complete with ‘bungee cord chairs’,

drink bags, and a science fiction flick!” Vande Hei wrote on Twitter.

NASA earlier confirmed that it would screen the movie in orbit in collaboration with Disney for the Expedition 54 crew members, including NASA astronauts Vande Hei, Joe Acaba and Scott Tingle.

Anton Shkaplerov and Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency are the other members of the current crew.

In a statement, NASA announced that “Disney will uplink the film to the space station through mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.”

But this is not the first time a movie was screened on the space station.

Disney also sent Star Wars: The Force Awakens to space in 2015 for the entertainment of the astronauts aboard the space station.

According to a report in The Verge, enjoying movies on board the ISS is not unusual and the space station is stocked with an extensive digital library of more than 500 titles, including classics and newer hits.

comment

Bollywood Is Globally Famous: Sundar Pichai Google’s Indian CEO Sundar Pichai discusses the reach of Bollywood in the new TED Talks India series SSB BUREAU

I

ndia-born Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who will be seen on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khans TV show “TED Talks India Nayi Soch”, said the Hindi film industry is famous worldwide.

In the upcoming episode, titled

“Tomorrow’s World”, Pichai will appearing through video conference, read a statement.

“Bollywood is globally famous.

Everyone knows Shah Rukh, but people started to know me after my interview with him in 2014 for his film ‘Happy New Year’. I must say his job is really cool, but he’s cooler,” Pichai said.

As a part of his speech, Pichai said he aims to empower every Indian with access to smartphones and connectivity through a programme called ‘Internet Saathi’.

“Slow down, take time to think about what you want to do from your heart,” he said.

The “Tomorrow’s World” episode will air on the Star Plus.

Entertainment

January 08 - 14, 2018

29

superheroes

Hollywood Superheroes Won The Indian Box Office Game From Wonder Woman to the new Spider-Man, Hollywood’s superheroes turned out to be a hit formula for the Indian box office in 2017 IANS

B

e it Wonder Woman, SpiderMan, Thor or Hulk, stories about superheroes battling supervillains in a fantasy world turned out to be the hit formula for Hollywood at the Indian box office in 2017.

Even as Indian actresses Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone didn’t quite live up to box office expectations around their Hollywood debuts -- “Baywatch” and “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”, respectively -- movies like “Wonder Woman”, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Thor: Ragnarok” captured the audience’s imagination and set the cash registers ringing.

Hollywood’s 2017 report card, as industry expert Rajesh Thadani says, “was decent but not over-the-top”.

“I am sure it could have done better. Bollywood wasn’t great this year except for ‘Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion’. Overall, Hollywood helped a bit (at the Indian box office), but not as per expectations,” Thadani told IANS. “Priyanka’s and Deepika’s films didn’t do that great... Not as expected,” he added.

Girish Johar, film and trade business analyst, echoed the sentiment.

Be it Israeli actress Gal Gadot’s avatar as “Wonder Woman”, or Hugh Jackman’s final turn as Wolverine in “Logan” or beloved superheroes Thor and Hulk getting together to battle against a supervillain in “Thor: Ragnarok” or superheroes from a different universe in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” -- 2017 was the year of superheroes at the box office in India.

The second part of the 2014 film “Guardians of the Galaxy” -- which brought back Chris Pratt as StarLord; Zoe Saldana as Gamora; Dave Bautista as Drax; Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot; and Bradley Cooper voicing Rocket Raccoon -- opened in India on May 5. It grossed Rs 22.57 crore, as per trade sources.

Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok” opened in India on November 3 in

English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, and grossed Rs 76.60 crore.

According to data compiled by online ticketing platform Longevity BookMyShow, “Thor: Ragnarok” was the topgrossing film of the year in English.

“The Marvel Cinematic Universe has sparked the imagination of a whole new generation of fans in India. 2017 has been an exceptional year with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and one of the biggest Hollywood releases in India, ‘Thor: Ragnarok’,” said Bikram Duggal, Executive Director and Head, Studios, Disney India.

Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures, said 2017 was a “year of hits and misses”.

“We had some complete surprises.

There were some really big successes and some disappointments if we talk about Hollywood. But overall we at PVR are happier than dissatisfied,” Gianchandani told IANS. “Films which had potential to become blockbusters didn’t do that well and a lot of people raised concerns with these franchises. But we had ‘Fast & Furious 8’, ‘Wonder Woman’ -- which is not a franchise yet -- but again a DC character which turned out much bigger than expected. “Overall, if we remove some from the equation, the remaining year

Quick Glance Films like Logan collected Rs 50.42 crores in box-office Thor:Ragnarok was the highest grossing superhero film in 2017 in India 2018 will be even bigger for superhero movies

had been fairly aggressive as far as box office numbers are concerned,” Gianchandani added.

If we open the number chart for Hollywood films at the Indian box office this year, then, according to Warner Bros Pictures India, “Wonder Woman” -- which was appreciated the world over for introducing a successful franchise revolving around a female superhero with the vision of a woman director -- amassed over Rs 32 crore.Other films which made the year remarkable for the banner were: “Dunkirk” (Rs 35.9 crore), “Kong” (Rs 40.6 crore), “Geostorm” (Rs 68.1 crore) and “Justice League” (Rs 51.6 crore).

Deepika’s “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” -- an $85 million Paramount/ Viacom Inc release, for the promotion of which Hollywood actor Vin Diesel came down to India too -- turned out to be the best box office bet for the banner, with collection figures standing at Rs 50 crore-plus. Still, trade gurus say, it didn’t match expectations.

For Viacom18 Motion Pictures, “Transformers: The Last Knight” -- which released in India on June 30 -- was also a winner by minting over Rs 30 crore, followed by Priyanka’s maiden Hollywood project “Baywatch” standing at over Rs 14 crore.Tom Holland’s first solo movie as the web slinger with “Spider-Man: Homecoming”, a story woven with hints of diversity and a ‘desi’ twist with Hollywood’s ‘Iron Man’ Robert Downey Jr in a kurta pyjama at a traditional Indian wedding, was the highest grossing film from the Sony Pictures Entertainment stable.

Films like “Logan”, with collections at Rs 50.42 crore, “Boss Baby” (Rs 20.60 crore), “War for the Planet of the Apes” (Rs 25.89 crore), “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” (Rs 20.88 crore) and “Murder on the Orient Express” (Rs 11.55 crore) made 2017 worthwhile at the box office for Fox Star Studios.

In the department for the shrills and thrills, films like “Annabelle: Creation” and “IT” fared well in the report card. “’Thor’, ‘Wonder Woman’ and other horror franchises did well in India. So, overall, there was an increment in box office business.

It was a good time for Hollywood films,” Johar said.

What about the road ahead?

Duggal said 2018 “will be another spectacular year at the cinemas as we bring a diverse slate of movies, from superheroes to fantasies to action adventures”.

Gianchandani also said the future for Hollywood films looks bright in India.

30

Literature

January 08 - 14, 2018

Story from Guru Granth

The Honest Work of Lalo

G

uru Nanak used to travel all over India with his companions Bala and Mardana. Wherever they went, they made beautiful music to help people understand God and spread truth. This story takes place when they visited a remote village in Northern India.

As Guru Nanak and his companions walked towards this village, the people had heard the news and were excited that Baba Nanak was coming. Lalo, a simple and hardworking carpenter, ran out to meet him.

He had heard of Baba Nanak and wanted to serve him. He was determined to invite the Guru to his home. He fell at Guru Nanak’s feet, saying, “O Baba Ji, my soul is honoured to see your divine presence.

Please come to my house so I can serve you.”

Guru Nanak agreed to Lalo’s pure request and went to the carpenter’s modest home. He and his companions ate the simple food offered.

It was a typical meal in the region, with rice, daal, yogurt and chapatis. Even though it was simple food, it was made with love and Guru Nanak enjoyed eating it very much.

Lalo and his wife were very hospitable and serviceful. When Guru Ji left they felt very blessed to have had such a saint in their house.

In the same village there was also a very rich man named Malik Bhago. He was the governor of the area. He didn’t treat people very nicely but every year he organized a huge festival to please God. His servants brought expensive, rare, and delicious food imported from all over India. It took them days to prepare the meal. When he heard Guru Nanak was in the area, Malik Bhago sent a messenger to Guru Nanak to ask him to join him in the feast at his home.

First, Guru Nanak said he could not come.

But the messenger became afraid, “He might beat me if you don’t come back with me to the feast.” So Guru Ji went with him. When he got to Malik Bhago’s house, he didn’t eat anything.

Instead, he just sat by himself meditating.

Malik Bhago was offended. He had found out that the Guru had eaten at Lalo’s house just the day before. He approached the Guru angrily, asking him, “Baba, why haven’t you eaten any of this food? You can eat at the house of a low caste carpenter but not my food?! It is the most exotic, expensive, rich food you can get, why won’t you eat it?”

Guru Nanak said, “I will show you why.” He then asked someone to go to Lalo’s house and bring some of the food back. When the food arrived, Guru Ji took a chapati from Lalo’s house in one of his hands. He took a chapati from Malik Bhago’s feast in the other hand. He began squeezing the chapatis and something amazing happened.

Out of the Lalo’s, milk came out! Everyone was amazed! It was a miracle. But out of Malik Bhago’s chapati came blood. Everyone was shocked.

Malik Bhago arrogantly asked, “What does this prove?!” Guru Ji patiently replied, “Lalo works and earns honestly. His wife cooked the food with love and they served it with kindness and devotion.” Lalo’s food was like milk to a saint.

Guru Nanak continued, “Your servants made the food with fear. They are afraid of what will happen if they do anything wrong and angry at you for treating them like you do.” So Malik Bhago’s food was like blood. “Only food that is made with love is truly good for the body.”

We know that we must eat food to nourish our bodies. But if it has bad energy in it, then why should we eat it? It’s not really good for our bodies. It’s always best to eat food made with good energy.

Malik Bhago learned a great lesson that day and became a student of Guru Nanak’s.

He realized being mean to people all year and then making a feast just once, doesn’t make God happy. He became a fair man who treated others lovingly. And from then on he was devoted to his holy saint and teacher, Guru Nanak.

Poem This poem is based on introspection on how to achieve inner peace within.

One of my most spiritual poems, I hope you will like it! * I am peaceful, I want peace Staying calm in life, I want to calm down It feels great when I get quiet Staying quiet, I find everything in life! Peace does not get anywhere Inwardly I find it When cool I can see my God! I am peaceful, I want peace Do I need money in the world to calm myself down?

Gathering all the rest Do I find that true joy?

No, it still seems lacking Because peace can not be found Sit in meditation for a while, do not celebrate that Lord!

How do I calm down until I get concentrated I am peaceful, I want peace!

Peace is essential in life Staying calm is very important for every work As long as life is in peace with life So stay calm because peace is difficult to meet Stay calm in life because peace is difficult to meet in life!

Events

January 08 - 14, 2018

events & more...

31

ACROSS 4. Which is used as the logo of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) ?

9. Which industry was started first in India?

events

11. Where is India’s First nuclear centre ?

12. What is the staple food of one third of the worlds total population?

SSB crossword no. 4

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15. Which planet is commonly known as Dwarf Planet?

17. The Kalinga Prize is given by which organization?

18. The oldest monarchy in the world is that of which country?

20. Which state had the lowest literacy rate (according to 2011 census) ?

DOWN 1. Which was The first atomic power reactor in India?

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6. Which state ranks first in milk procurement in India?

7. The salivary gland secrete saliva that contains which enzyme?

8. Name of First Indian Missile?

10. Which metal is non-toxic in nature?

16. Which is the metal used in storage batteries?

19. Which type of coal is difficult to light in the open air?

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POSTAL REGISTRATION NO. DL(W)10/2240/2017-19

Newsmakers

January 08 - 14, 2018

Unsung Hero

Arman Gupta

Spilled Juice, Built Mopping Robot To Clean It Arman is the youngest of innovators, set to attend the Maker Mela with his robot cleaner

A

rman Gupta is no ordinary standard fifth student.

He is, unlike boys of his age, not a mess creator. Rather he believes in cleaning up his own mess. And this is what inspired the creation of a remote-controlled cleaning machine. It was an ordinary day at the Gupta residence and just like any other day, Arman was gulping down his glass of juice. But accidently he spilt some on the floor. Normal mistake any little kid, or even adults, can make. And as established earlier, being a cleanliness aware kid at his age, Arman decided to clean this himself, too. This was when this young and very innovative brain decided to build a robot that cleans and mops on command.

The cleaning and mopping machine which Arman has devised dries the surface simultaneously. It has detachable sponges for its maintenance. The device can clean the surface and dry it as well.

Arman will now showcase his invention at the Maker Mela, which is an event organised by Somaiya Vidyavihar and RiiDL. Scheduled to be held from January 11-13, the event is an all-ages showcase for invention, creativity and resourcefulness. Innovators attending the Maker Mela range from tech enthusiasts to crafters, educators, tinkerers, engineers, artists, science clubs, students, and even commercial exhibitors. And little Arman is the youngest of the lot. How inspiring!

M S Sunil

Homes For Poor She noticed her poor student living in unsafe home - decided to rectify!

E

verything about this 57-year-old retired zoology professor is unique -- and what stands out is her abiding compassion for the deprived. In 11 years, she has built new homes for 78 people in a sterling example of philanthropy in a region where Gulf emigres build extravagant homes, radically altering the rural landscape.

M S Sunil’s altruism started back in 2006 when it came to her notice that one of her poor students was living in an unsafe home. She decided to rectify that.

There was no stopping her after that as she went on to build 77 homes in her home district of Pathanamthitta and one in nearby Kollam district where most home construction is funded by Keralites working abroad.

She completed her 78th house last month.

As for the funds required, she said while the first home cost around Rs 60,000, the last one that has been handed over cost her Rs 2.50 lakh.

The Man Behind e Indo-Ghana Trad Bhai Boolchand was the first Indian to visit the ‘Gold Coast’

N

ot much is known about him, but it has now emerged that trade relations between Ghana and India were started by Bhai Boolchand, the first Indian to arrive in the Gold Coast -- Ghana’s colonial name -- in 1890. That’s some 67 years before the British colonial government granted the country independence, research by the Indian Association of Ghana has found.

“As far as our records show, Bhai Boolchand (of the Bhaiband Sindhworki trading community), landed on the shores of the Gold Coast in western Africa in 1890.

Nearly twenty years later, in 1919, the first Sindhi company was established by two brothers – Tarachand Jasoomal Daswani and Metharam Jasoomal Daswani,” said the Indian Association.

The duo opened a store – Metharam Jassomal Brothers -- in the then capital city of Cape Coast in 1919.

Boolchand’s arrival, therefore, pre-dates the historical links between the two countries that were always thought to have started between Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Boolchand can thus be described as the one who paved the way for the arrival of other members of the Sindhi community, initially as traders and shopkeepers.

The Indian Association said more of this group arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, with a few venturing into manufacturing industries such as garments, plastics, textiles, insecticides, electronics, pharmaceuticals and optical goods.

“After 1947, the Gold Coast attracted the attention of some Indian multinational companies, and big names,” the Association said.

RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561, Joint Commissioner of Police (Licensing) Delhi No. F. 2 (S-45) Press/ 2016 Volume - 2, Issue - 04 Printed by Monika Jain, Published by Monika Jain on behalf of SULABH SANITATION MISSION FOUNDATION and Printed at The Indian Express Ltd., A-8, Sector-7, NOIDA (U.P.) and Published from RZ 83, Mahavir Enclave, Palam-Dabri Road, New Delhi – 110 045. Editor Monika Jain