Sulabh Swachh Bharat - VOL: 2 | ISSUE 29

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

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Writer Who Chose ‘Bitter Truths’

Green Lungs vs Concrete Jungle

Vrindavan Saga

The Making of A Legend

Gorky is regarded as the founder of Socialist Realism

The title Van Mahotsava means “the festival of trees”

When the unexpected knocked on her door

Schemes for the welfare of special sections

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A Good News Weekly

Vol - 2 | Issue - 29 | July 02-08, 2018 | Price ` 5/-

Sociology of sanitation

"Dr Pathak Changed Lives Of Countless People Through A Global Movement"

Fusion of academics and foot soliders at the triennial seminar from June 25-27, 2018 in Ahmedabad

Dr Pathak and Gujarat Governor OP Kohli inaugurating the three-day seminar at Ahmedabad

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July 02-08, 2018

Dr Bindeshwar Pathak and Amola Pathak welcoming Gujarat Governor OP Kohli

n Darshan Desai / Lalit Gambhir

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hile entering the premises of the Gujarat University the words “Yog Karmasu Kaushalam” are clearly visible, written in large bold text on the main entrance…which actually means, ‘Skill and action is Yoga’. A similar message was given in a three-day seminar on the campus of the university and the foundation for a better society and future with cleanliness was laid.

Students and teachers of sociology from various universities were spellbound as they listened with awe women scavengers from across

Quick Glance Dr Pathak creates academic chairs on the discipline at two Gujarat Universities

More than 50 research papers were read by young and reputed sociologists Prime Minister Narendra Modi also gave his message for the seminar

the country relaying their tales of empowerment away from the humiliating job of carrying night soil on their head, minutes after Gujarat Governor OP Kohli exhorted professors of sociology to learn real lessons from “practical sociologist” and father of India’s toilet revolution Bindeshwar Pathak.

The Gujarat Governor, who inaugurated the first-ever three-day national seminar on “Sociology of Sanitation” at the Gujarat University in Ahmedabad on 25th June, advised teachers and professors to make “sociology a live shastra” and link the subject with sanitation in practice so as to pull it out from academic books to convert it into real action for social change.

Minutes after this, women from Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh who had been rehabilitated and ushered into lives of respect by Bindeshwar Pathak’s Sulabh International Social Service Organisation away from their previous jobs of carrying human excreta on their head, related their stories.

Thus, the first two days of the seminar saw sharing of real-life examples of sociology in action by people on the ground with academics who presented scholarly papers on various aspects of sanitation and cleanliness to provide

Gujarat Governor OP Kohli advised teachers and professors to make ‘Sociology a live shastra’ a perspective to several issues and challenges.

Discussions continued on 27th June ahead of the valedictory function where Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Founder of Sulabh International Social Services Organisation Padma Bhushan Bindeshwar Pathak were the guests of honour.

The seminar was jointly organised by the Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, Department of Sociology, Samaldas Arts College, Bhavnagar and Sulabh International Social Services Organisation, New Delhi.

“Speakers at the conference spoke about the need for fixing universities’ social responsibility just like corporate social responsibility,” the OP Kohli Governor of Gujarat said.

Kohli added that, “In the same way as education is a powerful instrument of social change, sociology should become a powerful instrument for change.” He appreciated that at least 11 universities in the country are teaching sociology of sanitation as

part of their curriculum and exhorted others to adopt this as a course.

The Governor later presented Sociology of Sanitation Gold Medal to Prof Binod Kumar Choudhary, who is the Head of the Post-Graduate Department of Sociology at the LN Mithila University, Darbhanga.

Speaking at the inaugural function, Bindeshwar Pathak said he is elated that “for the first time in five decades a seminar is being organised on the theme of the sociology of sanitation” by two universities and a college teaching this as a subject.

Establishment of Sanitation Chair

On the first day of the seminar, Dr Pathak dedicated Sulabh Chair for Sociology to the Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University and the Gujarat University with an assistance of Rs 35 lakh each.

Dr Pathak hoped that by establishing the Sanitation Chair, the research of the students on ‘sociology of hygiene’ would lead to better development of society and the practical solution to the problems.

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July 02-08, 2018

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PM Modi’s Message

P

rime Minister Narendra Modi also gave his message for the seminar through a letter.

Pointing the verses that were said in the ‘Atharva Ved’, he said

Dr Bindeshwar Pathak presenting book ‘The Making Of A Legend’

Dr Pathak is the greatest Sociologist: OP Kohli

In his inaugural address on the occasion, Om Prakash Kohli, Governor of Gujarat, said that Dr Bindeshwar Pathak is a person who believes in motivational doing, not motivational speeches. He has created a global movement by inspiring countless people and changing their lives. He said that Dr Pathak has given sanitation the form of a movement.

He doesn’t just believe in using words but also practically motivates people by his actions, which is the reason the no one can understand the sociology sanitation better than him.

In Dr Pathak, we have got a practical sociologist. Had he been a professor in sociology, he would have inspired the students just by his lectures but now by the amazing work he is teaching and inspiring us all.

Kohli said that cleanliness is included in the traits of our religion, the conduct of cleanliness is the true religion, but people treated the untouchables as a religion, whereas religion should be pure. He said that cleanliness can only remove untouchability. He requested the Vice Chancellors who were present in the seminar and all the Universities of Gujarat, to think how we can celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019, by giving a big message to the society.

I have offered a solution: Dr Pathak

In his keynote address Dr Pathak said that while Gandhi had dreamed of clean India, PM Modi was working to fulfill it. He said, he could not make it to the academia even if he really worked hard to be a professor

Dr Pathak said that country’s sociologists had the responsibility to bring change in the society rather than be confined to the academy

of sociology. Instead, he said, he was assigned to work for the downtrodden, the untouchables, and this is how began his journey with his landmark invention and development of ‘Twopit’ toilet technology.

Dr Pathak said that the country’s sociologists had the responsibility to bring change in the society rather than be confined to the academy. Hence, the idea and discipline of Sociology of Sanitation that evolved during the course of his work on sanitation and social reforms. He stressed that teaching sociology was not enough and that it needed to be part of the academic curriculum.

Sulabh has held many a seminar and discussions over years with the different stakeholders in the country on the discipline, exhaustively. As a result, the subject is already a part of curricula of 11 universities of the country. Dr Pathak announced that Sulabh would extend financial support for two Chairs of Sociology of Sanitation in the respective universities of Gujarat.

Sulabh is widely acclaimed for its path-breaking social interventions in mainstreaming the untouchables into social acceptance and restoration of their human rights.

Dr Pathak informed the gathering that Sulabh had brought the change through absolutely non-violent means, without treading anyone’s raw corns or ruffling anyone’s feathers. “We have advocated and made possible for erstwhile untouchables choose caste of their choice just as people can choose a religion they like,’ he said.

No one had thought that widows of this country could touch colours and think of leading a normal life just as a widower had a freedom to do. We have made that possible,” he added.

The women of the households that had no toilets typically must spend sleepless nights waiting for the cover of darkness when they could to go out to relieve themselves. No longer do they have to do that with toilets

that there is nothing more important than cleanliness.

‘Congratulations to everyone for the seminar organized on ‘Sociology of Sanitation’.’

constructed by Sulabh now in their homes. They can sleep now in those hours peacefully.

“This is about functional sociology, and this is about our books that are ‘talking’. Our sociology talking is not just limited to good words,” said Dr Pathak equating the beneficiaries of various Sulabh sanitation programmes with the ‘talking books sociology’ some of who were present at the Seminar.

Dr Pathak should be awarded Nobel Prize: Pais

Attributing new-found awareness about sanitation in the country to four factors, former vice chancellor of the Mangalore University Richard Pais has said it began with Mahatma Gandhi, to be followed more recently

by Bindeshwar Pathak, who has changed the sanitation scenario in the country.

The other two factors, according to him, are the Harappan Civilization and the cleanliness campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said, “The Harappan, Lothal and Mohenjo Daro archaeological excavations in the Indus Valley civilization period have shown that there were sewerage drainage systems, public wells and private and public baths. In those times, streets were built on a grid pattern. Asia, including Pakistan and parts of India, was prominent in hydraulic engineering and had many water supply and sanitation devices at that time.”

Thereafter, the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, led a continuous campaign for sanitation, cleanliness and efficient management of all categories of waste throughout his public life. He took up the works of sanitation on priority, with a set of volunteers, tried to make one village ideally clean, swept the roads and courtyards, cleaned out wells and ponds and induced villagers towards sanitation.

Pais said, “No one else has done

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for sanitation in India more than Dr Pathak. In finding an alternative to manual scavenging, he invented the two-pit flush compost toilet and gave it the name ‘Sulabh Sauchalaya’, which has become the tool of social change and has vastly benefitted the society.”

“Because of these hygienic toilets, the untouchable scavengers have been relieved from the subhuman occupation of cleaning night soil, a practice nearly 5000 years old.”

“Not only that, to rehabilitate the scavengers and to bring them into the mainstream of the society, a dream of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Pathak adopted non-violence. He established a dialogue with the upper castes and asked them to sit with the manual scavengers and dine with them.”

Pais explained, “Without resorting to any negativity, he persuaded the upper caste people to have social interaction with the untouchables.

He also provided education to the downtrodden, which enlightened them, removing darkness from their minds. This brought in a real change in them and they started taking interest in reading, writing and telling their own stories, singing songs and many of them have now become good poets.”

During his valedictory address, Pais also sent out some suggestions for the Sulabh International founder and also to the prime minister. He urged the organization and the Gujarat government to start a Sanitation University.

With Gujarat being dubbed as a model state, he wished that such a university should be set up in Gujarat, but if not, then he would like it to be set up in Karnataka, where he would provide the land required for it. He also requested the government and the universities to recommend the name of Dr Pathak for the prestigious Nobel Peace Award.

Dr Y Ravindranath Rao

(Academic innovation and Sulabh Sanitation) Dr Y Ravindranath Rao in his presentation said sanitation is a universal problem and most of the medical issues can be traced back to the root cause of hygiene. Talking about the various programmes of Sulabh, he said that Sulabh was fulfilling the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and that all of Sulabh’s activities are meant to find solutions to basic problems. Sulabh’s greatest contribution has been to find an alternative to dealing with sewerage.

He said that Sulabh was not confined

July 02-08, 2018

From Picking Up Human Excreta To Learning Computers, Usha Has Come A Long Way

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C’mon Bhangan (sweeper)!! Get out of these wedding celebrations and get on with your work. Our houses are stinking with the filled up latrines. You can continue with all these wedding celebrations later.” All this was a routine for Usha, a manual scavenger 15 years ago, she could not even freely participate in her festivities or celebrations like family weddings.

Born in a scheduled caste family in Alwar, Rajasthan, Usha Sharma was manual scavengers.

“It was such a shameful and disgusting act that even after fifteen years since I left it, I shudder at the mere thought of it. The torment was even more painful when this human waste used to overflow on our heads while carrying it during torrential rains,” remembers Usha.

Usha and many like her were pulled out of the hellish life by Bindeshwar Pathak, the man behind the invention of two pit toilets and the founder Sulabh International Social Service Organisation. “We didn’t even know what life actually meant. We thought that the nightmare that we lived in was our life and we would die doing just that. Every day was a nightmare and it didn’t matter whether we lived or die. We weren’t even allowed to take rest from the disgusting work when

we were sick” recalls Usha, now in her mid-thirties.

But now, she spoke from a podium with confidence about the hell that she had put behind and about her veritable new birth.

“But then everything changed for the better and our lives turned around with the entry of this Godly person Pathakji. When he first came to our village Alwar, we thought that he was just another loud mouth that comes and do nothing. But then he really transformed our lives. The journey in 2003 to the Sulabh centre made Usha’s life turn a full 360

degree.

“Initially we just went there to have a look, without the least thought of leaving our disgusting work. It was just that, ‘if there’s no harm, why not try it’ attitude. But gradually we learnt that Pathakji was really serious about the work he was doing and what it meant for us.

And then we asked him, why did you come so late in our lives, where were you till now,” asks Usha.

Since the last fifteen years, Usha and many like her have left the inhumane practice and have started learning making Papads, Pickles etc.

Some have taken up sewing clothes.

Some are learning computers.

Today, Usha earns around Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 a month, a far better amount than the monthly Rs. 10 she used to get for cleaning people’s latrines. “Today, after all the teachings we learnt at the centre, now we know what life actually means. I didn’t have any dreams of my own nor do I have one now, but my children have aspirations. My two sons are well educated and have their own good lives. My daughter is studying. Now, look how good her thinking is. She wants to become a veterinary doctor and serve the mute animals and I will help her accomplish her dreams” says a hopeful Usha.

to building toilets but it is involved in every aspect of hygiene. Sulabh is present not just in India, but also in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and many other countries. Sulabh according to Action Sociology is synonymous with change.

Dr Janak P Joshi

(Sanitation and Literature) Research scholar Dr Janak P Joshi in his presentation “Sanitation and Literature” has traced the long history of cleanliness in Hindi literature.

Focusing on history he showed that Chand Bardai’s “Prithivraj Raso” that there was a reference to cleanliness in this great literary work. Kabir too has emphasised the importance of cleanliness in his philosophy, and Tulsi Das has explained the essence of cleanliness. Sur Das has written about the philosophy of cleanliness in his works on the childhood miracles

of Lord Krishna.

Joshi said that in the muchdiscussed literary work, ‘Andher Nagari,’ there was a lively discussion on cleanliness. There was talk about cleanliness in Jaishankar Prasad’s ‘Iravati’. The great Hindi novelist, Premchand in his works like ‘Kalam Ke Sipahi’ and ‘Godaan’ makes his

characters speak about cleanliness.

Hoshi said that this shows that there is a deep link between literature and cleanliness.

At the end of the first day’s programme, students of Gujarat and Bhavnagar universities presented a cultural programme, which included songs and drama.

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July 02-08, 2018

Dr Anil Kumar Singh Jha on “In pursuit of justice , women and sanitation in India”

He underlined that women are more vulnerable when it comes to a crime like rape whereas they are untouchable socially and culturally.

SDG 6 talks about women and girls in the context of open defecation. 80 per cent women are engaged in the difficult chore of fetching water and only 16 per cent men do that. And there’s has not been any notable change in the last 10 years. Gender gap continues to prevail unless we make an effort to reverse the social trend.

What They Said At The Seminar

“Environment and Sanitation” and “Sanitation and Social Change” was held under the Chairmanship of Dr Vinay Rajath, Dr Amarendra Mahapatra as the Co-Chair and Ms Kirti Mishra as Discussant

Prof Neha Dharaiya on “Rural Culture and Sanitation in India”

She said it is not realistic to distinguish between urban and rural culture. She said it is not enough to keep clean ourselves and vicinity.

But mentality has to be worked upon to make it untainted and ours.

For instance, in case of untouchables who carry out scavenging, dispose of carcasses and even bring the On the second day of the seminar, all the research scholars who presented papers said in one voice that ‘Gujarat is the home of sociology’. Sociologists praised Dr Pathak and thanked him for holding a seminar on a crucial issue like ‘sociology of sanitation’. All of them said that there is need for greater research on sanitation.

modern problems like e-waste.

Chandrika Rawal on “Sanitation and Culture”

In the research paper 'Sanitation and Culture' Chandrika Rawal said that cultural differences play a huge role in the idea of hygiene. This ranges from dressing to cultural values.

She said that people of higher castes have a kind of pride about their superiority and they hate the lower castes. She said untouchability is not just related to the social system, but it also depends on the financial condition.

Dr Bhavna Premchand on “A problem of Mumbai: Water and sanitation in slums”

Dr Vipul Ramani on “Swacchta and Mahatama Gandhi”

He said Gandhiji preferred cleanliness to freedom. He said, “To me, Swacchta is clean clothes and clean home and our vicinity like anyone else. He informed that Gandhiji and those worked with and visited him practised a lifestyle that had cleanliness integrated into it.

Gandhiji found the horrible state of railways third class about which he said such travel arrangements must be discouraged as they generated waste which carried from one place to another.

He was for broom on every hand. He was for Bhagwat Gita in the hands of Dalits and brooms in the hands Of Brahmins.

This is how the cleanliness can be brought into public domain rather than being limited to our homes.

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message of death to the relations as a result of which they are beaten for no reason. Here the equality is the issue which is also very much related to the cleanliness of mentality.

We must pay due attention to cleanliness of environment as well as our mentality. Clean thinking has to be equally stressed upon.

She further said that “I want to add one more monkey to the Gandhiji’s proverbial four- don’t do wrong”.

Dr Amrendra Mahapatra presented his paper on "Sanitation and Public Health with special reference to Odisha."

Since prehistoric times and later on ruled by invaders we underwent remarkable changes in our way of

Dr Pathak, A Practical Sociologist: Dr Himanshu

Dr Himanshu Pandya, addressing the Seminar said that Dr Pathak had studied, developed a remarkable understanding of the social maladies and had provided appropriate solutions.

His Excellency the Governor of

life. Public health has taken a beating leading to disease and death. Odisha is slated to be ODF by 2022. With the help of UNICEF and Sulabh, schools in Odisha have begun to be provided with separate toilets for girls and boys. State is not spending adequately in sanitation and water sector, he said.

Kriti Mishra on “Sustainable Development Goals and Sanitation”

In her research paper 'Sustainable Development Goals and Sanitation', Kriti Mishra said that the main problem of cleanliness is with those who do not wish to adopt cleanliness.

If the sanitation is adopted voluntarily, then this problem can be solved to a great extent. We have to educate people and also focus on Gujarat OP Kohli, in his address, said that Dr Pathak’s was not just a theoretical presentation but a hardcore practicality that he had made possible.

He said, “good that Dr Pathak could not make it to academia; in him, we have got a practical sociologist which surely makes a greater sense to the society.”

In her research paper, Bhavna Premchand said that water and cleanliness are the basic necessities of life. She said we can live without food, but it is impossible to survive without clean water. She said that the inability to store rain water is a big problem. She said that in Dharavi, the biggest slum, water is a big problem and the issue is caught in the coils of political tussle. Giving many example, she said water and electricity have not reached people in many places.

Dr Jayashree Sorathiya on “Sanitary Facility and Social Change in Slum Area” Dr Jayashree Sorathiya in her research paper , “Sanitary Facility and Social Change in Slum Area’ said that the unhygienic conditions of a slum give rise to bigger problems.

She said people with low incomes live in slums where there is absence of clean water, clean air and health.

Gandhiji said that unclean habits prepare a fertile soil for mosquitoes.

To change this there is need to solve the problem of toilets. At the same time, it is necessary to change the mindset of the people.

Toilets have to made part of the life-style.

He said, “we have mistaken untouchability for religion instead of cleanliness; Dr Pathak has put the distorted narrative in the right perspective.” He beseeched the universities here to celebrate the upcoming 150th anniversary of Gandhi in a really meaningful way.

He said that Sociologist-teachers

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July 02-08, 2018

Sanitation Medal For Prof. Vinod Kumar Chaudhary

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rofessor Vinod Kumar Chaudhary, Head, Sociology Department, Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga, who was awarded the Sanitation Medal, said that he is very proud of this honour given to him and hopes that this seminar will prove to be a major step towards the research of ‘sociology of hygiene’. Describing Dr Pathak as a messiah for cleanliness and its various aspects, he said Dr Pathak has many times given Darbhanga grants so that

had the responsibility to guide their students into going beyond the books. Sulabh was not just toilets but a movement of larger social reforms that sociology was a powerful instrument of social change, he said. He said all us know corporate social responsibility but there was a need to think of individual social responsibility. We called for making all-out efforts to take forward the grand agenda of Dr Pathak.

The conception of the fourth monkey is beautiful

Emissary of cleanliness and founder of Sulabh Dr Pathak praised all the papers presented at the seminar and described than as stepping-stones for a better society. Praising Professor Neha’s research paper, he said that the conception of the fourth monkey was really beautiful and that no one should do evil. He said Sulabh and he follow this fourth monkey of Mahatma Gandhi. He said compared to the past there is increased social

awareness of cleanliness. He said Sulabh has set up the infrastructure for cleanliness and now it is for the government and people to follow it. People have to come forward for cleanliness.

He said it is necessary to improve the design of toilets. It ius necessary to focus on the utilitarian aspect of the toilet. He quoted Gandhi as saying that things in a house should have things which are available within a five-mile radius. He said it is necessary to understand the utility of a place and its form. He said that Sulabh is running 9000 public conveniences with the cooperation of the people and without burdening the government. He said we started our journey with Rs 500 and today more than 60,000 people work for it.

Dr Pathak has asked young social scientists through better research and development to bring about social change and at the same time to create employment for people. He said, “You can change world honestly.” He

said Sulabh is making clean water available at the price of 50 paise per litre. He said we have made the biggest public toilet in Maharashtra and it is used by more than four lakh people everyday

‘Talking Books’

The second session of the Seminar had the graphic presentations from the ‘talking books’ of Dr Pathak, who was once the acutely deprived and discriminated section of the society and rose to its respectable echelons.

Usha Chaumar, now Usha ‘Sharma’, narrated her story of an ordeal as a manual scavenger of excrement to her transformation into an entrepreneur leading a life of dignity her forefathers never knew.

Professor Nil Rattan moderating the session said how she and others like her were Dr Pathak’s ‘talking books’ of sociology. And for that matter ‘he was like a mobile library of such books.”

cleanliness and its philosophy can be understood and worked. He has a special attachment to Darbhanga and Bihar will change with his support.

Pooja, Tonk

Another ex-scavenger-untouchable related her story saying how terrible did she feel when she was made to sit away from other children in her school at lunch hour before Sulabh vocational training centre happened where she took up tailoring and saw her life transform.

Preet Kaur, Ludhiana

She said, her family was too poor to afford even a toilet without which she had to drop out of her school in her childhood. Toilet has given her family a new lease of life which is hugely better for her children which was unthinkable. “I cannot thank enough Dr Pathak; my children now go to school and especially girls are much better off with toilet at or home,” she said.

Rukhaiyya Bano, Jammu

She recited couplets in the honour of Dr Pathak and 400 others like

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July 02-08, 2018

Neha Dharaiya presenting her paper on “Rural Culture and Sanitation in India” her Sulabh training centres could empower them to earn a living for themselves, besides the toilets that changed their life like never before.

Abdul Lateef was effusively all praises for Sulabh chief saying after Gandhi God had sent Dr Pathak to take care of the marginalised of the society.

The Seminar’s heady day-one business was concluded by light, cultural presentation of a skit and some lilting music rendered by artists to the packed auditorium.

Laxmi Sharma, Alwar

Laxmi Sharma, who came from Alwar in Rajasthan, had done inhuman work of carrying night soil before 2003.

She told how a tailor refused to take her measurements when she went to get her clothes stitched and took the measurement from a distance after soaking the cloth in water. But in 2003, the people of Sulabh reached Alwar and she got relief from this disgusting work. Today, she holds a pen in place of night soil and writes a poem. She also recited her poem ‘patan se utthaan tak’

Shakuntala, Haryana

Shakuntala, former Sarpanch of Marora village in Haryana’s Mewat district, said that in Dr Pathak she sees God because he has changed the lives of the people of her village like a messiah. With the adoption of the village of Marora, Dr Pathak made hundreds of toilets and made people self-reliant.

Gayatri Sharma, Alwar

On this occasion, high-caste people along with former scavengers were also present. One of them, Gayatri Sharma, said that she certainly belongs to the upper caste, but she is completely opposed to discrimination.

She said by connecting with Dr Pathak her life too got changed. Like the great South African leader Nelson Mandela, Dr Pathak has made tireless efforts to change the country and is fulfilling the dreams of Gandhiji. She also urged everyone to stop the moral decline of society.

Pradeep Arya, Alwar

Pradeep Arya, who came from Alwar in Rajasthan, said that the practice of manual scavenging is playing a major reason behind the many failures of India. But Dr Pathak’s work saved India. He said that by learning from Dr Pathak, he organised a banquet for the people who were considered untouchable and ate food together, leaving behind untouchability. He said that the Human Resources Ministry should give Dr Pathak a degree for his commendable work.

Chhavi Sharma, Guwahati

Chhavi Sharma of Guwahati, who is living in the Sulabh-assisted widow’s ashram in Vrindavan, said that because of Dr Pathak the life of widows is now full of colours. We get free medicines and food. Money is provided as well.

If there is a God in reality, then I see him in Dr Pathak, she said.

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Pradeep Arya of Alwar, addressing the audience

End of three-day seminar

Many sociologists of the country were present at the closing ceremony of the three-day seminar. Among them were Dr MH Makwana, Harish Doshi, Dr Nilesh Barot, Dr Radhey Shyam Tripathi, Dr Richard Pias.

Sociologists lauded all the research papers presented on two days in the seminar and hoped that these research papers would get great success in the area of hygiene. The work being done by Sulabh in the area of hygiene for behavioural sociology is also considered the foundation of a better future. Dr Pathak’s contribution in Action Sociology was greatly appreciated and he was called the father of sociology of hygiene.

‘Suvidha’ OxyBiodegradable Sanitary napkins

At the closing ceremony, in a presentation it was shown that Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana includes cheap sanitary napkin pads for women. These oxybiodegradable sanitary napkins by the name of ‘Suvidha’ are available at 3200 Jan Aushadhi Kendras across the country for Rs 2.50 per pad. It was revealed that there is a perception that plastic does not biodegrade, but it can be eliminated with oxy-biodegradable technology. Hence the Suvidha napkin pad is much better. 15,342 tonnes of plastic waste is collected every year, which is a major problem, but this problem can be solved by oxybiodegradable technology.

New generation is ‘Fortunate’: Dr Doshi

The famous sociologist Dr Harish Doshi said that sociology of cleanliness is not limited to students only. This is a subject that should reach every person. A self-motivated movement must be started for cleanliness. The new generation is very fortunate that they will be able to read about the Sulabh movement. It has been an organised movement that has prepared a world of change. He suggested that ‘Indian Constitution and Cleanliness’ should be included in ‘Sociology of Hygiene’.

He congratulated Dr Pathak and Sulabh for this seminar and its idea.

Seminar extremely successful: Dr Pathak

Dr Pathak thanked everyone who came from across the country. He said so many research papers show that the seminar has been very successful. The thought with which I came here was fulfilled, but still there is a long way to go. He said that the secret of Sulabh is hidden in his technique and economic model. We do not take any grants, but serve people.

On this occasion, Shailesh Jala, Vice Chancellor of Bhavnagar University, said that the three-day programme has been very successful and the purpose of the seminar was fulfilled. More than 50 valuable research papers have been presented at the seminar. Gujarat University Vice-Chancellor, Himanshu Pandya said that the research papers presented in this seminar will be published in the Journal of Gujarat University.

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International Personality

July 02-08, 2018

Maxim Gorky

Writer Who Chose ‘Bitter Truths’ Gorky is regarded as the founder of Socialist Realism, which was embraced by art, music and dance as well as literature

Urooj Fatima

M

axim Gorky(1868 to 1932-Russia) rose from poverty to become one of the most celebrated writers of the 20th century, the father of Soviet literature and the heir to Tolstoy. Like Tolstoy, he wrote of the cruelty and insanity of Tsarism, and his struggle to survive his brutal childhood turned him into a revolutionary. He wrote of Russia’s poor and oppressed its factory workers, peasants and social outcasts, the rejects of capitalism, “people who were once human”. As a self-educated intellectual, he understood his wealthy peasants and self-made millionaires, Russia’s new merchant capitalist class, “masters of our lives,” and he was

particularly sensitive to the position of women in Tsarist Russia. He wrote of drunken despotic fathers selling off their daughters to pay their gambling debts, of child abuse, prostitution and domestic abuse, and women’s struggle to be free, and they are some of his most powerful characters.

He is regarded as the father and major exponent of socialist realism literature. To Russian revolutionaries, he was hailed as a genius. To some critics, he was a stooge of the Communist regime. More than other writers, Gorky played a major role in

the revolutionary movement.

Gorky was regarded as a hero because of his working-class authenticism. The son of a lower class upholsterer, Gorky was born Alexi Maximolvich Peshkov in Nizhni Novgorod on 16th March, 1868.

Gorky’s family was poor and his father died when he was five. He searched for food as a child by ferreting through garbage cans for salvageable materials until his mother married again and he was sent to live with his grandmother, who was reportedly a remarkable storyteller. His grandfather beat him regularly.

Gorky recounted his adventures as a street urchin and juvenile delinquent in stories like Childhood and The Lower Depths. At the age of 19 Gorky tried to commit suicide on Christmas Day distraught over the death of his grandmother, his failure to get into Kazan University and depression from a failed love affair.

Gorky left home in 1879 and went to live in a small village in Kazan and worked as a baker. At this time radical groups such as the Land and Liberty group sent people into rural areas to educate the peasants. Gorky attended these meetings and it was during this period that Gorky read the works of Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Peter Lavrov, Alexander Herzen, Karl Marx and George Plekhanov. Gorky became a Marxist but he was later to say that was largely because of the teachings of the village baker, Vasilii Semenov.

He worked in many jobs during an impoverished and abusive childhood before finding fame and fortune as a writer. Initially a Bolshevik supporter, Gorky became a critic when Vladimir Lenin seized power. However, Gorky later served as a Soviet advocate and headed the Union of Soviet Writers.

One of those who might be called “spiritual but not religious,” Gorky rejected organised religion, but despite his Marxism in social matters, he was not an atheist or materialist.

When asked to express his views on religion by the French journal Mercure de France, Gorky said that he opposed the religions of Moses, Christ, and Mohammed, but he acknowledged the value of religious sentiments, which he described as an awareness of a harmonious link that joins man to the universe.

Gorki’s range is narrow and in intention and effect alike he can scarcely be called subtle. He reiterates: men can be Gods and they live like beasts; this he relates, quite legitimately, indeed necessarily, to a particular and oppressive society. Gorki does not seem capable of the definitive insight, the shock of identification. Again and again recognised a type with this human attributes sensitively felt and well reported but never realised. For this reason Gorki’s sympathy is often mawkish, his denouements a brutal and self-consciously sardonic trick.

He is concerned, not with the human as such, but with the human being as a symbol; and this attitude is basically sentimental, pitying, rather than clear, and therefore—in spite of the boast of realism—quite thoroughly unreal.

There can be no catharsis in Gorki, in spite of the wealth of action and his considerable powers of observation; his people inspire pity and sometimes

He is regarded as the father and major exponent of socialist realism literature. To Russian revolutionaries, he was hailed as a genius

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July 02-08, 2018

In 1902 Gorky became an honorary academician, but the emperor was annoyed with this fact, and very soon his election was abolished by the authorities.

Gorky until his old age believed that he was born in 1869, while the archives did not find documents that dated his birth in 1868.

Although Gorky spent 18 years abroad, including 15 years in Italy, he never mastered any foreign language.

In his story Twenty-six Men and a Girl, one of his characters comment: “The poor are always rich in children, and in the dirt and ditches of this street there are groups of them from morning to night, hungry, naked and dirty. Children are the living flowers of the earth, but these had the appearance of flowers that have faded prematurely, because they grew in ground where there was no healthy nourishment.”

Maxim Gorky was the voice of millions of Russians in late Czarist Russian who had been displaced as serfs and left with no where to go but roam the countryside or seek what work they could find in the big cities.

Gorky did not simply observe the poorest of the poor in Czarist Russia, he lived among them for many years.

rage but never love or terror.

On 4th March, 1901, Gorky witnessed a police attack on a student demonstration in Kazan. After publishing a statement attacking the way the police treated the demonstrators, Gorky was arrested and imprisoned. Gorky’s health deteriorated and afraid he would die.

The authorities released him after a month. He was put under house arrest, his correspondence was monitored and restrictions were placed on his movement around the country. When he was allowed to travel to the Crimea, he was greeted on the route by large crowds bearing banners with the words: “Long live Gorky, the bard of Freedom exiled without investigation or trial.”

His Time In Exile Was Artistically Fruitful

Gorky spent most of the 1920s in

International Personality

Gorky Came Close To Winning The Nobel Prize In Literature… Five Times

Gorky was nominated for the Noble Prize in Literature five times between 1918 and 1933 but never won the prestigious award, losing out to the likes of Ivan Bunin and William Butler Yeats. His frequent nominations demonstrate what an important

In a letter to a friend, Gorky argued that “the aim of literature is to help man to understand himself, to strengthen the trust in himself, and to develop in him the striving toward truth; it is to fight meanness in people, to learn how to find the good in them, to awake in their souls shame, anger, courage; to do all in order that man should become nobly strong.”

The writer enthusiastically supported the Bolsheviks, but he took the October Revolution with skepticism.

He used all his influence to save the arrested and sentenced to death enemies of the new regime.

In 1891 Gorky moved to Tiflis where he found employment as a painter in a railway yard. The following year his first short-story, Makar Chudra, appeared in the Tiflis newspaper, Kavkaz.

His story appeared under the name Maxim Gorky (Maxim the Bitter)

Sorrento, Italy, where he published the final work to his autobiographical trilogy, My Universities, as well as some short stories. Gorky’s days in Sorrento were spent hosting lavish dinner parties in his villa, writing correspondence to the likes of Stefan Zweig and H.G. Wells, and hosting members of the Russian literati that he admired, including the futurist poet Nikolai Aseev and writer Isaac Babel.

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literary voice he had crafted recognised not only in Russia but also across the world.

His Death Remains Mysterious

Gorky was taught to read by a cook he met and became an extreme autodidact in the literature of Russian and in anti-Czarist political writings. Gorky became a journalist and ended up being arrested numerous times. In 1902 he met and became a lifetime friend of Lenin. He led a tumultuous personal and professional life, scandalizing even his fellow revolutionaries with his womanizing. He left Russia for a time to seek a warmer climate for health reasons but returned when Stalin invited him back. He became kind of a pet of Stalin (a dangerous position!). Stalin endorsed him as the voice of the people. Long story short, he died under clouded circumstances,

Gorky was the most published Soviet writer in his homeland: the total circulation of his books exceeded nearly 242.5 million copies in almost 70 years.

some say killed by the head of the Russian Secret Service because Stalin feared what he might say about him.

Stalin was one of the pall bearers at his funeral. After his death, he was turned into a great hero of the people and his stories were assigned reading in Russian schools and expressing a public dislike for them was for a long time a very bad idea.

His Brain Still Exists

Hours after Gorky’s death, his brain was surgically removed by doctors and placed amongst those of Mayakovsky, Lenin and other Russian political and cultural heroes, at the Neurological Institute in Moscow. Following the announcement of his death on Russian radio in June 1936, he was described as a ‘great Russian writer, brilliant artist of the world, friend of workers and fighter for the victory of Communism’.

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Environment

July 02-08, 2018

Van Mahotsav

Green Lungs vs Concrete Jungle The initiative to mark the first week of July of every year to plant trees was the earlier ecological-friendly move of the government

n GITANJALI CHETTRI

T

he Van Mahotsav week, which is celebrated across India between July 1 and 7 every year, was a far-sighted initiative taken by KM Munshi in 1950 when he was Union Minister of Agriculture and Food. There was no ministry of environment and forest then. The environment department was set up in 1980, and the ministry came into existence in 1985. And it was in May 2014 that it was expanded to become Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The Van Mahotsav was a government initiative back then and it has remained that in the last seven decades. It seems that the political leaders at that time sensed that the forest cover is fast depleting, the urban sprawls are expanding and there was a need to counter it. It seemed that the best one could do was for everyone to plant a tree.

The Van Mahotsav should be seen as an urban battle to preserve the greens in the growing concrete jungle. But the planting of trees could be the first step in growing forest over

“A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air anf giving the fresh strength to our people� the years. There was little doubt that re-afforestation was an important measure to preserve the green cover in the cities as well as in the countryside.

Van Mahotsav is a way of affirming the importance of forests in human life.

And it is a move towards the greening

of the cities as well as growing forests.

Forests are also important because they preserve biodiversity, both flora and fauna.

The Van Mahotsav week is a reminder to everyone that forests need to be protected, and they are

crucial in many ways. It is the forested areas that attract rains, which are so necessary to renew the natural water bodies like ponds, tanks and lakes, and that many of rivers are rain-fed as well. Global warming is being seen as a direct consequence of the deforestation.

Between traditional forests, which verge on rich wilderness and the cultivated meadows and grasslands of agricultural communities in India and elsewhere, there is the traditional grove which was also a sacred one. People gathered at the sacred groves to worship the local gods and goddesses, and it was a way for people to connect with the nature through prayer and ritual.

It is reckoned that in India there are about 100,000 to 150,000 sacred groves, and they are known by different names in different states.

In Chhattisgarh, they are known as Matagudi, Devgudi, Sarana; as Jaherthan and Sarana in Jharkhand; Devarakaadu ir Kans in Karnataka; Kaavu in Kerala; Devrai or Devgudi in Maharashtra; Umang Lai in Manipur; Law Kyntang or Law Niam in Meghalaya; Jahera or Thakuramma

July 02-08, 2018

Environment

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cover up the quarry and grow trees on the sport. This is the re-afforestation project.

Borrowing the idea from African governments, India has also created national parks where wild life including tigers, lions and elephants, and their food chain system is preserved. The national park becomes a forest reserve, which is home to wild life as well as green cover. The largest number of national parks, nine, are in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in Madhya Pradesh, six each in West Bengal, Uttara Khand, Maharashtra and Kerala; five each in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Assam; four each in Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir; three each in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh; two each in Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Haryana; one each in Bihar, Goa, country cannot be reduced to farms in Odisha; Orans in Rajasthan; struggle to preserve the ecological Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland , Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

Kovilkaadu in Tamil Nadu; Bugyal or and industries. Forests provide the balance.

It is interesting to note that interest Dev Van in Uttarakhand; Garamthan breathing space, not just for human Over the years, governments have or Jahiristhan in West Bengal. beings but also for other animals evolved policies to preserve forests in environment had increased from Important specimens like turmeric and birds. The ecological balance without at the same times sacrificing the 1970s onward though it existed a n d the economic needs of a modern much before that because the Van were grown in these sacred groves. As requires that man, beast these areas were marked sacred, there bird need to co-exist society through mining and industrial Mahotsav is indeed an environmentwas no danger that they would cut for the health of the works. Government policy requires friendly move which began in 1950. down. India has a forest cover of 21 environment. that mining companies once they When there was a major amendment s The Van per cent in 2018, but the government have completed mining operations to the Constitution of India during It help d the 1975-77 Emergency, Article 48A a aims to take the forest cover to 33 per Mahotsav, which at particular site spre s s e n s marsks the was added to the Principle of State cent. m u s t consciou ople e p Policy, which said, “The State shall It might seem that Van Mahotsav, planting of tress amongst e a ” v a th endeavour to protect and improve where individuals are encouraged every year, is about ots trees h s a u o of the environment and to safeguard the to plant trees may not be the way to recognition disastr n M ival of a e th f o V forests and wildlife of the country.” improve the green cover in the urban the contiuous to effects tle e fest i f t o n w o Forests and wildlife were moved areas of the country, and cutting d The s “th s e from the state list to the concurrent that it may not add n tre ea It has m list in the Constitution, thus enabling to the foest cover natio nal s earned e the central government to have in the country. It year, ignifica normo u m n s a direct say in the matter of is recognised that c are p i lante llions of se and ev d environment. urbanization poses a er e e cons d all a tar t ave crossedlings y idera s While all these years, it is direct threat to forests s s a to Maho tion of th India in w t t the government that have taken in the country, though tsav e a, i emen ar th i d week Van the major decisions to protect the question is a little more n In I a mov ther e the environment and extend the complicated. It is generally the as mo green belt in the cities through the case that the urban expansion happens master-plans, the initiative to protext at the cost of agricultural the environment and to extend land, while the Nov the green spaces is now expansion of agricultural r e circ el adve e t f being taken over by the nonland in turn is the main u r 7 a g driv tate up b lation o tiseme 4 9 governmental organizations reason for the depletion y va f tre nts li ly 1 lantin hich s and (NGOs) and citizens’ bodies. riou es a ke th u J of forests. A complicated p d s re e n in s tree hi, in wPrasa d a In the late 1970s, there was volu organiz also ta free balancing act is necessary. g e l ntee ation ken be erou De ndra gag t I a major battle over the Silent There is need for greater n rs s an p e in ros iated r. Raj ehr u e d p Valley Forest in Kerala, and there need for urban spaces as a init e D l N k a i was stiff resistance to building a agriculture cannot provide too l s wa ders l ahar hydroelectric dam in the forest. The many jobs and people perforce lea Jaw government of Indira Gandhi had have to move to cities in search appointed an experts’ committee of livelihood. On the other hand, in the 1980s, and it was decided to farmland needs to be preserved as preserve the Silent Valley. It was well because food production is vital the most significant victory for the to sustain both the urban and rural preservation of a forest and of the populations. At the same time, the environment in the country.

Forest Day Awareness

12

Sanitation

July 02-08, 2018

Sudan

Sanitation Challenges In Times Of Political Turmoil The constant flow of refugees from conflict zones in the neighbourhood makes Sudan the most vulnerable country in terms of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

n PARSA VENTAKESHWAR RAO JR

P

olitical stability and democratic governance are prerequisites for pursuing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like health and sanitation.

If there is civil war it has its negative impact on providing civic amenities to people. The experience in Sudan serves as a good example of how development goals, especially connected with sanitation, get derailed, and increase the chances of an epidemic like cholera breaking out or the more vulnerable sections of population fall prey to common water-borne diseases like diarrhea resulting high rates of fatalities.

Sudan witnessed an intense and vicious civil war between the northern and southern parts of the country.

It had been raging for many decades but it became intense for about two decades from 1983 to 2005 when the country split into Sudan and South Sudan. Quite soon civil war broke out in South Sudan, and people fleeing the civil war in South Sudan spilled over into the territory of the northern neighbor, Sudan.

Khartoum, the capital, with a population of seven million, has

about 1.6 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). In the view of experts, Sudan is at the crossroads of migration route in the region. It has attracted migrants and refugees from Syria after the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, and refugees poured into the northern parts, especially Khartoum, during the long-drawn civil war in Sudan, and during the civil wars in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. It is the presence of the refugees in huge numbers that poses sanitation challenges of huge proportions.

In August, 2017, due to heavy rains, cholera broke out in the states of North and West Darfur and in Khartoum. In Khartoum short of latrines in hospitals which forces people affected cholera to use with others has worsened the situation.

Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association spokesperson Hussein Abusharati said, “Not enough organizations are active in the field of sanitation” and it was felt there was need to construct more latrines and

deploy more medical teams to combat cholera in the refugee camps.

Political turmoil poses problems at many levels, especially with regard to sanitation facilities. Refugee camps are temporary settlements and as a consequence there is less provision for clean water supply and for latrines.

It is a known fact around the world that camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) or refugees are the most vulnerable, and this is most so, on the sanitation front.

One of the prerequisites to create a credible sanitation system is to provide access to clean water. In Sudan, as in many other countries, this remains a major challenge. In Sudan 68 per cent of the people have access to “improved water”, with 64 per cent in rural and 78 per cent in urban areas.

Because of limited water resources, Sudan could not achieve the 2016 target of providing 82 per cent of the population with ‘safe drinking water’ and provide 67 per cent with access to hygiene services.

In Sudan 29 per cent of the population practice open defecation. Schools do not have adequate latrines and hand-washing facilities

In 2015, the African Development Fund (AfDB) gave financial assistance to the Sudanese government for Water Sector Reforms and Institution Capacity Development Programme.

According to a UNICEF report of 2017, 68 per cent of Sudan’s households have access to safe water, with urban areas (74 per cent) doing better than the rural ones (64 per cent). The access to improved sanitation is 43.9 per cent for the whole population, with a wide disparity between the rural (13.4 per cent) and urban (23.6 per cent), while on the unimproved sanitation front, the figures are high, with 56.1 per cent of the population without access to proper sanitation facilities, with 86.6 per cent of the rural population suffering from deprived sanitation and 76.4 per cent of the urban population.

In Sudan 29 per cent of the population practice open defecation.

Schools do not have adequate latrines and hand-washing facilities. In 2017, 3.5 million people needed clean drinking water and latrines. In Khor Ramla camp in South Kordofan province of Sudan, 1200 people faced the task walking for four hours to get water and resorting to pen defecation outside the camp because there are

Sanitation

July 02-08, 2018

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Key lessons that can be learned from the sanitation programmes in various countries include some of the following Community mobilisation for each household to build their own Toilet (latrine); The need for public subsidy to help communities to build latrines, especially for poor households;

AORD

no latrines. The women as well as training. The used to hang together in NEF provides ne latrines provided groups for both purposes for 1,720 beneficiaries and four hand for safety reasons. provides 85 artisans for Sudan Humanitarian them to build the latrines, pumps and Fund run by Al Salam and 50 per cent of them 30 Organisation for have been completed in Rehabilitation and July, 2017. household Development (AORD) Plan International, an latrines provided four hand NGO says that it has worked pumps and 30 household with 43 communities, and and latrines and arranged for a helped in 4,228 families arranged daily supply of 23 litres of stopping open defecation water per person per day. and using home toilets and for a daily In 2016, SHF disbursed 1,565 families were in the supply of $38.8 million from process of digging toilets. eight donors (Denmark, In Khartoum state in 23 litres of Germany, Ireland, the Sudan, Plan International water per Netherlands, Norway, says all communities are Sweden, Switzerland, Open Defecation Free person per UK) for 113 projects (ODF). day across the country.

In November 2017, a The Near East master plan was put in place Foundation (NEF) for El Fasher, the capital of working in South Kordofan and the province of North Darfur in Sudan, Central Darfur by helping improve United Nations Office for Project access to clear water for 100,000 Services (UNOPS), the United people have formed water and Nations Children’s Emergency Fund sanitation committees (WSCs) in (UNICEF), the United Kingdom spreading awareness, information Department for International Aid about water, sanitation and hygiene (UKaid) to improve access to water

The use of technological innovation in improving sanitation; e.g. attractiveness, reduction in cost, shapes and sizes, and ease of cleaning; Involvement of local and national government, communities and external organisations; The need for regulation (laws), guidance and best practice in sanitation;

and provide sanitation. Signing the master plan, governor North Darfur Abdelwahid Yousif said, “The vision for El Fasher is that every household has access to a reliable supply of clean water, every household has a latrine, all citizens practice better hygiene, and all citizens live in a cleaner environment. These changes will not happen overnight, they take time.”

It is estimated that piped water to El Fasher will increase from 20 per cent to 80 per cent by the end of 2019, and 230,000 people will get water from the local government water storage facility, and they would have to pay half of what they are paying now.

It becomes evident that Sudan’s sanitation problem is closely linked with the political situation in the country as well as in the region. It has been noticed that political trouble in the neighbourhood like South Sudan. It is the political situation that is triggering the sanitation crisis in Sudan. Sudan is a large country with

far-flung provinces, spanning from the Darfur region to the Red Sea district of Port Sudan. It poses its own challenges to the sanitation needs of the country, and it is clear that rural areas lag behind the urban ones.

Marta Ruedas, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, says the problem in Sudan is that the crisis of refugees has persisted for more than a decade and the world has stopped treating it as a problem. There are now 770,000 refugees from South Sudan. “Some people have been in camps for nearly two decades, and we still call them displaced but really, it’s people who have been living in the same location for 10 years, 15 years,” says Ruedas.

The presence of refugees in such large numbers and the make-shift camps that are housing them for so many years makes sanitation a critical issue for the Sudanese government as well for international aid agencies .

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Health

July 02-08, 2018

coffee for work

Drink Coffee For Better And Efficient Team Work Coffee seems to work its magic in teams by making people more alert

SSB BUREAU

F

inding it hard to make your team together? A cup of coffee may work as magic and help people remain more alert as well as work together as a

team, say researchers including one of an Indian-origin.

According to the research, people who drank coffee beforehand gave more positive reviews for their group's performance on a task and their own contribution.

Coffee seems to work its magic in teams by making people more alert, said Amit Singh, from The Ohio State University.

"Not surprisingly, people who drank caffeinated coffee tended to be more alert. We found that increased alertness was what led to the positive results for team performance," Singh said.

The results were based on twin studies, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, involving over 100 students.

The first study involved undergraduate students who took part in a coffee tasting task. While half of them were asked to drink a cup of coffee and rate its flavour at the beginning, the other half did this at the end of the experiment.

Those who drank coffee before the discussion rated themselves and their fellow team members more positively

than those who drank coffee after the discussion, Singh said.

In the second study, students drank coffee at the beginning of the study, of them, half drank decaf and the others drank caffeinated brew.

Those who drank the caffeinated coffee rated themselves as more alert than those who drank decaf. They also rated themselves and their fellow group members more positively than others.

This suggested that any intervention that increases alertness (such as exercise) may also produce similar results.

People who drank caffeinated coffee were more likely than those who drank decaf to say they would be willing to work with their group again.

Further, people were found to talk more after drinking caffeine, but they also tended to stay more on topic.

Vitamins

Try Canola Oil If You Are Diabetic, Obese The study found that the group that ate bread made up of canola oil experienced lower blood glucose (sugar) levels Gurpreet Singh

W

hat oil do you cook with?

If you have been stuck with olive or other vegetable oils, it’s time to shift to a healthier option: Canola oil.

Research has shown that canola oil helps lower blood sugar in people with Type II diabetes.

David Jenkins, head of the St. Michael Hospital’s Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre in Toronto, Canada, conducted the study where one group ate bread made with canola oil and a control group ate normal bread.

The study found that the group that ate bread made up of canola oil experienced lower blood glucose

(sugar) levels. Numerous cooking oils add unwanted weight to our body and make us gain fat. Scientists have found that canola oil helps degrade abdominal fat as Vitamin K and Vitamin E in the oil have the ability to dissolve fat.

Canola oil is also rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and has potential to reduce the concentration of triglycerides and thus reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It also helps in brain development, immunity development and blood pressure regulation.

The concentration of Trans fatty acids and saturated fatty acids is very less in canola oil, reducing the risk of coronary heart disease.

There is good and bad cholesterol in

our body. If bad cholesterol remains high, it may leads to severe and life-threatening health conditions.

Monosaturated fats present in the canola oil reduce bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol.

Apart from reducing glucose level and belly fat, canola oil also inhibits the growth of cancerous cells as it is rich in anti-oxidants and vitamins.

It also reduces the risk of memory loss, mental decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Canola oil found to be a back pain reliever as it is effective in boosting blood circulation.

Canola oil contains the least

amount of saturated fat of any common edible oil. With just 7% saturated fat, canola oil is 93% healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat Canola oil has high an ideal choice for deep frying because it can be heated to a higher temperature.

This results in less oil retention in the fried foods.

So, when thinking of a cooking, try putting a little canola oil to the meal. the right information, key choices and a few daily canola oil can go a long way in helping us to maintain a healthy body.

Society

July 02-08, 2018

Foodie Trail: Kolkata

Digital museum

Flavours Of Festivity In First Durga Puja-themed Restaurant The city now has its maiden Durga Puja-themed restaurant ready to serve gastronomes round the year Milinda Ghosh Roy

W

ith food stalls lining the streets, devotees queuing up outside eateries and plates full of food passed among families and friends, the whole of Kolkata turns into a giant food court during Durga Puja. While the fiveday festivities get over in the wink of an eye, the city now has its maiden Durga Puja-themed restaurant ready to serve gastronomes round the year.

Dashabhuja, near the city police headquarters at Lalbazar, connects Bengal’s most delightful celebration with its inhabitants’ most delightful indulgence -- Durga Puja and the festive Bengali cuisine.

The elegantly-lit eatery, decorated with colourful overhead canopies and various forms of the goddess Durga, simulates the feeling of sitting in a marquee while pampering the taste buds. The sound track of rhythmic dhak beats, an inseparable part of the Puja rituals, and several Puja-themed hangings and artefacts add to the festive ambience.

The menu comprising authentic Bengali platters, gives prominence to Puja dishes starting from bhog (community feast of food items offered to the Goddess first) of khichdi, bhuni khichdi and labda

(mixed vegetables) to the lavish spread of mutton curry, luchis (a type of puri), chanar paturi, rice, and payesh or the Bengali version of kheer.

Along with the Puja-specific main course, the mouth watering variety of “Pujor Misti” or the sweets offered to the goddess Durga, such as chandrapuli, narkel naru, balushai, etc., are also served in the eatery round the year.

According to the restaurant owner, an artist associated with designing prominent community puja pandals or marquees for the last three years, the eatery is a perfect amalgamation of his dream and the family business.

“My dream is to design the themes for Durga Pujas while we have been running restaurants as part of our family business. So in my new project, I thought of connecting the two. This is the first of its kind project that would let you soak in the carnival spirit of the puja in Bengal -- throughout the year,” said Sayak Raj, the owner, who also designed three prominent community pujas last year.

Raj also revealed he was in conversation with a number of city artisans and sculptors, who would be making the Durga idols for some of the most popular pujas this year, and

15 07

plans to install artefacts designed by them in his eatery.

“I wish this restaurant to be an archive of the Durga Puja celebrations in Bengal so that visitors from other states and countries can get a glimpse of our heritage and culture surrounding this festival. We are planning to decorate the interior with the miniatures of Durga idols to be installed in some of the prominent pujas in the city this year,” he said.

The restaurant, inaugurated by veteran Bengali actor Barun Chanda and legendary Indian classical dancer Uday Shankar’s daughter and actress Mamata Shankar, has created a buzz among food enthusiasts in the city and received significant celebrity presence.

“We have also requested some popular committees to provide us with their Puja theme songs so that we can play them in our restaurant all year long -- along with our signature theme music,” the owner added.

FAQs:

* Where: Dashabhuja, 3rd Floor, Old Court House Corner building * Timings: 12. p.m. to 10 p.m. (lunch), 7.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. (dinner) * Price: Meal for two at Rs 800-1000 plus taxes.

Sheikh Abdullah, Sushma Swaraj announce Zayed-Gandhi museum The Zayed-Gandhi Digital Museum will be launched in Abu Dhabi

S

heikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj announced the first of its kind joint UAE-India exhibition celebrating the late visionary leaders Sheikh Zayed and Mahatma Gandhi.

The initiative allows people to gain insight into the lives and legacies of the exceptional leaders, commemorating the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed and the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The interactive content showcases rare photos, videos and objects representing the life works and philosophies of both renowned leaders using cuttingedge technologies.

The Zayed-Gandhi Digital Museum will be launched in Abu Dhabi aligning with the 'Year of Zayed' programmes and perpetuating the legacy and honourable memory of the nation's Founding Father and India's Father of Nation. It also reaffirms the historical ties and shared values of peace, tolerance and sustainability between the UAE and India.

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July 02-08, 2018

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

When work is a pleasure, life is a joy!

When work is a duty, life is slavery

VIEWPOINT

Patron Saint Of Modern India

Maxim Gorky

Swami Vivekananda, combined the ancient spiritual traditions of India with the dynamism of the West

STARS AND STRIPES As America celebrates their 242nd independance day lets recollect some historic milestones that were made during that era

I

ndependence Day usually arrives with a sense of confidence, a mixture of patriotic pride and Yankee optimism.

America is 242 years old - relatively young when you consider the ages of some of the rest of the world’s nations.

It was actually on July 2, 1776, that America gained its independence. So why do we celebrate on July 4? “The fact is that John Adams wrote home to Abigail on the 3rd that this day, July 2nd, will go down in history,” Davis explained on “CBS This Morning,” “We’ll celebrate it with parades and pomp and bells ringing and fireworks. And it was because Congress actually ruled it in favor of independence on July 2. But it was two days later, of course, that Congress then accepted Jefferson’s declaration, explaining the vote two days before that really got fixed in America’s imagination as our birthday. July 2nd should be Independence Day.” Dunlap Broadsides are the first 150-200 reproduction copies of the Declaration of Independence, printed on the night of July 4, 1776, by John Dunlap of Philadelphia. The printed version of the Declaration was called the Dunlap Broadside - 200 were made but only 27 are accounted for.

One of these was found in the back of picture frame at a tag sale and sold at auction for $8.14 million to television producer Norman Lear.

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: +91-120-2970819 Email: editor@sulabhswachhbharat.com, ssbweekly@gmail.com

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philanthropist, monk and a teacher, Swami Vivekananda was a treasure of talent who shined in the 19thcentury. He paved the path for modern thought and transformed the society in almost every dimension.

Vivekananda connected ethical quality with control of the psyche, seeing truth, immaculateness and unselfishness as characteristics which reinforced it. He exhorted his supporters to be sacred, unselfish and to have shraddha. Vivekananda bolstered brahmacharya, trusting it the wellspring of his physical and mental stamina and persuasiveness. He underlined that achievement was a result of centred idea and activity in his addresses on Raja Yoga he stated, “Take up one thought. Make that one thought your life – consider it, long for it, live on that thought. Let the mind, muscles, nerves, all aspects of your body, be loaded with that thought, and simply allow each other plan to sit unbothered. This is the best approach to progress, that is the way incredible otherworldly goliaths are delivered”.

Swami Vivekananda was a Bengali intellectual and chief disciple of the Hindu mystic Ramakrishna. His talent was in distilling complex ancient texts down to a simple message - that all religions are equal and God is inside everyone.

He first shot to stardom at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. He called for tolerance and the end of religious fanaticism - by a strange coincidence the date was 11 September (or 9/11), 1893.

After his first words, “Sisters and brothers of America”, there was a standing ovation women fell over each other to get a closer look at this handsome Hindu monk with ochre robes and turban who spoke flawless English in a deep authoritative voice.

He became hugely in demand and people flocked to his lectures.

Swami Vivekananda died 10 minutes past 9

PM on July 4, 1902, while he was meditating.

His disciples consider it a Mahasamadhi or attainment of enlightenment.

Swami Vivekananda on Women

Once, a certain social reformer went to Vivekananda and asked, “It is great that you also support women, what shall I do? I want to reform them. I want to support this.” Then Vivekananda said, “Hands off. You do not have to do anything about them; just leave them alone. They will do what they have to do.” This is all that is needed. It is not that a man has to reform a woman. If he just gives room, she will do what is necessary.

His favourite drink

Vivekananda was a connoisseur (an expert judge in matters of taste) of tea. He loved tea dearly. Back in the day when most Hindu pandits were against drinking tea, he introduced tea into his monastery. The Bally municipality even hiked taxes on Belur math, his headquarters/monastery, claiming it was a ‘private garden house’ where tea was served.

He once also asked freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak, to make tea at Belur Math.

“This life is short, the vanities of the world are transient, but they alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive”

July 02-08, 2018 Keeping Vivekananda’s words, Lokmanya Tilak diligently carried nutmeg, mace, cardamom, cloves, and saffron with him and prepared the famous Mughlai tea for all.

Don’t let academic pressure define your goals

Swami Vivekananda scored only a 47% at the university entrance level examination.

And yet, he was one of the most eloquent speakers who could captivate his audiences. So, the next time bad grades bog you down, remember, even a great personality who toured continents did not let academic pressures define his goals in life.

Despite a BA degree, he would go from door to door in search of jobs. He would yell, “I am unemployed” to people who asked him. It was also one of the most terrible phases of his life where he almost lost his faith and would often tell people that God did not exist.

A born Yogi

The power of a yogi was already present in him since his childhood— whenever he was about to fall asleep, closing his eyes, he would see between his eyebrows a ball of light of changing colours, which would slowly expand and at last burst, bathing his whole body in a white radiance. Watching this light he would gradually fall asleep. Usually, this kind of light is seen by yogis after months or maybe years of meditation. This power came to him naturally.

Also a Freemason

Narendranath Dutta (birth name) in his quest for spiritual knowledge was attracted to the tenets of Freemasonry and on his seeking the privileges and mysteries of Freemasonry, his proposal was well received... Bro.WC Banerjee a distinguished advocate guided and helped him in the initial stages of his career….. ….Subsequent to his initiation, he assimilated the teachings of Freemasonry.

His pursuit of spiritual progress did not leave him much time for progress in Freemasonry. He did not acquire the highest honour the Lodge could have conferred on any of its members namely the mastership. He, however, was deeply imbibed in the teachings of Freemasonry particularly the basic tenet of freemasonry namely Universal Brotherhood. He always used to project himself as Bro. Vivekananda and treated others as brothers. His adherence to Universal Brotherhood was reflected, when he commenced his famous address in Chicago in the Parliament of Religions, addressing the audience as “Brothers and Sisters of America”.

OpEd

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Abhishek Lakhera Abhishek, is a student from Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies Pursuing Bachelors in Journalism and Mass Communication

upfront

Commemorating The Journalism Of Sports Celebrating the 94th anniversary of The International Sports Journalism Day let us traverse through the essence of this event and get to understand its doctrine

S

ports have a formidable role in the modern day society.

From providing us with the necessary adrenaline rush that we require in our boring day to day life to working as a bond of peace between countries sports will always have a paramount importance in our lives.

There are hundreds of thousands of sports fields in the world and there are new breakthroughs every hour.

Thanks to the sports journalists around the globe that we are able to see these events or learn about them at our places, hear different opinions around the globe and make our own opinions about the affairs.

The International Sports Journalism Day is celebrated on July 2, to mark the services of sports journalists for the promotion of sports. This day has been earmarked for this celebration because it is the same day when The International Sports Press Association was established at the Paris Olympics 94 years ago back in the year 1924.

This day is celebrated to motivate

the sports journalists around the globe to strive for excellence and to fight against manipulation and defend their right of expression, because their freedom of thought and criticism can help the sport to grow and, with it, the young people of the world to develop.

Today journalism is in the hands of hackers and fake news. President’s tweet, people read less and are increasingly distracted and lap up any kind of news they come across. Sport has absorbed some of the worst of digital society.

We must react and bring this world, which youth is so close to, to a more human dimension. It is a cultural battle, but it is a necessary one. We need to use social media in the right way. This, of course, is not easy, but we have no alternatives if we wish to save our dignity and our profession.

Sports can be used as the glue for

letters to the editor /2017-19

N NO. DL(W)10/2240

POSTAL REGISTRATIO

Vrindavan Saga She was restless and didn’t realise it was peace that she sought

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06

05

The Making of A Legend

Bibliophile’s delight

Nikkei Response

the Libraries have been prized possessions of historical societies

Dr Pathak is God’s noblest and most precious gift to India

Schemes FOR YOUTHS AND EMPLOYMENT

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| June 25-July Vol - 2 | Issue - 28 16/71561

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A GOOD NEWS

01, 2018 | Price `

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WEEK LY

S LIFE SHAPES BOOK BOOKS SHAPE LIFE, IMPACT FACTOR

WAR RAO JR

n PARSA VENTAKEH

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interesting HERE are two very examples and widely divergent a book has of how reading and life of changed the thinking first is that of The two great people.

He was influenced Mahatma Gandhi.

Henry David

by American thinker Disobedience” Thoreau’s “Civil and British writer 1849) in (published Ruskin’s “Unto This and thinker John it in 1860). He read Last” (published from Johannesburg on a train journey was so impressed to Durban. Gandhi he paraphrased that

by Ruskin’s book serialized it in the it in Gujarati and the newspaper he Indian Opinion, Africa. He later was running in Southpamphlet under a as this published ’. This is indeed the the title ‘Sarvodaya ‘Sarvodaya’! origin of the word who influenced The third writer novelist Leo Gandhi was Russian the novels of not Tolstoy. But it was Gandhi. It was Tolstoy that impacted outpouring on the the Russian writer’s left an impression religious life that Tolstoy’s “The especially on him, Is Within You”, Kingdom of God into English which was translated Garnett in from Russian by Constance “Letter To A 1894, and also Tolstoy’s recognised Hindu”. It is now generally experiment that Gandhi’s political much to ’ owes with ‘satyagraha ce” and to Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedien resistance”. “passive of idea Tolstoy’s is from the The other example Schrodinger, Erwin field of science. wrote a book an Austrian physicist, The Physical Life, called “What Is

n. A ers in every situatio a Books come as life-sav ss night or a lazy day, long journey, a sleeple ion in every mood book can be your compan

Ghana Struggle For Sanitation

Despite the rapid progress and Development Ghana still lacking behind in sanitation.

Reading this article I realized that how the people of Ghana

still suffering accounting to certain deaths due to lack of street clog and grain. Even after ages of independence Ghanaian are not aware of sanitation. I feel that the sanitation rate is growing due to population growth, poorfinancing in sanitation policies and also poor sanitation infrastructure. In addition to this after reading about Ghana sanitation one should know how to keep the city clean.

Every citizen should be aware of sanitation and promote the healthy living.

Riddhi Kumari, Patna

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

the broken pieces of the world, just like the great Nelson Mandela said, “Sports has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. Sport can create hope in a place where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than any government in breaking down the racial barriers.”

One should grab hold of every opportunity to use sport as a vehicle for world peace, and to be fair and have an impartial goal.

World Sports Journalists Day is the responsibility as journalists to set an example to the world. A journalist can add value not only to the world of sport, but to the world at large - to culture, to peace, and to good values.

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18

Photo Feature

July 02-08, 2018

Glittering Award ceremony Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, sociologist , social reformer and founder of Sulabh International, received the prestigious award of Japan’s major media house in the category of culture and community, at a formal awards function in Tokyo

2018 Nikkei Asia Prize winners Nguyen thanh Liem, Ma Jun and Dr Pathak

Dr Pathak presenting the book to Indian Ambassador Sujan R Chinoy

The display of Sulabh toilet model during the presentation function of the Nikkei Prize

July 02-08, 2018

Photo Feature

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Dr Pathak and his wife with the Sulabh family after the presentation of the Prize

Dr Bindeshwar Pathak’s work of ending human scavenging and emancipating the people who were forced to perform the humiliating task, and of helping them to pursue a different vocation and occupy a dignified position in the social hierarchy has won international recognition.

Dr Pathak with family and friends during the prize ceremony

Dr Pathak receiving the prize from Nikkei industries president Naotoshi Okada

Dr Pathak addressing the gathering at the Nikkei Prize ceremony

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Agriculture

July 02-08, 2018

Gurunath Gowda

Visually Challenged Farmer Beats Odds, Reaps Success Gowda saw a bright light at the end of the tunnel and plunged full time into farming n G Ulaganathan

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he tale of Gurunath Gowda is not only inspiring but is certain to be an ‘eye opener’ to the people in power.

In his early teens, Gurunath Gowda lost his vision entirely. Now, this 62-year-old, from Sorabtaluk in Shivamogga district in Karnataka, is today a successful farmer with ten acres of commercial crop. He has been able to achieve success by hard work, sheer tenacity, and the loving support of his family and friends.

Gowda comes from a family of agriculturists, and was interested in farming even as a child. “I used to listen to a radio programme on farming every day,” he says. “They spoke about using various chemicals in the fertilisers.”

When he chose to cultivate his in a small parcel of land in 1981, he recalled these lessons. He chose the commercial crops carefully and to Fay, his farmland has areca, pineapple, papaya and pepper. He has maintained an independent livelihood and does not look for support from anyone, be it individuals or the government.

Gurunath Gowda’s early days were a struggle but he ploughed on with tenacity and loving support from all.

“It was not an easy ride”, says Gowda.

He lost his eyesight due to a defect in his eye since birth and lack of proper medical care in his native village.

His father did his best to get his son his vision. He took him to renowned ophthalmologist Dr MC Modi for treatment of his affected eye. As a child, Gowda had a vision in one eye.

Dr Modi advised that Gowda undergo an operation when he turned 16.

Later, in the 1970’s, Gowda’s healthy eye began to deteriorate and he had to quit school when he was in Class IX. Gowda then decided to pursue music studies. “I trained for years under maestro Pandit Puttaraju Gawai,” says Gowda.

His goal was to be recognised at the national level. But he gave it up and

Farmer Gurunath Gowda at his areca farm in Sorabtaluk returned home when he realised that most students were learning music to earn their living. Incidentally, Shivamogga has given to the nation many well known Hindustani musicians.

In 1975, Gowda travelled to Kolhapur in Maharashtra where he underwent an eye operation. His father had passed away by then.

While Gowda was recovering from the operation, which was done during Diwali, a sudden shock seems to have damaged his eye. “A loud cracker sound damaged my retina,” says Gowda, adding, “I lost vision in both the eyes.”

These circumstances would have

His early days were a struggle but he ploughed on with tenacity and loving support from all

broken the spirit of most people, but not Gowda’s. He decided to start farming in 1981. His first crop was areca. And, in 1984, he also decided to start a business and approached Karnataka State Financial Corporation for a loan. The loan was sanctioned and Gowda started a flour mill, which he managed on his own.

He managed the mill for 22 long years, but ultimately had to close down. Gowda says, “There were very few consumers of wheat and roti in Malnad, and the mill did not fetch me much. It survived on the benefit of 2%, which the government gives the physically challenged”. He shut down the mill in 2006.

“Before I shut it down, a relative helped me start the pineapple plantation on 9 acres, in 2001,” he says. As Gowda wanted to use the best fertilisers, he attended several meetings related to agriculture and in one of those he heard a Dharwad University professor speak on how to make and use these fertilisers.

“I began to meet Prof Dixit from Dharwad University and take his guidance,” he says.

Gowda relied on modern techniques and overhead tanks and soon his field’s produce was being transported to New Delhi. Pineapple from his farm was travelling to Delhi and from there to Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Punjab.

Gowda saw a bright light at the end of the tunnel and plunged full time into farming.

He says that his early days were a struggle but his farmer friends would drop by to check on him. “They used to take me to the farm where I would instruct them to do whatever was needed. This way I learnt things though it was a challenge since I couldn’t see,” says Gowda. He has no regrets, except maybe that early treatment could have saved vision “at least in one eye”.

Gurunath Gowda married Sujata G in 1990 and has two daughters— Pratibha (26) and Sushma (24).

While Pratibha works for Cognizant in Bengaluru, Sushma is employed as a lecturer in Nagarjuna College, Bengaluru More than anyone else, his wife has been a major pillar of strength and she is leading the way for him.

Has any award come his way from the state or central government?

“No, hardly anyone in the administration knows about me. But it does not matter, I do whatever I do perfectly and all my crops fetch me good results. People who learn about me keep coming and though I cannot travel much, my produce goes all over the country” he proudly says.

Religion

July 02-08, 2018

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Kashi Vishwanath Temple

Have A Hassle-free Darshan The management of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple has now decided to introduce Queue Management System n S. Shukla

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rowd management is one of the major challenges faced by famous temples in India.

There are incidents in which many devotees died due to stampede. The challenge becomes much bigger when the famous temple, thronged by hundreds of thousand devotees daily, is located in a narrow lane where not even two-three people can walk side by side.

World-famous Kashi Vishwanath temple is one among them. Visited by about 3 to 4 million devotees every day from 2 am, the management of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple has now decided to introduce Queue Management System to control the crowd in the narrow temple lane for the darshan of Baba Vishwanath.

The temple comes live at 2.30 am in the morning when devotees make a queue at the gate of the temple to participate in the famous Mangla Aarti’ for soul-cleaning experience between 3 and 4 am. Soon after the special aarti, the temple is opened for the general public to pay their obeisance to Lord Shiva till 10.30 pm.

In between, the Bhog Aarti, Sapta Rishi Aarti, Shringaar Aarti and Shayana Aarti are performed during which darshan is restricted and only allowed from outside the main temple gate. The lanes and by-lanes of Baba Vishwanath temple remain abuzz with religious activities almost round the clock.

Almost daily, the priests, as well as police, face a lot of problem in managing the crowd the whole day till the temple closes down. Devotees, who come from all over the country and abroad, often jostle with one another to enter the temple first for ‘darshan’. They break queues, fight with fellow devotees and misbehave with temple security and the police when they intervene to maintain the order.

“After standing in the queue for several hours, people lose patience

resulting in such unsavoury incidents.

We had introduced a few systems in the past but nothing worked. The situation becomes unmanageable during the holy month of ‘sawaan’ and other festivals when crowd swells to over 20 to 30 million a day,” Pointed Sri Kant Mishra, Temple Priest.

Mishra said that they have held several rounds of meeting with the trustees, experts, district and police administration to find a solution to managing the crowd. During the discussion, the suggestion for introducing Queue Management System was accepted and experts were invited to submit their plan and quotation for creating a smart automatic platform for managing the crowd.

After going through the plants and quotation of different bidders, the Temple Trust has finally selected Mumbai-based Real Estate giant Shapoorji-Pallonji to create the smart platform for crowd management in the narrow lanes of Baba Vishwanath temple for a hassle-free darshan.

As per the plan submitted by the company, several counters for distributing tokens would be opened at the Babatpur Airport, Railway Station, and Bus Stations and across the city for the convenience of devotees. After landing at the airport, they can take a token from the airport itself for the darshan.

The token would give each devotee an exact time slot pre-booked for them to enter the temple gate and pay obeisance conveniently. The company would install a display board outside the temple lane to let token holder know when their number would come.

Since a time slot for darshan is fixed for each token-holder, devotees will have the time at their expense to visit other temples, ghats and other places before they rush back to Kashi Vishwanath temple at their prescheduled time for darshan.

A team of the company is already in Varanasi to survey the area around the temple and other famous places across

The Temple management committee is hopeful that the testing of the Queue Management System would begin in the middle of August sitting for opening Token Counters.

In the first phase, the company plans to open 15 counters around temple premises and 10 across famous places in the city besides one each at Babatpur Airport, Railway and Bus stations.

The Temple management committee is hopeful that the testing of the Queue Management System would begin in the middle of August and if successful same would be introduced from September 1, 2018.

A nominal amount, which may be less than a rupee, would be charged from each devotee for buying the token.

Once the first phase is successfully implemented, the company plans to introduce online token distribution system and automated SMS for token holders to alert them reaching the temple for their turn of darshan.

Devotees can book the token for darshan online as per their time and convenience.

“We are hopeful that the token system will help the management and the police to manage the everincreasing crowd at the temple and help devotees to use their time for visiting other temples and famous places in Kashi instead of wasting their time in standing in the queue,” said Ashok Dwivedi, a member of the management committee.

Earlier, the temple management committee had introduced online booking of Mangla Aarti tickets, making donations and receiving ‘prasad’ through its website www.

shrikashivishwanath.org. The temple website also offers general information and guidelines to those wishing to visit the temple.

Three months ago, on the request of the temple management committee, the Varanasi Police administration had created a dhoti-kurta clad special security force for crowd management and security of the temple.

About 30 police personnel, including about a dozen women, were given special training by experts on crowd management as well as dealing the devotees. They were given lessons in hospitality and crowd management.

Their khaki uniform was replaced with yellow or saffron kurta-pyjama for men and sarees for women to make them more devotee-friendly.

Earlier, people used to be scared of their mere presence inside the temple and there were many unpleasant cases with devotees involving police personnel inside the temple campus. Now, dhoti-kurta clad police personnel earn respect from visiting devotees as they look more like priests or staff of the temple.

“Their new avatar helps them not only in managing the crow but also to keep an eye on visiting devotees to effectively manage the security inside the temple without being identified as police,” said Mishra.

Once successful, the state administration may also introduce Queue Management system in Kashi, Mathura and other temples in Uttar Pradesh.

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Gender

July 02-08, 2018

Pollution

WHO

Monsoon Is Both A Pollution Pump And A Cleanser

KS Jayaraman

by computer model calculations, show that the monsoon sustains ike Janus, the Greek god, a remarkably efficient cleansing the Indian monsoon has two mechanism in which contaminants faces, according to a report are rapidly oxidised and deposited to by researchers from Germany in the Earth's surface," the researchers say. journal "Science".

About 80 per cent of all reactive The report says the monsoon sulfur emissions in South Asia, from convection not only transports large-scale coal burning in China and pollutants upward all the way to the India, "are removed by precipitation stratosphere (that starts at 18 km), largely as sulfate". from where they disperse globally, but However, some pollutants are it simultaneously provides a "cleansing lofted above the monsoon clouds, mechanism" by removing particulate and chemically processed in a reactive pollutants by precipitation with a key reservoir before being redistributed role played by lightning. globally. The researchers are able to About two decades ago, the Indian show that ground-based sources of Ocean Experiment uncovered a pollution can reach the stratosphere large pollution haze from biofuel during the monsoon. use, agricultural burning and fossil "Our hypothesis is that the fuel combustion, monsoon anticyclone downwind of South According to the is infused by South Asia during the dry Asian convection that researchers, the carries air pollution winter monsoon (December to March). monsoon behaves emissions upward But its fate during the from this region, with wet summer monsoon like the two faces possible additional (May to September) contributions from East of Janus had been unclear till Asia and Africa," the transferring now. authors say. According J. Lelieveld at to the researchers, the pollutants Planck Institute for monsoon behaves like Chemistry in Mainz the two faces of Janus and co-workers say they have now for - transferring pollutants from the the first time performed chemistry surface upward while sustaining an measurements by sampling the effective cleansing mechanism that summer monsoon outflow in the curbs the impacts of the pollutants upper troposphere (between 9 and 15 on the surface. Once in the upper km altitude). troposphere, pollutants accumulate The study, carried out using a and are chemically processed in a research aircraft that flew from the reactive reservoir for weeks and Eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus) to reaction products disperse globally the Indian Ocean (Maldives), "aimed including to the stratosphere. at atmospheric impacts of associated "It is expected that the rapidly air pollution emissions on regional and increasing South Asian emissions global scales during the South Asian will intensify the flux of pollutants summer monsoon", says their report. through the anticyclone in the years "The measurements, supported to come," the report says.

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WHO Classifies ‘Gaming Disorder’ As Mental Health Condition Gaming disorder has been added to the section on addictive disorders SSB Bureau

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he World Health Organisation (WHO) has now included “gaming disorder” as a mental health condition in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

The ICD, a diagnostic manual published by the WHO, was last updated in 1990 and its new edition, ICD-11, has included gaming disorder as a serious health condition that needs to be monitored.

“Gaming disorder has been added to the section on addictive disorders,” the WHO said in a statement.

This classification means health professionals and systems will be more “alerted to the existence of this condition” while boosting the possibility that “people who suffer from these conditions can get appropriate help”, Vladimir Poznyak, a member of the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, was quoted as telling the CNN. “Millions of gamers around the world, even when it comes to the intense gaming, would never qualify as people suffering from gaming disorder,” he said, adding that the overall prevalence of this condition is “very low”.

“And let me emphasise that this is a clinical condition, and clinical diagnosis can be made only by health professionals which are properly

trained to do that,” he noted.

The new ICD-11 is also able to better capture data regarding safety in healthcare, which means that unnecessary events that may harm health -- such as unsafe workflows in hospitals -- can be identified and reduced, the statement said.

It also includes new chapters, one on traditional medicine: although millions of people use traditional medicine worldwide, it has never been classified in this system.

Another new chapter on sexual health brings together conditions that were previously categorised in other ways (e.g. gender incongruence was listed under mental health conditions) or described differently.

ICD-11 will be presented at the World Health Assembly in May 2019 for adoption by member states, and will come into effect on January 1, 2022.

“ICD is a cornerstone of health information and ICD-11 will deliver an up-to-date view of the patterns of disease,” said Lubna Alansari, WHO’s Assistant Director-General (Health Metrics and Measurement).

The ICD is the foundation for identifying health trends and statistics worldwide, and contains around 55,000 unique codes for injuries, diseases and causes of death.

It provides a common language that allows health professionals to share health information across the globe.

Vrindavan Saga

July 02-08, 2018

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Triloka

When The Unexpected Knocked On Her Door For Triloka, normal life had a totally other meaning. Vrindavan changed that for her

n Swastika Tripathi

I

t was one and a half year ago when Triloka came from Purulia (a district in West Bengal) to Vrindavan. This was some 16 years after the hardships of widowhood had overshadowed her life.

But we will get to that later.

Triloka was (then) mere 12-yearold when she got married to a 25-year-old man. The age gap of the couple seems huge today, but back in those days it was as normal as it gets.

She was not the first girl in her society to get married at such an early age, nor was her husband the first man to marry a girl lesser than half his age. It was all very normal, very basic. Yes, very basic.

Triloka, in the normal course of her marriage, gave birth to two children – a boy and a girl. The family was complete. And even better (as her society would term it) her both children were fed, raised and then finally married off. Her and her husband’s all responsibilities were off-shoulder. Triloka couldn’t have asked for a life more normal than this.

But then something out of the normal happened for Triloka and her family. Her husband was bitten by a dog.

“Our life was on track. But one day a dog attacked my husband and

things unexpectedly changed. We were not really aware of what to do.

We tried to get him the treatment. We tried to save him. But we failed. And the next thing I knew, I was a widow for life-long,” said Triloka.

After the unexpected demise of her husband, the normalcy from Triloka’s life vanished. She started leading the life of a widow. White clothes, plain meals, no festivals and no celebrations were like the new normal for her.

This became her routine life was for almost 16 and a half year.

Then one fine day, Triloka’s ‘bua’ (aunt) was going to Vrindavan. She had heard of the holy land where Lord Krishna and Radha Rani had once upon a time existed. This interested her. So her aunt asked her to come along.

Triloka, quietly seeking her way out of this new normal that her life had become, agreed and packed up to go.

“When I was packing up that day, I had no clue that I am packing for the future home. I went to Vrindavan

with my bua. She said that come with me, you will like it. I did not doubt her words, but I was also not expecting that I will like it to such extent that I will decide to stay back.”

And so, Triloka decided to stay back in Vrindavan. Its aura, its environment, its spiritual-feel, its people, the sound of the bhajans -everything attracted her.

In her initial days here, she stayed in Gopinath temple, busy singing bhajans with others. In the course of time, she moved to Sulabh-assisted Tulsivan ashram where many widows like her live.

Life has a different purpose now for Triloka. It is to be neck deep in the devotion towards Radha Rani and Lord Krishna. She sings bhajans twice a day and the rest of the time goes in chanting their names while doing the daily chores.

“I visit my family once in a year.

My son and daughter come to meet me here, once in every six months.

Yes, they do ask me to return back to Purulia with them. But my soul is now engaged in the streets of Vrindavan and in the bhajans of Lord Krishna and Radha Rani. I’m happy here now.

“My soul is now engaged in the streets of Vrindavan and in the bhajans of Lord Krishna and Radha Rani”

So I am not going anywhere now,” she replied beamingly, on being asked whether her children ask her to return along.

From the normal that the society

Quick Glance Triloka’s married life was very normal before her husband died

Then the long-widowhood meant white was the new normal

It was until Vrindavan that she found her final and best normal

had shown her from childhood to the normal that the widowhood brought to finally the normal that Vrindavan gifted her – a normal that was beyond normal than her previous two normals – Triloka is now content with her lifestyle. She says ‘Lal Baba’ (alias of Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation) has changed the meaning of being a widow and now she lives a life that she never expected, but is happy that it unexpectedly knocked on her door.

24

excerpts from the book: “NARENDRA DAMODAR MODI: the making of a legend�

July 02-08, 2018

Schemes FOR THE WELFARE OF SPECIAL SECTIONS

One Rank One Pension The long standing demand of the soldiering community sanctioned by the NDA Government will benefit more than 24 lakh exsoldiers and around 6 lakh widows of soldiers across India.

Nothing can be more important for us than the respect of the soldier of my nation who devotes his life for the country.

We have promised to the soldiers of our country and this government is fulfilling that promise.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Nayi Manzil The key feature of this scheme is admission of the youth of minority communities in the open schools and vocational training to bring such students in the mainstream who have taken education in community institutions like Madrasas. 30 percent seats are reserved for the girls of minority communities. A sum of Rs. 650 crore has been sanctioned for the scheme.

My mantra for the development is Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Stand Up India With this scheme, mainly women and entrepreneurs of the deprived sections (scheduled castes and scheduled tribes) will get a boost. It provides for grant of a loan from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore for setting up an industry in the non agricultural sectors. A sanction has been granted to form a loan guarantee fund with a sum of Rs. 5 thousand crore for the next 5 years. The scheme will benefit at least 2 lakh 50 thousand entrepreneurs.

The main objective of this initiative is to make entrepreneurship touch new heights and provide help to Indians to make them entrepreneurs. With this, especially women, youth and oppressed will get benefit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Unique Identity Cards for Workers (UAN)

After getting Universal Account Numbers workers/artisans will be free from the trouble of closing the old account and opening a new account in case of changing their job. After getting a new job at a new place, the worker will be required to tell his/her UAN and the new company/organisation will start the transfer of PF contribution in the old account.

For registration of the workers, a portal has been instituted. 6 crore 77 lakh cards have been issued so far.

Because of the efforts of UAN, Rs. 27000 crore earned by the poor by toiling belongs to them and not to the government. I have to return back this money to these poor and this has been started with this account number.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Swablamban An economical and reliable health insurance scheme has been implemented for the poor who are specially abled. Specially abled from families whose annual income is less than Rs. 3 lakhs are insured for a sum of upto 2 lakhs and are

covered till the age of 65 years.

The development should be all inclusive, comprehensive, reaching all and doing welfare of all.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana The central government from 2014-15 has started a strategic process to eliminate the difference between human resource indices of tribal people as compared with the people of other social groups. This result oriented action plan will give special attention to education, health, livelihood development and infrastructure framework development in Tribal areas.

In 2014-15, a sum of Rs. 100 crore was released to 10 development blocks of the scheduled area at the rate of Rs. 10 crore per block. In 2015-16, an allotment of Rs. 200 crore for the long term plan has been made.

NDA government of Atal ji created a separate ministry for the welfare of tribes and also granted adequate funds. Furthering that, our endeavor is to try that the tribal communities come in the mainstream and take benefit of development.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

July 02-08, 2018

Ustad The scheme aims at conserving heritage connected with art and craft. Its main feature is enhancement of the capacity of the people from minority communities who are connected with art and craft, it will connect these artisans with national and international markets in a manner that they can compete with large companies. 33 percent seats have been reserved for girls/women from minority communities.

Ustad is that initiative through which the prosperous heritage of this nation is being conserved which was earlier ignored.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan

The noble objective of this mission is to make our surrounding, workplace, transportation system and information and communication systems accessible to the specially abled to enable them to take equal part, with dignity in social, economic and cultural activities. In 50 cities around 1700 community buildings, all international airports and 709 railway stations are being made easily accessible by providing Sulabh parking, Sulabh ramp, Sulabh toilets, etc. Sugamya audit of 1400 community buildings of 50 cities of various states has been completed,

by March 2018, 10 percent government transport vehicles will be made completely Sugamya.

excerpts from the book: “NARENDRA DAMODAR MODI: the making of a legend�

25

Schemes FOR EDUCATION GIAN

Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Rashtriya Shikshak Evam Shikshan Mission The objective of this mission is improvement of training of the teachers as also work culture and education quality of the schools, colleges and universities and to attract meritorious students to teaching. Rs. 900 crore have been allocated for the scheme.

When a trader goes out, he brings dollars or pounds. But when a teacher goes he brings an entire generation with himself. To accomplish that dream, this mission has been started in the name of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya ji.

National Career Service

Pradhan Mantri Vidyalakshmi Portal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The main aim of the scheme is to make higher education institutions of the country better. For this, the identified start point is IIT, IIM, Central Universities, IISC Bengaluru, IISER and, NITs. With the help of the scheme, it will be possible to provide quality education in the institution by the participation of foreign teachers. 836 teachers from 68 countries are teaching in various institutions.

21st century is the era of knowledge. In this era of knowledge, only that society can progress which can recognise the right importance of knowledge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

National Scholarship Portal

In order to ease the search for availability of jobs, especially for youth of poor segments of society, a national career portal has been designed under this scheme. By logging on this portal, opportunities available in government and non- government sectors can be accessed. 100 ideal career centers have been established; 416 types of employment will get a boost.

Our specially abled brothers and sisters have astonishing firm determination. I owe to their courage and determination.

We will not leave any stone unturned in providing them easy accessibility and opportunities.

The government has made arrangement for easy disbursement of loan from banks to the students for education.

Vidyalakshmi portal is such a single window with facility of getting information regarding government scholarships and education loan disbursement by the bank as well as the application submission. 39 banks have been included in the scheme and 70 loan schemes have been made effective.

It is the goal of the government to see how the dreams of 125 crore hindustanis get fulfilled and their faces get a smile.

I believe that technique is such a means which can transform our way of leading life.

I believe that if technique is used properly, it can be helpful in transforming our way of leading life.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

An endeavor is being made to bring the application process, sanction and disbursement of scholarship at a single point with integrated application for all scholarships. A portal will tell which scholarship is appropriate for the students. 20 scholarship schemes of 7 ministries are active. 16 lakh 17 thousand candidates have registered in the scholarship scheme.

Continue in next issue

26

Science & Technology

July 02-08, 2018

foetus Age

Novel Blood Test To Identify Premature Birth The technique can also be used to estimate a foetus's gestational age or the mother's due date

n IANS

R

esearchers have developed a new blood test for pregnant women that may detect whether their pregnancies will end in premature birth.

The technique can also be used to estimate a foetus’s gestational age -- or the mother’s due date -- as reliably as and less expensively than ultrasound, the researchers said.

“This work is the result of a fantastic collaboration between researchers around the world,” said co-author Stephen Quake, Professor at the

Stanford University in US. The findings, published in the journal Science, suggested that the tests could help reduce problems related to premature birth, which affects 15 million infants worldwide each year.

According to the researchers, until now, doctors have lacked a reliable way to predict whether pregnancies will end prematurely, and have struggled to accurately predict delivery dates for all types of pregnancies.

The tests measure the activity of maternal, placental and foetal genes by assessing maternal blood levels of cell-

free RNA, tiny bits of the messenger molecule that carry the body’s genetic instructions to its protein-making factories.

For the study, the team used blood samples collected during pregnancy to identify which genes gave reliable signals about gestational age and prematurity risk.

The gestational-age test was developed by studying a cohort of 31 women who gave blood weekly throughout their full-term pregnancies.

The scientists used blood samples from 21 of them to build a statistical model, which identified nine cell-free RNAs produced by the placenta that predict gestational age, and validated the model using samples from the remaining 10 women.

The estimates of gestational age given by the model were accurate

about 45 per cent of the time, which is comparable to 48 per cent accuracy for first-trimester ultrasound estimates.

To figure out how to predict preterm birth, the researchers used blood samples from 38 women who were at risk for premature delivery.

These women each gave a blood sample during the second or third trimester of their pregnancies. Of this group, 13 delivered prematurely, and the remaining 25 delivered at term.

The scientists found that levels of cell-free RNA from seven genes from the mother and the placenta could predict which pregnancies would end early.

The new tests however need to be validated in larger cohorts of pregnant women before they can be made available for widespread use, the researchers said.

Ediacaran period

First Footprints Of Animals Discovered The oldest footprints were left between 551 million and 541 million years ago during the Ediacaran period

R

esearchers have unearthed the nearly 600 million years old fossil footprints of animals, considered to be the earliest record, in China.

The study showed that the oldest footprints were left between 551 million and 541 million years ago during the Ediacaran period, about 245 million years before dinosaurs started roaming the Earth.

The team from the Nanjing

Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Virginia Tech in the US discovered two rows of imprints that are arranged in a series or repeated groups in irregular trackways and burrows.

These trackways were found in the Dengying Formation --a site in the Yangtze Gorge area of southern China.

The trackways reveal that a bilaterian animal -- a creature

with bilateral symmetry that has a head at one end, a back end at the other, and a symmetrical right and left side -- such as arthropods and annelids made the tracks.

Further, the footprints left behind by its multiple feet suggest that this sea-dwelling animal had paired appendages that raised its body above the ocean floor.

The trackways also appear to be connected to burrows, suggesting that the animals may have

periodically dug into sediments and microbial mats, perhaps to mine oxygen and food.

Bilaterian animals have until now been assumed to have appeared and radiated suddenly during the "Cambrian Explosion" about 541-510 million years ago.

However, the fossil record of animal appendages confirms that their evolutionary ancestry was rooted in the Ediacaran Period, the researchers noted.

West-Bengal

July 02-08, 2018

27 07

Patuli Market

The Floating Market of Kolkata Pramanik has his shop in a boat that floats on an 8000 square metre artificial lake at Patuli Prasanta Paul

S

ubhendu Pramanik, 36, a barber by profession, had been attending his customers since his father’s demise almost a decade back.

The pavement along the dusty Eastern Metropolitan Bypass that connects Kolkata with its fast-developing southern and southeastern outskirts, had been where he used to attend his customers comprising mostly poor people – from van rickshaw drivers to daily labourers. His rickety shop covered with a plastic sheet, had never seen a single footfall of a ‘wealthy’ customer.

Never could he imagine that his wheel of luck would take a sudden turn to catapult his status to a level he could have only dreamt of. Since early January this year, he has only witnessed a spontaneous outpouring of love and patronisation from a segment of customers and visitors that are purely made of ‘dreamy stuff’, to exactly quote Subhendu. The humble barber was photographed and caught on video by thousands who drove down from all over Kolkata. Many even clicked selfies with him.

Reason: Pramanik now has his shop in a boat that floats on an 8000 square metre artificial lake at Patuli, a small township in the southern most fringe of Kolkata, set up by the erstwhile Left regime. Having failed to organise land for a market for the burgeoning shopkeepers and hawkers displaced by development projects nearly seven years ago, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government hit upon a novel idea of rehabilitation – a floating market! The water body at Patuli was cleared of hyacinth to make room for 114 boats; aware that it would be impossible to rehabilitate all the hawkers of the locality, the administration opted for lottery to select the beneficiaries – the more fortunate among the hawkers to be rehabilitated on a boat in the floating market, to be precise.

Not all are lucky enough to have an entire boat and Pramanik figures among those who have been asked to share space. But that hasn’t deterred him. What has electrified him is the opportunity to showcase himself as

many other hawkers have done. All of them have one mantra – use the opportunity to the hilt to manifest your talent. On its part, the administration has done its bit too; two waterbodies have been merged to ensure space in the market; to ensure the flow of water, pumps have been put in use to ferry water from elsewhere so that the health of the merged waterbody does not deteriorate. Wooden gangways have been set up on raised platforms that crisscross the water so that customers can walk around. The boats have been tied to these platforms to prevent rolling as less as possible. The shopkeepers, many among whom are women, have been given life jackets for their safety.

Built on a budget of Rs 10 crore and inaugurated on January 24 this year, the project– floating market – has been a runaway hit; not only has it turned Kolkata the first Indian metro to have a floating market but has also made a sea change to the lives of so many hawkers and perceptions about them. It is only natural that public reaction to this experiment has caught even the administration by surprise. Since January 26, Google is offering ‘Kolkata’ as its first response to the search words ‘floating market.’

Parking space in the neighbourhood is getting scarce and traffic managers are having a tough time.

“All my life I sold fish on the streets out there and I knew most of my customers by face. Now, I am meeting complete strangers. Not all people come to buy, but out of every 100, at least 90 click selfies with my boat and the fishes,” quipped Sukdeb Haldar, 40, pointing at his stock of Rohu and prawns.

“We open shop between 5.30 and 6 in the morning and leave around 11 at night. These boats have special compartments inside the hull. We keep perishable items in iceboxes,” said Haripada Chowkidar, the only fishmonger who accepts e-wallet payments. “Prices here are the same as in other markets,” he would proudly claim. Sale has been brisk for some this weekend while for others, it is little over average. “I was initially a little apprehensive and brought only 20 live chickens and some eggs, but everything got sold out very fast and I had to fall back on my stocks at home,” said Samar Biswas, 47.

“I have heard that people sell many things on boats at Dal Lake in Kashmir and there are floating markets in Bangkok. We, too, have joined them,”

The shopkeepers of the floating market do face certain odds which sometimes tell upon the health of their wires

said Babu Gazi, 46, a butcher who sells mutton. What Gazi was possibly not aware of is the fact that the five floating markets in Bangkok draw mostly foreign tourists and the total business transacted is quite huge.

Interestingly, the man who fought for the rehabilitation of these people visited Thailand several times to interact with shopkeepers and civic officials for a firsthand knowledge.

“I studied the floating markets in Bangkok and realised that we need to improvise. So, we sought approval for the design of our boats from the experts of the Jadavpur University.

Urban development minister Firhad Hakim allotted funds for the project,” said Shaktiman Ghosh, president of the National Hawker Federation.

Ghosh has a history of fighting for the cause and rehabilitation of urban hawkers since the ‘80s and partnered with union leaders in foreign shores to create the International Federation of Hawker and Urban Poor in Japan, Laos, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia, Thailand, Indonesia and Brazil. “Cities will grow because development can’t be stopped. But rehabilitation must be ensured,” Ghosh pointed out. When he held the first review meeting with shopkeepers and engineers on the banks of the lake, he drew loud cheers from his hawking brethren as he told the hawkers, “We’ve to show those swanky shopping malls that we are not inferior in any way,”. The crowd cheered.

However, the shopkeepers of the floating market do face certain odds which sometimes tell upon the health of their wires. “We have been told not to light a fire on the boats. I sell tea and omelette. How can I manage without fire?” a woman asked Ghosh. “Rules are rules. Start a different business if you have to be in this place” he replied firmly.

Local residents who used to go for walks on the banks of the lake have now started carrying shopping bags.

“The face of our neighbourhood has changed for ever and it’s our responsibility to preserve it,” said Amal Dutta, a retired engineer and resident of Patuli. Naturally, there’s hardly any dissenting voice.

28

Sports

July 02-08, 2018 Leo Messi

The Argentinean Soccer Legend Even having achieved so much in his life at such a young age, Leo Messi looks forward to improvement in himself and in his game to do the best for his club and his country • In 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and then again in 2011 and 2012.

• Messi has won six La Ligas, two Copas del Rey, five Supercopas de España, three UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two Club World Cups • Along with England's Vivian Woodward (who accomplished the feat in the early 1900s), Messi is the only player to have scored 25 goals in a calendar year during international competition with both his club and his country.

Abhishek lakhera

W

ith the on-going FIFA World Cup, all the people look forward to seeing their favourite teams win at the tournament, but there are two players who are the best of the best, who are the most anxious about this world cup. The two players are obviously Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

It is a fact that even after being the two best players in the world both of them have never lifted the world cup in their hands. While Christiano is pretty clear in his mind that he is single-handedly the best player in the world, his counterpart was recently in the limelight for quitting the National Football team thinking that his game was not up to the mark.

Sharing his birthplace with one of the most influential leaders of all time Che Guevara, Messi has a quite contradicting personality to the Argentinean leader. “He has always been a shy wee thing and was always not good with public interactions,” said his mother in an interview. But that shy wee thing is a dangerous asset on the field and is an absolute goal scoring

machine. Messi started playing football in his childhood as his father was the coach of a local football team. He always used to be the little guy on the team as he was suffering from a growth hormone disease, but even after all these problems, he caught the attention of the selectors from Barcelona FC who promised to pay for his treatment.

“I still remember sticking needles in my leg in the dressing room,” said the soccer legend in an interview. Messi was the youngest player to be signed

by Barcelona FC and later the youngest person to score for the team as well.

Messi does not look too much ahead and keeps his goals limited as he thinks it’s better to live in the moment rather than to keep worrying about the future. “I want to concentrate on winning things with Barcelona and Argentina,” he said. “Then if people want to say nice things about me when I have retired, great. Right now, I need

to concentrate on being part of a team – not just on me”, he said.

A father of three Messi says that the greatest achievement of his life is his three sons Thiago, Mateo and Ciro all with his childhood love Antonella Roccuzzo. Messi always plans his routines according to his family and his children so that he never has to compromise the time he spends with them. Messi has his son Thiago’s hand imprints tattooed on his left leg with his name.

Speaking on his rivalry with Christiano Ronaldo he says “I never considered him to be my rival rather I take inspiration from his game.” “There is no rivalry between us and we do not hold any grudges, we have a good professional relationship and I think that this hype has been created by the press.”

It is known by all his team members that Messi is a Chocolate lover and

He is the founder of the Leo Messi foundation which helps give the children the best possible education and give them the best medical treatments

has a sweet tooth. He also used to consume a lot of coke in his early days.

“We had to remove the cola vending machine in the office as Messi was seen to be consuming a lot and was a regular customer,” said a Barcelona FC correspondent. Messi once said in an interview that he misses eating chocolates the most as he had to cut it out of his diet for the game.

Even after being the second richest soccer player in the world with a net worth of more than a $100 million Messi keeps his feet on the ground and is a very humble person. He is the founder of the Leo Messi foundation which helps give the children the best possible education and give them the best medical treatments. Messi is also a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and has been working for the people suffering from the Fragile X Syndrome (a disease related to autism).

Even after getting so much success worldwide and being considered the best player in the world, this footballer manages to be a better person and always looks to improve himself and his game so he can do better for his country and make his fans proud of him.

Entertainment

July 02-08, 2018

29 07

Cinema

The Gramophone And Dancing Girl….Who She Was? It seems strange that today she is largely unknown, but at the time, she was one of the most famous vocalist in India

The woman, who also danced, still earned her share of historicity by featuring among India’s first vocalists to be recorded Urooj Fatima

V

ery little is known about Gauhar Jaan (1873-1930), the first Indian woman to have cut a gramophone record in India in 1902, and to record music on 78 rpm records. This is strange, because her life story could define the script of a powerful Indian film.

One move that made her stand out from others was how she ended each of her records with the line ‘My name is Gauhar Jaan’.

She was born as Eileen Angelina Yeoward, later when her mother Victoria, converted to Islam and changed Angelina’s name to ‘Gauhar Jaan’ and hers to ‘Malka Jaan’ in 1881. A name that would deliver her to greatness not only as the ‘first dancing girl of Calcutta’ in 1896 and India’s earliest recording sensation, but indeed as the foremost of this country’s musical divas. Both motherdaughter duo learned vocal music from “Kalu” Ustad (i.e., Kale Khan of Patiala) and Kathak dance under Ali

Bux. Gauhar made her first performance in the royal court of Darbhanga in 1887. In spite of her young age, the Maharaja was sufficiently impressed by her performance to appoint the young Gauhar as a court musician/dancer.

Gauhar Jaan became a master of the kheyal, dhrupad, and the thumree.

Her kheyals were so noteworthy that Bhatkhande declared her to be the greatest female kheyal singer in India.

Gauhar began her formal training as a Hindustani classical musician and soon became accomplished in ‘Kirtan’ and ‘Rabindra Sangeet’, among other musical forms.

The legendary dancer recorded more than 600 records between 1902 to 1920 across diverse languages including Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi, Arabic, Persian, Pushto, French, and English.

She was popular for her art and style, she always wore fine gowns and the finest jewellery. She never seemed to wear the same jewellery twice.

November 1902- India’s first ever record, India’s first disc has Gauhar Jaan singing a ‘Kheyal’ in ‘Raag Jogiya’ recorded. It should be noted that she is often given credit for developing the three-minute format for classical performances. This was the time limit imposed by the recording technology of the day. This format remained the standard until the advent of lp recordings many decades later.

Gauhar was paid Rs.3000 rupees per recording, an exorbitant price at that time. But she also spent huge sums such as 1000 as fine every day for insisting on riding on a carriage drawn by four horses which was against the law; she flouted the law each day and paid the hefty fine!

Perhaps her wealth was matched only by her ostentation. She became famous, (or infamous) in the manner in which she flaunted her wealth and power. One of the most noteworthy examples of this is that it is said that she squandered 1200 rupees to celebrate the marriage of her pet cat.

Another version of the story has it that she spent 20,000 rupees for a party when her pet cat had a litter of kittens. On another occasion, after she was persuaded to go to Datia to give a performance, she demanded her own train, in which her entire retinue of cook, cook’s assistants, her private hakeem (physician), dhobi, (washerman), barber, and dozens of servants went along. It is clear that Gauhar was a diva among divas.

She liked to watch horse-racing, and would spend at least a day at the Mahalaxmi race course, in Mumbai.

Gauhar Jaan popularised light Hindustani classical music with her thumris, dadras, kairis, bhajans and tarana renditions.

Gauhar changed the way music was practised in India, and amplified its reach. Her voice travelled not only to faraway places in India but also abroad, and as her biographer Vikram Sampath discovered, her unibrowed face appearing on picture postcards in Europe and even on matchboxes.

Gauhar’s life takes a turn for the worse once she gets entangled in a few long-drawn legal battles. One might perhaps find her downfall from the heights of glory to be a bit too sudden.

But it certainly seems plausible, given Gauhar’s high-strung nature and unplanned lifestyle. She was reduced to penury in the last days of her life, and died a sad, lonely woman.

Gauhar was the brightest star of her times, and the fact that she travelled a great deal – from Benaras to Lucknow and from Calcutta to Mumbai to Mysore – enabled her to learn from various gharanas, making her one of the impressive and illustrious singers of pre-Independence India. Sadly, she remains a pale shadow in the alleys of Hindustani classical music Known for her “high-pitched and flirtatious” voice, Gauhar Jaan is still a famous name when it comes to classical vocalists.

30

Literature

July 02-08, 2018

Inspirational

The Needle Tree

T

here were once two brothers who lived on the edge of a forest.

The elder brother was very mean to his younger brother and ate up all the food and took all his good clothes. One day, the elder brother went into the forest to find some firewood to sell in the market. As he went around chopping the branches of a tree after tree, he came upon a magical tree. The tree said to him, ‘Oh kind sir, please do not cut my branches.

If you spare me, I will give you my golden apples’. The elder brother agreed but was disappointed with the number apples the tree gave him.

Greed overcame him, and he threatened to cut the entire trunk if the tree didn’t give him more apples. The magical tree instead showered upon

Inspirational

Untold Tales From Mahabharata The Birth Of Dronacharya

The birth of Dronacharya, the Guru of the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Mahabharata, is very interesting.

It would not be wrong to say that Dronacharya is the first test tube baby in the world. Rishi Bharadwaja is the father of Dronacharya and mother is an Apasara name Krithaji.

One evening Rishi Bharadwaja was getting ready to do his evening prayers. He went to the Ganga River to take his usual bath but was amazed to find a beautiful woman bathing at his usual spot in the river.

A Vow Of Silence

Sahadeva, often relegated to silence in the story along with his brother Nakul, is known for his prescience.

He is said to have known all along that a great war would come to cleanse the land, but he did not announce it lest that would bring it about. As it happened, staying silent about it did not help either.

When Duryodhan Approached Sahadeva

Sahadeva who had eaten the flesh of his father Pandu after his death could not only see past, and future but also had a great knowledge in Astrology.

This is the reason why Shakuni sent Duryodhana to Sahadeva to ask the mahurat (right time) of the Mahabharat War. Sahadeva being honest had disclosed it to Duryodhan in spite knowing the fact that Duryodhan was his real enemy in the battle.

the elder brother hundreds upon hundreds of tiny needles.

The elder brother lay on the ground crying in pain as the sun began to lower down the horizon.

The younger brother grew worried and went in search of his elder brother. He found him with hundreds of needles on his skin. He rushed to his brother and removed each needle with painstaking love.

After he finished, the elder brother apologised for treating him badly and promised to be better. The tree saw the change in the elder brother’s heart and gave them all the golden apples they could ever need.

Moral Of The Story

It is important to be kind and gracious as it will always be rewarded.

Events

July 02-08, 2018

events & more...

ACROSS 2. In which country was an eight-ball over in vogue till lately?

4. When did India become a member of ICC? 7. Which is the latest country to become an associate member of ICC? 8. where was the first Test played?

14. Which county plays at home at the St. Lawrence Ground?

15. What colour of caps are worn by the Australian national cricket team?

16. What kind of fruit is depicted on the badge of Worcestershire County Cricket Club?

17. When was the Imperial Cricket Conference formed?

18. Which Indian team defeated the first three touring teams from England?

20. What was the colour of the ball used in the earlier days of women’s cricket in England?

Pragati Vihar, New Delhi

6 Jul 2018 7:00 PM - 15 Jul 2018 11:59 PM

SSB crossword no. 29

events

Disney’s Aladdin Is Coming To Town Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

SOLUTION of crossword no.28

Pass Ya Fail - Trying new jokes - By Kishore Dayani Venue: Akshara Theatre 11-B. Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Next To RML Hospital Exit No. 5, New Delhi Sun, 15 Jul 8:00PM - 9:30PM

Open Mic - Shauhrat Venue: Drool Fresh

Ground Floor, Under Dwarka, Sector 13 Metro Station, Sector 13, Dwarka, New Delhi Sat, 14 Jul 6:00PM - 8:30PM

EPic India Lifestyle & Food Exhibition Venue: Noida

Sector 18 Garage Sector 18, Noida Sat, 14 Jul 10:00AM - Sun, 15 Jul 10:15PM

31

1. France 2. Maracana 3. Netherland 4. Three 5. England 6. South Africa 7. Argentina 8. Dinozoff 9. Octopus 10. Switzerland

11. USA 12. Russia 13. Brazil 14. Columbia 15. Uruguay 16. Armadillo 17. Miroslav 18. Peru 19. Messi 20. Croatia

solution of sudoku-28

DOWN 1. Till 1889 how many balls an over used to be bowled?

3. Who among the following is the highest wicket taker of Ashes Series?

5. Which country won the first Cricket World Cup in 1975?

6. Who wrote’The History of Cricket?

9. Which county did Graham Gooch represent throughout his cricket career?

10. When was the Board of Control for Cricket in India set up?

11. How many teams took part in the championship in the inaugural year?

12. When was overarm bowling accepted as legal?

13. When was the National Cricket Championship for the Ranji Trophy started?

19. where was a One-Day International first played under floodlights?

sudoku-29

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32

Newsmakers

July 02-08, 2018 Manoj Kumar

doubles up as life guard

Manoj has been hailed as a local hero and is admired by the young and old alike for his bravery and helpful nature

M

anoj Kumar Saini runs a juice stall near the Ganga canal on the outskirts of Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh.

Nothing unusual about that, you say? Well, Manoj is not any other roadside vendor.

The Ganga canal is infamously known as a “suicide point”, and many people have taken their lives there. Coincidentally, Manoj’s stall is located in the same spot and one terrible incident that he witnessed, encouraged him to become a saviour for those who attempt suicide there.

Speaking about the incident, Manoj said, “The first time I saw a man jumping into the canal, I was shocked.

For a minute I froze as I couldn’t believe my eyes, but the next second I decided to save his life and jumped into the water without thinking about the consequences.

This happened one year ago, and since then

every time I see someone taking the plunge, I jump into the canal to save them.”

So far, Manoj has successfully saved seven lives. What is truly remarkable is that Manoj is not a trained swimmer!

Recently, Manoj saved the life of a 70-year-old man, who turned out to be a relative of Amjad Khan, a local activist.

“My uncle has been keeping ill and was depressed. I don’t know how to thank this young man who risked his life to save an ailing old man. He is our desi Superman who saves people from dying. From youngsters to elderly villagers, everyone knows and talks about him,” he Amjad said.

In a humble response to all the praise he has received, Manoj says, “I only know that I cannot see someone dying in front of me. That is why I do what I do.”

Disabled MP Swimmer Crosses English Channel The physically challenged Satendra Singh created history by swimming the English Channel

S

eeking to show the world that he is as capable as the next person, disabled swimmer Satendra Singh created history on Sunday by crossing the English Channel on Sunday. He was the part of a swimming relay team which, for the first time saw four para swimmers from India cross the English Channel.

He completed the channel in 12 hour and 26 minutes.

Satendra can’t walk. He is an employee of state government based in Indore.

Gwalior swimmer was joined by three others who attempted the daring feat in June this year.

In May last year, Singh had completed a 36-km swim in Arabian Sea, clocking in at 5 hours and 43 minutes, as part of his preparation for the

mighty English Channel challenge.

Interestingly, 29-year-old Singh is the first person in India with 75 per cent disability to complete the 36-km Arabian Sea swim. Despite his inability to use his lower limbs, Singh was ready to take on the 36 km Dover Strait swim in the English Channel.

M Rahman Baidya of Kolkata (West Bengal) was the first swimmer in the world, as a double amputee below the knee to cross the strait of Gibraltar. He took 4 hours 20 minutes to emerge victorious in his battle against waves in the difficult strait of Gibraltaron September 25, 2001.

He was also the first handicapped swimmer from Asia to cross the English Channel in 1997.

unsung hero

To ob J ushy C She Quit A Paint o T ids K Teach Tribal Ruchi Shah quit her job at Yahoo to explore her passion

R

uchi Shah’s free spirit took her from Yahoo’s highest salary bracket to perhaps the lowest among her peers in a year-and-ahalf, because life as a senior Ruchi Shah UED designer was simply devoid of the feel of paper and paint. So, she gravitated to freelancing instead, to journey back to the basics.

Her love for giving back took her from the cushy corner office to banausic schools in Ladakh and dilapidated ones in Indian hinterlands -- where she used art and illustration to help school children embrace storytelling, English and of course, their hidden talents at doodling!

This well-known illustrator tells us all about working as an art facilitator in remote schools in tribal areas, which has provided a deeper context to her illustrations and stories.

Ruchi was invited to join The LETS – or Learn English through Stories - project, the brainchild of Professor Alka Hingorani at IDC, IIT Bombay -- in 2015 as a Design Associate. But when they began testing the app with children, they noticed while the students embraced the technology readily, there was a dearth of local content on it. So, she chose ‘Our Incredible Cow’, written by Nobel Prize nominee, social activist Mahasweta Devi, to push the boundaries of Indian illustration as well as her own.

Mahaswetadevi, in the book, describes the many escapades of her pet cow ‘Nyadosh’.

“The illustrations were inspired by everything this crazy cow ate, she had a mind of her own. Each page was created with a different medium -- fish, onions, grass, bottles etc.

I would make large, intricate arrangements of all these materials, shoot a photograph and then build the visuals,” she explains. Therefore, books became her playground for experimenting with different techniques to draw, paint and print - all of which came in handy for LETS. During the course of this project she worked with over 100 children from different schools -- Gram Mangal School, Dahanu, Maharashtra, Agastya International Foundation, Kuppam, AP and Government Secondary School, Khun, HP. Another challenge that persisted in her projects is when villagers from remote areas are spellbound at her independence and autonomy as a woman artist.

“When I go to work in remote areas -- although locals embrace me, they wonder why I’m travelling alone to a village. The remote schools I have worked with have male art teachers mostly -- who find it more challenging to work with me as an art facilitator,” she says.

She has been an independent artist for the last two years working on her own venture, Kreative Rush, in Mumbai -- but her projects take her across the country.

RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561, Joint Commissioner of Police (Licensing) Delhi No. F. 2 (S-45) Press/ 2016 Volume - 2, Issue - 29 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