Sulabh Swachh Bharat - VOL: 2 | ISSUE 47

sulabhswachhbharat.com

07

08

Sanitation In Argentina It set targets of providing 75 per cent access to sewerage services for its citizens

14

24

Arya-Camera Museum

Thomas Alva Edison

The Making Of A Legend

A shutterbug’s journey through time: From Daguerreo Types To Digital Technology

A prolific inventor of all time, exerted a tremendous influence on modern life

PM Modi’s visit to UAE is seen an important step in burgeoning trade relations POSTAL REGISTRATION NO. DL(W)10/2240/2017-19

RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561

Scan this with your smartphone

nect

A Good News Weekly

Vol - 2 | Issue - 47 | Nov 05 - 11, 2018 | Price ` 10/-

on bh C

-Sula

im Sikk

Sulabh Toilet Ushered In Real Freedom

Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad visited Sulabh Gram where he was welcomed

by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, emancipated scavengers and widows of Vrindavan

02

Sikkim-Sulabh Connect

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Quick Glance Sikkim is a perfect example of clean, healthy and happy living Sulabh was honoured to welcome Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad in its campus Dr Bindeshwar Pathak is among those personalities who create history: Ganga Prasad

Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad at Sulabh Campus, New Delhi

Swastika Tripathi

I

n the small north-eastern state of Sikkim, there is a bright, wide smile on faces. There is a sense of pride in the people. That pride is not of any power or money, but of something which is a basic necessity for humankind. The pride is of being the first open-defecation-free (ODF) state of India.

Sikkim’s cleanliness drive did not happen over a night. It was the continuous strive of the people that first began 15 years ago in 2003.

For this to happen there was the commitment and self-imposed discipline of the Sikkimese people that did not dither. The people adopted a holistic approach that would improve sanitation and hygiene, protect the environment, and accelerate an overall top-notch development of the state.

From building toilets to doorto-door campaigns to hygiene and sanitation education programmes in school – a lot of efforts were put for over a decade through which Sikkim bagged a national award for sanitation and cleanliness, emerged as a ‘Nirmal Rajya’ and finally became the first state in India to be declared ODF. Sikkim has clean food, clean air and clean water. It is also a fully organic state. It is a perfect example of a clean, healthy and happy living.

Being a part of the governance of such a beautiful state is a matter of

pride but no less a huge responsibility.

Cleanliness is the top priority because maintaining the achievement is much difficult and necessary than reaching that height. A sense of cleanliness and the vital role it plays is clearly visible in the approach of Ganga Prasad, the 16th governor of Sikkim, when one speaks to him.

Another such person for whom cleanliness and sanitation is his life mission is Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement, whose cleanliness drive dates even much before than that of Sikkim’s. A journey that Dr Pathak embarked upon 50 years ago, is not hidden from the world. To

“Ever since a Sulabh toilet has been constructed in my house, it has become a home.

With this, India has attained its true freedom” - Paramjeet Kaur, Ludhiana

experience what he had heard for ages, Ganga Prasad paid an extensive visit to Sulabh Gram in New Delhi.

The Sulabh campus was excited to have the honour of receiving Ganga Prasad. The Sikkim governor arrived amid blowing of conch shells by Pandits and was warmly welcomed with garlands by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, followed by some senior executives of Sulabh, erstwhile scavengers of Alwar and widows of Vrindavan.

Of Freedom & Religion There are thousands whose lives have been changed for good by Dr Pathak and his Sulabh organisation. Few from among those people stepped forward on the occasion to enlighten Ganga Prasad of the improvements that Dr Pathak’s initiatives brought about in their lives.

Narrating the story of how from manual scavenging to living a life of dignity, she has come a long way with the help and support of Dr Pathak, Alwar’s Usha Sharma (earlier Chaumar), who is also the president of Sulabh International now, said, “It is a joyous moment that we got to meet His Excellency Ganga Prasad today and be able to welcome him and address him. Earlier when we were trapped in the malpractice of cleaning the night soil, we were not even allowed to meet anyone. We were ‘untouchables’. But all that has changed ever since Sulabh freed us from the heinous activity.

Now we not only meet and greet but also sit together, eat together, pray together, make conversations like any other common person of the society.”

“He could understand our plight because he dared to carry the night soil on his head to practically experience our pain. Dr Pathak is our Gandhi, he is our God,” she added.

Paramjeet Kaur of Ludhiana said, “There were no toilets in our houses and we used to go out in open to defecate. We had to walk miles and this was like an obstacle in our day-

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

A

ge is just a number, they say it right! Be it Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement, working tirelessly for five decades, or Ganga Prasad, Governor of Sikkim, walking extra miles to enthusiastically know and keenly observe each and every initiatives, innovations and technologies of Sulabh.

In the midst of his extensive visit to the entire Sulabh Gram, Prasad got candid in an exclusive interview to Swastika Tripathi of Sulabh Swachh Bharat. Excerpts from the interview: Your visit to the Sulabh Gram has been quite extensive. How was it? What was it that interested you the most?

Dr Bindeshwar Pathak started off with small-small things and took them to the heights that were unimaginable. It is said that if one is determined, they can achieve every feat. Dr Pathak is a testimony of that. I am well aware of from where and how he had begun his movement, and today the entire world recognises him.

I got to see and learn a lot of things on this visit, and a lot of them impressed me. I laud the work of Dr Pathak. He has done a lot for the people, especially for the poor and the deprived. No appreciation is enough for that.

I was informed that in the Sulabh Public School, 60 per cent of the students come from the economically weaker section who are being offered free education here.

The remaining 40 per cent are also paying a nominal fee. It is a big thing that the poor children have a platform to learn and go ahead to make a living for themselves and their

Sikkim-Sulabh Connect

families. I also noticed that the Sulabh Public School strives to inculcate the feeling of nationalism in their students. I am sure that the children who pass-out from this school will be inspired to give back to the society, the same way as Dr Pathak has been doing.

Sulabh has a plethora of technologies, one of them being preparing manure for farms from human-waste. Sikkim is well-known for its organic farming. How do you suggest other states to adopt such technologies and methods in farming?

It is a matter of awareness. The public has to be made aware and explained of these methods.

Chemical fertilisers deteriorate the yielding capacity of farmlands. It is necessary that organic farming is promoted and organic fertilisers be made easily available and accessible.

Once people understand the importance of this kind of farming, the significance of cattle rearing will also increase which is needed today. It is seen that no matter how old the cattle is, its dung has great utilities.

People used to adopt such farming methods back in ancient times and they are relevant even today.

Sikkim government has been promoting organic farming for years now. They have even been awarded for the same. If Sikkim can do it, so can other states.

The produce from these will be clean and healthy.

Eastern states are much cautious when it comes to cleanliness. This is something which is not easily found in many other states of India. What will you advise the people to ensure a ‘Sulabh-Swachh Bharat’?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is actively promoting his Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

I would like to tell you about a village in Meghalaya – Mawlynnog. This village is the cleanest village in Asia. A lot of people visit the village just to experience its clean environment. This way the tourism has increased, giving business opportunities to the people of the village. They have many hotels, are selling many things, and so the economic condition of the village has improved.

Cleanliness is a thought which stays when people themselves decide that ‘no, we are not going to dirty our environment’.

Take an example from Mauritius. I went there and visited a picnic spot. Everybody ate, drank, had fun.

They had carried huge polythenes in which they collected all the plastics or wastes. There was no litter to be seen. The scenario is quite opposite here. People litter wherever they feel like.

So, as I said, it is not a very big thing to do. It is about thought, habit, determination. Such thought needs to be developed among people. Various efforts are being made for the same. The government is making efforts, so is Sulabh.

It has been reported that post the introduction of Swachh Bharat, there has been a downfall in diseases. It is a great initiative and it is important to spread it as wide as possible.

03 07

“First was the freedom from British rule, and now the freedom from such stigma. The world has recognised Dr Pathak for his contributions” – Ganga Prasad, Governor of Sikkim

to-day life. We were poor so we could not construct a toilet in our house.

Ever since a Sulabh toilet has been constructed in my house, it has become a home. Households today have toilets because of which we are working through the days hassle-free, children are completely focused on their studies. With this, India has attained its true freedom. This freedom has been given to us by our prime minister Narendra Modi and Dr Pathak.”

Also present at the occasion was Abdul Lateef Khan, who had come all the way from Jammu and Kashmir.

Terming Dr Pathak as the secondGandhi, he said, “No words are big enough to define and praise Dr Pathak’s mission. Dr Pathak is God, Dr Pathak is a religion. He is that religion which has accepted all, uplifted the poor, raised the status of the ‘onceuntouchables’ in the society.”

The Second Freedom Struggle Speaking on the occasion, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak said that he did all he could, and continues doing all he can. People usually talk of only problems, but Sulabh finds solutions to those problems.

Quoting Paramjeet Kaur’s words, Dr Pathak said, “Kaur says when the toilet was built in her house she felt like true freedom was given to her. It was the true meaning of independence for her.

It is a big thing to say. It is a message for us too. We were not a part of the independence movement of Gandhi.

But his second biggest movement was a fight against casteism, gender bias, harsh treatments with widows, lack of proper sanitation.”

He drew parallel that how Bihar has made a huge contribution to both the freedom struggles. Gandhi initiated his freedom movement from Bihar. The second freedom that Gandhi always dreamt of (proper sanitation in India), Sulabh initiated that movement, too, from Bihar. His Excellency Ganga Prasad is from Bihar and so is Dr Pathak. So he is already aware of Dr Pathak’s works.

02 04

Sikkim-Sulabh Connect

G

anga Prasad was born on July 8, 1937, in the capital city of Patna, Bihar. He holds a B Com degree and is a senior political leader who has had life-long affiliations with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In the year 1994 began his political career in Bihar itself when he was elected as a first-time Member of Legislative Council (MLC), a position he retained for 18 years (i.e. till 2012).

As his political career progressed, he grew in prominence as well. When NDA came to power in Bihar, Prasad held the crucial position as the leader of Bihar Legislative Council.

During his tenure as an MLC, he led the Opposition from front for 5 years in the state assembly. He has also been the General Secretary of BJP in Bihar.

Prasad was later included in the all new national executive of BJP. On October 5, 2017, he was appointed as Meghalaya’s governor. On August 26, 2018, he was swornin as the 16th Governor of Sikkim at a function held at Raj Bhawan in Gangtok.

Dr Pathak told that Sulabh actively carried this freedom struggle forward, and did it all with non-violence. Never for once Dr Pathak or his organisation ever protested, nor did they ever badmouth anyone. They observed and understood the plights of the society and devised ways to solve those problems in a manner in which the society can accept as well.

“Today you met both formerscavengers and those whose houses they used to go to clean the night soil.

Today, they stood together to welcome you to Sulabh Gram. It is a huge societal change that the people who were never allowed to touch each-other are today standing and talking together. This is the freedom that Sulabh has given them.”

Be That Which Gives You Dignity Mahatma Gandhi wanted that they (manual scavengers) should get a respectable place in this society.

Sulabh took a step further and not only ensured them the respect they Ganga Prasad at Sulabh Public School along with students

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

deserved but also rechristened them as Brahmins. Dr Pathak recalled that how these people were earlier threatened that if they dare chant Vedas then their tongues will be chopped off and ears will be stuffed with pieces of glasses.

“The women of the same community today chanted Sanskrit shlokas in your welcome. To bring about this change, we did not create any ruckus, did not tear or burn down Vedas or Puranas.”

Dr Pathak said that people often question him that why only ‘Brahmin’?

To that, he replies, “I am of the view that it is not about rechristening as ‘Brahmin’ but any such caste by adopting which you attain the due respect. It is your choice. I am a Brahmin so I converted them too into it, but that does not mean everybody has to turn a Brahmin.”

“Gandhi had said that only one of the two can exist – either Hindu religion or casteism. So I thought why the religion should die when getting rid of untouchability is better. So I came up with the theory that if people are allowed to convert their religions then why not castes? You are free to change your caste into whichever you want,” he added.

EM FoRster Wrote, Sulabh Did EM Forster had said that to get the ‘untouchables’ out of their plight, toilets are needed. In his Preface to Mulk Raj Anand’s 1935 novel

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Dr Pathak and Ganga Prasad in Sulabh Swachchhta Rath

Dr Pathak and Ganga Prasad with widows of Vrindavan

‘Untouchable’, he wrote that only and only the flush system can rescue the Untouchables. To end the 5000 years old practice the first thing Sulabh did was of inventing the ‘Sulabh Shauchalaya’. Dr Pathak said that had it not been invented, then neither the malpractice of manual scavenging would have ended, nor the habit of open defecation.

Gandhi wanted that a woman from Valmiki community be made the President of India. Dr Pathak told that this thought led to Usha Sharma becoming the president of his organisation. “I thought I have no authority over deciding the president of the nation, but why not implement it for Sulabh organisation? And today we have Usha Sharma as the president of Sulabh. If you ask me what I have done in the last 50 years, I will not

have to give the answer. But instead, these people, my books, will speak for themselves. All these people who came forward to speak their minds out today are a testimony that my books, my saplings speak.”

Dr Pathak signed off with the words: “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”

The Need Of The Hour Addressing the gathering, Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad said that a house without a toilet is a house of diseases. Women would open defecate when it is dark outside, but what about when it is daytime and they need to relieve themselves? Holding it in for long hours gives birth to many diseases. It is a matter of concern.

“Today when I visited Sulabh Gram and got to observe Dr Bindeshwar

Sikkim-Sulabh Connect

03 05 07

Student informing about about the sanitary napkins vending machines

“Dr Pathak is a religion. He is that religion which has accepted all, uplifted the poor, raised the status of the ‘once-untouchables’ in the society” - Abdul Lateef Khan, Jammu & Kashmir Pathak’s works this closely, I was really happy to know that he is fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi’s dreams with all his heart. Through his Sulabh organisation, Dr Pathak is promoting cleanliness and sanitation, and with his efforts uplifted the once oppressed former manual scavengers. His contributions have not only been recognised by the society but also praised by the government.”

Being a resident of Patna, Prasad told that he has long witnessed Dr Pathak’s works. Even after facing many tough times, Dr Pathak’s dedication and contribution have been exemplary.

It was his truthfulness, strong will, and

the love and support of the public that kept him going. Praising Dr Pathak for bringing the oppressed to the mainstream of the society, Prasad said, “It is the need of the hour that we serve the human interest through cleanliness.

The society salutes such personalities who serve the nation through their distinguished qualities. There are only a few who pave their own path and travel on it to reach their destination.

One such rare person is Dr Pathak.

This path benefits the society, uplifts the oppressed, overcomes poverty and brings unity. He has shown the society a path of development.”

02 06

Sikkim-Sulabh Connect

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Dr Pathak felicitating Ganga Prasad

No Task Is Small Or Big The governor called the practices like untouchability and casteism as “taint on the society”. He said that these were the very reasons why our country first became a slave to the British Raj. The two have cost the nation heavily.

“To maintain social order it is necessary that we all invest our energy towards human welfare. Generosity and compassion make human humble.

Those who always reflect humanity and are dedicated to the society, such personalities create history. Dr Pathak is among those personalities,” he added.

He highlighted that how with the presence of Sulabh toilets in almost every nook and corner of the nation, improving the cleanliness scenario of India has been possible. Indore is Asia’s cleanest city and Sulabh International has played a vital role in taking it to this height. Sulabh has taught that no task is small or big.

The passion towards that work gives it shape. “I have been informed that the organisation has also stepped forward to provide clean drinking water. The initiatives taken by Sulabh to turn the dreams of top-notch cleanliness and health into reality are laudable.”

Swachh Bharat, Swasth Bharat “Today, for the growth and development of nation and society, clean and healthy environment for citizens are the need of the hour.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made people aware of the importance of cleanliness through his flagship Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Every citizen should contribute to his mission to ensure a ‘Swachh Bharat, Swasth Bharat’,” the governor urged.

The initiatives taken by the Central government to end the practice of open-defecation are resulting into villages getting open-defecation-free

Ganga Prasad addressing the audience at Sulabh auditorium

Dr Pathak and Ganga Prasad with emancipated scavengers

(ODF) one after the other. This is an indication that the nation is moving towards becoming a Healthy India, Prasad said. He said that the toilets built by Dr Pathak at various places are a blessing to the people. People are happy that they get to use proper toilet facilities and must surely be blessing him for his work. “As he (Dr Pathak) aptly said, it is like a feeling of freedom for all those people.

First was the freedom from British rule, and now the freedom from such a stigma. The world has recognised Dr Pathak for his contributions.”

Appreciating Dr Pathak Prasad also spoke highly of Sulabh’s initiatives other than toilets for all. He said that education plays a vital role in the development of a nation and its society, and Sulabh Public School and Sulabh Vocational Training Center are making children and women independent, who can go ahead to pave the way for a strong India, and dedicate themselves to the service of the nation.

“Dr Pathak began his movement by building toilets and went on to give the world Sulabh Bio-gas Plant,

“We were not part of the independence movement led by Gandhiji. But we have taken forward his second freedom movement of cleanliness and sanitation” – Dr Bindeshwar Pathak

Sulabh Water Treatment Plant, Sulabh Museum of Toilets, and techniques like producing electricity from human waste. He is a person of appreciations.

My best wishes are with Dr Pathak that he continues making his valuable contribution to the development, progress and betterment of the society.

How hailing from Bihar, a place that has been a land of inspiration and knowledge to many – from Gautam Buddha, Mahavir, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Pathak went on to awaken not only India but the world, and is continuously doing social work, it is extremely appreciable. No words are enough to speak highly of him,” he concluded.

Accompanying Ganga Prasad were Manoj Sandhwar, OSD to the Governor, and Thakur Thapa, IPS Additional Secretary to the Governor, who were also welcomed by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak. The guests paid a visit to the entire Sulabh Gram. The Governor also keenly observed the Sulabh Swachhata Rath spreading the message of sanitation in remote areas, Public toilet based biogas plant, Health centre, water ATM & Kitchen operating on biogas fuel.

Thereafter the guests were taken to the Sulabh Public School where they were welcomed by the students. While seeing the trainees of vocational training branch, Prasad took interest in cutting and tailoring and the manufacturing of cheap and clean sanitary napkins by the students themselves.

Inside the Sulabh Toilet Museum, the guests were surprised to know that India is the champion of flush toilet and sewer system. After that, the guest saw Sulabh Technology based twopit-pour-flush toilet. He was accorded a traditional welcome with garland, shawl, citation and mementoes in the prayer hall.

Sanitation

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Argentina

Aiming For More Access To Water And Sanitation Argentina set ambitious targets of providing universal access to water and 75 per cent access to sewerage services for its citizens SSB BUREAU

I

t may be a surprise to most people that visit Buenos Aires, but 55 per cent of the people in the city of Buenos Aires and its suburbs don’t have sewers. 45 per cent of those in the suburbs don’t have running tap water.

This, of course, means that all the well water you have in the extended area is contaminated to some degree, and the countless industries that ruthlessly throw unprocessed waste to the sewers or directly to the streams and rivers.

You have to see the Riachuelo river to believe it: Most polluted river on Earth, it’s a stinking black mass with no life in it.

In the 21st century, still, 7 million Argentinians don’t have access to clean drinking water and close to 20 million have no sewer service. This numbers show us the challenges we must deal with as a country. For that reason, President Mauricio Macri has developed an ambitious National Water Plan, with the goal of positioning water resources as a key factor for a sustainable development of the country. One of the main

objectives established in the Plan is to ensure that 100 per cent of Argentinians have access to drinking water and that almost 75 per cent have sanitation coverage.

The National Water Plan defines four main components of water policy as: clean water supply and sanitation, where the goal is to achieve 100% of safe water supply and almost 75% of sanitation; large-scale multi-purpose water infrastructure and biomass; use of water for production, mostly increasing the smart use of PublicPrivate Partnerships to extend the agricultural frontier, allowing clean industrial development and foster tourism; adaptable water management and policies to deal with climate change and variability.

We believe it is our job to ensure that every person living in Argentina has access to drinking water and sanitation services, as well as to build multipurpose dams for the generation of energy and the use of water for industry, with the purpose of increasing the level of agricultural production. It is also important to carry out long-overdue water infrastructure improvements to mitigate the impact

of increasingly severe floods and droughts.

Improve Water and Sanitation Services with IDB Support Argentina needs to improve access to drinking water and sanitation services for citizens living in the northern provinces of Catamarca, Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa, Jujuy, La Rioja, Misiones, Santiago del Estero, Salta and Tucuman.

The IDB has approved a $200 million loan to finance drinking water and sewerage services enhancement, improve environmental sanitation and hygiene conditions through wastewater treatment, and boost the management capacity of water and sanitation service providers in the country’s northwest and northeast regions. Argentina will provide an additional $70 million in local counterpart funds for the project.

Improving basic services is one of the goals of the Plan Belgrano, which aims to tackle the historically high poverty, marginalization and lowdevelopment indices in northeastern and northwestern provinces.

The project will finance construction, enhancement and improvement of drinking water and sewerage systems in assisted areas.

Planned works include groundwater extraction, surface water collection, potabilisation plants, aqueducts, distribution networks, pumping stations with their respective electromechanical equipment, sewers, main and secondary collectors, sewage fluids treatment plants and systems, and ancillary works. This operation will also improve the institutional organisation, investment planning, and the operational, commercial and financial capabilities of water and sanitation operators, which are key elements to ensure investment

07

Green Cross Argentina

T

he Argentinian projects, sponsored by the Alstom Foundation and implemented

by Green Cross Argentina, will provide sewage disposal to existing latrine blocks at six schools of the economically challenged Chubut Province in the Patagonian plateau. These facilities will treat water from latrines into a biotechnological reactor to make it usable for growing fruit and vegetables in greenhouses. More than 250 children, most from the Mapuche and Tehuelche communities, attend the six schools.

Community members are trained on the maintenance and construction of new sanitation and water systems in all Smart Water for Green Schools projects. An environmental, water and sanitation education programme will also be taught in both schools.

sustainability.

“Argentina is giving priority to increasing access to and improving the quality of water and sewerage services in the provinces covered by the Plan Belgrano,” IDB Project Team Leader Henry Moreno said. “This programme will provide sewerage services to 19,000 homes and wastewater treatment services to 130,000 homes.”

The IDB loan will be disbursed over a 5-year period and have a 25year amortization term, with a 5.5year grace period and a LIBOR-based interest rate.

08

Museum

NOV 05 - 11, 2018

Aditya Arya

A Shutterbug’s Journey Through Time From Daguerreo Types To Digital Technology Arya began his project with a display of vintage cameras in the basement of his house in Gurugram Nilima Pathak

A

ditya Arya has over the years built upon a collection of rare cameras. His vintage camera museum in Gurgram, Haryana, is probably one of its kind in the world. Not quite sure if something similar exists elsewhere, Arya admits, “It is the only curated camera museum in Asia. And I must thank the number of professional photographers, family members and others who have from time-to-time been donating the cameras. The number of cameras is over 700 and counting….”

However, from the basement of his house, Arya, a photographer by profession, has planned to shift the setup on an 18,000 sq.ft modern space in Gurgram. Research, conservation, archiving, digitizing a library, demonstration spaces and darkrooms will be an integral part of the museum along with related events to promote public interest in this medium.

He has started a crowdfunding campaign bitgiving.com/ museocamera, inviting the public corn He has started a crowd-funding campaign to be its stakeholders. Through this project, Arya hopes to raise bitgiving.com/museocamera, inviting the Rs15 million. Contributors to the public to be its stakeholders new museum will have their names featured in the gallery of donors and will be given donor passes for visits.

On display are some of the most the museum is a 4-feet high Kodak Historical treasures iconic studio, field and portable Century Studio camera, which dates From the smallest to the oldest, cameras manufactured from 1880 back to the 1870s. Arya reveals, “This Arya’s collection includes cameras to 1990, by companies such as was one of the first of its kind made dating back to the 1880s. He has Eastman Kodak, Leica, Ansco, Zeiss soon after photography was invented collected them from countries Ikon, Folmer, Graflex, Gevaert and in the mid-1800s. I got this rare including England, France, Germany, Thornton Picard. While the Kodak classic from a junk seller in Delhi.

Japan, America and Switzerland.

Century Graphics Studio of 1890 A friend had spotted it and sent me Several times, his hunt for the rare is the costliest (priced between Rs an image. Within minutes, I parked pieces has taken him to international 4.5 million to Rs 5 million), the myself at the junk seller’s doorstep. auctions and flea markets and smallest is a Minox that was used in It was a pity to find such booty in a small-town shops in the country. the Watergate scandal in the United dusty and dilapidated state. Though He has tirelessly researched the States in the 1970s and eventually led the junk seller did not know and history of cameras for the purpose to then-President Richard Nixon’s couldn’t care less where it came of nomenclature, captions and resignation. from, a box inside had the name of a cataloguing.

One of the oldest cameras in Kolkata studio on it.”

Another camera, referred to as Raja, was handcrafted by a man named Sardool Singh, who lived in Delhi’s Bhogal area in the 1960s and 70s. He would make copies of Deardorff cameras and sell them in the US for $100 each. Arya picked up a copy of the same in the 1990s. Besides, there is the Speed Graphic camera from the 1930s, considered the most famous press camera around the world till the 1950s.

The collector points out at the camera produced by the Nazis that bears the Nazi insignia, leaving one to wonder what a treasure house one is witnessing. But for Arya’s efforts, cameras like old Voigtlanders or the hand-held stereo viewers that show 3-D images from early last century would have been lost.

On display at the camera, the museum is a lot of photographic equipment. These include: the earliest flash equipment, photographic films, lenses, enlargers and light meters- prominently placed in wooden and glass cabinets. There are also several rare tin-types and daguerreotypes (some of the first permanent images in the world) for photography lovers to drool over. The print advertisements dating back to the 1870s are quite interesting. One such advertisement from Eastman Kodak in 1888 reads: ‘We press the button, you do the rest.’ Other advertisements include the earliest ads of Speed Graphic cameras.

NOV 05 - 11, 2018

Profession and passion Seeing the amazing collection, one is left wondering how Arya managed to get hold of so many prized possessions. He discloses, “After completing college, I used to sell photographs to finance my passion.”

Born on August 18, 1960, in New Delhi, Arya began working with photographer Kulwant Roy (whom he refers to as uncle), after finishing Class 11 in 1976. He informs, “My father gave me a 120mm Zeiss Ikon, which was very dear to him.

That was the beginning of my zeal for photography.”His obsession with photography began in 1977, soon after joining St Stephen’s College in New Delhi. Arya recalls, “The College had a professional photography society comprising two fully functional dark rooms complete with enlargers, papers and chemicals.

Photography was not just treated as an activity, but as an art form. All this helped develop our skills and at the same time widened our horizons.”

Arya began collecting cameras around then, with a dream to set up a museum some day.

By 1980, he had become a travel photographer. In 1991-92, he worked as photo-editor with Swagat, an in-house magazine of Indian Airlines. Doing still photography for Bollywood movies followed this.

These included Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, Chashme Buddoor and Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho. Arya has also done coffee table books and for the last more than three decades has been into advertising photography and shoots

Museum

09 07

The camera’s ability to transform a moment in time into an object has had mass-market appeal for hotels worldwide.

He expresses, “I do not regard photography as a ‘job’. For me, it is a way of life. I do commercial assignments to sustain my passion for the museum, which has not hindered my work as a professional.

In fact, it has rekindled my love for photography and made it even better. My commercial assignments and my museum have a symbiotic relationship.” The veteran photographer adds, “Photography is the only art form where art and craft are deeply connected; the art keeps changing as technology changes. Thus, it is very essential for the new generation of amateur and professional photographers to understand the evolution of photographic technology and process over the years.”

Educating lensmen For the knowledge of the new generation, Arya explains how photographic technology has developed at a rapid pace since its inception in 1840. “From the 19th century’s pinhole cameras and cumbersome daguerreotypes to today’s compact digital cameras; photography has become one of the most accessible democratic art mediums. The camera’s ability to transform a moment in time into an object has had mass-market appeal.

In the 1920s, the introduction of lightweight cameras, faster film stock and early flash photography, freed photographers from the constraints of the studio and inspired a new generation of photographers to hit the streets and capture the world around them.

“By 1901, inexpensive cameras like the Kodak brownie range made photography an accessible hobby for the general public. And in the 1990s, digital technology freed photography from film. Thereafter, personal computers equipped with photo editing software and colour printers made darkrooms redundant. Today, the mobile phone represents the pinnacle of photographic technology.

It has liberated the digital camera from the computer and provided the opportunity for users to share their photos easily through social media.

Today, to understand the nature and

10

Museum

NOV 05 - 11, 2018

practice of photography historically, it is essential to acquaint oneself with the history of the camera and its evolution over a period of time,” he suggests.

Surprise element It is astonishing to discover the speed with which Arya provides the plethora of information on photography. So, what surprises the visitors the most when they see the museum? “They don’t pre-empt the vastness of the collection when they arrive till I open the doors of my basement and have them step into the time machine – taking them on a virtual journey of the evolution of photography since its invention,” he says enthusiastically.

The museum, as per Arya, ended up in the basement because of lack of space and shortage of funds to find a bigger place exclusively for the museum. Hence, the crowdfunding model came to his mind. Presently, he has his office on the top floor and museum in the basement – leaving his residence, “sandwiched between the digital and analogue era!” The museum is a dust-free humiditycontrolled area, with humidifiers that are checked on a daily basis to ensure optimum humidity levels required for the place. That apart, there is a detailed catalogue of each camera with each machine also having a

unique code. This, in turn, helps the owner to keep track of where each camera came from, the year it belongs to, details of its lens and shutter, its serial number, etc. The cameras are cleaned periodically, including the ones in the cabinets as well as those displayed on the shelves outside.

Nostalgic feelings Does he have any special favourites, which tempt him to see if they actually work? Arya responds, “At least 75 per cent of the cameras are in working condition. Some even have used film still in them. They evoke nostalgic authenticity and simplicity, which is unparalleled. They allow me to experience a bit of history and are nothing short of historical treasures. My love for old cameras

Arya asserts that his collection remains as much an obsession today as it was four decades ago

is also because they are amazing examples of mechanical technology.

And interestingly, most of these were built long before the electronic flash, automation, electronic shutters or even light meters were introduced.”

While cameras rule the space all around, the white walls of the museum are adorned with numerous black and white photographs shot

by Kulwant Roy, who covered many political events from the 1930s to 1960s. Roy was a close family friend of the Aryas’. He died of cancer in a Delhi hospital in 1984.

As he was unmarried, Roy left all his life’s works, which contained several cartons of photographs and negatives with Arya, then a budding photographer.

The turnaround Arya informs, “Since I was involved in my own work and career, I did not find the time to open the cartons. Dragging the trunks containing the cartons and packets

around a succession of rented accommodation, several times I was persuaded by my family to at least take a look at them. And finally, when I did – in 2008, it changed my life!” Providing an insight into Roy’s life, Arya said that his uncle had set up a studio, Associated Press Photo, in Old Delhi’s Mori Gate.

As a press photographer, he got numerous opportunities to click the moments that are historical now.

The photographs are an evocative visual account of India’s freedom movement and the great leaders who made independent India a reality. The events are chronicled in Arya’s museum frame by frame.

The photographs include Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Liaquat Ali, Edwina and Lord Louis Mountbatten, Jacqueline Kennedy, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. These are a part of the overwhelming collection and Arya claims it was a mammoth task to go through the cartons full of packets neatly labelled – Gandhi, Nehru, INA Trials, Muslim League, Gandhi’s North-West Frontier Province visit, Jacqueline Kennedy’s 1962 India visit and the Indo-Chinese War. Arya focuses on a 1939 photograph of Gandhi in a heated argument with Jinnah.

It is considered one of the rare, as they were seldom photographed together, especially during the course of their disagreements. There are numerous photographs of the country’s freedom struggle and many other post-Independence milestones, including the signing of the Indian Constitution.

The collector has documented thousands of photographs and negatives left by Roy, including several hundred images that were never published from the last days of the British Raj. They not only required huge resources, but even a slight error of judgment could have destroyed the images, as restoration requires the use of chemicals and the products had already become quite fragile.

Coming back to cameras, Arya asserts that his collection remains as much an obsession today as it was four decades ago. He continues to visit junk dealers to buy cameras and vintage camera equipment. The research is ongoing.

Environment

NOV 05 - 11, 2018

11 07

Pollution free Diwali

CSIR Labs Develop ‘Green Cracker’ The new products emit 25% to 30% less particulate matter than the traditional crackers, said minister for science and technology Dr Harsh Vardhan n Sunderarajan Padmanabhan

W

ith Diwali celebrations receiving flak due to emission from firecrackers, Indian scientists have developed a set of green crackers that not only emit less smoke and polluting gases but will be easy on the pocket too.

Minister for Science and Technology Dr Harsh Vardhan announced development of a set of new firecrackers that promise to be less polluting without compromising on the sound or light effect.

The new crackers have been developed by scientists of two national labs - Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) based in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur.

The researchers at CECRI

have developed green crackers by modifying the chemical formulations for flower pots, ‘jil jil’ and so-called atom bombs. Crackers essentially comprise of alkali nitrates, aluminum powder of different grain sizes and in some cases a binder to enhance luminescence. Aluminum is used as a primary heat source and to produce the flash.

Researchers decided to replace

aluminum with magnesium on the understanding that it would reduce ignition temperature and subsequently minimise particulate matter coming from the cracker.

The trick worked. Field trials were conducted at Sivakasi, which is also in Tamil Nadu and which is a major firework manufacturing centres in the country and the new composition showed positive results.

The minister said the new products had reduced emission of particulate matter and toxic gases, had less smoke and was less noisy. The particulate matter mission was reduced by 25 to 30 per cent.

The researchers at NEERI have developed greener version of what are called ‘bijli’ crackers. Three prototypes have been developed and named SWAS (safe water releaser), SAFAL (safe minimum aluminum) and STAR (safe thermite cracker).

The particulate matter was reduced by 30-35 per cent in SWAS and 35 to 40 per cent in SAFAL and STAR. Dr Harsh Vardhan said greener crackers have been demonstrated to the manufacturers and their reaction has been positive. There was, however, a need for approval from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), which is the nodal agency for safety requirements in manufacture, storage, transport and use of all types of explosives and petroleum. The manufacturers will have to approach it. He said work on several other greener crackers including electronicbased ones are underway in six other CSIR laboratories.

WWF report

60% Wildlife Wiped Out

The biannual report mapped serious threats to pollinators like bees, soil ecology and wetlands which have direct repercussions on human food security and health

O

n Mike Mcrae

ver-exploitation of nature has wiped out about 60 per cent of the wildlife and 87 per cent wetlands since 1970, and ours is possibly the last generation of humans with a chance to act and reverse this trend, warns the WWF’s Living Planet Report-2018.

The biannual report mapped serious threats to pollinators like bees, soil ecology and wetlands which have direct repercussions on human food security and health.

The report also recorded a rise in ecological footprint or consumption of natural resources by 190 per cent in the past 50 years.

India was among the countries with the lowest footprints. However, it was among the worst when it came

to soil biodiversity.

The report held over-exploitation of nature, through agriculture and deforestation as major causes behind the findings. It also held invasive pollution, dams, fires, mining, and climate change as additional sources of pressure on nature.

“Globally, 40 to 33 per cent forest land was converted between 2000 and 2010,” the report stated.

“Average abundance of 16,704 populations representing 4,005 species monitored across the globe declined by 60 per cent between 1970 to 2014,” the report states, adding that the current rates of species extinction are 100 to 1,000 times higher than those before human pressure became a prominent factor.

The species monitored were vertebrate species, or animals with a backbone, with database containing information on over 22,000 population of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.

The abundance of pollinators,

which has over 20,000 species of bees including other insects and animals, has been threatened due to intensified agriculture, the report said.

“More than 75 per cent of leading global food crops depend on pollinators. Economically, pollination increases the global value of crop production by $237-$577 billion per year to growers alone and keeps price down for consumers.”

The report also warns of a sharp decline in wetlands, with WWF-India officials believing India to be one of the most affected.

“Globally, wetland extent is estimated to have declined by 87 per cent in the modern era... Index shows an 83 per cent decline in freshwater biodiversity since 1970, equivalent to 4 per cent every year,” the report said.

The population of the critically endangered “gharial” across its range in India and Nepal declined by approximately 58 per cent between 1997 and 2006, the report states.

“We are the first generation that

has a clear picture of the enormous impact we have on nature. We may also be the last that can act to reverse this trend, from now until 2020 will be decisive moment in history,” the report stated.

Soil biodiversity, where India looks in a bad position, was mapped for the first time to find potential threats.

“A risk was generated combining eight components including pollution, loss of above ground diversity, nutrients overloading, overgrazing, intensive agriculture, fire, soil erosion,” the report added.

It suggests that India’s ecological footprint is among the lowest at less than 1.75 global hectares per person.

“These are hard times...Nature globally provides services worth around $125 trillion a year... we need more research, efforts from government, business and financial sectors, researchers and conservation communities to revive the planet,” said Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India.

12

Off-beat Book

NOV 05 - 11, 2018 Sujatha Gidla

Dalit Voice Gets Heard With Sujatha Gidla’s Shakti Bhatt Win Sujatha Gidla’s book Ants Among Elephant is an account of growing up in an ‘untouchable’ family in modern India

Photographs Of Iconic Architectures Of Kolkata Unveiled The photographs beautifully encapsulate the known, the anonymous, the evident and the nooks and corners of the city

U

n SSB BUREAU

S-based Dalit writer Sujatha Gidla’s debut book, which takes readers through four generations of her family, at the centre of which is her uncle and People’s War Group co-founder K G Satyamurthy, has been named the winner of this year’s Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize.

The panel of judges, Sampurna Chattarji, Raghu Karnad and Githa Hariharan, chose “Ants Among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India” from a shortlist of six “because of its urgency, its revelations and its understated but seamless match of form with content”.

According to the judges, “It is a marvel how, with so little friction or strain, ‘Ants’ absorbs readers into

undramatised lives of poverty, patriarchy, and rebellion, and the encounter with subaltern Communism.

“But quite apart from the rarity and necessity of the subject - Dalit lives - the book is admirable for its clean skill and technical execution.

With no authorial flourishes, it

allows the story’s innate passion and gravitas to display themselves.”

The other shortlisted books were: “We That Are Young” (Preti Taneja), “Temporary People” (Deepak Unnikrishnan), “Remnants of a Separation” (Aanchal Malhotra), “The Sensational Life and Death of Qandeel Baloch” (Sanam Maher) and “How to Travel Light” (Shreevatsa Nevatia).

The Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize is funded by the Shakti Bhatt Foundation. It was set up in 2008 in memory of young writer Shakti. It carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh.

Last year, Sri Lankan author Anuk Arudpragasam won the prize for his debut novel “The Story of a Brief Marriage”, set in the backdrop of the civil war.

n Agency

A

coffee table book, “Kolkata Happening City”, with more than 2,700 photographs of iconic buildings and unique facts on its distinctive old-world architecture was launched.

The photographs beautifully encapsulate the known, the anonymous, the evident and the nooks and corners of the city showing all the architectural shifts that the eastern metropolis has witnessed over the decades Conceptuaised by Mudar Patherya and unveiled by the Belani group, the book is virtually an encyclopedia of the city’s magnificent architecture facade, recounting unknown facts about landmarks like the spectacular Victoria Memorial, the iconic Howrah Bridge, Raj Bhavan, Marble Palace, Nakhoda Masjid, St. Andrew’s Church, Calcutta High Court, Howrah Station along with Eden Garden, Presidency University as also the famous restaurants like, Mocambo.

The book was launched by the legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee in the presence of Bratya Basu, West Bengal’s Minister of Biotechnology Science and Technology.

IMR

Kerala: Highest Annual Decline In Infant Mortality Rate A report by the Union Health Ministry ranked Mizoram and Karnataka in the second and third place for the highest annual decline in IMR

K

n Agency

erala has been ranked as the top state to achieve highest annual decline in Infant Mortality Rate followed by Mizoram and Karnataka, according to the Health Ministry.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda inaugurated the 5th National Summit on “Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Care Systems in India” being held in Assam and also released a report ‘Healthy States, Progressive India’ which ranks states and UTs on improvements in common health meters.

While Himachal Pradesh stood first for the highest annual decline in Neonatal Mortality Rate 2015 vs 2016, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were

ranked second and third respectively.

West Bengal was declared the best state in Family Planning category while Chattisgarh and Rajasthan were ranked second and third respectively.

Himachal Pradesh again was ranked the best state for highest annual decline in Under 5 Mortality followed by both Assam and Jharkhand in second position and Gujarat and Kerala in third rank.

For best performance in Revised National TB Control Program

(RNTCP) Andhra Pradesh Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh were declared top states.

Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were ranked as best performance states in National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS).

Speaking at the event, Nadda said the government is focused on promoting innovative approaches.

“The govt believes in cooperative federalism. The Health Ministry stands with the states. While the ownership is that of the states, we are ready to lend all technical and financial support. The essence of co-operative federalism lies not in decentralization alone but also in sharing and learning from each other,” he stated.

State

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

13 07

UN award

BVFCL Namrup

BVFCL’s IV Plant To Be Set Up The decision to set up the fourth unit was taken last year and the Centre had earmarked Rs 6,000 crore for the project

4Tune Factory Gets UN Award For Empowering Women According to UNCTAD, the 4Tune Factory “worked toward activating and enabling women and girls by developing their skills” Agency

K Raj Kashyap

T

he Centre has given the green signal for setting up of the Namrup IV project at the Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Limited (BVFCL) site in eastern Assam.

The new unit will be set up on equity partnership between Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers, Oil India Limited (OIL), Assam government and BVFCL at a cost of Rs 6000 crores.

The demand for the fourth unit of BVFCL had been on since the past few years from several groups including the Namrup Fertilizer Shramik Union. The earlier units Namrup I, II and III - have outlived their lifespan and their production capacity had reduced in the past few years.

The government had earlier taken the decision to invest Rs 100 crores for the revamp of the earlier units.

Though there is an assured supply of 1.95 MMSCMD natural gas from OIL, the existing second and third units have been running at an average of 80 per cent of their installed capacity.

All these units will be shut down after the fourth plan is commissioned.

The decision to set up the fourth unit was taken last year and the Centre had earmarked Rs 6,000 crore

Established in 1966, BVFCL is the first unit in the country to use natural gas as a basic raw material for producing nitrogenous fertilizer

for the project. In 2015 a proposal was cleared for reviving BVFCL as a joint venture through PPP mode, with 48 per cent for the promoter and 52 per cent for open bidding through a request for quotation. Although two companies had shown initial interest, they finally did not submit their bids which compelled the government to take the PSU route.

Established in 1966, BVFCL is the first unit in the country to use natural gas as a basic raw material for producing nitrogenous fertilizer.

It was on the recommendation of a US firm M/S Snodgrass Associates that this plant was set up to utilise the natural gas in the region for production of chemical fertiliser and electricity.

Subsequently, the government appointed a committee headed

by SS Khera and based on its recommendation a technical committee was set up under the

chairmanship of G P Kane. The Central Water and Power Commission was entrusted to explore the scope of establishing a power plant to utilise the natural resources.

While the committee headed by Kane made a case for a fertiliser factory, the Central Water and Power Commission was of the opinion that a thermal power plant could be set up at a location close to the factory in Namrup.

The Namrup plants in 1986 became part of Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd (HFCL), and subsequently bifurcated to become Brahmaputra Valley Fertilizer Corporation Ltd in 2002.

It is the only fertilizer manufacturing plant in the eastern region of the country to produce urea for supply to farmers and tea gardens at a subsidized rate. Urea is also exported to foreign countries like Bangladesh and Nepal.

The annual report (2016-17) of BVFCL claims that there is further scope for diversification to produce chemicals and generation of power.

During the financial year, the company had earned a profit of Rs. 43.21 crores in comparison to previous year’s Rs. 64.62 crores. The decrease in profitability was attributed to the diversion of Rs. 93.71 crores to the subsidy account due to a decrease in natural gas price.

erala-based 4Tunes Factory has been given a special recogntion award by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for enabling women and girls to develop skills.

Chandra Vadhana, the CEO of the company, received the “Empretec Women in Business: Special Recognition Social Award” in Geneva at the World Investment Forum.

The award was presented by Alok Kumar, the founder of SRK Consulting Group.

According to UNCTAD, the award judges said 4Tunes Factory “worked toward activating and enabling women and girls by developing their skills”.

It said the Empretec awards are given to women-owned businesses that have benefited from the business from UNCTAD’s Empretec entrepreneurship programme.

It seeks to develop entrepreneurship and micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) with the aim of promoting sustainable development and inclusive growth.

The 4Tunes Factory, which is based in Kakkanad, near Ernakulam, says it designs and implements “innovative concepts in the areas of human talent maximisation involving technological solutions”.

14

International Personality

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Thomas Alva Edison

Man Who Illuminated The World He was one of the first inventors to mass produce his products and ensure that teamwork was employed on a large scale; for this reason, he is credited with transforming the state of research laboratories n Urooj Fatima

O

ne of the most famous and prolific inventors of all time, Thomas Alva Edison exerted a tremendous influence on modern life, contributing inventions such as the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, and the motion picture camera, as well as improving the telegraph and the telephone. A prolific inventor, Edison, in his 84 years, acquired more than a thousand patents for his inventions.

Thinking about Edison’s personality, it is possible to pay a specific attention to the fact that the inventor always used empirical methods, trying to use them to find the key answer to solving the problem, while he was keenly interested in the theory of the encountered phenomena. He had a great intuition and great “feel” where to look for a decision, what kinds of experiments should be conducted, and his enthusiasm and curiosity knew no bounds.

He also firmly believed that one should keep in mind not just one, but a number of problems awaiting solution, and was always ready to take advantage of a good idea to solve one or the other task. Despite this, he could create his inventions almost “to order”, if it was needed in an area with which he was familiar, or could learn by reading some special books. Edison had the ability to read quickly and to immediately draw from memory all the facts as necessary.

Quick Look…

• Surprisingly, Edison did not learn to talk until he was almost four years old.

• In 1954, at the age of seven, Edison attended school for a short period of 12 weeks.

• Edison was fond of Shakespeare’s plays and wanted to be an actor.

• Edison enjoyed reading and reciting poetry. His life-long favorite was Thomas Gray’s “Elegy In A Country Churchyard.” Here is a line that he chanted endlessly: “The boast of heraldry of pomp and power, All that beauty all that wealth ere gave, Alike await the inevitable hour. The path to glory leads but to the grave.”

• Thomas Edison was nearly deaf as an adult as he became affected with scarlet fever and ear infections in the early years of his life.

• Edison had a chance to improve his hearing by way of an operation; however, he refused to take the option. He said “it allowed him to work with less distraction and to sleep deeply, undisturbed by outside sounds.”

• Edison had two US naval vessels named after him. It is a very rare distinction for someone who is not a major politician.

• Edison also worked for The Associated Press for some time.

• In 1876, he set up his first lab in Menlo Park, California. This was the world’s first industrial research laboratory.

• Edison coined the term ‘bug’, as in “a flaw in the design or operation of a technical system”

Although he had no formal scientific education, he deeply studied electrical engineering, mechanics and chemistry.

Thomas Alva Edison was born to Sam and Nancy on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. Edison was an inquisitive child but a poor student as his mind often wandered. The youngest

of 7 siblings, “Al” as he was called in his youth, was deemed “addled” by his school teacher.

When she found out, Edison’s mother was angry and pulled him out of school after only three months of formal education. She home schooled him instead. Edison later recounted “My

mother was the making of me. She was so true, so sure of me, and I felt I had some one to live for, some one I must not disappoint.”

Edison had an ecology of relationships that defined his work and life. Long before anyone used the term emotional intelligence, he had the ability to form

Nov 05 - 11, 2018 strong connections with men who could help him as assistants, colleagues, or mentors. A beguiling storyteller, he had warmth and something we would now call charisma—a quality that drew men to him with intense loyalty.

No one better embodied the American enthusiasm for inventiveness and entrepreneurship than Edison. The iconic incandescent light bulb is still a staple of children’s books and social studies curricula, even as that hot globe of glass becomes a museum piece. The phonograph was the first device for recording and playing back sound.

Coming like the proverbial bolt from the blue, it launched Edison into worldwide fame as the “Wizard of Menlo Park.”

It was a stream of ideas, more than anything else, that defined Edison’s restless days and filled his pages.

He thought with his fingers in the act of drawing and writing. He had “innumerable machines in my mind,” as he put it, and he poured them onto paper.

Go for quantity For starters, Edison believed that to discover a good idea you had to generate many ideas. Out of quantity comes quality. He set idea quotas for all his workers. His own quota was one minor invention every 10 days and a major invention every six months. It took over 50,000 experiments to invent the alkaline storage cell battery and 9000 to perfect the lightbulb. Edison looked at creativity as simply good, honest, hard work. Genius, he once said, is 99%

International Personality

“When I have fully decided that a result is worth getting I go ahead of it and make trial after trial until it comes” perspiration and 1% inspiration. talent no, genius is hard work “Genius is hard work, stick-to-itiveness, and common sense.” — Thomas Edison Edison claimed that he was not born particularly talented. He was a firm believer in hard work and perseverance.

It was character traits and good habits that made him successful, not some sort of genius gene.

What if you just aren’t as creative as him? Edison also claimed that “invention is two per cent inspiration and 98 per cent perspiration.” Those who knew him claimed he had zero tolerance for lazy people. Never write yourself off because you aren’t as smart or creative as the great successes around you. All you need to be great is hard work.

Stay in touch with customers We all know Thomas Edison as America’s great inventor, but some don’t know that he was also a marketing guru. In 1869, Edison invented an electronic vote counter with the ability to greatly reduce the hassle and time it took to vote. To his astonishment, the counter turned out to be a huge flop.

Why? Because legislatures didn’t want

efficient voting. They wanted time for deliberation and lobbying. From that early failure, Edison realized that his inventions must fix his customer’s real problems, not the problems that he assumed they would have. He forced himself to refrain for inventing anything purely for the sake of inventing it “Anything that won’t sell, I don’t want to invent. Its sale is proof of utility, and utility is success“. — Thomas Edison Don’t be afraid of naps Thomas Edison boasted that he slept for only a few hours each night and could work for three days straight. However, his dirty secret lied in an unusual ability to take power naps. Edison was famous for napping anywhere and everywhere.

He sometimes napped for up to three hours, multiple times a day! One of his assistants insisted that his “genius for sleep equalled his genius for invention.”

This ability to power nap allowed him the flexibility to get into the zone and work for incredibly long periods of time. He could charge up on sleep whenever it was convenient or whenever he needed a creative boost.

“The best thinking has been done in solitude.” — Thomas Edison

15 07

To-do list When tackling the subject of notetaking and the course of its history, there may be no figure more prominent or influential than Thomas Edison.

By writing your ideas and thoughts down on paper, you free your cognitive resources to stay focused on the task at hand. To date, five million pages of Edison’s notes have been found and preserved. He used notes for many different purposes. He kept organized files so that he would never have to do the same research twice. He also kept to-do lists and reminders to keep him on task. He also had messy notes filled with mixed up inventions, attempts at poetry and calligraphy, and the occasional new idea. It seems as if he almost used paper as a medium for better expressing the workings of his brain and finding new ways to synthesize ideas.

Don’t work alone One of Edison’s greatest inventions was the method he used to invent. He designed a dream laboratory and filled it with talented men, giving them the freedom to explore their own ideas.

He built his space with huge open rooms where people could talk and work. There were no set hours, but all the men worked long and hard and seemed to enjoy it. It was, in a sense, the first research and development lab.

Apple and Google both model their headquarters after Edison’s famous wizards park.

Do what you enjoy “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.” — Thomas Edison Edison set high expectations for himself. His friends and family accused him of being a workaholic, and for good reason. However, he didn’t see it that way. He genuinely loved inventing.

In fact, he claimed that he really didn’t work at all. He enjoyed everything that he did. So if you want to be successful, find something you are passionate about and pursue it with every ounce of strength in your being.

The Final Breath In the room where Edison died, his son Charles noticed many test tubes.

“Though he is mainly remembered for his work in electrical fields, his real love was chemistry. It is not strange, but symbolic, that those test tubes were close to him at the end,” Charles said in a letter, “Immediately after his passing I asked Dr Hubert S. Howe, his attending physician, to seal them with paraffin. He did. Later I gave one of them to Mr Henry Ford.”

The test tube stands as a last gift of friendship, memory, and inspiration from one inventor to another.

16

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Syed Muzammiluddin

That man has reached immortality who is disturbed by nothing material

VIEWPOINT

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

A Revolutionary Journalist

Swami Vivekananda

Guru is Essential

Why is it that the Guru is given so much importance in the spiritual path?

A

mma (Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi): Come on, tell Amma, is there any path or work that you can learn without the help of a teacher or guide? If you want to learn how to drive, you need to be taught by an experienced driver. A child needs to be taught how to tie his shoelaces. And how can you learn mathematics without a teacher? Even a pickpocket needs a teacher to teach him the art of stealing. If teachers are indispensable in ordinary life, wouldn’t there be even more need of a teacher on the spiritual path, which is so extremely subtle?

If you want to go to a distant place, you may want to buy a map. But no matter how well you study the map, if you are heading towards a totally strange land, an unknown place, you won’t know anything about that place until you actually arrive. Nor will the map tell you much about the journey itself, about the ups and downs of the road and the possible dangers on the way. It is therefore better to receive guidance from someone who has completed the journey, someone who knows the way from his or her own experience. What do you know about the spiritual path? It is a totally unknown world and path. You may have collected some information from books or people, but when it comes to actually doing it--the experience part of it--a sadguru’s direction is absolutely necessary.

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

He is a long time online content writer and a dedicated Wikipedian

He assumed the pen name “Azad’ as a mark of his mental liberation from the narrow perspectives of religion and life

“I

f an angel were to descend from the clouds today, settle on the Qutub Minar of Delhi and proclaim from there that India will attain Swaraj provided Hindu-Muslim Unity is renounced, then I would renounce Swaraj and not sacrifice HinduMuslim Unity, because if Swaraj is delayed, it is the loss to India, but if Hindu-Muslim Unity is lost, it is the loss to humanity.”

These were the words of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad at the Presidential Address of the Congress Session in 1923. The analogy and juxtaposition of Swaraj and inter-communal harmony that Maulana Azad emphasized then is equally pertinent today.

Maulana Azad, as it can be inferred from his above quoted statement, was a strong campaigner of peace and a vociferous freedom fighter. He used the power of his writings and public orations to create a national awakening among the masses. We shall briefly examine some of his prominent journalistic contributions which served as milestones in the Indian freedom struggle.

Born on November 11, 1888 in a deeply orthodox Muslim family, Maulana Azad had his initial formal education in Arabic, Persian and Urdu with theological orientation. He also learnt English on his own. But Maulana Azad had a natural inclination for writing and this resulted in the miraculous start of the monthly “Nairang-e-Alam” in 1899 at Calcutta when he was hardly eleven years old. The periodical carried the poetical collection of the contemporary poets. This was followed by the launch of the weekly “Al-Misbah” in 1900 which carried articles on contemporary issues.

But the genesis of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s revolutionary journalism was in 1908.

This was the time when he undertook an

extensive visit of Egypt, Turkey, Syria and France. In Egypt, Maulana Azad came into contact with the followers of Mustafa Kemal Pasha who were publishing a weekly from Cairo.

In Turkey, Maulana Azad met the leaders of the Young Turks Movement. The contacts between Maulana Azad and the leaders of Movement were further cemented by the exchange of letters between them which continued years after his return to India. Maulana Azad also interacted with the Iranian revolutionaries and famous French Orientalist Louis Massignon in Iraq. These contacts reaffirmed Maulana Azad’s belief that Muslims in India should join their fellow countrymen against the British in the Freedom Struggle. He was of the view that the Freedom Movement against the British is the combined responsibility of all communities and hence it should be carried unitedly. With these thoughts in his mind, Maulana Azad started the “Al-Hilal” Press and a weekly by the same name.

The “Al-Hilal” weekly was a landmark in the history of the press in India. Its circulation figures rose to 26,000 copies. Further, even back issues of this weekly had to be republished as every new subscriber wanted to hold all copies of “Al-Hilal”. The message of patriotism and nationalism coupled with religious fervor inherent in the weekly gained wide acceptance among the masses.

But these developments disturbed the British Government. In 1914, a security of two thousand rupees was imposed on “Al-Hilal” under the Press Act. When Maulana Azad deposited this amount, it was confiscated and a further security of rupees ten thousand was imposed. When these punitive measures failed to tone down the anti-establishment stance of the periodical, the government banned “Al-Hilal” and confiscated its press in 1915.

Maulana Azad was not discouraged by this move.

Azad became active in journalism in his teens. In 1912, he began publishing a weekly Urdu-language newspaper, called Al-Hilal

Nov 05 - 11, 2018 1915, barely five months after the ban on “AlHilal”, Maulana Azad started the publication of the “Al-Balagh” weekly. It was similar in its content to “Al-Hilal”. The British realized that the provisions of the Press Act are not enough to counter the onslaught of Maulana Azad’s writings. Hence the Maulana Azad was asked to leave Calcutta after the Defence of India Provisions were invoked against him in 1916.

Punjab, U.P., Delhi and Bombay also prohibited his entry under the same law. Bihar was the only state in which he could move without any hindrance. But the moment he reached Ranchi he was kept under house arrest. This detention continued till December 31, 1919. He was released on January 1, 1920.

In 1921 Maulana Azad started a weekly named “Paigham”. But it was banned in December 1921 and he arrested. Maulana Azad’s detention continued till January 1, 1921.

In 1927, Maulana Azad restarted the publication of “Al-Hilal” and this weekly continued to be published till the end of the year.

Apart from these publications, Maulana Azad was in the forefront in all the major movements for the independence like the Khilafat Movement (1919-23), the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) the Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-32) and the Quit India Movement (1942). He was a strong advocate of undivided India and had the foresight to predict that the Urdu-speaking Muslims of India leaving for either East or West Pakistan will be marginalized by the local population. This has come true today when one looks at the plight of the “Mohajirs” in Pakistan and “Biharis” in Bangladesh.

After India became independent in 1947, Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru inducted Maulana Azad as Education Minister in his Cabinet. Under Maulana Azad’s tenure, a number of measures were undertaken to promote primary and secondary education, scientific education, establishment of universities and promotion of avenues of research and higher studies.

On February 22, 1958 Maulana Abul Kalam Azad passed away. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru described Maulana Azad as “a great man ‘ a man of luminaries, intelligence and intellect with an amazing capacity to pierce through a problem to its cause. The word “luminous” is perhaps the best word I can use about his mind. When we miss and when we part with such a companion, friend, colleague, comrade, leader and teacher, there is inevitably a tremendous void created in our life and activity.”

The Government of India celebrates the Birth Anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad on November 11 every year as Education Day. Maulana Azad National Urdu University was established at Hyderabad by an Act of Parliament in 1998 for the promotion of Higher Education with Urdu as the medium of instruction. These steps can be described as fitting tributes by the nation to a person who had unchallenged credentials as a freedom fighter, revolutionary journalist, social reformer, champion of communal harmony and an unparalleled Education Minister.

OpEd

17

Wall Of Unity Narendra Modi

Prime Minister

Opinion

I dedicated the world’s tallest statue, the ‘Statue of Unity’, to the nation

T

oday marks a special moment in the history of India. With the Statue of Unity, India has given itself today, a towering inspiration for the future.

The Statue will continue to remind future generations of the courage, capability and resolve of Sardar Patel. The integration of India by Sardar Patel, has resulted today in India’s march towards becoming a big economic and strategic power.

‘‘Run For Unity’’

On the occasion of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary, India is celebrating National Unity Day. On this occasion, in every corner of our country, our youths are running. I welcome and respect all the participants, who took part in the ‘Run for Unity’.

united India and it is because of him that we are interacting with the world on our own terms.

“Sardar Patel unified India”

made

straight rail line from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

‘’Ek Bharat, a (Best) Bharat’’

Shreshtha

This statue is meant to remind

‘‘Fortunate to unveil the All credit to Sardar Patel for those who question the existence statue’’ making a unified India…It was of India, that the nation was I dreamt of building a statue of the respected man of our country, when I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat but never thought that one day, as the Prime Minister of our country, I will get this golden opportunity to unveil the statue

‘‘Thankful to the people of Gujarat’’

I am thankful to the people of Gujarat for giving me the greetings for unveiling the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. For me, this is not a greetings letter or a letter of respect, however, the land, where I grew up, where my values got nurtured, and the way when a mother puts her hand on her son’s shoulder, that very moment, the energy, the happiness level automatically increases within the son’.

Sardar Patel had the wisdom of Kautilya and bravery of Shivaji Maharaj that helped to achieve a united India after partition.

He showed us the way towards a

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel because of whom we are living in a united India. It was his efforts following the Independence that led to the formation of India the way it is today. India was divided into more than 550 princely states during the time when Sardar Patel took office.

People thought that India will not stand united. But, Sardar Patel came as a ray of hope and proved everyone wrong.

eternal. This height of the statue and its strength is to remind the youth that the future of India is in your hands. The power and mantra to fulfill these aspirations are just one and only one - ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha (Best) Bharat’.

Statue of Unity is a symbol of our engineering and technological capabilities.

“Statue of Unity Beneficial for the tribal population”

“Sardar Patel resolved the This monument of Sardar Patel is problem of Visas across a symbol of respect for millions of Indian states” Indians, our power, and it is also an I appreciate the Iron man of India for solving the problem of visas…

From Kutch to Kohima, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, if we are able to travel around the country without any hindrance, then it is only because of Sardar Patel. If he had not taken this initiative, then we would have needed a visa to see Gir Lions in Gujarat and Charminar in Hyderabad. If it wasn’t for Sardar Patel, there would be no

important place for the country’s economy and employment generation. Thousands of tribals are going to get direct employment every year with this statue.

The Statue of Unity as a symbol of the self-respect of the farmers who gave soil from their land, and iron from their farming implements for the Statue. I congratulated everyone associated with the construction of this Statue.

18

Photo Feature

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Landscape Photographer Of The Year Celebrating the beauty and diversity of the British landscape Courtesy : BBC

Mountain biker in action at Land’s end, Cornwall,

by Josef Fitz Gerald-Patrick

Milky Way meets St Michael’s Mount, Cornwall, by Mario D’Onofrio

Fog at Beachy Head Lighthouse, East Sussex, by Rachel Talibart

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Photo Feature

19 07

Ice spikes, Glencoe, by Pete Rowbottom Blizzard in the High Peak, Derbyshire, by John Finney

Fisherman on rocks in strong westerly winds, Porth Nanven, Cornwall, by Mick Blakey Windswept trees in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire, by Brain Kerr

Cairngorms in the Highlands, Ireland, by Rod Ireland

Picture of House, Bristol, by Alex Wolfe-Warman

Prospect of Snow influenced by Nordic noir cinema, Norfolk, by Andrew Midgley

20

Overcoming Disability

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Unique Mumbai Cafe Helps Staffers Overcome Dr Sushama Nagarkar Disabilities Founder thinks specially-abled people Cafe Arpan

have great potential but lack opportunities

Quaid Najmi

I

t was barely three months ago that a US-returned medico started a small cafe in upscale Juhu as a unique venture – employing mostly those who suffer from various developmental disabilities. Now, Cafe Arpan has gained huge popularity – among patrons, many of whom have become regulars, and among the 19 specially-abled staffers who love to slog 30 hours over six days a week to make this trendsetter eatery a super success.

“It was like a dream and in planning for nearly a year, but only after getting a proper place and crowdfunding that we finally opened the doors on August 2. I have 19 staffers, mostly fulltimers, including my elder daughter, all suffering from some or the other form of developmental disability,” the founder-owner, Dr Sushama Nagarkar, told. A psychologist and single mother of two daughters – Aarti (32), who suffers from autism, and Divya (30), settled abroad – Nagarkar wanted “to do something different, and empower people suffering from developmental disabilities”.

Some of the 19 staffers work six days a week to make the trendsetting Cafe Arpan a success Initially, she started with a tiffin service, around one-and-half years ago, which proved to be a hit and had over a dozen staffers with afflictions like autism and Down Syndrome, as also under-developmental and intellectual disabilities, all of which are incurable but impact normal life among all age groups.

Situated opposite the SNDT Women’s University Juhu Campus in Santa Cruz West, Cafe Arpan is specially designed for them.

“With a limited yet distinctive menu, there is ample space for the staffers to move around conveniently and everything functions on electricity for their safety. They can comfortably work around five hours a day and take home salaries comparable with industry standards,” Nagarkar told.

In the age group of 23-50, most are barely literate, but they have learnt to handle everything “with complete

dedication and focus”, said Nagarkar, who opened the eatery under the auspices of Yash Charitable Trust (YCT) of which she is Managing Trustee, and which carries out multifaceted social activities.

“I returned to India after 15 years in the US and started the YCT in 2014 to bring people with developmental disabilities into the social and national mainstream, and make them responsible and contributing citizens,” she smiled.

Nagarkar feels these specially-abled people have great potential but severely lack opportunities -- and that the Cafe Arpan and the tiffin services have started to contribute in a small way, helping them become independent and capable of supporting themselves and even their families.

Initially, there was a communication gap between the staff and patrons, but the latter proved very understanding

and now the going is smooth, with customers appreciating the initiative.

Open for 12 hours from 8 a.m., Cafe Arpna offers a simple but speciallydesigned menu of barely 30 items like burgers, pizzas, hot/cold beverages and the like, which the speciallyabled staffers can themselves handle without complications or calamities.

“During a visit for a snack, I was surprised when one of the staffers took my order, unusually quiet, but apparently efficient, and then served it gracefully. Later, I realised that all the staffers here are specially-abled and the experience was amazing,” said an awed customer, Mini P. Menon.

She feels the venture would help commoners view people with developmental disabilities in a new light and open up new avenues for them to become valued members of the community.

Cafe Arpan’s hand-picked special team includes: Nazneen Kagalwala, Sudha Chhabria, Pratibha Kamath, Ashritha Shetty, Nandini Rajwade, Abuli Mamaji, Aaron Colaco, Samvit Desai, Chetan Jawale, Nikhil Sharma, Shefali Gundecha, Saurabh Kambli, Shonali Menon, Bunny Aman, Ram Bhiwandikar, Raees Shaikh, Anand Jangir, Gaurav Vanvari and Aarti Nagarkar. She urged people and the society to come together and create more such gainful opportunities that can enable people with developmental disabilities become self-sufficient and lead a dignified life.

On her part, Nagarkar said that all the staffers here have come through word-of-mouth publicity and the demand of the specially-abled jobseekers is increasing.

“I briefly considered a similar venture in the US where I could have got ample state funding. However, I decided on the option here as the need is more in India, though I had to start from scratch. But we are satisfied with the results and may consider expansion plans soon,” Nagarkar concluded.

Railways

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

21 07

Train-18

Country’s 1st Engine-Less Train Rolled Out

The 16-coach, Indian-made trainset was completed in Chennai in a record 18 months

n SSb bureau

I

ndia’s first engineless, selfpropelled train, the Train-18 trainset, makes its debut on the tracks. Engineless trains till now ran in big cities as part of the Metro network, but Train-18 will be the first semi-high speed train to offer a comfortable inter-city ride. The swanky 16-coach prototype will travel at 160

kmph and is expected to cut travel time by 15 per cent compared to the Shatabdi Express trains, which it will eventually replace. The “Make in India” train has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai at the cost of Rs. 100 crore.

The gleaming, blue-nosed train standing at Chennai’s Integral Coach Factory (ICF) has a cone-shaped

frontage, similar to a bullet train. The new train comes fitted with amenities on a par with the best in the world — from on-board Wi-Fi to GPS-based passenger information system, ‘touchfree’ bio-vacuum toilets, LED lighting, mobile charging points, and a climate control system that would adjust the temperature according to occupancy and the weather. A trainset is a set of coaches coupled mechanically and electrically with driving cabins at both ends and distributed traction power across the train. Dubbed as next-generation train,

it is capable of running at speeds of up to 160 kmph.

Another advantage of this train as against a locomotive-hauled train is that there are no engine reversal requirements. Train sets also allow for quick acceleration and deceleration, hence reducing the travel time.

The first trainset has a few imported components, such as French-made seats, brakes and couplers from Germany, along with a Czech-made door system, but all that will be indigenised for the next rake.

first-of-its-kind

Leh-Manali Train To Have Pressurised Cabins The Leh-Manali line is the highest railway track in the world, and the trains that run on it need to be special n SSb bureau

T

he Railways plans to use aircraft-like pressurised coaches in its trains for the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line along the India-China border, which will be the world’s highest rail track, so that passengers do not have breathing difficulties on board.

Aircraft cabins are pressurised because the air is very thin at the altitude planes fly. To prevent complications, the cabins of many aircraft are adjusted to near sea-level pressure, which makes breathing almost the same as at sea level.

At a height of 5,360 metres above the sea level, the 465-km strategically significant line to be built at a cost of Rs 833.6 billion, will see railways’ first pressurised coaches which are currently used only in the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Line in China.

“Special pressurised rolling stock to deal with lack of oxygen will have to be used in these trains as passengers might feel uneasy because of the high altitude. These will be like the pressurised cabins used by aircraft to maintain the oxygen

levels inside,” said Chief Engineer (Construction), Northern Railway, D R Gupta.

The Chinese coaches, manufactured

by Canada’s Bombardier Inc, which also makes small planes, are specially designed to carry passengers in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere.

In order to do this, the train cars have to be pressurised, to ensure that all of the passengers do not finish their journey with severe cases of altitude sickness. Gupta explained that in the Tibet train, two kinds of systems are used to maintain oxygen levels - one is through the main controls which maintain standard oxygen levels and gets switched on at high altitude areas and the other is through oxygen ports equipped for each passenger to use when they feel that they lack oxygen.

It is, however, not clear if these coaches will be produced in India or they will be procured from outside. The Integrated Coach Factory which is

in expansion mode is already pepping up to produce both metro coaches as well as coaches for the AhmedabadMumbai bullet train and could be roped in to make coaches for the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line as well, an official said.

The line, once completed, will connect important locations between Bilaspur and Leh like Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Keylong, Koksar, Darcha, Upshi and Karu and other important towns of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir en route. The project will include 74 tunnels, 124 major bridges and 396 minor bridges, according to the first phase of the survey. Final location survey for the project is currently underway.

22

Culture

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Indian Culture

Rajasthani Musicians Epitomise India’s Syncretic Culture The music of the Manganiyaars blends the traditions of Hindustani and Sufi music

Archana Sharma

T

hey are Muslims, yet they sing Krishna “bhajans” (hymns) from Hindu lore.

They have adopted a hybrid culture that is a mix of both religions and lifestyles. Many of their names too blend two religions, like Shankar Khan and Krishna Khan.

They are the Manganiyaars, who hails from western Rajasthan, where a thriving legacy of secular music has touched the hearts of music corn lovers not just in India but in many of India -- what is called the GangaThe Manganiyaars story is countries across the world where Jamuna culture -- as many Muslims incomplete without mentioning they have played. But they remain a residing here, since their birth, Langas, their musical cousins. Langa struggling lot at home. have adopted the lifestyle and dress means “song giver” and includes According to Manjoor Khan, a of Hindus because of centuries of poets, singers, and musicians from grandly-turbaned Manganiyaar folk cultural osmosis between the two Barmer. They too had expertise in singer, their art has flourished under religions.

Sufi singing and hence their patrons, the Rajputs. “Hindu Rajputs have Manganiyaars’ music blends unlike the Manganiyaars, were kept our legacies live; they have the traditions of Hindustani and Muslims. They too performed at protected us and kept our art living Sufi music. Many generations were events such as births and weddings, and thriving. For years, we have been connected to both Muslim and Hindu exclusively for their patrons. singing for them,” Khan told. families to earn their livelihood While the Hindu patrons of the “Since centuries, our ancestors where they sang and composed music Manganiyaars belonged to Bhati and brought in a musical tradition, soaking for their “jajmaans” (patrons).

Rathore clans of Rajputs, the Muslim the rhythmic waves emanating and emerging from Persia and Punjab.

Western Rajasthan symbolises the cultural pluralism of Over the years, our music earned fame as our melodies transcended India as many Muslims, since their birth, have adopted the boundaries to win the hearts of lifestyle and dress of Hindus due to centuries of people across the world,” he added. cultural osmosis between the religions Western Rajasthan truly symbolises the cultural pluralism

patrons of the Langas were Sindhi Muslims.

The Manganiyar performers traditionally invoke the Hindu god Krishna and seek his blessings before beginning their recital while the Langas sing Sufi songs.

Now, as their royal patrons exist no more, the Manganiyaars and Langas face tough times. Many of them still thrive on the mercy of their patrons’ places who are limited in numbers now.

While their community earns fame in the global arena, the Manganiyaars battle for their existence on home turf.

Bhungar Khan Manganiyaar, who now performs in countries like Australia, UK, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Russia, complains that this age-old legacy lacks the required

Language

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

23 07

Hindi language

India Asks UN For Visitor Tours In Hindi Language The UN offers tours in its six languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish

support from the government in India and the new age generation is losing interest in this music.

There still exists a few artists, such as his stage partner Asin Langa, who teaches the rhythms of the music to kids at his home. “We need proper schools and trained teachers who can help build next-generation artists, but this seems like a distant dream,” Khan says.

Asin Langa also shares the pain. “I run a small school at my home where I teach 15 kids. In 2011, we received funds from Delhi Academy for a year which was like Rs 2,500 per kid and Rs 7,500 per teacher. That fund was received in my father’s name.

However, we are still awaiting more funds. Now, as my father is no more, I have inherited the task of teaching kids, but, at times, I too feel the financial crunch,” Langa told.

The duo believes that this legacy is going on due to the efforts of people like them.

Manjoor Khan also runs a school with 40 kids in Barmer which receives financial support from Mumbai-based firm JSW. “We have been receiving a helping hand from private firms, but government extends no aid to us,” he complained.

Earlier, their music was limited to the borders of western Rajasthan, but now even Bollywood seems quite influenced with their magic. Recently, two children of these communities made it to Bollywood chartbusters.

Sarvar Khan, 12, and Sartaaj Khan, 11, lent their voice to ‘Bapu sehat ke liye tu to hanikarak hai’ in Aamir Khan’s film “Dangal”. Earlier, in 2014, Swaroop Khan Manganiyar also won millions of hearts by singing ‘Tharki chokro’ in the film “PK”.

The credit for getting their music some national and international

attention goes to Komal Kothari, who brought the traditional musicians before a larger, even global, audience.

Previously, they preferred surviving on the patronage of wealthy merchants in caravan towns. As their patrons’ fortunes waned, so did theirs, before Kothari came along.

Also known as Komalda, he was the first to record the Manganiyars for a radio programme. Awarded Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan for his exceptional work in the field of music, he was an Indian folklorist and ethnomusicologist from Jodhpur.

In 1960, he met Antar Khan, a Manganiyar, on the street, and soon he took him to his office. As he was preparing his vintage tape recorder to record him, he saw him disappear.

When chased and caught, the poor man said that he feared his voice might be swallowed by a recording machine if he sang in front of it.

Kothari started making quick trips to Jaisalmer, in Manganiyar country, to talk to them on earning a new livelihood.

In 1962, the first recording of Langa music took place. In 1963, a Manganiyar troupe performed in Delhi, for the first time on stage. But Kothari wanted to showcase them to the world.

In 1967, he travelled to Sweden with Langa troupe for their maiden performance outside India. Soon the Indian Council of Cultural Research (ICCR) got into the act. By the time India staged the popular Festivals of India all over the world in the mideighties, Manganiyars and Langas had become the darlings of international audiences.

Today, Rajasthan’s tourism industry is driven quite substantially by these charismatic performers. But they fear that without institutionalised support, their tradition may just die out.

I

Arul Louis

n its push to promote Hindi at the world body, India has reiterated its request to the UN to conduct tours for visitors to the headquarters in that language. Saying that the tour is popular with Indians visiting New York, Deepak Misra, a minister in the Indian Mission, made the request while speaking at a meeting on information issues held by the General Assembly committee dealing with special political matters.

“The guided tour has been very popular with Indian tourists to New York and, as highlighted by our delegations last year, we urge the addition of guided tour in Hindi, India’s official language, to facilitate the tourists,” he said.

The UN now offers tours in its six official languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish - as well as in German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese.

The tours run between 45 minutes and an hour and cost $22 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.

Besides viewing the Security Council and General Assembly Chambers and visiting exhibits, the visitors get an overview from the tour guides of issues important to the UN like disarmament, peace and

security, human rights and sustainable development.

Stressing the case for Hindi, Misra said: “Genuine multilingualism promotes unity in diversity and international understanding by recognising the importance of communicating to the peoples of the world in their languages by bringing the common goals and ideals closer to the people.”

Misra also asked the UN to publish its peacekeeping website in “the main languages” of the troop contributing countries.

He acknowledged that the UN was facing a financial crunch that affected its ability to expand its activities.

Therefore, he said, the Department of Public Information has to look at innovative ways to raise resources through initiatives like raising voluntary contributions to expand its global outreach activities in the widely-spoken non-official languages.

The UN began to incorporate Hindi in its social media outreach by launching a Twitter feed in the language in July.

The advertisement said that besides monitoring media, the officer’s responsibilities would include production of news stories and multimedia feature materials on UN activities.

24

excerpts from the book: “NARENDRA DAMODARdas MODI: the making of a legend”

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

United Arab Emirates

The trip (Prime Minister Modi’s visit to UAE) is seen an important step in burgeoning trade relations between India and the UAE, and the decision to allocate land for a temple in Abu Dhabi underpins the strategic vision of the two nations

The Prime Minister’s visit is of strategic significance in our bilateral relations and follows on the heels of growing diplomatic, economic, energy and defence cooperation between our two countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE, HH Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, at Za’abeel Palace, Dubai, on August 17, 2015

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foreign Minister, UAE

O

n August 16 and 17, 2015, Modi undertook a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to a Gulf nation in 34 years. Modi held talks with the top UAE leadership that included a meeting with Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and the ruler of Dubai and UAE. He also had a meeting with Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and addressed the Indian Diaspora at the Dubai Cricket Ground, where he spoke in Malayalam, sending the crowd into raptures.

In a rousing speech to Indian expatriates, he said the United Arab Emirates had committed to invest 75 billion dollars in India through the establishment of a UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund, which would be used to build

PM Modi in an automatic car during his visit to Masdar city, UAE.

railways, ports, roads, airports and industrial corridors.

Modi also praised the UAE Government for agreeing to allot land for a Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, describing it as “a great step”. He also visited the Sheikh

Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, where he clicked a selfie with UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

Both countries also agreed

Indian expatriate community in the UAE await PM Modi at the Dubai Cricket Stadium.

to further strengthen defence cooperation through regular exercises and training, and manufacturing defence equipment in India.

The joint statement released during the visit also undertook a commitment to increase cooperation in counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing, as also Modi stating it was time for global powers to unite to tackle this menace.

The UAE also committed to support India’s bid for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and agreed as India’s second largest trading partner in the Gulf region, to boost trade by 60 per cent over the next five years. Trade between India and the UAE reached 60 billion dollars last year. The UAE also said it would help India develop strategic petroleum reserves in addition to its upstream and downstream petroleum sectors.

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

excerpts from the book: “NARENDRA DAMODARdas MODI: the making of a legend”

25

UK

I am pleased to welcome Prime Minister Modi here. He comes with an enormous mandate from the people of India who made him Prime Minister with a record and historic majority.

I see this is as a modern, dynamic partnership. … One of the most successful car manufacturers in Britain is a combination of Indian capital and British design and manufacturing expertise—Jaguar Land Rover.

David Cameron Former PRIME MINISTER OF UNITED KINGDOM

Former Prime Minister David Cameron and PM Modi at the UK-India CEO Forum at 10 Downing Street, London, on November 13, 2015.

We have the comfort of familiarity and the experience of a long partnership. Britain’s resurgence is impressive.

Its influence on the future of the global economy remains strong.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ADDRESS TO THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT

P

outlined a roadmap for deepening co-operation. They resolved to hold biennial PM-level summits to advance the partnership. They also resolved to agree on a new Defence and International Security Partnership to intensify cooperation on defence and security, including cyber security, counter-terrorism and maritime security.

During the visit, both India and the UK agreed to endorse a joint statement on energy and climate change. They also agreed to scale up bilateral cooperation to a global partnership for development through a “Statement of Intent on Partnership for Cooperation in Third Countries” and providing assistance in addressing development challenges of the latter in a wholly demand-driven manner.

The then Prime Minister Cameron welcomed Prime Minister Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, while Prime Minister Modi said this model of collaboration was already deeply

In India, the teachings of Kabir and Rahim give inspiration to the whole nation.

(November 13, 2015) Wherever I go as Prime Minister, leaders ask me as to how a huge population of 1.25 billion is coexisting so peacefully in your country, while our small nations are grappling with so many problems, while trying to meet the demands of different communities.

In India, the teachings of Kabir and Rahim give inspiration to the whole nation. Today, while the world is witnessing such devastation due to terrorism, I feel that if the Sufi culture of India had been predominant in Islam, then nobody would have thought of picking up the gun.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers a speech in the Royal Gallery, Houses of Parliament in Great Britain.

rime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United Kingdom from November 12 to 15, 2015.

In the UK, both Prime Ministers Modi and David Cameron celebrated the growing strength, breadth and depth of bilateral ties and re-emphasised the enduring connect between the UK and India in safeguarding and promoting the security and prosperity of both peoples. The UK leadership also acknowledged India’s economic development and rise as a global power, which it said affords opportunities to further deepen and extend the bilateral partnership to foster economic growth and inclusive development, update and strengthen the rules based international system and counter global threats.

Both Prime Ministers endorsed a “Vision Statement” that set out the fundamental principles on which the UK-India partnership is built, and

Address to The Indian community at Wembley, UK

Queen Elizabeth II meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Buckingham Palace on Nov. 13, 2015

ingrained in UK investments and partnerships with India.

Prime Ministers Cameron and Modi welcomed the 9.2 billion pounds worth of commercial deals between the UK and India announced during the visit.

The UK has accounted for 8.56 percent of total foreign direct investment in India during the last 15 years and Indian companies employ 110,000 people in the UK. The two Prime Ministers also announced three UK-India city partnerships with Indore, Pune and Amaravati to support India’s ambitious urban development goals through technical assistance, expertise sharing and business engagement.

Agreements for cooperation were also inked in the fields of health

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Prime Minister Theresa May of the United Kingdom.

culture and crime.

Modi met Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace and addressed the Indian community at the Wembley Stadium, along with his British counterpart David Cameron. He also visited the Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover factory in the West Midlands region of England and met top industry leaders.

Continue in next issue

26

Development

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

BSEs In Dwarka

CSR

BSES Empowers 3 lakh Women Through CSR

The five main categories of the CSR programmes are education, energy conservation, health, sanitation and self-defence training

BSES Launches Rooftop Solar Initiative Phase 2 This phase, which will cover the Shakur Basti area, follows the success of the first phase started by the company in Dwarka Agency

T

he second phase of Delhi power Distribution Company BSES’ Solar City Initiative was launched by Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain.

This phase, which will cover the Shakur Basti area, follows the success of the first phase started by the company in Dwarka where around 100 housing societies and apartment complexes have signed up for the initiative, a BSES release said.

“The Shakur Basti area is home to several colonies and has a substantial rooftop solar potential of around 15 MWp. BRPL (BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd) is targeting to realise around 5 MWp of rooftop net metering from the area by 2019-20,” it said.

Under the first phase in Dwarka, “around 25 societies having installed solar capacity of 1.5 MWp have already been energised or are about to be energised. The work at the remaining societies is at different stages”, it said.

“The rooftop solar tariff identified through competitive bidding in the case of Dwarka residents was Rs 2.66/kWh (kilowatt hour) net of generation based incentive and is around Rs 2.50/kWh less than the electricity tariff,” it added.

The Solar City initiative, launched in January, is being implemented by BRPL in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ India) under its Indo-German Solar Partnership project.

Commenting on the development, BRPL Chief Executive Amal Sinha said: “The programme also aims to educate consumers about the benefits of solar energy while ensuring strict quality compliance of the systems being installed. It is also facilitating various finance options available to the consumers.”

Earlier this year, BSES said it had energised a record over 1,000 rooftop solar connections in the city, including the Lotus Temple and the Maulana Azad Medical College, with a sanctioned solar load of over 40,000 KW (40 MW).

Besides helping the company in meeting its renewable purchase obligations, the initiative will help to minimise overloading issues in congested areas during the peak summer months, BSES said.

Agency

P

ower distribution company BSES said its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes have empowered more than three lakh women in various fields such as education, health and energy conservation.

“In the last four years, the discoms’ CSR programs have empowered over 3 lakh women, which is around 50 per cent of the total (over) six lakh beneficiaries,” the Delhi’s major distribution company said in a statement.

“Moreover, these programmes have benefited women between the ages of 12 and 97 years,” the company said.

The five main categories of the CSR programmes are education, energy conservation, health, sanitation and self-defence training.

While some programmes like adult literacy, vocational training, self defence are exclusively for women, even

in other programmes like energy conservation, health camps, eye care camps, sports, cancer detection and sanitation, the share of women beneficiaries is well above 40 per cent, BSES said.

Being committed to sustainable growth and being sensitive to environment, BSES has created an army of over four lakh ‘pro-environment’ energy warriors by undertaking energy conservation programs in over 1,300 schools.

Adult Literacy and Vocational Training have benefitted over 54,000 women from the underprivileged sections of the society, the discom said.

“BSES’ ALC programmes have women from all age groups, with the eldest being a great grandmother of 97, who wanted to read religious books. VT programmes are helping women gain financial independence,” it said.

It ensured well-being of

over 46,000 women, of the total 88,000 beneficiaries, through free camps in health, eye care, cancer detection and tobacco deaddiction.

“Concerned with the increasing issue of safety of girls and women, BSES is imparting self-defense training in schools. So far, over 6,400 girls have been imparted trainings through our partners - Delhi Police and Trident Solutions.

“Apart from this, BSES is also organizing sports tournaments (volleyball and kabaddi) to unearth talent in the rural areas in our licensed areas. Over 5,000 rural residents, including over 2,000 women, have participated in these tournaments,” BSES said.

The company said it has run sanitation programmes, including renovation of toilets, in over 175 schools and benefitted over 78,000 students, of which over nearly 32,000 or over 40 per cent are girl students.

Science

The Good Samaritan

Facebook launches

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Digital Literacy Library in 6 Indian Languages The languages are Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam

Google is working on AI tech over the past few years oogle has pledged $25 million to launch projects that apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to find solutions for various societal problems.

Google said the grant will be used to fund the “AI Impact Challenge” contest, which is part of its “AI for Social Good” programme dedicated to “addressing some of society’s biggest unsolved challenges”. “We’ll help selected organisations bring their proposals to life with coaching from Google’s AI experts, Google.org grant funding from a $25 million pool, and credits and consulting from Google Cloud,” Jeff Dean, Google Senior Fellow and SVP, Google AI, said in a blog post late Monday. Grantees will also join a specialised “Launchpad Accelerator” programme.

The California-based tech giant is making a “global call for nonprofits, academics, and social enterprises from around the world to submit proposals on how they could use AI to help address some of the world’s greatest social, humanitar ian a n d environmental problems.” “In spring of 2019, an international panel of experts, who work in computer science and the social sector, will help us choose the top proposals,” Google said. Google said applicants don’t have to be an AI expert and it has worked out an educational guide to help them identify most suitable projects that have significant social impact.

The compan said it has been working on AI technology over the past years to roll out projects with positive societal impact, such as forecasting floods, protecting whales, and predicting famine. Google noted that its deep learning technology has played a key role over the past few years in advancing wildlife conservation, employment, flood prediction, wildfire prevention and infant health.

“We’re excited to see what new ideas nonprofits, developers and social entrepreneurs from across the world come up with-and we’re looking forward to supporting them as best we can,” said Jacquelline Fuller, VP, Google and President, Google.org.

I

n Agency

n a bid to train 3 lakh Indians in digital safety, Facebook announced the launch of the Digital Literacy Library -- a collection of lessons in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

The announcement was made at Facebook’s South Asia Safety Summit in the presence of Union Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi.

Joined by over 70 organisations from five countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the event included discussions among experts on a wide range of topics, from safety and technology to keep the most vulnerable people safe when they go online.

Facebook also organised a child safety hackathon at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in partnership with Cyber Peace Foundation and Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi.

With a focus on developing solutions to help combat child sex trafficking, all prototypes

enroute sun

G

n Agency

27 07

developed at the hackathon are being donated to NGO partners to help them in their work of protecting children.

“The launch of the Digital Literacy Library, the child safety hackathon and several offline training programmes we run in partnership with local experts, reaffirm our seriousness in combating online abuse,” said Antigone Davis, Global head for Safety, Facebook.

Expecting to train 3,00,000 people by end of 2018, and will multiply these efforts in time to come

“We expect to train 3,00,000 people by end of 2018, and we will multiply these efforts in times to come,” he added.

“The trainings are targeted primarily towards women and youth and are being done in collaboration with organisations such as Cyber Peace Foundation, Learning Links Foundation, Internet and Mobile Association of India, Gaon Connection, and Centre for Social Research, to name a few,” informed Davis.

With more than 200 million young people online in India, the digital library will help them build the skills needed for safely enjoying digital technology, said Facebook.

The Parker Solar Probe passed the current record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun’s surface

N

n Agency

ASA’s historic Parker Solar Probe -- enroute to the Sun to unravel its mysteries -- has become the closest spacecraft to it.

The spacecraft passed the current record of 26.55 million miles from the Sun’s surface on October 29, as calculated by the Parker Solar Probe team, NASA said in a statement.

The previous record for closest solar approach was set by the German-American Helios 2 spacecraft in April 1976.

As the Parker Solar Probe mission progresses, the spacecraft will repeatedly break its own records, with a final close approach of 3.83 million miles from the Sun’s surface expected in 2024.

“It’s been just 78 days since Parker Solar Probe launched, and we’ve now come closer to our star than any other

spacecraft in history,” said Project Manager Andy Driesman from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

“It’s a proud moment for the team, though we remain focused on our first solar encounter, which begins on October 31,” Driesman added.

Parker Solar Probe will begin its first solar encounter on October 31, continuing to fly closer and closer to the Sun’s surface until it reaches its first perihelion -- the point closest to the Sun. “The spacecraft will face brutal heat and radiation conditions while providing humanity with unprecedentedly close-up observations of a star and helping us understand phenomena that have puzzled scientists for decades,” said NASA. Earlier this month, the probe successfully completed its first flyby of Venus at a distance of about 1,500 miles.

28

Sports

NOV 05 - 11, 2018

Hijab-Wearing Bodybuilder Is Breaking Stereotypes Majiziya Bhanu believes that the hijab is never an obstacle for a woman.

If a woman is free to show her body, she should be free to cover it as well

Sanu George

W

hen 23-year-old Majiziya Bhanu took to the stage to compete in the women’s segment of the Mr Kerala competition in Kochi earlier this year, all eyes were on her -- never before had a bodybuilder wearing a hijab (Muslim head scarf) participated in the event.

Proving that hijab is no hurdle for her or any other woman, she went on to win the competition.

Bhanu believes that the hijab is never an obstacle for a woman with burning passion, and if a woman is free to show her body, she should be free to cover it as well. While Bhanu is not the only Muslim woman in the world of arm-wrestling and powerlifting, she is yet to see another woman in the field who performs in a hijab.

“It is only after their names are announced that one realises that the contestant is a Muslim,” she said.

“I feel proud to wear the hijab, which is a part of my identity. It does not limit me in any way but gives me dignity and strength.”

It took Bhanu just about two years to transform from being an ordinary dental student to a local celebrity, not just in her sleepy village here, but

across Kerala.

She has been selected three times as the strongest woman of the state by the Kerala State Power l i f t i ng Association.

In the two years since she began her career, she has already won national medals in powerlifting and armwrestling, while also continuing her dental training. And be it in practice or in competitions, she always wears her hijab.

“In the initial days, men used to stare at me as I had my hijab on. But soon they realised that I was as serious as them in my workouts. Then all the eyes disappeared,” Bhanu told.

While she was always interested in

She has been selected three times as the strongest woman of the state by the Kerala State Powerlifting Association

sports, there were hardly any facilities available in her village. But that did not stop her. Every day after her dental classes, she used to travel 60 km by train to Kozhikode to a gymnasium.

“I used to return around 9 pm.

Initially, it was tough, but I slowly gained the confidence to travel alone and, eventually, it became a part of my routine,” said the final year dental student Bhanu said that, but for her parents’ strong support, she would not have been able to achieve what she did. “I hail from a very orthodox village here and my parents agreed to let me pursue my passion of bodybuilding.”

Today, Bhanu is an inspiration in her village for many other girls like her.

After her success, the village has now got its own gym, which is frequented by women just as much as men.

“Many young girls and women have started coming to me to seek advice on what needs to be done as they also want to do what I am doing. Now there is a gym in my village itself,” she said, adding that now she goes to Kozhikode only three to four times a month.

Bhanu today is extremely busy as she is getting ready to participate in the World Arm Wrestling Championship 2018 in Turkey next month.

“I never knew I could make it as funds was needed for the trip. I did knock on quite a few doors and finally managed -- a few wellwishers have sponsored my trip. At times, when I went scouting for sponsors, I felt that some did not wish to sponsor me as I was a Muslim woman,” said Bhanu.

And of her future plans, she said her first goal is to finish her studies as it was her parents’ dream to make her a medical professional.

“Once I finish it, then I will pursue my dream of setting up an academy which will be a multi-disciplinary one, including martial arts, powerlifting, arm-wrestling and bodybuilding. It would give special importance to girls.

I am sure I will be able to pursue my passion and wish to empower women,” Bhanu added with confidence.

Entertainment

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

Music Is For Whole Being, Not Just For Sighted

29 07

Balu j i S hri vastav

Baluji Shrivastav is one of the music world’s most in-demand sitar players. Blind since the age of four, he’s now leading an ensemble of blind musicians

M

Siddhi Jain

usic is not just for the sighted, as it stems from the body’s rhythm, visually-impaired multi-instrumentalist Baluji Shrivastav said at his performance “Antardrishti: Inner Vision” at the British Council. The Indo-British musician was appointed the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) -- a Queen’s honour -- for his services to music in 2016.

Baluji undertook his first musical training at Ajmer’s Blind School on traditional instruments including the sitar, dilruba, surbahar, pakhavaj and tabla. From there, Baluji went on to graduate from University of Lucknow with a B.A. in Vocal Studies and Sitar. This was shortly followed by a further BA in Tabla and an MA in Sitar from Allahabad University.

Uttar Pradesh-born Shrivastav, who has been visually impaired since he was 4, said he grew up listening to his heartbeats and the flow of his blood.

“I could feel my heart is thumping, and so is everybody else’s, and that was the meter of music for me,” he told on the sidelines of his performance, elaborating on the inner vision he developed.

“Music itself is not designed only for sighted people, but the whole being,” he said, adding that everything is music for him.

“You’re speaking, I’m speaking.

That’s also music.”

His two-hour group performance in September essayed the eleventh chapter of Bhagavad Gita, which carries the essence of the epic Mahabharata, through music, dance and audio-visual media.

“I was excited to choose Mahabharata because of Dhritarashtra, who himself was

blind. The eleventh chapter of Gita because it’s here when Lord Krishna shows his ‘Vishwaroopam’ (grand avatar) to Arjuna, and makes him look beyond the obvious” the master sitarist explained.

The 67-year-old artiste, who has been away from India for over 30 years, seems to be equally fluent in Hindi and English, and recites Sanskrit couplets with ease.

Why the Bhagavad Gita?

The widely-heard musician said that his father taught him one Gita ‘Shloka’ (Sanskrit verse) each day, when he was young.

“It took me few years to learn the entire Gita by heart, now I can recite it fully,” said the Baluji Music Foundation founder.

He has also founded the Inner Vision Orchestra, UK’s only blind ensemble -- which performed with him -- the idea for which occurred to Shrivastav when he was learning at the blind schools in Gwalior and Ajmer.

As his Orchestra played striking music at the British Council, it was accompanied by the graceful gestures and body movements by an Indian classical dance group headed

by Arunima Kumar -- all feeding into a beautiful recital of Gita’s 11th chapter “Vishwaroopam Darshana”.

It was produced by Baluji Music Foundation with support from Arts Council England, British Council and PRS Foundation.

A poignant Shrivastav said it’s a misconception that visuallyimpaired music artistes cannot play for a dance performance. For him, music also remains a way to instill confidence in the visually impaired community.

Mentioning his India tour, he said the joy of coming back to his motherland remains unparalleled.

In his usual style, the musician broke into a Sanskrit shloka to illustrate his point: “Janani Janma-

bhoomi-scha Swargadapi Gariyasia”, translating it to explain that mother and motherland were better than heaven.

Accomplishment As a classical Indian multiinstrumentalist, Baluji Shrivastav has performed and recorded with some of the greatest tabla accompanists such as Anindo Chatterji and Ustad Fayaz Khan.

Baluji has performed throughout the world recording albums with Stevie Wonder, Massive Attack, Annie Lennox, Noel Gallagher and Madness. In 2012 Baluji performed at the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Games alongside the British Paraorchestra and Coldplay.

Baluji Shrivastav’s compositions appear in a wide range of films, theatre and television, including a series of commissioned works such

as ‘Portraits of the Dark’, ‘SitarGuitar Suites’, ‘Indian in London’ and the world’s only Urdu oration ‘Sohini and Mahival’ which he composed together with Oscar Winner Dario Marianelli. Baluji’s music has featured in Disney’s 2014 ‘Million Dollar Arm”, 20th Century Fox’s ‘New Girl’ as well as multiple episodes of NBC’s ‘Outsourced’.

By 2008, Baluji established the Baluji Music Foundation, a London based charity which, as stated on their website, aims to promote “the understanding and enjoyment of music and performing arts from the Indian Sub-Continent in all its traditional and evolving forms”.

The Charity particularly welcomes the participation of disabled people in music, and has thus founded the Inner Vision Orchestra of blind and visually impaired musicians.

30

Sulabh Parivar

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

A group of 28 students along with their 2 Coordinators from Akansha Institute of Nursing, Najafgarh, New Delhi and some other visitors visited Sulabh Campus.

A group of 10 students of Social Innovation from USA along with their faculties & coordinators, visited Sulabh Campus.

A group of 51 students of class VI from Head Start School along with 9 teachers from Bangalore visited Sulabh Campus.

It was a great day for the Sulabh volunteers as they had the opportunity to welcome distinguished guests from Boeing India, Gargy Kumar, wife of Pratyush Kumar, President and Praveena Yagnambhat, Director.

Spirituality

Struggles of our Life

n Bhawna

O

nce upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.

Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.

Turning to her, he asked.

“Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer”, he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft.

He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity-the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However,

the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which one are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

Moral: In life, things happen

around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is how we choose to react to it and what we make out of it. Life is all about learning, adopting and converting all the struggles that we experience into something positive.

(The narrator is a trianee at Sulabh Vocational Training Centre)

Events

Nov 05 - 11, 2018

events & more...

Across 3. World’s coldest desert Gobi belongs to which country?

7. Intelligence agency of UK? 10. What is the national emblem of New Zealand?

11. Father of Zoology?

13. Which country is known as Hermit Kingdom?

14. Name the nuclear plant that closed for ever in Ukrain.

18. Which country’s capital is Ottawa?

19. Which country’s capital is ‘Bogota’?

20. Which country is known as ‘Economic Power House of Europe’?

SSB crossword no. 47

events

Satiate Your Hunger Pangs With The Yummiest Kebabs Venue : DLF Promenade, VASANT KUNJ

Down

3, Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 17 Nov 11:00 AM - 18 Nov 8:00 PM

SOLUTION of crossword no.46

Australia’s Largest Comedy Festival Is Coming To India!

Venue : NCUI Auditorium & Convention Centre HAUZ KHAS 3, August Kranti Marg, Siri Institutional Area, Hauz Khas, New Delhi, 14 Nov 2018, 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Life In Color Music Festival Venue : Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, PRAGATI VIHAR Pragati Vihar, New Delhi 18 Nov 2018, 3:00 PM - 11:55 PM

1.Google

11.Apple

2.Tsaf

12. Lucknow

3.Spain

13.Manipur

4.Odisha

14.RBI

5.Flipkart

15.Japan

6.Canada

16.Iran

7.Patna

17.Esic

8.Russia

18.India

9.Kolkata

19.Gwadar

10.China

20.Paytm

solution of sudoku-46

Urban Lens Film Festival 2018 Venue : Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan, NEW DELHI 3, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi 16 Nov 10:30 AM - 18 Nov 6:30 PM

31

1. Name the highest town of Europe?

2. ‘Triple Therapy drug cocktail’ is a medicine to this disease. Which disease?

4. Name the first monkey born on genetic technology?

5. In which country the first modernized census conducted?

6. Which is the largest consumer country of gold?

8. Which star is exploded itself and puts the material into space?

9. Which is the biggest city of Washington State?

12. Which country’s airline is KLM? 15. Which country’s airlines is Druk Air? 16. A city of one mile width and two miles length as 177 canals of 28 miles length. Name the city.

17. What is the name of military intelligence organization of Israel?

sudoku-47

Fantastic Fridays with Crooners Collective Venue : Saints N Sinners Saints N Sinners GF-21 Global Foyer, Golf Course Road Sector 43, Sector 43, Gurugram Fri, 16 Nov 9:00PM - 11:30PM

on the lighter side by DHIR

Please mail your solution to - ssbweekly@gmail.com or Whatsapp at 9868807712, One Lucky Winner will win Cash Prize of Rs 500/-. Look for the Solution in the Next Issue of SSB

32

Newsmakers

Nov 05–11, 2018

Sainik School

The Girl ‘Cadets’ March In History created in Mizoram as for the first time, Girl ‘Cadets’ march into Sainik Schools

T

he Sainik School in Chhingchhip, Mizoram has made a historic change in its admission procedure.

For the first time in 50 years, the strictly all-boys institution has opened its doors to girl students. There are 28 Sainik Schools, run by the Sainik School Society under the Defence Ministry, plus one in Lucknow under the state administration. In April this year, the Lucknow school admitted 17 girls in Class 9. But it’s the Sainik School Chhingchhip, the country’s 26th, the Northeast’s fourth, which came up just in May 2017, that was selected as a pilot school to include girls into Sainik Schools.

“For us, 10 per cent of the total class strength meant six girls. Since we were a new school, we had only two batches: Class 6 (with 60 students) and Class 7 (100 students). Imagine six girls among 154 boys!” Lt Colonel Inderjeet Singh, the former principal of the Mizoram school, told. Within a month of issuing this notice, the

school had received applications from 31 girls, from across the state who appeared for the written entrance exam along with the boys. 21 of them were selected for an interview, and 6 of them were finally given admission. The experience of having six girls join a school which always only had male students was a bit unfamiliar for the boys too. While some are still baffled with the change, there are others who are happy to have girls play, study and exercise with them like equals.

Kerala IT Administrator First Indian To Get AECT Award He heads the implementation of Kerala Hi-tech School project

K

Man With Limb Ailment Runs 3km, Averts Train Tragedy “I usually take a stroll for around 2 km.

I was walking near the tracks around 6.45 am when I happened to see the crack”

A

K Anvar Sadath

Anvar Sadath, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of Kerala Infrastructure and Technology For Education (KITE), has become the first Indian to receive AECT’s International Contributions Award.

The award was handed over by Phillip Harris, Executive Director of AECT at a ceremony held at Kansas City. Sadath’s

Krishna Poojary

outstanding and continuous contributions to the field of educational communications and technology in the international setting is well appreciated. We are impressed with his work and service to this field,” the AECT committee said. Sadath heads the implementation of Kerala Hi-tech School project which has converted almost 45,000 classrooms of Classes 8 to 12 to hi-tech ones, besides empowering all teachers to handle the pedagogy-based classroom transactions that connect 15,000 schools. “Our strength is by integrating technology into curriculum to enhance teaching and learning,” said Sadath.

The AECT is the premier professional association for instructional design and educational technology and it works to provide international leadership by promoting scholarships and best practices in the creation, use and management of technologies for effective teaching and learning.

possible train tragedy in Karnataka’s Udupi was averted, thanks to the determination of a daily wage worker, who ran 3 km, despite a weak leg, so he could keep the railway officials informed about the crack developed on a track.

53-year-old Krishna Poojary works at a roadside eatery in Udupi’s Korangrapady village. A few months ago, he was diagnosed with an ailment in his leg which led to a loss of strength in that leg.

As a result, Krishna was on regular medication and treatment.

However, the treatment did not work well, and he soon had to give up on medication due to his poor financial conditions. His doctor had thus advised him to go on daily walks to regain strength in his leg.

Acting on the advice, Krishna had been going on a stroll early in the mornings. He had chosen the Brahmasthana Nagabana area at Korangrapady to walk a few steps. On 27th October, as he had completed a few steps, he stumbled upon the crack.

Before he could think about his next course of action, a train already chugged on the track, further widening the crack. Krishna decided to bring the issue to the notice of the railway officials as there was little time for the next train to arrive. Risking his health condition and despite the excruciating pain, Krishna ran around for 3 km and reached out to the officials.

“I usually walk for around 2 km. When I was taking a stroll around 6.45am, I happened to see the crack.

Soon a train passed by and the cracked widened. I could only think of rushing to the officials,” Krishna told.

As soon as the officials were informed, they ordered two trains to halt, each at Indrali Railway Station (7 km from the crack) and Padubidri Station (16 km away).

Once this was done, Krishna led the officials to the spot, helping them fix it.

Only after the railway track was secure, were the trains allowed to pass.

RNI No. DELENG/2016/71561, Joint Commissioner of Police (Licensing) Delhi No. F. 2 (S-45) Press/ 2016 Volume - 2, Issue - 47 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