communication – Page 113 – Take off with Natarajan

Meet Harjit Sajjan, An Indian-Origin Who Will Be Canada’s New Defence Minister….

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

We told you about this monumental move – Punjab being listed as the third language in the Parliament of Canada and that a new cabinet will be unveiled.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet. And now, Canada’s new Defence Minister will be Indian origin Harjit Sajjan.

He is one of the 20 Punjabi speaking members elected to the latest Canadian cabinet.

Here are a few things that you probably didn’t know about him:

1. He hails from a small village of Bombeli, which is located in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab. He shifted to Canada because of his father, who left for Canada when he was young.

2. He has been living in Vancouver South since he was 5 years old.

3. He served in the gang squad of the Vancouver Police Department for 11 years.

4. After that, he became Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Armed Force. As demanded by this post, he went to Afghanistan 3 times. Among many other recognitions, he was awarded Meritorious Service Medal and the Order of Military Merit.
He was known for his bravery. Canadian Brigadier General, David Fraser praised him for his diligence, bravery, and unwavering determination.

He took to Twitter to announce about his new ‘post’. His jubilance was quite noticeable.

Other than Harjit Singh Sajjan, there are three other Indian-origin Sikh ministers in the newly formed cabinet.

Amarjeet Sohi: Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

Navdeep Bains: Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Bardish Chagger: Minister for Small Business and Tourism

Also, Canada’s Prime Minister has shown that he’s a staunch believer of gender equality by appointing the equal number of men and women in his cabinet.

This is definitely a big step for Canada and also for India. We congratulate them for this feat

News Source: Times Of India

Cover Image Source

Source….Aparajita Mishra in http://www.storypick.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day…” Start Searching for the Faults and Weaknesses within Yourself First…”

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The unceasing toil of each succeeding day has as its aim and justification this consummation: to make one’s last days sweet and pleasant. But each day also has its evening. If the day is spent in good deeds, then the evening blesses us with deep, invigorating and refreshing sleep, the sleep about which it is said that it is akin tosamadhi. One has only a short span of life on earth. But even in this short life one can attain divine bliss by using the time wisely and carefully. Two people may be same in appearance, and might have ostensibly been of the same mould and also grown under the same conditions, but one could turn out to be an angel while the other stays on with their animal nature. What’s the reason for this differential development? It is habits, the behaviour formed out of these habits, and the character into which that behaviour has solidified. People are creatures of character. Hence the very first spiritual practice (sadhana)is to search for the faults and weaknesses within yourself and to strive to correct them to become perfect.

Sathya Sai Baba

An 83-Year-Old On Oxygen Begins To Sing…By The Time He’s Done, Everyone’s In Tears….

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The Young@Heart chorus based in western Massachusetts is comprised of senior citizens ranging from their early 70s and beyond. Established at an elderly housing project in 1982, the program has given countless aging individuals an exciting, fun, and productive pastime to look forward to each day.

During a performance in 2007, 83-year-old Fred Knittle stepped on stage to perform the lead vocal in their cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You.” Though he had retired from their group a few years before and was struggling with health issues, his incredible voice still managed to bring the house down. Prepare for your heart to melt.

https://youtu.be/G-e8LGMPTtE

Sadly, Knittle passed away just two short years after this stirring performance. But thank goodness they captured this amazing moment so his legacy can live on. You can find more of the chorus’s beautiful renditions over on their YouTube page.

Source…..Jessica Catcher in http://www.viralnova.com

Natarajan

Stunning Performance on Ice… !!!

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Competing at the World Synchronized Skating Championships earlier this year, Team Canada stepped onto the ice with something to prove. They wanted to be the best and weren’t going to let anyone get in their way. Because after all the practice, hard work, and dedication, they knew they wanted it more than their peers.

That’s why when the music started, and their performance began, you could tell something special was about to happen…

It must be incredibly difficult to work so seamlessly with so many people — and on ice, nonetheless! But, as you can see, when it’s pulled off correctly, the result is simply stunning.

Source….www.viral nova.com and http://www.you tube .com

Natarajan

Used Wimbledon Tennis Balls Become Tiny Homes for Mice….!!!

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Every year, an astonishing number of tennis balls are used during the Wimbledon tournament — more than 54,000. This high figure is due to the fact that tennis balls are replaced at frequent intervals during a match to make sure they aren’t worn down or become too warm to affect the ball’s physical dynamics. Used balls are resold every day at the club to spectators on the grounds, and nearly 700 balls go missing every year, probably taken by the audience and kept as souvenirs. Since 2001, some of these balls are being donated to various animals conservatives around Britain who make cute little homes for harvest mice.

The Eurasian harvest mouse is typically found in fields of cereal crops, such as wheat and oats, in reed beds and in other tall ground vegetation, such as long grass. An adult mouse weighs as little as 4 grams. The mice normally weave their homes out of shredded grass and reeds, attached to stems well above the ground.

Photo credit

In recent years, their habitat has come under increasing threat from intensive farming methods. Yearly floods also destroy their homes.

Some animal conservatives then discovered that tennis balls make excellent, waterproof homes for these tiny rodents once you cut a small hole into the balls. The balls are attached to poles about a meter or a meter-and-half off the ground where they can make their nests in relative safety from birds of prey and weasels, which are too big to get through the hole.

Now aside from Wimbledon, many lawn tennis clubs around the United Kingdom regularly donates used tennis balls to various wildlife conservation organizations to help them in their conservation efforts.

The natural nest of a harvest mouse. Photo credit

Source….bbc ….www.amusingplanets.com

Natarajan

When an airport becomes a home: A Kurdish family has been stuck in an airport for over 40 days….

November 4, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

BBCStill from a video showing Hasan Ahmad in the disused smoking area where he has been living with his family for over 40 days now.

Hasan Ahmad’s family has been living inside Terminal E at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport for over 40 days, the BBC reports.

The Syrian Kurdish family of six recently fled their home in northern Iraq after ISIS militants kept coming closer. The family decided to flee to Russia where Ahmad’s wife has family.

But the nightmare began as soon as they got to the airport.

At first, they were put in detention for two weeks after the Russian authorities claimed they were using fake Syrian passports and illegally trying to cross into Russia, according to the BBC.

Most of the family had Iraqi passports, but the two youngest children, who are 3 and 7 years old, got Syrian ones through Hasan’s nationality.

Their asylum request was rejected because of the allegedly fake Syrian passports, though Syrian officials have since confirmed they are genuine, according to ABC.

The family is appealing the decision, but in the meantime they are stuck at the airport because they’re not allowed to step on Russian soil.

BBCStill from a BBC video showing Hasan and his four children in the disused smoking area.

The Ahmads have since been living in an old glass smoking area surrounded by the few bags they brought with them.

The situation stressed Ahmad’s wife, Gulistan, so much that a couple of weeks ago she collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital, where two guards were positioned outside her ward, according to the BBC.

“We left our homes, everything. We just wanted to live in peace like other people. But they refused us asylum. They said this is not Europe,” Gulistan told the BBC.

Now all the family can do is wait, not knowing when or if their appeal will be processed and having to depend on the generosity of strangers for food and warm clothes. The UN also brings them big water bottles every five days.

BBCStill from a BBC video the disused smoking area where the Ahmad family has been living.

The situation has only gotten worse recently. According to the BBC, the heaters stopped working over two weeks ago, making it even harder for the family to stay warm and dry.

“I don’t know how people can be so heartless. I don’t understand. People are fleeing from war, from violence,” Ahmad told the BBC.

The civil war raging in Syria — as well as ISIS’ reign of terror in different parts of Iraq — have displaced millions of people from those countries. Hundreds of thousands have fled to Europe and other countries, and many have yet to find a permanent home.

Source….BARBARA TASCH….www.business insider.com.au

Natarajan

Message for the Day…” ‘seva’ is the highest path of Devotion which wins the Grace of God…”

November 4, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Today, we are confronted everywhere by statistics parading quantities and reports in glowing terms. Do not bother about adding to the number or achieving a target. I value quality, not quantity. Genuine and intensive devoted service offered in a few spots or villages is more fruitful than superficial service offered to a large number. Convince yourselves that life cannot continue long without others serving you and you serving others. Every relationship – be it master-servant, ruler-ruled, guru-disciple, employer-employee, or parents-children and so on – is bound by mutual service. Everyone is a sevak (servitor). The farmer and labourer whom you serve, produce by their toil your food and clothing as their service to you. Remember that the body, with its senses-mind-brain complex has been awarded to you to be used for helping the helpless. Seva is the highest of paths of Devotion which wins the Grace of God. Service promotes mental purity, diminishes egoism and enables one to experience, through empathetic understanding, the unity of mankind.

“Smile…It makes people wonder what you are thinking….”

November 4, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Even if it its repeated …. Read with a Smile for a Good Laugh !!!””

And Start your day with a Big Smile ….

A good 30 laughs – Dilbert’s one liners :
Old Classics

🔺 I say no to alcohol, but it just doesn’t listen.
🔺 A friend in need is a pest indeed.
🔺 Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
🔺 Work is fine if it doesn’t take too much of your time.
🔺 When everything comes in your way you’re in the wrong lane.
🔺 The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train..
🔺 Born free, taxed to death.
🔺 Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don’t have film.
🔺 Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.
🔺 Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.

If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you’ll have trouble putting on your pants.
🔺 It’s not hard to meet expenses, they are everywhere.
🔺 I love being a writer… what I can’t stand is the paperwork..
🔺 A printer consists of 3 main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light.
🔺 The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was the genius.
🔺 The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.
🔺 In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?

If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?
🔺 Beat the 5 O’clock rush, leave work at noon!
🔺 If you can’t convince them, confuse them.
🔺 It’s not the fall that kills you. It’s the sudden stop at the end.
🔺 I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
🔺 Hot glass looks same as cold glass. – Cunino’s Law of Burnt Fingers
🔺 The cigarette does the smoking you are just the sucker.
🔺 Someday is not a day of the week

Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.
🔺 The road to success…. Is always under construction.
🔺 Alcohol doesn’t solve any problems, but if you think again, neither does Milk.
🔺 In order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don’t need it !!!

Source…input from a friend of mine

natarajan

Mysore Gets India’s First Visually -Handicapped Friendly Railway Station …

November 4, 2015November 4, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Mysuru Railway Station has become the first railway station in India to be visually impaired friendly.

With the aim of helping visually impaired passengers travel independently, features like tactile maps and train schedules in Braille were unveiled at the station.

Source: Twitter

Anuprayaas, a non-government organization working for the welfare of visually challenged persons, along with south-western railway officials, started working on this project about a month ago. The first phase was inaugurated on November 3, and two more phases are being planned. The installations at the station include the following:

Tactile maps to give people an idea about the physical layout of the station. It is basically a map with raised surfaces that describes the distance and location of the entrance, platforms, counters, washrooms etc. The map informs people where they are, which side to turn and how many steps to take to reach a help desk.
Train itinerary sign board that provides train names their schedules in Braille. These are fixed signboards and do not provide real time information like electronic boards.
400 metallic Braille signs have been installed at about ten places on each platform. Placed along the railing of the staircase leading to various platforms, they provide directions and platform information.
Restaurants, canteens and food plazas in the railways station will not have Braille menu cards too.

27-year-old Pancham Cajla is the founder of Anuprayaas, and he started working on this project along with five of his friends. Mysuru MP, Pratap Simha, inaugurated the facility.

“As a part of the railway department, I went to organizations and met blind people. We asked them about what they would expect from a blind-friendly railway station,” Arun Kumar Singh, Telecom engineer with the South-Western Railways who helped in the execution of the project, told The News Minute.

During the testing period, the NGO brought many visually impaired people to check the features. Until people became aware of this facility, volunteers from the NGO will help the passengers. Anuprayaas is planning to go digital, improve the tactile maps, and introduce more disabled friendly battery cars in the second phase.

Sowmya visually challenged girl inaugurating tactile map of mysuru station with all utilities & train time table

https://twitter.com/DrmMys

Source…. Tanaya Singh ….www.the better india .com

Natarajan

This Kerala Man Built an Aircraft. He Now Wants a Job….

November 4, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Saji Thomas has studied only till class 7 and has always been hooked on to electrical gadgets and their repairs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After five years of painstaking efforts, Saji Thomas has built a small aircraft – all on his own – but now this 45-year-old from Kerala, who is speech and hearing challenged, yearns for a full-time job.

His wife Maria said that they have been married for 14 years and since then, all that she saw was her husband busy tinkering with small motors and machines she didn’t have a clue about.

“Initially I tried my best to dissuade him to get work as an electrician, but when I found all my efforts were in vain, I decided to support him in all his endeavours. Today the entire village (near Thodupuzha in Idukki district) is steadfastly behind him as he built a twin-seater ultralight aircraft, which has been filmed by the Discovery Channel,” Maria told IANS.

Mr Saji has studied only till class 7 and has always been hooked on to electrical gadgets and their repairs.

“The first thing he built was the frame of an helicopter. He got in touch with (former prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi, seeking money to buy an engine for it. It did not materialise because Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated (In May 1991). Then his interest shifted to building an aircraft and after five years of hard work, he fitted the small aircraft with the engine of a two-wheeler. Later it was given to a college nearby and they still use it to teach their students,” the proud wife said.

She said he then began work on this now successful two-seater and sourced all the materials from Bangalore.

“After a marathon five years of work, last year in April, it was taken to a private airline academy in Ambasamudram near Madurai. Since this aircraft has no licence nor does Saji have a licence to fly aircraft, he could fly it for a few minutes there. Later the chief instructor, a retired air force officer, also flew it for a few minutes. The aircraft flew only at a height of 20 feet as the rules are very strict,” added Maria.

Today the couple, who has a 13-year-old son Joshua, is still hoping for the government support.

“We see the present programme of Discovery Channel which has filmed his efforts as an eye-opener and it is expected to be aired soon. Our only wish is my husband gets a stable monthly job as by now he has sold a portion of our land to complete this aircraft. We live in a small two-room home built with the help of the local village council in 2001,” Maria said.

In all, Saji has spent Rs.25 lakh for his expensive hobby in the past more than 15 years.

Source….www.ndtv.com

Natarajan