leadership – Page 66 – Take off with Natarajan

‘People wished to pray and we wanted to help them, that’s all’….

December 10, 2015December 10, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

It was a simple gesture of cleaning a temple but this act by a group of Muslim youths went viral on the internet. Members of the Jamaat-E-Islami Hind, who are involved in flood relief work in Tamil Nadu, speak to S Saraswathi.

The sun is out in Chennai and relief and rehabilitation work is on in full swing. Along with the various government agencies, a large number of NGOs have pitched in to provide some comfort to the broken and battered people of Chennai.

Good Samaritans have been out on the streets, wading through the still stagnant and dirty water helping people get back on their feet. However, one beautiful gesture has moved the Chennai-ites.

A bunch of youngsters from the Jamaat-E-Islami Hind, a non-governmental organisation, helped clean two temples and a mosque in the flood ravaged areas of Kotturpuram and Saidapet.

Pictures of the youngsters cleaning the temple went viral on social media. With over 3000 members in Tamil Nadu, this NGO has been hard at work from the first week of November.

Jalaludeen, secretary of the group in Tamil Nadu, explains how it was all part of their work and promises they will not rest until they have done everything they can for the flood victims of Chennai.

“To be very frank, we did not go into the area with any intention of cleaning a particular mosque or temple. Since the rain subsided, our members have been on a cleanliness drive. The entire city is filthy with garbage strewn about in every direction. We noticed that the people were finding it extremely difficult to move about with all the sludge and debris that was left behind by the draining water.

“The stench from the rubbish was overwhelming at places. There is a high risk of infection in the coming weeks, which could be even more dangerous than the floods. These past few days, we have helped clean over 10 different areas like Ennore, Adambakkam, Pulianthope. Kotturpuram, Velachery, Perumbur, Saidapet, Dasamakkan, Kannigapuram and Chindadripet.

“We were in Kotturpuram when we found that two mosques and a temple in the area were in a pathetic condition. There was no pre-plan or motive, nor did we realise we would create such a buzz. People wished to pray and we wanted to help them do it. It was as simple as that.

“Actually, our work has been going on for over a month now. The rains in the first week of November were also bad and even then we helped with the relief work.

During this last week, when it was pouring steadily, we were providing food to the stranded victims. We had made arrangements at one of the mosques for food to be prepared. For four consecutive days, starting Wednesday, we distributed 12,000 packets of food every day.

“But when we realised that more help had arrived and lots of people were also doing the same, we decided to move on with the cleaning work.

“Our work has been organised in a phased manner.

“The second phase will involve distributing books and other stationery to students who have lost everything in the floods. In the third phase, we will provide some basic cooking utensils to the women. And finally, we also have plans to help them rebuild their homes.

“There is a lot more to be done, and we will not rest until we have done all we can. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last that we have come out in support of people in need. This is what we do — we help people in need, disaster or otherwise.”

S Saraswathi in Chennai

Source……..www.rediff.com

natarajan

Message for the Day…” There is no such thing as woman alone being bound and men being free; both are equally bound by the rules of dharma…”

December 9, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Just as the woman should consider one person and one person alone as her master and husband, the man too has to be faithful to one woman and one woman alone, as his mate, his wife. She has to consider the husband as Divine and worship him and minister to and follow his desires for the fulfilment of her duty of loyalty to the husband (pativrata);so too, man should honour his wife as the ‘mistress of the home’ and act in accordance with her wishes, for she is theGrihalakshmi (Goddess of prosperity of the home). Only then can he deserve the status of ‘man’. Name and fame, honour and dishonour, vice and wickedness, good and bad are all equal and uniform to both men and women. There is no such thing as woman alone being bound and men being free; both are equally bound by the rules of dharma. Both will fall into adharma if they conduct themselves without due consideration of the attributes mentioned above.

Rice could be the answer to China’s pollution problem…..

December 9, 2015December 9, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

China has long had an issue with pollution. It is claimed to contain the greatest amount of pollution, with that over 1 million deaths in 2010 as a result.

Beijing is widely reported to be one of the most polluted cities in the world. With China’s industrial economy, this is perhaps not so surprising.

However, a large amount of pollution comes from an area which one might not expect: agriculture. The use of nitrogen-based fertilizers has had dramatic effects on air, water, and soil quality in China.

“With only 7% of the world’s farmland, China uses 35% of all the world’s nitrogen fertilisers. This is beginning to have severe environmental consequences.”

Rice: Nitrogen Related Pollution

Excess nitrogen can have a number of negative effects on the environment. It can kill fish and other marine life, reduce crop productivity, and poison the water supply.

A major consequence of nitrogen fertilisers has been air pollution. When nitrogen oxides react in the air, they interact with industrial pollution to form a dense fog known as smog. Not only can smog cause health problems such as asthma, its presence in the air promotes global warming.

Rice is a staple of the Chinese diet. It needs nitrogen-based fertilisers in order to grow effectively. However, this may soon be about to change.

Traditionally, a great deal of Chinese rice is grown in the northern provinces. The genetic make-up of the rice grown in northern China means that it cannot easily absorb nitrogen-based substances from the soil. Because of this, Nitrogen-based fertilisers are used to provide these vital nutrients.

However, with genetic modification, this could no longer be the case. Scientists have proposed cloning a gene from indica rice, and placing it into the native species. The gene is known as a ‘nitric booster’, and it improves the ability for plants to absorb nitrogen-based nutrients from the soil. As a result, much lower levels of fertilizer need to be used.

“Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that when genetically modified, the rice species could achieve the same yield with only half as much fertiliser. Thus, reducing related pollution by half.”

This scientific breakthrough could have a significant effect on pollution. By reducing fertiliser usage, nitrogen pollution will decrease. This will contribute towards a reduction in smog, reducing the incidence of pollution-related health complications.

Also, China’s contribution to global pollution will decrease, and marine life will be less at risk. Although this is only the beginning, developments like this may help promote a shift towards a greater desire to tackle pollution in China.

Though it has yet to be implemented, it shows steps in the right direction. With a rapidly aging population, even small pollution prevention suggestions are better than nothing.

Read the original article on BRIC+. For more news, views and insights into culture and commerce from the emerging world, BRIC+. BRIC+ is also available on Facebook. Copyright 2015. Follow BRIC+ on Twitter.

Source……www. businessinsider.com

Natarajan

Top 31 Amazing Innovations from Young Indians….

December 9, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The National Innovation Foundation India (NIF), Ahmedabad shared the ideas that shined at the IGNITE 2015.

Every year, the National Innovation Foundation India (NIF), Ahmedabad invites students from across schools in the country to share their innovative ideas on how to build a better world.

The competition is organised by NIF in association with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Society for Research and Initiatives in Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI), various State Education Boards and other partners.

Students in (up to class 12) or out of the school (up to the age of 17 years) can participate in the IGNITE competition by sending their original technological ideas to solve any problem in day to day life or real life technological innovations demonstrating innovative ways of solving problems/ reducing drudgery/generating efficiency/ conserving resources etc.

More than 28,000 entries were received this year of which 31 best ideas made the cut.

This year the ‘Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards 2015’ were given by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in the presence of state chief minister Anandiben Patel.

President Pranab Mukherjee interacts with a young innovator at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards 2015

1. Innovation: Water filter/purifier at source

Names: Soring Lepcha, Class 4, and Subash Prodhan, Class 5, Lingzya Junior High School

Place: North Sikkim, Sikkim

Inspiration behind the idea: Most people today prefer to use a water filter/purifier at their home.

Both the children have given idea to have filter/purifier at the source of water so that everyone has access to clean water without having to make an investment in purchasing a filter/purifier.

Soring’s idea is to have a centralised purification system at the point of distribution like water tank while Subash’s idea is to have such purifiers attached to public taps.

2. Hand rest for fractured hand

Name: Adi Kumar, Class 5, Deens Academy

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Inspiration behind the idea: Generally shoulder arm slings are used to provide support to a fractured hand.

Using this for a long time sometimes give discomfort to the neck/ shoulder region.

Adi’s idea is to have a waist worn appendage, which can provide support to a fractured hand instead of the sling. The fractured arm would be rested comfortably on the appendage and kept in position by straps.

3. Umbrella for more than five persons

Name: Tarna Joy Tripura, class 6, Kabi Guro Rabindra Nath Smiti

Location: Dhalai, Tripura

Inspiration behind the idea: Many times, it becomes difficult for more than one person to share an umbrella during rains. Young Tunnab has given an idea of an umbrella, which could be held by two children from two sides under which other children can stand and thus go to school together without getting wet.

4. Alerting system for bus drivers

Names: Pradyumna Kumar Pal, class 7, Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir, Unit-3, Khordha, Orissa; and Rahul Kumar, class 9, Rajkiya Balak Uchh Vidyalaya, Patna, Bihar

Sometimes accidents occur when a passenger puts his body part outside the bus window. Pradyumna and Rahul have independently conceived an idea of an alerting system for the bus driver, which enables them to know which passenger has put his hand or head outside the bus window.

5. Reversible benches at public places

Name: Simran Chadha, Class 8, BCM Arya Public School

Location: Ludhiana, Punjab

Simran’s idea is to have reversible benches at public places so that if they become wet (due to rains) or dirty, they can be rotated using a handle so that the other side, which comes up can be used.

6. Solar seeder

Name: Subash Chandra Bose, Class 8, St Sebasthiyar Matriculation School

Location: Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu

Subash has developed a solar powered seed drill, which can undertake plantation for different size of seeds at variable depth and space between two seeds.

7. Looms for physically challenged

Name: R Elakkiya, Class 6 and R Pavithra, Class 9, SRC Memorial Matriculation

Location: Erode, Tamil Nadu

The two sisters have come up with loom for lower limbed physically challenged. In their loom they have replaced the pedal operated system with a motor and a gearbox attached to a pulley mechanism.

8. A device to collect Mahua flowers from ground

Name: Lipsa Pradhan, Class 9, Government High School, Kamagaon

Location: Bargarh, Orissa

Mahua flowers have many medicinal properties and are also used to make pickles, jams, and now ice creams as well. Lipsa has suggested a manual device like a lawn mover, which can collect Mahua flowers, which are otherwise picked up by hands, which is a time consuming and tiring process.

9. Pebble indicating system for cooking vessel

Name: Mohd. Tawseef Thoker, Class 9, Government Higher Secondary School, Nihama

Location: Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir

It happens many a times that while cleaning food grains for cooking, some impurities remain, which get cooked with the food. Tawseef suggests having a vessel with sensors, which can indicate the presence of pebbles or other similar impurities in rice or other food grains being cooked.

10. Gas lighter with gas leak alarm

Name: Nilesh Ras, Class 9, DAV Inter High School

Location: Patna, Bihar

A lot of mishaps occur when cooking gas regulator has been left on accidentally or due to a gas leak. Nilesh’s idea is to have a gas lighter, which can sense and indicate gas leakage before it is lighted thereby preventing accidents.

11. Innovative dustbin

Name: Prem Ranjan Singh, Shivani Singh, Ankush Pal, Class 9, Divya Jyoti English High School

Location: Daman, Daman & Diu

Concerned with the sight of overflowing garbage bins, the three friends have come with an idea of a dustbin with separate slots for bio-degradable and non bio-degradable waste with a message sending facility to the municipality once dustbin is filled up to a preset level.

12. Lac extraction machine

Name: Saurabh Dey, Class 10, Govt. High School, Barajamda

Location: West Singhbhum, Jharkhand

For lac extraction generally the lac coated branches of host trees are cut, crushed and sieved to remove impurities.

Saurabh has made a machine, which can remove lac from the branches without breaking them. As a result, the amount of impurities is lesser in lac and it takes lesser effort to clean it.

13. Pay as you weigh!

Name: Rishab Mallick, Class 10, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort William

Location: Howrah, West Bengal

An idea of an automatic ticketing system where fare is calculated as per the weight of the passenger and his luggage

14. Passcode based locking system in gas stove

Name: Nim Lepcha, Class 10, Gor Secondary School

Location: North Sikkim, Sikkim

An idea to have a manual or digital pass code system for gas stoves to avoid accidents involving children.

15. Spectacle microscope

Name: Hadasha Ruangmi, Class 10, Lorna’s School

Dimapur, Nagaland

An idea to have wearable microscope like a spectacle so that it becomes easy to store, carry and use.

16. Seed container that indicates growth of germs

Name: Deepti Manjari Dakua, Class 10, Bahadjhole Girls High School

Location: Nayagrah, Orissa

An idea to have a seed container, which can detect the growth of organism by detecting increase in temperature of the container and alert

17. Colour coded thermometer

Names: Jaspreet Kaur, Class 10, Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar, Punjab; and Janmejay Rathore, Class 12, CMR PU College, Bangalore, Karnataka

An idea to have a colour coding scheme in thermometers to indicate fever level.

It shows red for emergency, orange for intermediate temperature and green for normal.

It also gives out precautionary measures and even dials an ambulance in case of an emergency!

18. Machine to pluck Tendu leaves

Name: Bharat, Class 11, Shashkiya Uchhtar Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Bacheli

Location: Dakshin Bastar, Chhattisgarh

Collecting Tendu leaves is one of the important sources of income in the tribal regions.

The leaves are plucked manually, which is a tedious process. Bharat’s idea is to have a machine to pluck Tendu leaves from the tree.

It would have blades for cutting the leaves, a container to store leaves and a sensor based sorter to segregate leaves according to their size.

19. Watch with medicine delivery system

Names: Navjot Kaur, Class 11, Senior Secondary Model School, Chandigarh; and Vaishnavi Patra, Class 9, Odisha Demonstrated Multipurpose Public School, Khorda, Orissa

An idea of a watch, which can store and timely deliver appropriate dose of medicine to the person.

20. Printed paper reclaiming machine

Name: Arvind Gopalkrishnan, Class 11, Smt. Narbada Devi J. Agarwal Vivekananda Vidyalaya Jr College

Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu

An idea of printer like device, which can erase all data on a printed page fed to it making it plain and hence reusable.

21. Smart Walking Stick

Name: Siddhant Khanna, Class 11, Sanskriti School

Location: New Delhi

A walking stick for the elderly and the visually challenged with many features like counting of steps, medicine reminder, locator, emergency alarm, fall detector and automatic torch, etc.

22. Drawbridge door for trains

Names: Ram Akash, Class 11, Excel Central School, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu; and Nimisha Katyayan, Class 12, DAV Kapil Dev Public School, Ranchi, Jharkhand

An idea to have a drawbridge door for trains, which when opened at the railway platforms, acts like a ramp, making it easy for people to carry their luggage inside the train bogie.

23. Solar pulse thresher

Name: Dipankar Das, Class 12, Govt. Senior Secondary School, Diglipur

Location: North Andaman, Andaman & Nicobar Islands

A device for efficient threshing of matured pulses (grains, green gram, black gram, arhar, horse gram) without using electricity or fossil fuels, thereby reducing the harvesting cost.

24. Differentiating artificially and naturally ripened fruits

Name: Neha, Class 12, Govt. Model Sr. Secondary School, PAP campus

Location: Jalandhar, Punjab

Neha suggests having paper like litmus paper, which can change its colour depending upon the level of naturally occurring sugar in a fruit thereby helping distinguish between artificially and naturally ripened fruits.

25. Stress monitoring mechanism in animals

Name: Diva Sharma, Class 12, GD Goenka Public School

Location: New Delhi

An app, which records the respiratory rate, temperature, pulse rate, heart beat rate of animals, through sensors attached to their bodies.

The program also performs an analysis of the co-dependency of these parameters to each other and prompts for a stressful condition, if parameters vary beyond a range.

26. Foot operated door opening mechanism

Name: Jayprakash B Rathwa, Class 12, Shree Gram Shala Grambharti, Gandhinagar, Gujarat; and Tanmay Takale, Class 12, Shri Mhalsakant Vidyalya

Location: Pune, Maharashtra

An idea to have a system using which a door can be opened by activating a sensor using a leg.

This may be useful for the physically disabled or someone carrying load in both hands. It can also be used in public toilets.

27. Punching machine with hole reinforcement feature

Name: Tanmay Takale, Class 12, Shri Mhalsakant Vidyalya

Location: Pune, Maharashtra

An idea to have a punching machine with a hole reinforcement mechanism so that the punched holes last longer and do not tear off from inside.

28. Body suit

Name: Ayush Gupta and Arnov Sharma, Class 12, Delhi Public School

Location: Haridwar, Uttrakhand

An mechanical exoskeleton or suit, which can support a physically disabled person, and aid orthopedic patients.

29. Low cost grass and leaf cutting machine

Name: Sapir Debbarma and Klishan Debbarma, Class 12, Bharat Sardar H. S. School

Location: Khowai, Tripura

A hand held cutting machine for cutting grass and leaves.

30. Portable latch for restrooms

Name: PS Senthur Balaji, Class 12, Maharishi International Residential School, Kanchipuram

Location: Erode, Tamil Nadu

An idea of a latch useful for people travelling frequently or in rural areas, which can be used for locking a door temporarily. This can be used in public restrooms or other places that lack latches.

31. Soundproof hammer

Name: Prithwish Dutta, Class 12, Don Bosco High & Technical School

Location: Howrah, West Bengal

An idea of a soundproof hammer, which would not make any sound when struck against any object. The impact energy would be absorbed in the hammer itself, which will be covered with a foam like substance.

So, which of these innovations did you like the most? Tell us! Share your views in the messageboard below!

All Photographs: Courtesy National Innovation Foundation India

Source…..www.rediff.com

Natarajan

” Chennai floods: Saved by Muslim man, Hindu couple names Newborn after Rescuer…”

December 9, 2015Natarajan1 Comment

Among tales of humanity emerging from rain-battered Chennai is a story of a Hindu couple who have named their newborn after a Muslim who came to their rescue when the crisis blew them over.

Chitra and Mohan, hailing from Urapakkam which suffered one of the worst flooding in the city’s southern neighbourhood, named their daughter Yunus after the MBA graduate, who rescued the pregnant woman from neck-deep waters and moved her to a hospital.

The couple thanked Yunus by naming their daughter after him, with the businessman now promising to take care of his namesake’s educational expenses.

Narrating the experience, Yunus said, “I hail from Nungambakkam and I realised on the night of December 2 something is not right and I thought of helping my friends in Urapakkam area, which was one of the worst-hit areas due to the heavy rainfall.”

The screams of a woman in the area initially sounded like a frightened reaction to Yunus and his friends, but “later I realised she was undergoing labour pain”, Yunus told PTI.

At first, my objective was to take her and the family to a safer place and we moved her to nearby Perungalathur by boat. That 15-minute journey is unforgettable,” he said.

However, he got the surprise of his life when Mohan informed him that he has named his daughter Yunus.

In a text message to Yunus, Mohan informed him of the birth of his daughter and his decision to name her after the Muslim postgraduate.

“We take pride in this,” Mohan had told him.

Having himself been a victim of a disaster, Mohan has vowed to contribute 50 per cent of his salary for the needy.

Asked whether he had time to pay a visit to the child, Yunus said he was still helping those affected with his 15-member team.

“The full credit goes to the team, my friends and the fishermen from Besant Nagar beach. They were there with me always and still helping to take part in the relief efforts”, he said.

“As far as the child is concerned, I will definitely pay a visit soon. Through you, I wish to inform them that the child’s education fees would be fully borne by me,” he said.

Source…..www.rediff.com

Natarajan

” Occupation: Mother! ….”……

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The officer at the driving license counter asked the lady: “What is your occupation?“

The woman, seeking a renewal of her license seemed to be puzzled.

so the officer said “Ma’am, are you employed, have your own business or…”

“Oh yes!‘ The woman replied, “I do have a full-time occupation. I am a mother!“

The officer rolled his eyes: “We don’t have ‘mother’ as an option for occupation. I’ll write it down as ‘housewife’. That takes care of all questions.”

This had happened long ago, and was forgotten. Years later, when I (the woman in the story, if you hadn’t guessed) went to get my license, the public relations officer was a somewhat pompous woman.

“Your occupation?” she asked in a rather authoritative tone.

I just had a moment pf inspiration and replied “I am a researcher in the field of child development, nutrition and inter-personal relationships.”

The lady officer stared at me in amazement.

I calmly repeated my statement and she wrote it down verbatim. Then, unable to conceal her curiosity, she politely asked “What exactly do you do in your profession, ma’am?”

I was feeling good about having described my occupation so calmly and confidently. so I replied “My research projects have been going on for a number of years (mothers NEVER retire).

My research is conducted in the laboratory as well as in the field.

I have two bosses (one is god and the other is my entire family).

I have received two honors in this field. (a son and a daughter)

My topic is considered to be the most difficult part of sociology.

(all moms will agree).

I have to work more than 14 hours every day. Sometimes even 24 hours are not enough and the challenges are tougher than many other professions. My compensation is in terms of mental satisfaction rather than money.”

I could see that the officer was thoroughly impressed. After completing the

licensing formalities, she came to the door to see me off.

This new viewpoint about my occupation made me feel much better on my way back home.

I was welcomed by my 5-year-old research assistant at the door. My new project (my 6-month old baby) was energetically practicing her ‘music’.

I had earned a small victory over the governmental red tape today. I was no longer merely ‘a mother ‘. Instead, I was now a highly placed functionary in a service vital to mankind – motherhood!

‘Mother ‘ – isn’t it a great title? Fit to be added to the nameplate on the door?

By this standard, grandmothers deserve to be called senior research officers, and great- grandmothers qualify as ‘research directors ‘. Aunts and other ladies of that age group can be called ‘research facilitators’!

Please share this with all mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, all ladies currently holding posts like this – they deserve it!

Photos courtesy of: Ambro, David Castillo Dominici / freedigitalphotos.net

Source……….. Alejandra B.…in http://www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day…”Keep your eyes pure. Fill your ears with stories of Divine; don’t allow them to listen to calumny. Use your tongue for uttering good, kind, and true words”

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

People have taught the eye, ear, and tongue the luxury of constant novelty. Now do the opposite. Turn your mind towards the good and examine every minute’s activities. Each deed is a chisel stroke shaping the rock of human personality. A wrong stroke may disfigure the rock. Therefore even the tiniest of acts must be done with great care and devotion. For a drowning person, even a reed is some support. So too to a person struggling in the sea of inborn desires (samskara), a few kind words might be of great help. No good deed is a waste; every bad deed has its consequence. So strive to avoid the slightest trace of evil activity. Keep your eyes pure. Fill your ears with stories of Divine; don’t allow them to listen to calumny. Use your tongue for uttering good, kind, and true words. Let it always remind you of God. Such constant effort will grant you victory.

” Watch This Bangalore Kid Control Traffic Like a Pro!…”

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Remember that feeling when you were stuck in traffic for about 20 minutes – chaos all around, cars honking for no obvious reason, and the frustration level crossing all limits? And then, suddenly, everything seems to have been organised. Lines are formed, the vehicles that should be moving are moving, and those who should be waiting are patient. “How did that happen?” you wonder. And looking out of the window, you usually find someone signalling instructions – either a traffic cop, or someone else who just decided to clear things up without any help.

But imagine looking out to find that the person, who is suddenly making the traffic flow so smoothly, is actually a kid. Yes! A kid, manning the traffic signal like a pro.

Watch it happening in this video, when a kid decided to take up the role of a traffic controller at the Jayanagar South End junction in Bangalore.

While many seem to be ignoring him in the beginning, he has an attitude that definitely cannot be ignored for long.

Source…..Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

This Engineer from a Village in Karnataka Won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award in London

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Have a hobby that you love? Pursue it with passion and hard work. That is exactly what Raviprakash, an engineer from a small village in Karnataka, did. And his efforts were recognized in London, where he won a very prestigious award for wildlife photography. Here is what he has to say to other aspiring photographers.

“It is a dream come true,” says Raviprakash SS — last year’s winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award in the ‘Amphibians and Reptiles’ category. “I won the category award for the picture titled Divine Snake – a shot of a green vine snake clicked from behind it, focussing only on the eye. That is the most memorable picture I have taken till now. It has always been one of my favourites,” he adds.

Born in Hosahalli village, located in the Malnad region of Karnataka, Raviprakash grew up amidst the beauty of the Western Ghats.\

Raviprakash SS

He was surrounded by rich biodiversity and a picturesque environment. It was there that he first developed his love for exploring nature and wildlife.

Raviprakash is interested in Macro Photography

“I was very interested in photography since childhood. During my high school days my father bought me a point and shoot camera, with which I used to capture all family functions or outings.”

Building upon this hobby later in life, Raviprakash began exploring macro photography techniques.

Divine Snake

“The macro mode interested me. I started by capturing flowers, butterflies, dew drops, etc. My interest went on developing. Based on the suggestions of my friends and mentors, I bought a DSLR camera about seven years ago,” he recounts. Macro photography is extreme close up photography of small objects; it captures them in such a way that the size of the subjects appears larger than the life size in the photograph.

On October 21, 2014, at the Natural History Museum in London, 37-year-old Raviprakash’s talent was recognized and he received the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

The prestigious award

Considered to be one of the most prestigious honours for wildlife photography, this award ceremony, which dates back to 1965, is organized every year by the Natural History Museum. The photographs are showcased at an exhibition in the Museum and appear on their website. They are also published in BBC Wildlife Magazine and other leading publications. Last year was the 50th year of the award, and the exhibition attracted nearly 1.5 lakh visitors.

A popular choice award was also introduced and Raviprakash won the second prize, based on worldwide voting.

The Museum calls for entries every year and participants can enter up to 24 photos. Last year, the competition received about 43,000 entries from 96 countries. The panel of judges includes people from different fields related to photography and the environment. There are 14 categories, with four finalists in each. Winners receive a cash prize of £ 1,250, and the trip to London is also sponsored.

Raviprakash is a software engineer by profession. Photography for him was always a weekend hobby.

Macro photography is very beautiful and colourful but very few people are exploring it well.

“The support given by my family and friends encouraged me to take it up more passionately. I did some reading and watched online videos. I had many mentors too, some of whom are guiding me even now. Once in a while, I used to visit my hometown, just to spend my days shooting. And after the award I started taking it a lot more seriously.”

Initially, after taking many pictures for about three years, Raviprakash felt that he was only documenting things — like seeing a butterfly and capturing its image. This became somewhat boring for the artist in him. Then, one of his mentors, Ganesh H. Shankar, formed a website called Creative Nature Photography.

The aim was to capture things in a unique and artistic manner, rather than just documenting them.]

“It has become a very interesting journey from then on. I am not really interested in capturing all the details of the subject. I am more interested in capturing in an artistic way,” says an enthusiastic Raviprakash. Currently posted in Bangalore, he plans to take up wildlife photography full time in the future.

Speaking about the equipment he uses, Raviprakash says, “I feel a lot of photographers these days think that only a high end camera can result in good pictures. But my award winning pictures are from an old Nikon D5000 camera.”

He also has some useful tips for amateur photographers who want to take up wildlife photography as a career.

1. Understand your equipment well because you don’t need expensive cameras. I am not against someone buying an advanced camera that will definitely help in taking better pictures. But ultimately it’s the person behind the camera who matters the most.

2. Some people think that wildlife photography is all about big cats and elephants. But you don’t need to visit wildlife sanctuaries to become a good photographer. Macro photography is very beautiful and colourful but very few people are exploring it well.

3. Understand your location and subject(s). Pay attention to factors like light, angles and moods.

4. Learn to click, click to learn — click as many pictures as possible for practical knowledge.

5. Background is as important as subject. Choose it carefully.

6. Share your pictures on various forums that are frequented by good photographers and be open to criticism.

7. Shoot in aperture/shutter priority/manual modes. Control your output rather than leaving everything to the camera to decide.

8. Don’t get bogged down by technical terms and details.

9. A two-hour field trip along with good photographers helps you gain more knowledge than two days of indoor workshops or online learning.

“Hard work always gives the right dividends. I hail from a small village. That’s where my journey started. I want to highlight that the result may not be visible overnight but if someone is interested in something they should pursue it passionately and should be open to criticism and learning,” concludes Raviprakash.

Source….Tanaya Singh in http://www.the betterindia .com\

Natarajan

” : I Lost Everything in the #ChennaiFloods but It Still Left Me with Gratitude…”

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Our home was destroyed. We were stranded. But wave upon wave of humanity kept our spirits high and our belief in the Indian people afloat.

It was Tuesday morning. I woke up at 6 am, made breakfast and bid goodbye to my husband who left for office at 7:15 am. I was still trying to get my house back in order since the first wave of floods had hit us the week before. The cleaning and washing seemed to be never ending. I started the washing machine and lay down next to my 5-year-old daughter, checking to see if there was anything about the incessant rains in the news. There was nothing – the media seemed to be obsessed with how Aamir Khan had the right to be afraid of living in India, and the twists in the Sheena Bora case.

The rain was still at its peak. At 8 am, I looked outside. The water level had reached the main gate. I knew my maid wouldn’t come now, so I thought I’d clean the dishes first. I had barely done two dishes when I felt the urge to look out again.

The water had touched the porch now.

I left the dishes and started putting our clothes in a travel bag. Thankfully, I had the keys to an empty second floor flat. I went upstairs and left our clothes there, then packed the induction cook top, electric kettle, a few utensils, my laptop, a couple of rice and daal packets, and biscuits. After carrying this bag upstairs, I thought I’d wake up my baby and give her breakfast. But by the time I came back to the ground floor, water had started entering the verandah. I woke up my kid, took six bottles of water and her brush and toothpaste, and rushed her to the second floor.

After settling her there, I came back and tried to put as many of our belongings as I could on the beds and on the top shelves of the cupboards. By this time the water was about to enter the house. I thought I’d drag a mattress and a few blankets upstairs but suddenly the power went off. I got worried that my daughter would get scared in the dark, so I just picked up three blankets and rushed to the second floor. Around this time my husband called and said he was leaving office to come back home. His office is an hour away so I was praying that he would reach us safely.

I kept trying to call for help. Taxi services were busy. Rescue teams assured me that they would send help. But none was forthcoming as yet.

My daughter was hungry by now. I had raw food but no resources to cook it. I kept standing near the window, waiting for my husband. Suddenly, I saw four young men going through the water on the other side of the road. I thought they were the rescue people sent for me. I called out for help. At first they did not hear me but when they passed by a second time they did. I asked if they were from the rescue team.

“We are not a rescue team ma’am but we will help. Tell us what you want,” said one of them.

These were four unknown boys. I was not sure if I was doing the right thing but I called them in. My husband was stuck in a water wave in the lane next to our house. His phone was not reachable now.

The boys came in. I asked if they could get the gas stove and cylinder to the second floor. Without wasting a second, they started helping me.

I gathered more food while they were trying to take the stove upstairs. They also helped me get the drinking water can to the second floor.

After ensuring that my daughter and I were alright, they left, smiling and giggling.

The four boys who helped without expecting anything in return – Sagar, Suresh, Jagan and Gopal

The water was rising so fast, that by this time it had reached knee level inside my house. Thankfully, my husband reached home by 2 pm and started rescuing as many of our belongings as he could. Things like the fridge, washing machine, sofa and bed had started floating.

By 5:30 pm, it was so dark that it was impossible to see anything inside the house. We went back up to the second floor, waiting for the rain to stop. But it kept raining…

Next morning.

The entire ground floor was under water!

A few families from the ground floor flats had shifted to their neighbours’ homes on the first floor. But this morning they just wanted to get out of there. It was only a matter of a few hours before the water would reach this floor too.

We finally saw a boat at the entrance of our area at 9 am. The boat rescued just one family and went away. People kept whistling, clapping and calling out for help. Later on, I came to know that it was the family of the municipality head of our area. No helplines were working. The next boat came at 1 pm. It did not stop anywhere else but only at a house next to our flats. The family was rescued. We pleaded with the boatman to come back, and he said he would, but never did!

I could see from our terrace that a couple on the terrace behind ours was desperate to leave. I asked them if they were alright and they said they had climbed up to the first floor without any food or water. We started sharing food with them. But water was too limited!

By 5:30 pm it was almost dark and we lost hope of getting any help now. Several helicopters had flown by during the day but food and water had not yet been distributed.

Next morning.

The water level was going down. We could see the boundary walls of the ground floor houses now. Our neighbours decided to walk through the water once it came down to hip level. We were in a dilemma whether to do the same but finally decided to go ahead. We were about to leave when a small boat carrying two elderly ladies passed us from the backyard. We called out for help. When we told them that we have a kid with us, they allowed us to get in.

The boat left us till the main road where an ambulance was ready to take people to a government school. All this was being done by an organization called TMMK.

When we asked them where we should go, one of them offered us his own home.

We kept looking for hotels and finally got a room in one. Once our family was safe, my husband went back to our area to help others.

In the meantime, my friends were using social media to the fullest extent possible to help me. Some had tagged as many as they could on Twitter. Others had posted my address on Facebook. One friend had even arranged for us to join her relative in his hotel room.

There were friends who kept calling helpline numbers and sending me the same too. My employers ordered food for us, called up the disaster management team, and managed to speak to a boat guy to come rescue us.

All this time, I don’t know why, but I was pretty relaxed. We were happy about all the positive things that were happening with us amongst all the chaos.

Here are 6 lessons I learnt:

1. The water level in our area rose so suddenly, not due to rain, but because the canal water had to be opened by the government. We don’t know why this decision was made but perhaps we could have been alerted.

2. When the lady from the balcony opposite ours came out and saw me on the second floor, she exclaimed: “Thank God, you are safe.” She is Tamilian and I am North Indian (as she knows). Yes, Tamilians and North Indians feel happy when they see each other safe!

3. The four young boys who helped me did not know my name, status or religion. Yes, young boys are good people too. And there are still people who will help without expecting anything in return.

4. My husband risked his life to reach us and kept struggling till the end to save our belongings. Yes, though men don’t show their emotions, they can go to any extent to save their families.

5. I have always understood the plight of farmers and tried to help them. But this time, when my house was sinking with all the little things inside it that my husband and I had put together through our efforts in the past seven years, I could feel the pain that a farmer goes through every year his crop is destroyed.

6. When government boats decided to rescue only important people, a common man’s organization came forward to help the needy. Do you know what TMMK stands for? Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham. They did not ask if we were Hindus or Muslims or Christians. So this whole debate about India being intolerant is just a news and social media creation. During the three days, whenever I switched on my phone to check for important messages, all I saw was that my Hindu, Muslim and Christian friends were equally concerned about me. I did not see any intolerance anywhere.

When actors say they don’t feel safe in our country… I just pity their thinking.

Jai Hind!

Source….” My Story ” of a Chennai Resident as reported by Manabi Katoch in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan