message for the day – Page 150 – Take off with Natarajan

Two accidents, a wheelchair and a National award….

October 7, 2015October 7, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

At 22, I had so many dreams — disability was definitely not part of the plan.

“In the Indian society, disability almost always invites sympathy and charity.

“Heck, once a woman gave me 25 paise — just because I was sitting outside a temple and was disabled, she thought I was a beggar!

“This stigmatisation is unshakeable from our mindsets.”

Years ago, a fateful accident overturned Shivani Gupta’s life for the worse. How she bounced back and emerged a winner is an inspiring tale in itself.

Shivani Gupta was a young and independent girl from Delhi.

Having spent most of her life studying in different parts of the country and living by herself, she was one of those buoyant and self-assured individuals with a solid plan and all the commitment needed to see it through.

And sure enough, good things were happening to her.

Graduating from the Institute of Hotel Management, living in the capital, landing a job as a guest relations officer at a five star hotel — for the twenty-something, her life’s best decade seemed to be playing out like clockwork.

Until one night, when she had invited some friends over for a little soiree.

The bunch partied into the night, until it started getting late and was time for everyone to go home.

Shivani volunteered to drop a female friend back to her hotel; but that car ride changed everything.

They met with a massive accident, inflicting a spinal cord injury on the 22-year-old that rendered her quadriplegic.

To say that she bounced back and immediately got her life back together would be a lie, but how grandly she did when she managed to, is a story worth telling.

Identity crisis

An identity crisis was washed ashore with her brand new circumstances.

She knew her life was going to undergo a whirlwind of changes, but she could not foresee just how it would unfold.

“I had no idea what this disability meant, and was absolutely clueless how to deal with it. I did not know what to expect any more.

“At 22, I had so many dreams — disability was definitely not part of the plan.

“Back then, there was zero awareness about dealing with it — so this situation had a disheartening sense of finality. It was a long journey until I felt I could face the world.”

Post the accident, Shivani lost her ideal job back at the hotel.

“Corporates weren’t open to employing people with disability. I was told that there is recession, so they couldn’t continue to employ me.

“I didn’t even know that I had the right to fight for it, that it was even possible. I accepted thinking there really was no alternative.”

Getting back into the game

Soon Shivani saw that she could channelise her need to still be part of the world, into a different hobby.

“I started painting. My hands were paralysed, so by moving them in this light manoeuvers, it proved to be therapeutic.

“I started selling my hand painted art. Wherever I would hear of exhibitions, melas and events, I would show up with my table and collection,” she said.

“I knew for a fact that I wasn’t the best painter — so I always had this dilemma.

“Were people purchasing my stuff because it was good, or merely because I was disabled?

“I couldn’t have lived with the answer if it was the latter, so even before I could find out, I decided to try my hand at something else.”

Around that time, she had the opportunity to join a rehabilitation centre in the UK for two months — to explore the idea of accessibility.

That programme was her first tryst with the concept, and she learnt that she was also entitled to some rights in spite of her physical condition.

Helping others like her find meaning

When she returned from the programme in 1996, she was determined to go all out in spreading the word — for there finally seemed to be some hope.

The Indian Spinal Injuries Centre back then, was still skeletal and in the process of being constructed.

It was an alien concept after all, trying to console a person impaired by injuries.

Shivani joined there as a counsellor to interact with patients in the same situation as her, and continued to do her bit in building hundreds of morales for six years.

“Back then, raising awareness was the need of the hour, for no one was really willing to offer hope to us,” says Shivani.

Her pursuit of normalcy led her to a UNESCAP training programme in Bangkok, at their headquarters.

‘Training in non-handicapping environment’ was the purpose of this seminar, and Shivani learnt how it is not only her right, but the government’s responsibility to grant her the means to compete with the world at an equal footing.

She returned to India and immediately laid the framework to spearhead a series of five workshops for NGOs and governmental representatives from all states of the country.

Even though she laid an elaborate enough plan for the representatives to adopt, nothing from the seminar even found place in discourse for a long, long time.

“This mostly fell apart, because they couldn’t see live examples. Nothing was accessible at all.

“Thus, our attendees didn’t integrate it in their work. There was a much longer training programme and much more commitment required,” explains Shivani.

She co-authored one of the first pieces of literature on the subject, but felt a dearth in her own knowledge as well.

AccessAbility

“I felt like I needed to study further, so I pursued a Masters in Architecture Design in UK from EDEXCEL, and went on to procure a post graduate degree in MSc in Inclusive Environments at the University of Reading, UK.”

With a whole list of tangible solutions, now, Shivani could offer not only a first person’s perspective on disability and the needs that the disabled have — she also helped an organisation with well-researched and expert ideas to implement accessibility mechanisms.

Under the name AccessAbility, she kicked off in 2006.

“Our concentrated work on accessibility engaged in all kinds of things.

“Be it the private sector, hospitality, retail, people wanting to employ disable people, educational institutes — we gave them the entire plan of how they could make their infrastructure and practices disabled-friendly.”

Shivani’s initiative even became a name to reckon with internationally, as she associated with the office of the High Commissioner in Human Rights in Geneva.

Things were starting to look up, and she was finally starting to discover her place in the world again.

Faced with loss yet again

But in 2009 an unexpected turn of events threatened to disrupt, once again, everything she had rebuilt.

Shivani met with another accident, and this one claimed the life of her soul-mate and pillar of strength — her husband.

Her father-in-law was also a victim in the accident.

Deeply disturbed by the loss of her companion, Shivani knew she had to heal herself and keep going.

After all, she wouldn’t have survived two such colossal calamities if she didn’t have a purpose to fulfil in the world.

How she decided to heal, was by writing her first book, No Looking Back — an autobiography.

“Writing about myself had me thinking deeply about so many things, and made me realise that all the answers I was looking for could be found in my own story.

“I learned to make my peace with things I couldn’t control when I wrote about them.”

Winning the National Award for being a role model

Her unwavering resolve resonated with many greats of the country, as she was presented with various honours and awards for never letting go of her spirit — The NCEPRD — Shell Helen Keller Award awarded for her work in increasing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities; the CavinKare Ability Mastery Award for being a role model; the Snowdon Award for Disabled Students, and the Neerja Bhanot Award given yearly to a woman subjected to social injustice, who faces the situation with grit and determination.

In fact, she was also an illustrious recipient of the National Award instituted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment presented to her by none other than the former President of India — Late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

“The most special one to me, amongst these, is the Neerja Bhanot award.

“The entire organising team, upon learning of my condition, arranged for ramps to be put up on their staircases so I could go up to the arena myself.

“Although the ramps turned out to be very steep, I was deeply moved. It was the thought that mattered.”

‘Once a woman gave me 25 paise’

It is not everyday though, that Shivani meets people with such empathy and maturity.

“In the Indian society, disability almost always invites sympathy and charity.

“Heck, once a woman gave me 25 paise — just because I was sitting outside a temple and was disabled, she thought I was a beggar!

“This stigmatisation is unshakeable from our mindsets.

“No one understands that the disability is just one of our many characteristics. Say, if you were to go to Russia and don’t speak the language, you would be disabled in that regard too. But that doesn’t mean you are completely useless. Similarly, we have many abilities too.”

Far from being inept, this woman is iconic — in her optimism, her courage, her unshackled spirit, she is a stalwart for everyone who has had trouble seeing the light.

“Be patient, take life as it comes, and always be thankful,” she concludes.

Source….Binjal Singh….www.rediff.com

natarajan

Message for the Day…” Love, Equanimity,Rectitude and Nonviolence are the Virtues Expected of a True Devotee …”

October 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Sathya Sai Baba

Some clever people might have this doubt and raise a question: “Can we kill and injure in the name of the Lord, dedicating the act to Him?” Well, how can a person get the attitude of dedicating all activities to the Lord without at the same time being pure in thought, word, and deed? Love, equanimity, rectitude, nonviolence — these are the attendant virtues of the servant of the Lord. How can cruelty and callousness coexist with these virtues? To have selflessness, the spirit of self-sacrifice, and the spiritual eminence required for the dedicatory outlook, one must have first won the four characteristics of truth, peace, love and nonviolence (sathya, santhi, prema, ahimsa). Devoid of these four virtues no one can make any deed a worthy offering at His Feet.

6 Amazing Facts About Baripatha – Odisha’s First 100% Solar Powered Village….

October 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Baripatha has become the first village in Odisha to be entirely solar-powered, with an individual solar unit for every household.

After waiting for electricity for several years, lives of the residents of Baripatha, a tribal village in Odisha, changed for the better on Oct. 2, 2015. On this day, Baripatha became the first village in the state to be completely powered by solar energy.

Here are few things to know about the village and this project:

1. Baripatha is located about 25 km southwest of Bhubaneswar. The village has 61 households, and a population of about 350 people.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Premasagar Rose/Flickr

2. The project cost Rs. 7 lakh and was co-funded by the solar products manufacturer, ECCO Electronics, and the power solutions provider, Jackson Group.

“We requested companies such as Nalco, Ecco Solar and Jackson Solar to help us with the solar project for the village…This model can be replicated all over Odisha to provide power to its nearly 3,900 villages,” senior IPS officer Joydeep Nayak, who is the driving force behind this initiative, told The Times of India.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Flickr

3. Under this project, individual solar units with two solar home-lighting systems, which also have the facility of charging mobile phones and other devices, have been installed for each of the 61 households in the village.

This is accompanied by a central one-kilowatt unit for the entire village that will be used to power the eight street lamps along with a LED television set and TV set-top box that have been provided to the villagers and have been installed in their community centre.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Flickr

4. The central solar unit has eight panels that can be folded quickly in case of cyclones and high-speed winds that are frequent in Odisha.

The unit can also operate a one-horsepower irrigation pump.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Flickr

5. What makes the project in Baripatha is that in most rural solar projects, there is a central unit which supplies power to all households.

But that leads to many problems like the exposed cables being tapped by villagers. In this case, some households draw more power than their share, which in turn causes the central line to trip because of overload. Thus, to avoid such issues, individual units have been set up for each household.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: Flickr

6. The entire solar project is low cost, low maintenance and community owned.

The only maintenance needed now is the regular cleaning of panels and ensuring that water levels of batteries for the central unit are at the required mark. According to ECCO CEO, Vivek Bihani, the whole village was involved in the planning and execution of the project. “Village mukhia Narayan Hisa along with a local ITI diploma holder, Epil Kumar Singh, are responsible for the maintenance,” he informed.

Source: YouTube

The project was inaugurated on Friday by the chairman and managing director of National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Tapan Kumar Chand. He, along with the other state officials, distributed the two lighting systems to each household.

Source…..Tanaya Singh….www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

How One School Used Solar Power to Go from Being an Electricity Consumer to Electricity Producer …

October 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

In the small coastal town of Pondicherry, south of Chennai, there is a school that is not only self-reliant in terms of energy but is also sharing the excess it produces with other buildings in the area.

The Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education (SAICE) in Pondicherry has been operating on green energy since September 2014.

Many schools encourage their students to switch off the fans and lights after use, plant trees and take other initiatives to save energy. However, very few go beyond just asking them to take precautions and save energy. SAICE is different.

This educational institute is self-reliant in terms of energy; it meets all its energy requirements through solar power. Moreover, it produces three times the electricity it consumes and lights up many other buildings with the excess energy.

Sri Aurobindo Ashram

And it has done so by devising and implementing a project almost entirely on its own.

SAICE is a part of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry. It was in 2012 that Dr. Brahmanand Mohanty, an alumnus of SAICE, came up with the idea of making the ashram energy efficient with the help of a sustainable model.

“As the Indian economy continues to grow, so will its energy consumption. The country’s primary energy consumption more than doubled between 1990 and 2011. As the demand continues to grow, keeping pace with the GDP growth, the energy sector is struggling to deliver a secure supply of energy,” says Dr. Mohanty, explaining why he thought this move was important. Hailing from Odisha, Dr. Mohanty is currently working as the Visiting Professor at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, and has been engaged in the area of energy and environment managements since the last three decades.

According to Dr. Mohanty, many rural areas of the country do not have access to electricity. And urban India uses energy-intensive appliances, resulting in electricity shortage.

The entrance of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education –

Dr. Mohanty had a vision of developing a system that would make SAICE self-dependent for energy. With this in mind, he had a meeting with the trustees of the Ashram. They gave him the go ahead and even suggested that pilot research activities should be taken up with the active participation of the young teachers and students at the Institute. And then it all began. The whole project was conducted in two phases from 2012 to 2015.

Phase One: The Pilot

The pilot research took place between 2012 and 2014. The idea was to demonstrate that it is possible for an electricity consumer to achieve net-energy positive status (to generate more energy than consumed) by adopting measures to lower the energy demand through energy efficiency and conservation, and producing electricity using solar energy. To begin with, the energy requirements of SAICE were measured, in order to understand the pattern of electricity consumption over a long period of time.

Following this analysis, all inefficient lamps, fans, air conditioners, and computers, which had been in use since a long period of time, were substituted by more energy-efficient alternatives to lower the energy demand by more than 25 percent, without compromising on the quality and service.

Replacement of energy-inefficient appliances by more efficient alternatives

With a better understanding of how much energy the educational institute was consuming, they came to the decision that a solar power plant should be installed inside the campus so as to meet all the energy demands in-house. Thus, a 17 kWp rooftop solar power plant was set up in the school by an Auroville-based solar installer.

Teachers and students were involved in the entire process right from the start. They helped in the basic wiring, setting up the panels on the rooftop, and more.

Students of SAICE actively involved in the installation of the rooftop solar power plant. –

“This allowed them to get a better grasp of the working principles of a grid-tie solar power generation system and they also got practical exposure to the various aspects of the solar system to be taken into consideration in order to ensure its proper functioning over a long time frame,” says Dr. Mohanty.

With this solar plant, SAICE evolved from being an electricity consumer to an electricity producer. This research initiative was supported and recognized by the Government of Pondicherry, as well as the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCI), as part of the pioneering Smart Grid Pilot project being implemented for the first time in India. Smart Grid facilitates a two-way electricity delivery system, that is, integration of renewable energy sources followed by smart transmission and distribution from the renewable source to the nearby consumers.

Thus, after the solar plant was set up, 700 kWh of excess energy was exported back into the power grid during the first month.

A wide-angle photo of the solar panels installed on SAICE rooftop –

Phase Two: Giving More than they Take

This phase started after the announcement of the Solar Energy Regulations by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for Goa and Union Territories in December 2014. One of the features of this regulation is group net metering. What is that?

“If someone owns more than one property connected to the power grid, it is possible for him/her to install bigger capacity solar plants in one or more buildings and use the excess electricity that is generated to adjust the electricity consumed in other buildings on rooftops where there is no solar installation. For example, the excess 700 kWh that was produced by the rooftop solar system in the school last September could be used by the Ashram to reduce or avoid the payment of electricity in another Ashram building,” explains Dr. Mohanty.

As the Ashram is the owner of many buildings, for its various departments, the school was able to utilise this feature.

Thus, in the second phase, which took shape in March 2015, the rooftop solar power plant was expanded to achieve a cumulative solar power generation capacity of 50 kWp. The plant has now been extended to four buildings inside the ashram complex and it generates an average of 6,500 kWh electricity per month, which is more than three times the present electricity consumption of the school.

The excess then is used for the electricity needs of other buildings of the ashram.

Results of the data from the bi-directional smart electric meter showing how SAICE had become a net electricity exporter after the installation of the 17 kWp solar power plant.

“The main operation of the school is during the daytime and there are limited activities beyond sunshine hours. The electricity produced by the solar plant not only takes care of all the needs of SAICE during the day but also exports 161 kWh of electricity to the power grid. On the other hand, only about 32 kWh of electricity is drawn from the power grid after sunset…This demonstrates how school buildings that are mainly operational during daytime can adopt rooftop solar systems to not only meet their own electricity needs but also assist in bridging the shortfall in the grid supply,” says Dr. Mohanty.

The organization that helped with the development of the power plants also developed a remote monitoring system called Wattmon, which tracks the performance of the four solar power plants, online. It also monitors the voltage, current, power output, solar inverter efficiency, and total electricity produced at any time of the day.

The Ashram already produces its own rice, lentils, vegetable, milk and cooking oil that are needed in the community dining room on a daily basis. This is an added step towards sustainability.

Noticing the benefits of this system, people at the Ashram and in the nearby places are trying to take suitable steps to gradually reduce their dependence on fossil-fuel fired power plants. More and more students are also keen to learn about how solar energy can be harnessed to serve humanity and they now dream of having a more sunny future.

The entire project cost about Rs. 1 crore and was completely funded by the Ashram itself.

A bird’s-eye-view photo of the solar panels installed on SAICE rooftop with the Indian Ocean in the backdrop

But this, according to Dr. Mohanty, is a profitable deal. Because the cost-benefit analysis of the solar power project shows that the capital investment on the project can be recovered roughly in 10 years from the savings in electricity bills.

“The main message of this research initiative is that those who have access to energy and can well afford it…can also contribute to making the scarce energy resources available for all those who do not have access,” he concludes.

You can contact Dr. Mohanty by writing to him at mohantyb@gmail.com.

Source….Tanaya Singh……www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day…” Time to shed your ego and greed …”

October 5, 2015Natarajan1 Comment

Sathya Sai Baba

Egoism and greed are still rampant; hatred has not abated and envy eats into the vitals of society. There is no dearth of scriptural books telling you how to be free from grief. All sacred and holy books including Gita, Bhagavata and Ramayana are available in all languages at a very low cost and most books are sold in more than thousands of copies per day; but there is nothing to indicate that they have been read and assimilated. The breath of the mouth must give an inkling of the food partaken, is it not? But the habits, the conduct, the character of the readers of these books have not undergone any change for the better. Hence each of you must examine your own mental make-up and evaluate whether you have used your discrimination and worldly knowledge to clothe yourself in detachment (vairagya),so that you do not suffer from attachment to things that will fade away.

9 hard truths about money ….your successful friends won’t tell you….

October 5, 2015October 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

We all have those friends who seemingly cruise through life, never stressing about money or success, and somehow always have plenty of both.

They have retirement plans, businesses and time to climb mountains or run marathons. Basically, they’re really annoying.

For others, failing to save, going deeper into debt and generally stressing about life is the norm. if you’re wondering what those successful friends of yours are thinking — but not saying — about your money habits, keep reading.

1. You need to budget.

You know the guy who you’re always hitting up for money until you get your paycheck? Well, he’s thinking that you would benefit by creating and sticking to a budget. Fortunately, making a budget is as easy as clicking a mouse.

“Find an app or system that works well for you such as Mint, You Need A Budget or just an Excel spreadsheet,” said Kate Holmes, a certified financial planner (CFP) and founder of Belmore Financial. “Import the last few months of all checking, debit and credit card transactions and see where things are at. You’ll likely be surprised by some of the category totals.”

“Ask yourself how much happiness each item brings. You may find some unnecessary spending you can easily cut out,” she said.

Here’s a strategy she recommended: 50% of your take-home pay goes for food, housing and other necessities; 30% for discretionary spending; and 20% toward paying off debt and building savings. Of course, any money-savvy friend will also tell you that making a budget is easy. Staying with it can be challenging.

2. You don’t save enough.

We all want to retire someday, right? Well, the bad news is most of us won’t be retiring in style if we only rely on Social Security benefits to live. The average Social Security recipient in 2014 got only $1,300 a month. Those golden years are starting to look tarnished already.

So what can you do? Save in your workplace retirement plan and take advantage of your employer’s matching program, said consumer finance expert Kevin Gallegos, vice president of Phoenix operations for Freedom Financial Network. He recommended saving 10 percent to 15 percent of your gross pay for retirement. If you can’t swing that, start with what’s manageable for you.

3. You have too much credit card debt.

The financially savvy see credit cards as a convenience, not a bank account from which to draw. The average credit card interest rate stands at 13%, meaning that everything you buy, from dinner out to a flat screen TV, will cost you 13% more if you don’t pay it off immediately.

That’s why a good friend would tell you to avoid using credit cards except in emergencies. “Few, if any, investments will return as much,” said Gallegos. “Having no credit card debt provides a financial cushion itself.”

So the next time you whip out that Visa to fund your latest impulse buy, add in the interest costs and reassess whether it’s really worth it.

4. You never consider the opportunity cost.

Here’s something that most people know but only the financially savvy apply: Every purchase has two costs. One is the price you pay for a product or service. The second is what you’re giving up when you make that purchase, or in other words, its opportunity cost. You bought the shoes but now you can’t afford the dress or that contribution to your IRA this month.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett often quotes his friend and partner, self-made billionaire Charles Munger, when speaking about opportunity cost. They see their biggest business mistakes as missed opportunities that kept them from making more money. They call them “mistakes of omission.” They didn’t invest in something when they should have, or they weren’t able to because their money was tied up in another investment.

So what will those shoes cost you in the long run?

5. You give up too easily.

If you weren’t born rich, then you will have to work hard for your earnings and adopt a steadfast attitude that could translate into wealth. “Look at every successful person across a wide spectrum of industries and activities,” said John Mulry, a GKIC certified business advisor. “All had their obstacles, demons and downfalls, but their desire to succeed and ability to overcome was greater than anything else. They were willing to stop at nothing to achieve.”

Most friends don’t want to tell you that you’re a quitter. So you might have to make the hard call, which is something only winners do. Call it the quitter’s paradox.

6. You eat out too often.

Who doesn’t love to stop at Starbucks for morning coffee, then go out to lunch with colleagues, and later grab a get-me-through-this-day Frappuccino? But do you know what you’re brown-bagging friend at the next desk is thinking? “That’s a waste of $25.” One medium Starbucks a day, five days a week, will set you back about $1,100 per year.

Take note: It costs as little as 27 cents to brew a cup of coffee yourself. If you add milk and sugar, the cost climbs to 75 cents. You still just saved more than $900 a year. How does that Starbucks taste now?

7. You don’t have a clear financial goal.

So you have a friend who runs marathons, climbs mountains and made a million before he turned 30. The first thing he’d tell you is that you need a clear goal to accomplish anything and to manage your money.

“It’s very hard to get where you’re going without knowing where you want to go,” said Gallegos. “Similarly, it’s very hard to save without setting goals. Those goals might include retirement, a vacation, a new piece of furniture, a child’s education or time to train for a marathon.”

Whatever the goal, write it down. Then budget for it. If you get stuck, call your buddy who climbed Mount Everest for advice.

8. You need an emergency fund.

Life has a bad habit of throwing curve balls in the form of emergency car repairs, unexpected medical bills, surprise household repairs and so on. Your friends might be thinking, “Does this bozo not expect anything bad to ever happen?”

Whether it’s a job layoff or worse, you want to ensure you can cover all necessary expenses for three to six months, said Holmes.

9. You spend too much on trends.

You know your friend with the iPhone 4, the Old Navy jeans and the stupid TV? She’s wagging her well-funded finger at your trending Apple Watch, $300 jeans and genius TV.

The trick is to cut down on the impulse buys and in general trust your gut. You know when you’re being indulgent. If not, invite that friend with the ancient iPhone when you go shopping.

Another great trick to curb spending, said Gallegos, is to pay with cash. Two things will immediately happen. It will be much more inconvenient and you will get a very real feel for how much you are truly spending. Gallegos cited research that found that people who pay with cash instead of credit or debit cards typically spend 15 to 20% less. That’s retirement savings money, baby.

Keep Reading: Why Dave Ramsey’s Cash-Only Policy Is Genius for Saving Money

Source….www.businessinsider.com

Natarajan

Top Ten Positive Words and Expressions…

October 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Positivity is perhaps the most desired of feelings. We feel unhappy because of all sorts of matters, but little do we realize that we’re missing out on something very minor, but extremely profound. It is not only important to be aware of the words we speak, but all the more the ones we don’t. Add the following positive words to your vocabualry and you will see how they are actually the simplest words you will ever need to remember.