Self Improvement – Page 42 – Take off with Natarajan

This 77-Year-Old Retired Engineer Made Thousands of Bengalureans Think of the Environment This Year…

December 10, 2015December 10, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Unfortunately, festivities and filth go hand in hand these days. But N.S. Ramakanth is on a mission to ensure that people celebrate festivals more responsibly and do not contaminate their environment in the process. He has been fighting for a cleaner Bengaluru for several years and recently executed a successful cleanliness drive after the Ganesha festival.

N.S. Ramakanth left his job as chief engineer with a German company and came back to Bengaluru in 1989 when his mother fell sick. On returning to his birthplace, he was appalled to see the polluted and filthy environment in the city. He decided not to take up another job but to devote his time to raising awareness about the poor waste management in the metropolis.

Now 77 years old and still going strong, Ramakanth can be seen chasing municipal corporation officials of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to clean up the filthy lakes in the city.

NS Ramakanth has successful given shape to a cleanup drive after Ganesha festival.

He also hounds bureaucrats to solve garbage problems, encourages citizens to get involved with civic issues, and motivates volunteers when they conduct cleanliness drives.

Quite recently, Ramakanth was seen running a successful campaign to minimise the waste generated during the Ganesha festival at Sankey Tank, a man-made lake in western Bengaluru.

“After the festival, tonnes of garbage can be found around the water bodies. We need to come up with solutions to stop this kind of mess from happening again and again. We also need to carry out effective operations to clean the area after festivals. But the first step is to spread awareness among people to minimise the waste,” he says.

In keeping with this line of thinking, Ramakanth first prepared a small 10-minute skit to engage city residents. Along with a few volunteers, he performed the play in different places to raise awareness about how people generate huge amounts of waste during the festival.

The skit had an interesting script. Lord Ganesha sends Narada to the earth to check on the celebrations of the Ganesha festival. When Narada comes to earth he sees drunk people dancing, noisy crackers being burnt, and broken Ganesha idols lying around after the festivities. Narada reports this to Ganesha who is so hurt by people’s behaviour that he decides not to give any phal to them,” says Ramakanth.

Apart from the skit, Ramakanth also organised eco-friendly Ganesha idol making workshops for the public. He also brought local artisans from the outskirts of the city to different localities within Bengaluru.

Thanks to his efforts, a larger number of people opted for clay Ganesha idols this year.

“People were saying that local artisans work too far away and it is not feasible to go there to get mud idols. So I brought the artisans close to their residential areas to get them to avoid using plaster of Paris (PoP) and plastic idols,” he says.

Many people also said they wanted bigger idols and mud idols were not available in large sizes. Ramakanth had a solution to this as well. He helped the citizens get customised mud idols, which were five to six feet tall. “I thought it important to provide them with solutions. This is how they will welcome change,” he says.

He also talked to them about the harmful effects of PoP idols and how animals and water creatures die due to the immersion of such idols in water bodies. Ramakanth’s regular interventions and awareness sessions were a huge success and many people in his locality opted for eco-friendly Ganesha idols.

He also advised people to immerse the Ganesha idols in small drums in their own homes and then feed the water to plants rather than going to public water bodies for immersion.

“I don’t understand why people travel so far to dispose the idols. It creates so much noise and pollution. They should celebrate the festival in a neat and healthy way,” says Ramakanth.

After spreading awareness about celebrating the festival more responsibly, it was now time to take up a cleanliness drive.

Kalyani, a small step-well near Sankey Tank, is the site of idol immersions every year and collects a large quantity of filth. Ramakanth had the well cleaned within a week and collected truckloads of the dumped idols to put on display for the citizens to see.

He then pumped out the highly polluted, thick, black remains in the Kalyani to a nearby drain. About 12-15 BBMP workers manually bucketed out the sludge. “All the sewage is supposed to be routed to an STP. But even then, it won’t treat mercury and lead. And that’s something we have no solution for right now,” says Ramakanth.

He sent all the flowers and leaf rejects for composting to eliminate the stink from the well.

“We made sure that segregation of all the biodegradable waste took place at the spot and sent it for composting immediately,” he adds.

As the senior most member of the Solid Waste Management Round Table, he worked for hours instructing civic officials to keep the work going to minimise pollution in the tank water.

Ramakanth tracked the number of idols immersed over the period of 11 days. A total of 1,28,620 idols went into the Kalyani this year. Of these, 61,620 were made of clay and the rest (67,000) were PoP idols.

“I just wanted to see if the awareness campaigns had made any impact on the people. I was impressed. The progress was not bad at all. Almost 50 percent of them were clay idols this year and this was a big achievement,” says Ramakanth.

Ramakanth’s journey does not end here. He is persuading BBMP to completely ban PoP idols from hereon. He has also asked the Pollution Control Board to put up the names of potters who make larger clay Ganesha idols on its website so that people can make use of them.

While changing mindsets and habits may seem like an overwhelming task, Ramakanth is not to be deterred. He has high hopes of making his beloved city pollution and filth free in the future.

All pics: savitahiremath.com

Source………Shreya Pareek in http://www.thee better india.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

சென்னை வெள்ளத்துக்கு காரணம் என்ன?….

December 9, 2015December 9, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

சென்னையில் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள பெரும் வெள்ளப் பெருக்கு, திட்டமிடப்படாத வகையில் நடந்துள்ள நகரமயமாக்கலின் விளைவே என்று இந்தியாவின் அறிவியல் மற்றும் சுற்றுச்சுழலுக்கான மையம் கூறியுள்ளது.

விளை நிலங்களில் வீடுகளை கட்டியதால் பலர் வெள்ளத்தில் சிக்கினர்

கடந்த நூறாண்டுகளில் இல்லாத அளவுக்கு பெய்துள்ள மழை நகரை முழுமையாகப் நிலைகுலையச் செய்துள்ளது என செண்டர் ஃபார் சயன்ஸ் அண்ட் என்விரோன்மெண்ட் அமைப்பின் தலைமை இயக்குநர் சுனிதா நரெயின் வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கையில் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

இயற்கையான நீர்நிலைகளை பராமரிப்பது தொடர்பில் உரிய கவனம் செலுத்தப்படாதது, தற்போது சென்னையில் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள நெருக்கடிக்கு முக்கியமான காரணம் என்று அவர் தனது அறிக்கையில் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

சிறிய சாலைகள் கூட வெள்ள நீரில் மூழ்கியுள்ளன

சென்னை மட்டுமல்லாமல் டில்லி,கொல்கத்தா, மும்பை, ஸ்ரீநகர் ஆகிய நகரங்களும் இத்தகைய நெருக்கடியை எதிர்கொள்ளும் அபாயம் உள்ளதாகவும் அவர் கூறுகிறார்.

இயற்கை நீர்நிலைகளும், வடிகால்களும் முறையாக பராமரிக்கப்பட்டிந்ருதால், சென்னை இப்படியான வரலாறு காணாத நெருக்கடியைத் தவிர்த்திருக்கலாம் என அந்த மையத்தின் அறிக்கை சுட்டிக்காட்டுகிறது.

வெள்ள நீர் எந்த அளவுக்கு தேங்கியிருந்தது என்பதற்கு இந்தப் படம் ஒரு உதாரணம்

சென்னை,மும்பை போன்ற பெரு நகரங்களில் போதுமான வகையில் அடிப்படை கட்டமைப்பு வசதிகள் மேம்படுத்தப்படாமல், திட்டமிடாத வகையில் நகரம் வளர்ந்து கட்டிடங்கள் கட்டப்படுவதால், வெள்ளம் ஏற்பட்டதும் தாக்குப்பிடிக்க முடியாமல் திணறுகிறது என சுனிதா நரெயன் கூறுகிறார்.

இப்படியான அதிவேக நகரமயமாக்கல்கள், இயற்கை வடிகால்களை அழித்துள்ளன என்றும், சென்னை போன்ற நகரங்கள் இதன் தாக்கத்தை இப்போது உணர்ந்துள்ளன எனவும் அந்த அமைப்பு தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

.Image copyrightbbctamil

Image caption…வடிகால்கள் சரியாக பராமரிக்கப்படாததால் அடையாறில் வெள்ளம் ஏற்பட்டது

சென்னை தனது இயற்கை வடிகால் வசதிகளை பராமரிக்கத் தவறியுள்ளது எனவும் சி எஸ் இ அமைப்பின் அறிக்கை கூறுகிறது.

கடந்த 1980களில் சென்னையில் 600 நீர் நிலைகள் இருந்தன, ஆனால் இப்போது அதில் மிகச் சொற்பமானவையே எஞ்சியுள்ளன என்றும் சுனிதா நரெயின் தனது அறிக்கையில் கூறியுள்ளார்.

முன்னர் ஏரிகள் இருந்த இடங்களில் வீடுகளை கட்டியவர்களின் நிலை இதுதான்

நீர்நிலைகள் மற்றும் வடிகால் அமைப்புகளை பேணிப் பராமரிக்காத நிலையில் பருவநிலை மாற்றத்தால் அசாதாரணமான அளவுக்கு மழை பெய்யும்போது, நிலைமை கட்டுக்கடங்காமல் போகிறது எனவும் அந்த அறிக்கை கோடிட்டுக் காட்டுகிறது.

பாரிஸில் பருவநிலை மாற்றம் குறித்த உச்சிமாநாடு நடைபெற்று வரும் வேளையில், இப்படியான விஷயங்கள் உடனடியாக கவனிக்கப்பட வேண்டியது மிகவும் அவசியமாகிறது என அந்த அறிக்கையில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

சென்னையிலுள்ள பல சுரங்கப் பாதைகளில் நீரின் அளவு குறையவில்லை

நீர்நிலைகள் எப்படி சீரழிந்து போயுள்ளன என்பதற்கு போரூர் ஏரி ஒரு உதாரணம் எனக் கூறும் அந்த அறிக்கை, அப்படியான நீர்நிலைகள், நிலத்தடி நீர் மீண்டும் ஊறுவதற்கும், வெள்ளம் ஏற்படும் போது அதை சமாளிப்பதற்கும் பெரும் உதவியாக இருந்திருக்கும் எனவும் மேலும் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

ஈரநிலப்பகுயில் எப்படி கட்டுமானங்களுக்கு அனுமதி அளிக்கப்படுகின்றன எனும் கேள்விக்கு ஒருநாளும் பதில் கிடைத்தது இல்லை எனக் கூறும் அந்த அறிக்கை, அப்படியான நிலங்கள் நகர நிலச் சட்டங்களின் கீழ் மிகவும் அரிதாகவே பதியப்படுகின்றன எனவும், அதன் காரணமாக பலருக்கு அது தெரியவருவதில்லை எனவும் சுனிதா நரெயின் தமது அறிக்கையில் கூறியுள்ளார்.

நீர்நிலைகளின் கரையோரங்களில் இருந்தவர்களின் நிலை மிகவும் மோசமானது.

அனுமதி கோரி மனுக்கள் வரும்போது மேலோட்டமாக நிலங்களை மட்டுமே அதிகாரிகள் பார்க்கிறார்கள், அதிலுள்ள நீராதாரங்களைப் பார்ப்பதில்லை, எனவே பேராசை பிடித்த கட்டுமான நிறுவனங்கள் அதை தமக்கு சாதகமாக்கிக் கொள்கின்றன எனவும் சி எஸ் இயின் அறிக்கை தெரிவிக்கிறது.

தமிழக அரசின் ஆவணங்களின்படி கடந்த 1980களில் 19 பெரிய ஏரிகளின் பரப்பளவு 1,130ஹெக்டேர்களாக இருந்தது, 2000ஆம் ஆண்டுகளின் முற்பகுதியில் 645 ஹெக்டேர்களாக சுருங்கியுள்ளன, அதன் காரணமாக அந்த ஏரிகளின் கொள்ளளவு குறைந்து போயின என்பதையும் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளது.

பல வீடுகளின் கீழ் தளங்கள் முழுவதும் நீர் புகுந்து பயன்படுத்த முடியாத சூழல் ஏற்பட்டது.

சென்னையின் பல இடங்களில் மழைநீர் கால்வாய்களில் குப்பைக் கூளங்களால் அடைப்புகள் ஏற்பட்டுள்ளன, அவை உடனடியாக தூர்வாரி சரிசெய்யப்பட வேண்டும் எனவும் அந்த அமைப்பு கோரியுள்ளது.

சென்னை மாநகரில் 2,847 கிமீ நீளத்துக்கு சாலைகள் உள்ள நிலையில், மழைநீர் கால்வாய்கள் 855கிமீ மட்டுமே உள்ளன என்றும், இதுவே பெருமழையின் போது, சாலைகளில் நீர் ஓடுவதற்கும் தேங்கி நிற்பதற்கும் காரணமாகின்றன எனவும் அந்த அறிக்கை கூறியுள்ளது.

சாலைகளில் ஓடும் நீர் முற்றாக வடிய பல நாட்களாகலாம் எனக் கருதப்படுகிறது

மனிதர்களால் உருவாக்கப்படும் வடிகால் அமைப்புகள், ஒருநாளும் இயற்கை வடிகால் அமைப்புகளுக்கு மாற்றாக இருக்க முடியாது எனவும் அந்த அறிக்கை வலியுறுத்தியுள்ளது.

சென்னையில் கூவம், அடையாறு போன்ற நதிகளை இணைக்கும் இயற்கை கால்வாய்களும், வடிகால்களும் இருப்பதை தமது ஆய்வுகள் காட்டுகின்றன என்றும் அந்த அறிக்கை கூறுகிறது.

ஏரிகள் முன்னறிவிப்பின்றி திறந்துவிடப்பட்டதால் பல முக்கியச் சாலைகள் நீரில் மூழ்கின.

உதாரணமாக, நகரின் 75 குளங்களில் நீரின் அளவு உயர்ந்து கொள்ளளவைக் கடக்கும்போது, அந்த நீர் கூவத்தில் கலக்கவும், அதேபோல் 450 குளங்களில் உள்ள உபரி நீரும், செம்பரம்பாக்கம் ஏரியின் அளவு உயரும்போது அதிலுள்ள உபரி நீரும் அடையாற்றில் கலப்பதற்கு வசதிகள் இருந்தன என்று அந்த அறிக்கையில் விளக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

புறநகர் பகுதிகளில் வீடுகளைக் கட்டும்போது நில ஆவணங்கள் கவனமாகப் பார்க்கப்படுவதில்லை எனக் குற்றச்சாட்டுகளும் எழுந்துள்ளன

கடந்த நூறாண்டுகளில் இல்லாத வகையில் சென்னையில் இந்த ஆண்டு நவம்பர் மாதம் மட்டும் 1,218 மிமீ மழை பெய்துள்ளது.

இது சராசரியாக ஆண்டொன்றுக்கு கிடைக்கும் மழையின் அளவைவிட மூன்று மடங்கானது.

Source….www.bbc.com.tamil Photos Credit …bbc tamil

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

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

” : 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

” A Mall Santa Goes The Extra Mile For A Boy With Autism….”

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

After Erin Deely learned of her three-year-old son’s autism diagnosis, she knew that there would be a number of “normal” things that he’d never be able to experience — and right near the top of the list was meeting Santa. Because of the noise, lights, and people, it simply would probably be too much for him to handle, and it broke her heart to know Brayden wouldn’t be able to experience this childhood rite of passage.

Until she heard about the Caring Santa program, that is. This annual program — brought to families byAutism Speaks — brings special Santas to malls around the country each year who know how to make children with autism comfortable and happy. Jumping at the chance, Erin brought Brayden to the event in Charlotte, North Carolina, and captured a moment that she’ll never forget.

“I thought we would never get those holiday pictures with him because it’s something he can’t handle — the noise and the pressure. He gets anxious if you ask him to smile. It’s all too much for him,” said Erin.

Autism Speaks

“Brayden was shy and inched his way over slowly, and then Santa just slowly got out of his seat and got on the ground. He began playing with the toys that my son brought.”

Autism Speaks

The result was something truly adorable, and forever memorable. “Oh my gosh, to be able to do something that other families do was wonderful. Normally, a lot of things are harder for us as a family, and we got to do the same tradition as everyone else. We just did it on the floor,” she laughed.

Want to learn more about this amazing program? Check out the video below:

In the end, Brayden got the Christmas experience that he and his family had always wanted. “I just want to hug this man. He’s so wonderful!” she said. We do, too!

Source……..www.viralnova.com

Natarajan

“யாசகம்” … ஒரு புது கவிதை …

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

“யாசகம்” … ‘வாசகர் கவிதை’ கேட்பது நம்ம கவிதை மணி

தினமணி …

யோசித்து யோசித்து பார்த்தேன் … வாசகர் ரசித்து வாசிக்க

ஒரு கவிதை கிடைக்குமா என்று…ஒரு சிறு பொறி தட்டியது !

மறு நிமிடம் என்னில் பிறந்தது இந்த கவிதை !

பிறந்த குழந்தை அன்னையின் அன்புக்காக யாசிப்பது இல்லை

அது கேட்காமலே கிடைக்கும் தாய் அன்பு !

வளரும் குழந்தை தன் தந்தையிடமும் எதுவும் யாசிப்பது இல்லை !

எதுவும் யோசிக்காமல் ஒரு தந்தை தன் குழந்தைக்கு

தருவது பாசமும் நேசமும் …! ஒரு நல்ல

ஆசானும் தந்தையே அந்த குழந்தைக்கு !

யாசிக்கத் தேவை இன்றி வளர்ந்து விட்ட அந்த ” குழந்தை “யிடம்

இன்று யாசிப்பது யார் ?

வேறு யாருமில்லை… அந்த வளர்ந்த “குழந்தையின்”

பாசமிகு தந்தை… இப்போ அந்த முதியவர் தன் ” குழந்தையின்”

பாசத்தையும் , நேசத்தையும் யாசிக்கிறார் …அவருக்கு இப்போ

அதுதானே தேவை ….

பணம், காசு வேண்டி தன் கையேந்தவில்லை அந்த பெரியவர் …

உங்க அன்பையும் , அரவணைப்பையும் அள்ளி அள்ளி கொடுங்க !

SOURCE ….” யாசகம்” என்னும் தலைப்பில் தினமணி… கவிதைமணி வாசகர் கவிதை பகுதியில் வெளியான என் கவிதை

நடராஜன்