At 15, Anish Bhanwala is India’s youngest C’wealth Games gold medallist….

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Haryana lad wins men’s 25 metres rapid fire pistol at Commonwealth Games with a new Games record                                                         

Shooting – Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games – Men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol – Finals – Belmont Shooting Centre – Brisbane, Australia – April 13, 2018. Anish of India poses with his gold medal. REUTERS/Eddie Safarik – UP1EE4D0DRM4H 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anish Bhanwala made history on Friday, becoming India’s youngest gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games.

The 15-year-old achieved the feat after firing his way to the gold medal with a Games record in the men’s 25 metres rapid fire pistol event at the Belmont Shooting Centre.

The Haryana lad shot down Australia’s David Chapman’s 2014 Glasgow Games record of 24 in the final with a score of 30, which included four series of five each.

The youngest in the six-man final round, he showed nerves of steel and led the more experienced marksmen through the event to emerge deserving champion.

Australia’s Sergei Evglevski claimed the silver with a score of 28, while the bronze medal went to Sam Gowin (17) of England.

Neeraj Kumar, India’s other entrant in the event, was the second shooter to be eliminated in the final after a shoot-off after scoring 13.

In winning the gold, Anish bettered the record of team mate Manu Bhaker, who had become the youngest Indian Commonwealth Games gold medallist earlier this week when she won gold in the 10 metre air rifle final.

Speaking about his feat, he said, “I’m very excited that I became the Commonwealth champion. I am the youngest athlete from India to win Commonwealth gold at 15.”

On his next competition and plans to celebrate, he added: “Next are the World Championships (in South Korea) and Asian Games (Indonesia). I will celebrate with my coach.”

In the Qualifications, Anish scored 580 to finish on top while Neeraj was second best with 579.

Anish scored 286 in stage 1 and 294 in Stage 2 qualifying, while Neeraj had 291 in Stage 1 and 288 in Stage 2.

Tags: Anish Bhanwala, Neeraj Kumar, David Chapman, Manu Bhaker, Sam Gowin

Source….www.rediff.com

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Message for the Day… ” The bandage of humility, the ointment of faith, and the waters of love will surely cure this disease that erupted with this boil of ‘I’.”

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If there is a boil on the body, you apply ointment on it and cover it with a bandage until it heals. If you do not apply ointment and tie the bandage around this wound, it is likely to become septic and cause great harm later. Now and then you must clean it with pure water, apply ointment again and put on a new bandage. In the same way, in our life, there is this boil which has come up in our body in the form of ‘I’. If you want to really cure this boil of ‘I’, you will have to wash it every day with the waters of love, apply the ointment of faith on it and tie the bandage of humility around it. The bandage of humility, the ointment of faith, and the waters of love will surely cure this disease that erupted with this boil of ‘I’.

Source :::::::::  http://media.radiosai.org/

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Meet the Ex-IAS Officer Who Left America to Head the Swachh Bharat Mission…

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The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) promised to bring open defecation in India down to zero, and the government had also guaranteed that it would build enough toilets in every village and city to completely eradicate the problem of open defecation.

Many of us will agree that open defecation leads to the proliferation of diseases, and it is thus, advisable, to make India completely open-defecation free.

However, one man working for the Swachh Bharat Mission knows that the subject of open-defecation is not as black and white as it seems. For many, it is a part of their lifestyle, that they cannot change overnight. The problem of maintaining toilets that were built by the authorities also keeps people outside the washroom walls.

Meet Parameswaran Iyer, a former IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer who currently leads the Swachh Bharat Mission  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Iyer had worked with World Bank from April 1998 to September 2007 in Hanoi, Vietnam. From 2012 onwards he was the lead water and sanitation specialist for the World Bank and was instrumental in bringing two leading programmes on the ground there.

Before taking up a specialisation in Vietnam, Mr Iyer had also worked in Washington on Egypt and Lebanon and in the Bank’s Water Anchor.

When he realised that he had to accept that many people prefer to defecate in the open rather than in toilets, Mr Iyer brought his experience in Vietnam to practical use. In 2014, he had written about the need for behaviour change before a lifestyle change, on the World Bank’s site.

“The biggest lesson learned so far in Vietnam, and other countries is that eliminating open defecation is not driven by the construction of toilets.

It is driven by changing the behaviour at the community level based on quality, evidence-based interventions. What is also clear is that approaches must be tailored to be the specific context with careful consideration of local factors such as ethnicity,” he wrote.

Mr Iyer’s experience with the World Bank, across several countries, will certainly help India, to go a step further in the cleanliness mission.

This is a rare case of the Indian government appointing an IAS officer working with the World Bank for their initiative, and Mr Iyer has certainly upped the hopes of Indian citizens. He was appointed as Union Secretary for the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2017 on a two-year contract basis.

A senior government official told Livemint, “It is clear from the two-year fixed contract, that the government has decided to give him a free hand to steer the programme. It also gives a clear signal that if the government does not get the desired results from the internal talent pool, it will not hesitate in getting them from outside.”

With a combined experience of about two decades in this sector, Parameswaran is sure to be a beaming light of hope for the dream of a clean India!

Featured image source: Twitter.

Source….Tanvi Patel  in http://www.the betterindia.com

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Anna Creek… A Cattle Station in Australia…Bigger than Israel !!!

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In Australia, cattle stations—which is the equivalent of an American ranch—tend to be unimaginably large, so large that some of them are bigger than some European and African countries.

Take Anna Creek Station, a well known cattle station in South Australia, near Simpson Desert between Coober Pedy and Lake Eyre. This station covers nearly 24,000 square kilometers. By comparison, Israel is barely 21,000 square kilometers, and the biggest ranch in America is just over 3,300 square kilometers. In fact, there might be close to a hundred cattle stations in Australia that are bigger than the biggest American ranch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Australia’s cattle stations are huge in size because of the continent’s climate. Most stations are located in the north and the central regions of the Australian Outback, where the climate is so dry and the vegetation so sparse that a large amount of country is needed to support enough cattle to make a living. Even a cattle station as large as Anna Creek Station normally runs about 17,000 animals during a good season.

The Anna Creek Station was bought by Sir Sidney Kidman, Australia’s so-called “cattle king”, who owned large areas of land across Australia during his lifetime. Kidman was thirteen when he ran away from his Adelaide home in 1870 with only 5 shillings in pocket and a one-eyed horse that he had bought with his savings. His teen years, Kidman worked as a drover, stockman and livestock trader, and made money supplying services to new mining towns springing up in outback. Eventually he had saved enough to buy his own station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Sidney Kidman

Kidman began gobbling up one estate after another until he was the biggest landholder in the world by World War I. At one point, the size of Kidman’s properties exceeded the size of the entire United Kingdom. His family still owns more than 10 million hectares, or about three-quarters the size of England. With a herd of 185,000 cattle, S. Kidman & Co is one of Australia’s largest beef producers.

There are at least nineteen cattle stations in Australia whose size exceeds 10,000 hectares. Four of them exceeds 15,000 hectares. These cattle stations are so large and the grazing area so spread out that it takes weeks to round up all cattle during the mustering season. Back in the old days, cowboys used to ride out in horses gathering up cattle. Today light aircraft is used for spotting animals which are rounded up by stockmen on trail bikes.

Because of the remoteness and size of Australian cattle stations, life is very isolated. The next human settlement is often a day’s drive away. So these stations function like small towns with schoolroom for the kids of the owners and workers, a small general store to supply essentials and possibly an entertainment or bar area. Electricity is typically provided by generators or solar cells. Internet and television is provided by satellite.

Anna Creek Station is currently owned by Williams Cattle Company, after it acquired the property from S. Kidman & Co in 2016.

Bonus fact: The name “Kidman” and “Australia” may remind you of actress Nicole Kidman. The connection is more than a coincidence—Nicole Kidman is actually a descendant of Sir Sidney Kidman.

Photo credit: Planettrekker/Flickr

Source ::::: Kaushik in http://www.amusingplanet.com

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Message for the Day… ” Build the mansion of your life on four firm pillars: virtue, wealth, desire and liberation (dharma, artha, kama and moksha), the goals of human effort laid down by the ancient sages, each pillar bound strong and safe with every other. “

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Your determination to acquire bliss and peace should not flicker like the flame of a lamp placed on a gusty window. You must learn how to attain them from the scriptures composed by saints or from the wise who have won them. Then you must adhere to the path, however sharp the criticism, and whoever be the one callously condemning it. Cynical laughter cannot harm the aspirant! Can a storm shake the Himalayan range? Let not your faith in the goal or the road quake before trouble or trial, toil or travail, distress or despair. They are but passing clouds, casting temporary shadows, hiding for a little time the glory of the sun or moon. Do not get distracted by doubt or despondency. Build the mansion of your life on four firm pillars: virtue, wealth, desire and liberation (dharma, artha, kama and moksha), the goals of human effort laid down by the ancient sages, each pillar bound strong and safe with every other.

Source:::::::  http://media.radiosai.org/

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Message for the Day… ” Attach yourself to the Highest, call it by any name, conceive it in any form. But, remember, without righteousness (Dharma) you cannot attain God”

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Seek the company of the good, the seekers, the aspirants, and the detached. Then you will see the light. Listen to holy discourses and read sacred books. Your effort and the atmosphere of the place – these two will lead you to success. Markandeya held tight the Shivalinga and so the noose of Yama (God of death) bound him and Shiva; hence young Markandeya was saved. The story teaches you to be ever in contact with God, for you do not know when the noose will be thrown. Attach yourself to the Highest, call it by any name, conceive it in any form. But, remember, without righteousness (Dharma) you cannot attain God. Learn the means of winning grace and earning purity from those who know – the elders and scholars who have put their learning into practice. Grace can wipe off the past; Sat-prayatna, Sat-sanga and Sadhachara (good effort, good company and good practices) will ensure happiness in future!

Source….. http://media.radiosai.org/

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வாரம் ஒரு கவிதை ….” நிழலில் தேடிய நிஜம் ” 2

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நிழலில் தேடிய நிஜம்
…………………..
நிஜம் நிஜமாய் இருந்தபோது
தேடினோம் நிழலை !
நிஜத்தின் அருமை பெருமை
தெரியவில்லை அப்போது !
நிஜம் நிழல் ஆக மாறிய பின்
நிழலுக்கு மாலை மரியாதை !
சிலையும் கூட சிலர் நிழலுக்கு !
தேடுகிறோம் நிஜத்தை நிழலில் !
இருக்கும் போது மதிக்காத
நிஜத்தை அது இல்லாதபோது
நிஜம் எங்கே எங்கே என்று
நிழலில் தேடி என்ன பயன் ?
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Message for the Day… ” A seed grows slowly into a huge spreading tree. So too, through tiny acts, soft words, genuine and kind deeds, you must elevate yourself into a Divine Being!”

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The worst action you can do is to do the opposite of what you preach. To deny by the hand what you dole out of your mouth! If you cannot act up to your declarations, keep quiet; do not go about advising and advertise yourself as a hypocrite! Do not preach virtue while decrying it in deed. Righteousness (dharma) is steady and unchanging; it can never decline. Only those who must practice dharma are declining in faith and steadfastness! Every individual is judged by their practice, never by their precepts that they pour forth eloquently. Ask yourself the question honestly: “What use have I made of the spiritual experience that I have received so far? How much have I benefited?” Introspect! A seed grows slowly into a huge spreading tree. So too, through tiny acts, soft words, genuine and kind deeds, you must elevate yourself into a Divine Being!

Source :::::: http://media.radiosai.org/

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One Liner pun jokes …Laugh it off !!!

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1. I recently got crushed by a pile of books, but I suppose I’ve only got my shelf to blame.
2. A man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation for a local swimming pool. So I gave him a glass of water.
3. I went to a really emotional wedding the other day. Even the cake was in tiers.

4. I had to quit my job at the shoe recycling factory. It was just sole destroying.
5. I was getting in to my car the other day and a man said ‘can you give me a lift?’ I said ‘sure, you look great, chase your dreams, go for it!’
6.  I’ve decided to sell my vacuum. Well, it was just gathering dust!
7. What’s the best time to go to the dentist? Tooth-hurtie!
9. Never date a tennis player. Love means nothing to them.

10. My wife and I have been happy for 20 years. But then we met.
11. Why didn’t the lifeguard save the hippie? Because he was too far out, man.

12. I saw a documentary on how ships are kept together. Riveting!
13. I was overcharged for velcro last week. What a rip off!
15. I’ve been reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down.
16. A train stops at a train station. A bus stops at a bus station. Now why is my desk called a ‘work station’?

17. How do prisoners call each other? On their cell phones!
18. The thing about dwarfs and midgets is that they have very little in common.
19. Have you heard about the magic tractor? It turned into a field!
20. To the guy who invented zero: Thanks for nothing!
21. I hate Russian Dolls. They’re so full of themselves.
22. I used to be a banker, but over time I lost interest.
23. I was thinking about getting a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.

24. I can’t understand why people are so bothered about me not knowing what the word ‘apocalypse’ means. It’s not like it’s the end of the world!
25. Why can’t a bike stand on its own? It’s two-tired!

26. Did you hear about the man who lost his entire left side in an accident? He’s all right now.
27. If I could only take one thing to a desert island, I probably wouldn’t bother going.
28. I couldn’t work out how to fasten my seat belt for ages. But then one day, it just clicked.
29. My first job was at a calendar factory. I can’t believe they sacked me, all I did was take a day off!
30. I was going to tell my pizza joke but I think it’s a bit too cheesy.

Source………www.ba-ba mail.com

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