Engineering – Page 42 – Take off with Natarajan

Hero Group Founder, Brijmohan Lal, Died At 92. Here’s Why We Respect The Visionary Man…

November 2, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Ethics, respect, and relationships are the building blocks of any business ~ Brijmohan Lall Munjal

In India, every second cycle is a Hero cycle and the company manufactures around 20,000 cycles every day.

But not many people know the man behind it. Some people become entrepreneurs because they envision things other than the stereotypes. They see things with an unprecedented simplicity. And one such man was Brijmohan Lall Munjal. He is a first generation entrepreneur who had humble beginnings and through sheer hard work, perseverance and challenging adversities made it to the top gracefully.

Brijmohan Munjal died at the age of 92 in New Delhi on 1 November 2015.

Who was Brijmohan Lall Munjal?

He was an Indian businessman, founder and the chairperson of the Hero Motocorp – the company of the popular Hero range of motorcycles and scooters. He was born at Kamalia district (now in Pakistan) in the year 1923. He belonged to a simple middle-class family.

He was truly an icon. While the nation mourns over his death, here are some lesser known facts about him:

1. He never went to college

He didn’t receive any formal education on how to run a business and still the way his business flourished in India and worldwide is really praiseworthy.

Fact Source

2. He started making bicycles before securing a license

– In 1944, Brij Mohan Munjal was working in an Army ordinance factory in Kamalia (now in Pakistan). He was barely 20 years old.

– When partition appeared imminent, Brijmohan along with his brothers moved to Amritsar and began supplying components to cycle manufacturers in and around the city. Post partition, they shifted to Ludhiana.

– By the early 1950s, the Munjal brothers were supplying bicycle components throughout India.

Fact Source

3. In 1956, the Punjab govt. announced the issue of 12 new industrial licenses to make bicycles in Ludhiana. The Munjal brothers took this opportunity

The Munjals set up Hero Cycles. The company was registered as a ‘large-scale industrial unit’ and it initially produced 7,500 units per year.

Fact Source

4. His strong leadership soon gave their well-established competitors such as Raleigh, Hind Cycles, and Atlas Cycles a run for their money

He ensured that their product was comparatively cheaper, sturdier and more reliable. He believed in giving his customers value for their money.

5. In 1979, the company reached the 1 million production mark and, in 1986, it beat the 2nd largest American cycle companies of the era – Huffy and Murray

Also, by the end of the year 2000, Hero was earning 15% of its sales turnover from exports.

6. He featured in Forbes richest list

He ranked number 27 on Forbes Asia’s India Rich List with a net worth of 3.3 million dollars and 31 on Forbes India’s Richest list in the year 2008.

7. He was a committed philanthropist and a people’s person

Before being called the founder of HeroCorp, he was known as a committed philanthropist. He established numerous medical and educational institutions. Some of the imminent ones are Ludhiana Stock Exchange, Ludhiana Aviation Club, Ludhiana Management Association and Dayanand Medical College & Hospital.

He maintained strong relations with Hero’s vendors, dealers, workers and attended their family weddings and used to lend a helping hand during any crisis.

8. But most importantly, he was an extraordinary human being

Rahul Bajaj, chairman of the Bajaj Group, revered Munjal because of his old-world values and ethics.

”Not that I am deriding this (the present generation) but I have always called Mr. Munjal a guru, not because he is older to me but because of his wisdom and common sense. Did he say that we are ‘still friends’? No question of ‘still’. We are friends. And he is the best example of a chairman in any auto company in India.”

9. He won over 10 national and international awards, including the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award of India

He was conferred with the Padma Bhushan in 2005 in recognition of his contribution in the field of trade and industry. Other than this, he has also received awards like ‘Lifetime Achievement’.

He died yesterday after being admitted to the hospital for past 1 month in New Delhi.

The country will forever be indebted to him because of his contributions. To the man who taught us to ‘pedal ahead’.May his soul rest in peace.

Source…Aparajita Mishra…..www.storypick.com

Natarajan

Once a Fruit Vendor, This 63-Year-Old Will Now Travel Across India in His Self-Designed Solar Car…….

November 2, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” – Albert Einstein.

63-year-old Syed Sajjad Ahmed is a perfect example of how passion can drive people to do things that might be difficult to achieve. At an age when many would hesitate before trying something new, this enthusiastic man has started a journey across India to spread the message of a pollution free country. And he is doing this on a solar powered car that has been designed by him.

About 15 years ago, Syed came to Bengaluru from Kolar and started working as a fruit vendor. He then opened a small shop where he used to repair televisions and radio sets. He had a passion for innovation that slowly developed and he started making television antennas on his own. He even designed a two-wheeler for people with disabilities.

In 2004, Syed decided to take his ideas to the next level, and designed a solar-powered car.

Photo: spinningthegreenwheel.wordpress.com

Now, with his solar car, this innovator has kick-started a campaign against pollution and corruption in India. He started on a journey from Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru on Nov. 1, 2015, and will cover a distance of 1,740 kilometres to reach the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. On his special car, which runs at a speed of 100 kms per hour, he will drive through Hindupur, Ananthpur, Kurnool, Mahaboobnagar, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Itarsi, Jhansi and Agra. His plan is to reach Delhi in a month and to participate in the India International Science Fair in the first week of December.

Syed says that he has dedicated this trip to Late APJ Abdul Kalam who has been his inspiration to make his dream a reality.

A school dropout, Syed spends one fourth of his earnings to design energy sufficient devices and another 25 percent on social service. Earlier, he had spent about four years and Rs. 10 lakh to develop electric two-wheelers and three- wheelers for differently-abled people, before making this solar-powered four-wheeler worth Rs. 50,000.

Back in 2012, Syed had travelled 1,000 kms in South India to spread awareness about a corruption-free India. “I want to further modify this car, refine and improvise it before I set out on my longest journey to cover more miles,” he had said at that time.

Source…..Shreya Pareek….www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

” If there is A Will … There is a Way…”

November 1, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

If we cannot do what we will, we must will what we can. So, when residents belonging to a cluster of villages near Karnaprayag in Uttarakhand got tired of waiting for forest officials to clear a mountain road project, they decided to take charge. And in just 10 days, about 300 villagers built their own road connecting Bhatkwali with Bainoli village.

Men and women worked for almost eight to nine hours a day, and carved out a three kilometre long motorable road with basic tools like chisels and hammers. And they managed to do so without cutting even a single tree.

Picture for representation only. Photo Credit: draskd/Flickr

“We strongly believe in strengthening the environment, and all of us had vowed not to raze any trees to build the road. Luckily, there were not many trees on the stretch,” Kunwar Singh, a 56-year-old ex-serviceman told The Times of India.

Ironically, they were told that the project was not being initiated because forest officials believed that it would involve shredding of trees. The road was supposed to be built under the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojna.

Most of these villagers come from the mountain regions of Bhatkwali, Chorasain and Bainoli near Karnaprayag. The villages are located at altitudes of 5,000 to 7,000 feet about sea level, and accessibility between them is very difficult. Thus, travelling for healthcare facilities or children’s education becomes a very troublesome task. So they formed a Sangharsh Samiti (Agitators’ Group), to solve their problem themselves. Women also played a very active role in this project

“All of us held a meeting, and decided that we will go ahead with the road construction ourselves. We followed the survey plan that officials had prepared for making the road. All the materials used were natural – like the sheets of rocky stones and mud from hill sides which were utilized to build the stone walls on both sides of the road. The villagers simply donated their time and effort and there was no substantial cost involved in the construction,” says Pushpa Devi, who was involved in the exercise.

Source…. Nisha Chawla….www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day…” What a Modern woman Should Learn from the Lives of Great Holy women of Past …’

November 1, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Unbridled freedom is destructive of dharma, and it also harms the woman herself. Mixing in society without any discrimination produces ruinous results. Of course there were educated women in the past, but they never gave up theirdharma, they never forgot the goal of Atmic dharma. Education must be built on the basis of discrimination. Sulabha, Savitri, Anasuya, Gargi, Nalayani, and other such models of chastity, and devotees of the Lord like Meera or yoginislike Chudala, were born in this country of God (Bharatha-desa); they strengthened dharma by their adherence to it. It is through the examples of such great and holy women, with their character and conduct inspired by devotion and spiritual wisdom, that even today simplicity, humility, and devotion shine in the hearts of most Indian women. Today, women should draw inspiration from them and efforts must be made to live as they did in the past.

Sathya Sai Baba

China’s Hidden Treasures of Natural Beauty ….

November 1, 2015November 1, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

China, the most populated country in the world, enjoys a long and rich history. China is the birthplace of one of the world’s earliest civilizations, with archaeological remains from around 80,000 years B.C.E. This great eastern nation is also the home for some of the world’s most beautiful places, varying from cold, unforgiving tundra, to endless rice fields, a sea of red reeds, rainbow-colored thermal pools, and many, many more. Here are just few of China’s endless collection of beauty.

Yuanyang Rice Terraces, Yunnan

Treasures of China

Fishermen At Golden Sunset

Treasures of China

Red Beach, Panjin

Treasures of China

Cormorant Fisherman on Li River

Treasures of China

Thousand Islands Lake

Treasures of China

Fenghuang County

Treasures of China

Leshan Giant Buddha

Treasures of China

Larung Gar

Treasures of China

Where The Great Wall of China Ends

Treasures of China

Hidden Mountain Village, Southern China

Treasures of China

Source….www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

படித்ததில் பிடித்தது ….” நம் திறமை வெளிப்படும் நேரம் …”

November 1, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

கடவுளிடம் ஒரு விவசாயி கடுமையாகச் சண்டைக்குப் போனான்.

”உனக்குப் பயிர்களைப் பற்றி என்ன
தெரியும்? நீ நினைத்தபோது மழையை
அனுப்புகிறாய். தப்பான சமயத்தில் காற்றை
வீசுகிறாய். உன்னால் பெரிய தொந்தரவாக இருக்கிறது.

பேசாமல்,
இந்த வேலைகளை விவசாயி ஒருத்தனிடம் ஒப்படைத்துவிடேன்!”
என்றான்.

கடவுள் உடனே,
“ அப்படியா? சரி. இனிமேல் வெளிச்சம், மழை, காற்று எல்லாம் உன் கட்டுப்பாட்டிலேயே இருக்கட்டும்” என்று வரம் அருளிவிட்டுப்
போய்விட்டார்.

விவசாயிக்கு சந்தோஷம் பிடிபடவில்லை.

அடுத்த விதைப்பிற்கான பருவம் வந்தது.

”மழையே பெய்” என்றான்.

பெய்தது.

நிறுத்தச் சொன்னபோது,
மழை நின்றது.

ஈரமான நிலத்தை உழுதான்.

தேவையான வேகத்தில் காற்றை வீசச் செய்து, விதையை தூவினான்.

மழை, வெயில், காற்று எல்லாமே அவன் சொன்ன பேச்சைக் கேட்டன.

பயிர் பச்சைப்பசேல் என வளர்ந்தது.

வயல்வெளியைப் பார்க்கவே மிகவும் ரம்மியமாக இருந்தது.

அறுவடைக் காலமும் வந்தது.

விவசாயி ஒரு கதிரை அறுத்தான். அதனை உதிர்த்து, திறந்து பார்த்தான்.

அதிர்ந்தான்.

உள்ளே தானியத்தைக் காணவில்லை, மிகச் சிறிய பதர்தான் இருந்தது.

அடுத்தது, அதற்கடுத்தது என்று ஒவ்வொரு தானியக்கதிராக வெட்டி எடுத்து உடைத்துப் பார்த்தால் ஒன்றிலுமே தானியம் இல்லை.

”ஏ கடவுளே!” என்று கோபத்தோடு கூப்பிட்டான்.

“மழை, வெயில், காற்று எல்லாவற்றையுமே மிகச் சரியான விகிதங்களில்தானே பயன்படுத்தினேன்! ஆனாலும், பயிர்கள் பாழாகிவிட்டதே, ஏன்?” எனக்கேட்டான்.

கடவுள் புன்னகைத்தார்:
“என் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் இருந்தபோது காற்று வேகமாக வீசும். அப்போது பயிர்களெல்லாம், அம்மாவை இறுக்கிக்கொள்ளும் குழந்தைகளைப்போல பூமிக்குள் தங்கள் வேர்களை மிக ஆழமாக அனுப்பிப் பிடித்துக்கொள்ளும்.

மழை குறைந்தால், தண்ணீரைத் தேடி வேர்களை நாலாபக்கமும் அனுப்பும்.

போராட்டம் இருந்தால்தான் தாவரங்கள் தங்களைப் பாதுகாத்துக்கொண்டு, வலுவாக வளரும்.

எல்லாமே வசதியாக
அமைத்துக் கொடுத்ததில் உன் பயிர்களுக்கு சோம்பேறித்தனம் வந்துவிட்டது.

தளதளவென்று வளர்ந்ததே தவிர, ஆரோக்கியமான தானியங்களைக் கொடுக்க அவற்றிற்கு தெரியவில்லை!” என்றார்.

வேண்டாமய்யா, உன் மழையும் காற்றும்! நீயே வைத்துக்கொள்” என்று கடவுளிடமே அவற்றைத் திருப்பித் தந்துவிட்டான் விவசாயி.

பிரச்சினைகள் உங்களைப் போட்டு அழுத்தும்போதுதான், உங்களின் திறமை அதிகரிக்கும்.

இருட்டு என்று ஒரு பிரச்சினை இருந்ததால்தான் மின்விளக்கு கண்டுபிடிக்கப்பட்டது.

பயணம் என்பது பிரச்சினையானபோதுதான் வாகனம் உருவானது.

பிரச்சினைகளே இல்லாமல் இருந்துவிட்டால் நம் மூளையின் திறனை எவ்வாறு அறிவீர்கள்?

எதிர்பாராத திருப்பங்கள்தானே நம் வாழ்க்கையைச் சுவையாக அமைத்துத் தரமுடியும்.

Source….unknown….input from a friend of mine

Natarajan

Railways, UNESCO to Revamp Bandra Station as a Heritage Landmark…..

October 30, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Western Railways, in collaboration with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is working on a plan to renovate Mumbai’s Bandra station, as a heritage landmark.

In April this year, UNESCO had accepted the offer to work as a consultant for heritage conservation at the charming 146-year-old station. They will restore the damaged or missing structures on the building and will also be involved in designing the surrounding areas. The station has been identified as a National Rail Heritage site by Western Railway as well as Grade I heritage building by the Maharashtra government.

This heritage conservation work aims to restore the image of Bandra as the “queen of suburbs”.

Photo Credit: Flickr

For this, a concrete plan has been made to transform the station with the view of providing efficient transportation facilities, and also to reinforce the magnificence of the building that is known for its sloping Mangalore-tiled roof, and a spacious layout.

UNESCO has submitted the initial report for redevelopment to Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu. The report focuses on urban design strategy. According to a report in The Times of India, the recommendations include steps for relieving congestion and streamlining movement at entry and exit of the station.

The overall report proposes to develop the station into a culturally relevant community asset. They plan to create an attractive and comfortable environment, while focussing on giving priority to pedestrians and to make the station universally accessible. A number of steps for improving accessibility for people with disabilities will also be taken. UNESCO’s final report with conservation and management plan of the station building, is expected next month.

This redesign will boost the preservation of the rich heritage of Mumbai. Indian Railways is also the overseer of four world heritage sites – Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway and Kalka Shimla Railway.

In 2009, Western Railways had the undertaken restoration work of the Bandra station building, and appointed conservation architect Abha Narian Lambah as a consultant for the same. However, heritage conservation plan was not carried out after the repairs.

Source…..Tanaya Singh … http://www.thebetterindia.com

Natarajan

Image for the Day… Spacewalk Selfie …!!!

October 30, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Expedition 45 Commander Scott Kelly took this photograph during a spacewalk on Oct. 28, 2015. Sharing the image on social media, Kelly wrote, “#SpaceWalkSelfie Back on the grid! Great first spacewalk yesterday. Now on to the next one next week. #YearInSpace”

This was the first spacewalk for both Kelly and Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren; the two will venture outside the International Space Station for the second time on Friday, Nov. 6. The two spacewalks were scheduled around milestones in space. Today, Oct. 29, Kelly becomes the U.S. astronaut who has lived in space the longest during a single U.S. spaceflight, and on Monday, Nov. 2, the crew celebrates the 15th year of a continuous human presence in space aboard the station.

During the 7-hour and 16-minute spacewalk, Kelly and Lindgren applied a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer; applied grease to a number of components in one of the latching ends of the Canadarm2 robotic arm; and began work to rig power and data system cables for the future installation of a docking port to the station that will be used for the arrival of the Boeing Starliner CST-100 and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Image Credit: NASA

Source…..www.nasa.gov

natarajan

Image of the Day… “Old Faithful geyser, and moon eclipse”…..

October 30, 2015October 30, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

“Over a year of planning paid off!” said Jeff Berkes Photography.

View larger. | Photo by Jeff Berkes. Visit Jeff Berkes Photography on Facebook

Here’s one of our favorite photos from an EarthSky community member, so far this year. Jeff Berkes captured it during the recent total eclipse of the moon – September 27, 2015 – and the photo shows the eclipsed moon next to an eruption of Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Jeff wrote:

Over a year of planning paid off!

Old Faithful, the super Blood Moon fully eclipsed, a meteor, the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way… There is a lot going on in this shot!

See the Andromeda galaxy? It’s at about 10 o’clock, above the geyser. The meteor is directly above the geyser.

Old Faithful geyser at Yellowstone National Park erupts during September 27, 2015 lunar eclipse.

Posted by Deborah Byrd in http://www.earthsky.org

Natarajan

A RED-BELLIED WOOPECKER’S TONGUE IS ALMOST THREE TIMES THE LENGTH OF ITS BEAK AND WRAPS AROUND ITS SKULL WHEN RETRACTED….

October 30, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Today I found out that the tongue on a Red-Bellied woodpecker, along with some other species of woodpecker, is so long that it can extend at least three times the bill length and, when retracted, wraps around its skull.

According to a study conducted by the Dalian University of Technology in China, Grey-Faced woodpeckers have a tongue that measures around 171mm (6.73 inches), which is about 2.8 times the length of their beaks (~60mm or 2.36 inches) and typically even longer than their body length (~165mm or 6.5 inches, measured from the mouth tip to the buttock).

In this species of woodpecker, and some others, the tongue is so long that it forks in the throat, goes below the base of the jaw and wraps behind and over the top of the head, where the forked section rejoins and inserts in the bird’s right nostril or around the eye socket.

This bizarre tongue structure is possible because of a linear series of tiny bones sheathed in muscles and soft tissue known as “hyoid apparatus” that extends the entire length of the woodpecker’s tongue. This cartilage-bone like skeleton of its tongue is sheathed in muscle and soft tissue and the ultra-thin hyoid bones fold up like an accordion when not outstretched. Contraction of the muscles pulls the tips of the hyoid bone around the back of the head and back down toward the mouth, and in doing so, pushes the tongue out the mouth.

So what does our small feathered friend do with the talented tongue? After he has slammed his head against a piece of dead wood, or tree at the rate of around 15 miles per hour, repeatedly and several times over, (see bonus factoids as to why the little guy doesn’t get brain damage), he shoves his elongated tongue deep into the hole, searching for small bugs or insects. He’ll feel around the insects thin tunnels, and, when he finds one, he pierces it with his tongue , which is covered in sharp barbs like a spear, and then pulls it back in for eating. The woodpecker’s tongue also contains paired longitudinal muscles that allow it to move side to side as the bird probes for food. A woodpecker’s tongue is especially sensitive to touch, an adaptation that aids in detecting unseen insects within dead wood.

Not all species of woodpeckers have barbed tongues or feeding behaviors like that of the Red-bellied woodpecker. Take for example the Yellow-bellied Woodpecker {A.K.A. Sapsucker}. It burrows 1/4 inch holes and uses it’s tongue to lap up the sap, not unlike a hummingbirds tongue (except a hummingbird’s tongue is split and rolls into a shallow spoon like shape). Oddly enough though, a baby woodpecker’s tongue is actually quite short, making it much easier for a parent bird to stick food items into their hungry little mouths.

Bonus Facts:

A woodpeckers brain is protected by a spongy elastic material between their bill and their skull that holds their brain so tight that it can’t move around, which is what keeps it from getting injured while they bang away at at tree, which produced incredible G-forces.
Woodpeckers have small feathers over their nostrils that help keep wood particles from being inhaled.
A pair of stiff, centrally placed tail feathers allow the woodpecker to “tripod” itself on trees. This allows them to peck away at a tree, or whatever surface, for long periods of time without getting tired from holding themselves on the side of the tree. These particular tail feathers are not molted until their replacement feathers have already grown in.
Downy woodpeckers are the most common backyard woodpecker. Pileated woodpeckers are almost as big as American crows, making them the largest member of the woodpecker family.

Source….www.today i found out .com

Natarajan