environment – Page 62 – Take off with Natarajan

The World’s Only Floating National Park Is Located in India. And It Is Amazing….!!!

February 8, 2016August 31, 2025NatarajanLeave a comment

Imagine standing on a piece of land that floats on water. No, not for some fictitious narration or a movie scene, but in real life – this is something that’s actually possible in Manipur.

Welcome to Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India. This iconic lake, located in Bishnupur district, at a distance of 53 km from Imphal, is known for its circular floating swamps (called phumdis in the local language).

Source: Wikimedia

The term phumdis refers to a collection of heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil, and organic matter at various stages of decomposition. Resembling miniature islands, these phumdis are found in various forms, floating on the lake.

Covering an area of 300 square metres, the lake is a lifeline for many people. It serves as a source of water for hydropower generation, irrigation and drinking water supply in the region, other than being the source of income for many fishermen who largely depend on it. Children of the fishermen can even be seen playing and running around on these phumdis.

“Loktak is our mother. Since time immemorial, the lake has been feeding the people of Manipur and nourishing us”, a fisherwoman told The Northeast Today.

The Sendra Tourist Home, located on a large phumdi island, also makes for an ideal tourist spot.

The lake is home to 233 species of aquatic plants, more than 100 species of birds, and 425 species of animals, including the Indian python and sambhar.

Photo: Flickr/Zehawk

What makes the Loktak Lake even more special is the Keibul Lamjao National Park located at the south western part of the lake. It is the world’s only floating national park and is home to the endangered Manipuri brow-antlered deer, Sangai.

Sangai is the state animal of Manipur. Its hooves are adapted to walk on the phumdis.

Source: Wikimedia

This park, which was initially declared as a Sanctuary in 1966, was subsequently declared a National Park in 1977.

Photo: Flickr/Zehawk

Loktak is a birder’s paradise. The most commonly sighted birds in the region include black kite, northern hill myna, East Himalayan pied kingfisher, lesser skylark, lesser eastern jungle crow, Burmese pied myna, and more.

The lake is now endangered, with innumerable threats like pollution, decline in diversity of avifauna and thinning of phumdis. All this, in turn, threatens the Sangai deer. Phum Shang, an investigative documentary directed by Hao Bam Pabankumar, which examines the serious environmental concerns facing Loktak Lake, won the Golden Conch award for Best Documentary in the Mumbai International Film Festival recently.

Source…….www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

This Solar Powered Marvel of Engineering Lets a Person with Disabilities Earn a Living Anywhere!

February 8, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Sunny Splendor is a great piece of engineering – a solar vehicle that works as a mobile shop for people with disabilities to start up small businesses and earn a living. It was designed by Hari Vasudevan of Ostrich Mobility, and this is how it works.

“I earn more than Rs. 4,000 a day now and can even think of sending my children to a good school,” says Umesh, a street vendor from Bangalore who lost both his legs in a road accident. Umesh used to work as a driver earlier but his life came to a standstill for about five years after the accident. He could not find any suitable source of income and things became increasingly difficult for his family. So he set up a small cart and started selling items like tea, coffee, bread, biscuits, and chocolates. But business was never very lucrative because he couldn’t move around with his cart and had to remain stationary at the same spot all day long.

After struggling for a long time to make ends meet, Umesh received the most amazing gift a few months back. He was introduced to Sunny Splendor – a mobile shop meant for people with disabilities to run petty businesses from wherever they want.

Earning more than double of what he would make earlier, Umesh has now left hard times far behind and is extremely happy with his new shop on wheels.

Umesh at work

Sunny Splendor was developed by Hari Vasudevan, Founder and Managing Director of Ostrich Mobility, a company that excels in manufacturing personal mobility appliances for people with disabilities.

The team at Ostrich Mobility

“Umesh was able to increase his profits only because he got the chance to roam around with his shop. If one place is less crowded he moves on to the next, and keeps moving to the more crowded areas of the city,” says Hari.

For Umesh, the best thing about Sunny Splendor is that it needs zero maintenance and customers are often attracted to his shop just to find out how it works. This adds to his business and he has some very loyal customers who are amazed by his story and keep coming back to his shop.

Hari says he was inspired to design this vehicle in 2013 when K.S. Rajanna, a differently-abled man, was appointed the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in Karnataka.

When Rajanna sir became the commissioner, he visited my office to see the kind of things we manufacture. He asked me a simple question: ‘Why don’t you hire people with physical disabilities?’ I told him that we deal with heavy objects and it would be difficult to find a person with disability who would want to do this kind of work. Moreover, we are not some big corporate firm and it won’t be easy for us to change the complete infrastructure of the office building to make it suitable for differently abled people.”

But the question remained with Hari. He found himself thinking about developing a way to help people with disabilities find a source of income. “And the idea suddenly struck me – I decided to design an electric wheelchair in a way that it would work as a mobile shop to help people run small businesses,” he says.

The mobile shop is called Sunny Splendor because there is a solar panel attached to its roof, which helps charge the batteries it operates on.

Sunny Splendor is basically an electric wheelchair designed like a three-wheeler, with a lot of space to display the items for selling. The wheelchair’s batteries can be charged with the help of electricity as well as solar energy. Eight hours of sunlight are enough to get the vehicle fully charged, and it can run for about 45km at a speed of 15km/hr after one charge. Even those who don’t have access to electricity can use it with the help of solar charging only.

There is a joystick to control the direction in which it moves and disabled people can use the vehicle to sell all kinds of things like magazines, food, toys, vegetables, and more.

Sunny Splendor is available in the market for Rs. 1.5 lakh. But many people who need it the most don’t usually have the required money to make the purchase. So Hari and his team are talking to NGOs and other organizations to make it available to people with disabilities. As of now, two people in Karnataka are using the mobile shops gifted to them by Mahindra & Mahindra (as a part of the organization’s CSR activities). Three other people have received them from the Kerala government.

Hari, who is 44 years old, founded Ostrich Mobility after completing his M.Tech course in product design and manufacturing. Prior to that, he did his BSc in Physics and BE in Mechanical Engineering, followed by seven years of work in the field of manufacturing automobiles.

“Engineering is my passion…I got a chance to meet many kids with disabilities during college because my final year project was related to making a device to help them walk. And after a visit to a school for children with disabilities, I decided that I will do something to help such people with whatever engineering I know. In 2005, I got four orders for wheelchairs from a school, and I decided to continue from there,” he recounts.

In 2007, Hari started Ostrich Mobility with the idea of making electric wheelchairs. Today, the company sells more than 22 products, including various electric wheelchairs, mobility scooters, hospital beds, and more. All the products are designed by Hari.

Hari feels that anyone buying Sunny Splendor is actually buying a business that can grow much beyond the initial investment. However, it is difficult for someone who is poor to make that investment so Hari is looking for micro-financing companies to help people purchase the vehicle.

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

Natarajan

Shops in a Town in Assam Have Been Painted Blue. Here’s Why….!

February 7, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

If you happen to visit the town of Goalpara in Assam, a splendid surprise will welcome you.

More than 2,000 buildings in Goalpara, one of the cleanest places in the state, have been painted blue to maintain uniformity throughout the city and give it a neater look.

The entire project, which started in February last year, was undertaken by the businessmen in Goalpara, to paint all small and big shops in the town in one colour.

“The Deputy Commissioner had organised a meeting to discuss the Swachh Bharat mission. That was when I suggested the whole town should be of one colour so that it looks clean. He also wanted to ask us to do the same thing. The idea was appreciated and everyone came on board,” says 57-year-old Bimal Surana, who is the owner of a hardware shop in Goalpara.

Deputy Commissioner J.V.N. Subramanyam appealed to the business community to colour the entire commercial area in a unique colour.

The painted buildings are a part of a larger scheme launched by the DC in December 2014. It is called the Mukhyamantir Asomar Nirmal aru Seuj Abhijan – MANASA scheme, the state government’s own cleanliness program. A remarkable change took place in Goalpara under the District Administration and MANASA scheme. The numbers of workers and sweepers in the town have been increased from 30 and 23 respectively, to 60 and 30.

Over 170 dustbins have been placed on the streets and outside every shop.

Open and covered drains are regularly cleaned, and tree plantation drives keep taking place.

“The businessmen also get together, decide one day and clean the whole market. Nobody throws anything outside the dustbins. If anyone does, we stop them and explain the significance of a clean town,” says Bimal.

Goalpara Municipality is the second oldest municipality in the state of Assam. It was established in 1875 by the British Administrator. The town of Goalpara is the District Headquarters of a district by the same name.

The business community has contributed in many different ways. “The Deputy Commissioner asked how I will contribute. I have a hardware shop where I sell paint. So I said that whoever comes to purchase paint from me, I will set aside the profit margin and sell at the cost price. I have sold 6,000 litre of paint without profit. I just wanted everyone to take the initiative forward. No matter what it takes,” says Bimal.

Situated on the western most part of the state, on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, Goalpara is a beautiful place. And to make it even more beautiful, the town is cleaned every day from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm.

On special cleanliness drives, the citizens, government officials, school and college students are also involved.]

Around 70 nameplates with proper directions have been installed on the streets, along with 50 sodium vapour lamps, 160 CFLs and 228 LEDs.

To ensure round-the-clock cleanliness, J.V.N. Subramanyam keeps visiting the municipal area on regular morning walks to check the progress of the work under MANASA.

According to a report by an executive officer of the Goalpara Municipality, Goalpara had very poor urban development indices prior to this scheme. The maintenance staff members were demotivated and this led to inefficient delivery of urban services. This in turn caused public discontent and non-payments of tax dues by the citizens. MANASA was launched to bring Goalpara out of this vicious circle by rebuilding trust among people and motivating the municipal staff. All conservancy staff members, including sweepers, were provided with two sets of uniforms, raincoats and jackets, helmets, gumboots, and hand gloves, with necessary appliances for cleaning garbage and solid waste. They were also provided with accident and health insurance.

This was followed by the eviction and demolition of unauthorised structures and clearing of clogged drains.

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

Natarajan

கதை கதையாம் காரணமாம்……!!!

February 7, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

முக்கடலும் சங்கமிக்கும் கன்னியாகுமரிக்குச் செல்லும் போதெல்லாம், பெரும்பாறை ஒன்றின் மீது குறைந்த விளக்கொளியின் பரவலில் கம்பீரமாய் எழுந்து நிற்கும் சுவாமி விவேகானந்தர் மண்டபத்தைப் பார்க்கும் போதெல்லாம் ‘எப்படி சாத்தியமானது?’ என்ற கேள்வி என்னுள் எழுந்து நிற்கும்.இன்று, கரைக்கும் மண்டபத்திற்குமான துாரம் குறைந்து விட்டது. கடலில் மூன்றில் ஒரு பகுதி நடந்து செல்லும் பாதையாகி விட்டது. மீதப்பகுதியை சிறிய கப்பல் போன்ற படகில் பாதுகாப்பு உபகரணங்கள் அணிந்து ஐந்து நிமிடத்திற்குள் கடந்து விடலாம். ஆனால் பயணம் செய்யும் அந்த சின்னப் பொழுதில், கடல் அலைகளின் எழுச்சியும், காற்றின் வீச்சும் நம்மைப் பயமுறுத்தத்தான் செய்கிறது.
ஆனால் 113 வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னால், அதிக ஆள் அரவமற்ற இந்தக் கடற்கரையில், இருள் கவிழும் பொழுதில், ஆரவாரத்துடன் அலைகள் எழுந்து குமுறும் கடலில், இக்கரையில் இருந்து அப்பால் உள்ள பாறைக்கு சுவாமி விவேகானந்தர் தன்னந்தனியாக நீந்திச் சென்றிருக்கிறார்!
வானமே கூரையாக அமைந்த அப்பாறை மீது மூன்று நாட்கள் தனிமையில் அமர்ந்து, தாகத்திற்கும் பசிக்கும் ஆதாரமின்றி, தன்னைப் பிழிந்த தவத்தால் ஞான வெளிச்சம் பெற்றிருக்கிறார்! மீண்டும் இக்கரைக்கு நீந்தி வந்திருக்கிறார். இது எப்படி சாத்தியமானது?
இதற்கான வீரமும் துணிச்சலும் அவருக்கு எப்படி கிடைத்தது?
கதைகள் தந்த வீரம்!
சுவாமி விவேகானந்தரின் பால்ய பருவம். நரேந்திரனாய் ஓடியாடி விளையாடிய சின்ன வயசு. நரேந்திரனுக்கு தாய் புவனேஸ்வரியிடம் கதை கேட்பதில் அதிக ஆர்வம். புராண, இதிகாச கதைகளையே தாய் அதிகம் கூறுவார். மகாபாரத பீமன், ராமாயண அனுமன் இருவரது பராக்கிரமங்களைக் கூறும்போது நரேந்திரன் அதிக ஆர்வமாகி விடுவான். திரும்பத் திரும்ப பீமனையும், அனுமனையும் அவனுக்குச் சொல்லியாக வேண்டும்.
பள்ளி வளாகத்தில் பிள்ளைகள் விளையாடிக் கொண்டிருப்பர். ஆனால் நரேந்திரனோ பெரிய மரத்தில் ஏறி, அதன் கிளையில் தலைகீழாகத் தொங்கிக் கொண்டிருப்பான். எச்சரிப்பவர்களிடம், “நான் அனுமனாகப் போகிறேன்” என்பான்.

வருங்காலத்தில் நீ என்னவாகப் போகிறாய்?” என்று யாராவது கேட்டால், “நான் பீமன் ஆகப்போகிறேன்! பயில்வானாகப் போகிறேன்!” என்று நெஞ்சை நிமிர்த்தியவாறு பதில் சொல்லி இருக்கிறான். தீரத்தோடு அவர் தனிமையில் குமரி கடலில் நீந்தியதற்கு காரணம், சின்ன வயதில் தாயிடம் கதை கேட்டு வளர்ந்த அனுபவம் வளர்த்த துணிச்சல்!
கதை சொல்லிகள்!
தாத்தா, பாட்டி, அப்பா, அம்மா, மூத்தோர் என வீடுகளில், வீட்டுத் திண்ணைகளில் அன்று நிறைய கதை சொல்லிகள் இருந்தனர். படிப்பு, விளையாட்டு என ஓடியாடி ஓய்ந்த பொழுதுகளில் குழந்தைகளை அவர்கள் கதை உலகத்திற்குள் அழைத்துச் சென்றனர்.
கதைகள் மூலம் குழந்தைகளுக்கு புராண, இதிகாசங்கள் அறிமுகமாயின. ராஜாக்களும், வீரர்களும் வீரம் தந்தனர். வள்ளல்களும், நல்லவர்களும் மனவிலாசம் தந்தனர். நீதிகளும், நல்ல விஷயங்களும் இளம் சிந்தை வயலில் விதைகளாயின.
அதுமட்டுமல்ல, மூத்த தலைமுறை மூலம்தான் வளரும் தலைமுறைக்கு ஊர்ப் பெருமைகளும், குடும்பப் பாரம்பரியமும், உறவின் உன்னதங்களும் போய்ச் சேர்ந்தது. ஆனால் இன்று வீடுகளில் கதை சொல்லிகள் இல்லை. முதியோர் இருந்தாலும் அவர்களோடு ஒட்ட, உறவாட பிள்ளைகளுக்கு நேரமில்லை. நேரமிருந்தால், தாத்தா பாட்டிகளும், பேரக் குழந்தைகளும் தொலைக்காட்சி முன் கிடக்கிறார்கள்.
முன்பெல்லாம் தொடக்க வகுப்புகளில் ஆசிரியர்கள் நிறைய கதை சொல்வார்கள். ஓவிய ஆசிரியர், தையல் ஆசிரியை வகுப்புகளில் கலையோடு கதைகளும் நிறைந்திருக்கும். ஆனால் இன்று எல்.கே.ஜி. படிக்கும் குழந்தையின் முதுகில் 10 கே.ஜி! படிப்பு, மதிப்பெண், ரேங்க் என்ற ஓட்டத்தில் வகுப்பறைகளிலும் கதைகள் காணாமல் போயின. இதில் பெரிய இழப்பு எதுவென்றால், கலை இலக்கியப் படைப்பாளிகள் குறைந்து வருவதுதான். கதை கேட்கும் போது கற்பனைத் திறன் அதிகரிக்கும். இந்தக் கற்பனைத் திறன்தான் படைப்பாற்றலை வளர்க்கும்.
பால்ய கதைகள். என் பால்ய வயதில் எங்கள் வீட்டுக்கு (கன்னியாகுமரி மாவட்டம், தெற்கு சூரன்குடி கிராமம்) ஒரு பாட்டி வருவார்.வீட்டு வாசலுக்கு வரும்போதே “வெத்தல தட்ட எடுத்துட்டு வாங்க மக்களே!” என்று அறிவிப்பு. பாட்டியின் குரல் சின்னப்பிள்ளைகளான எங்களைப் பரவசப்படுத்தும். காரணம், பாட்டி அற்புதமாகக் கதை சொல்வாள்.

வெற்றிலையை மென்றவாறு பாட்டி கதையை ஆரம்பிப்பாள். ”ஒரு ஊர்ல ஒரு மகாராசா இருந்தாரா! அந்த மகாராசாவுக்கு வடிவான ஒரு பொண்ணு… அந்தப் பொண்ணுக்கு கல்யாணம். மகாராசா வீட்டுக் கல்யாணமாச்சே! அதனால, ஏழு ஊருக்கு பந்தல் போட்டு, பெரிய விருந்து வைக்கணும். விருந்து சமைக்க விறகு சேகரிக்க ரெண்டாயிரம் மாட்டு வண்டிகளை மந்திரி அனுப்புனாரு. அந்த வண்டிக ரெண்டு ஊரு நீளத்துக்கு ஜல்ஜல்லுணு ஊர்வலமா போச்சு…” என்று பாட்டியின் கதை நீளும்.
அந்த பாட்டி காவிப் பற்கள் தெரிய வாய்விட்டுச் சிரிக்க… நாங்களும் ஓ.. என்று கத்தியவாறு சிரிக்க…. அங்கு மகிழ்ச்சி சூழும். இன்பம் நிறையும். ஒற்றுமையுணர்வு ஓங்கும்.
கற்பனை வளர்த்த கதை உலகம் பாட்டி சொன்னது வெறும் கதையா? இல்லை! கதை சொல்லியான அந்த பாட்டி, எங்கள் கைகளைப் பிடித்துக் கொண்டு ஒரு கற்பனை உலகத்துக்கு அழைத்துச் சென்றாள்.
‘ஜல் ஜல் என்ற மணி ஓசையுடன் இரண்டாயிரம் மாட்டு வண்டிகளின் அணிவகுப்பு’- எங்கள் கற்பனைக் காட்சியில் விரிந்தது. ‘வெள்ளை வெளேர்னு யானை போன்ற குச்சிவீட்டுப் பூனை’- என்று அவர் சொன்னது எங்கள் கற்பனைக்குள் எழுந்து வியப்பைத் தந்தது. கதையின் பூதங்கள் எங்கள் கற்பனையில் தோன்றி மிரட்டியது. இந்த கற்பனை உருவாக்கம்தான் கதை கேட்டல் ஏற்படுத்தும் மகத்துவம்.
இன்று டைனோசர், பூதம் எல்லாவற்றையும் கார்ட்டூன் சேனல்களில், திரைப்படங்களில் கிராபிக்சில் கொண்டு வந்து காட்டி, குழந்தைகள் கற்பனை செய்து பார்ப்பதற்கு வாய்ப்பு தராமல் செய்து
விடுகின்றனர்.கதை கேட்கும் போது குழந்தைகளிடம் ஏற்படும் கற்பனைச் சித்திரங்களும், மனம் உருவகிக்கும் காட்சிகளும் தான் பிற்காலத்தில் அவர்களை ஒரு ஓவியனாகவோ, கலைஞனாகவோ,
கவிஞனாகவோ, கதை ஆசிரியனாகவோ உருவாக்குகிறது. கதைகள் உருவாக்கும் படைப்பாற்றல், குழந்தைகளிடம் புதியன உருவாக்குவதற்கான சிந்தனைப் புலத்தை வளர்க்கிறது.
எனவே பெற்றோர்களே! பிள்ளைகளுக்கு நிறைய கதைகளைச் சொல்லுங்கள். தாத்தா, பாட்டிகளுடன் நேரம் செலவிட பிள்ளைகளை அனுமதியுங்கள். அவர்களிடம் கதைகள் கேட்கும் சுந்தரப் பொழுதுகளை தொலைகாட்சி உலகமும், ஆன்ட்ராய்டு உலகமும் அபகரித்துக் கொள்ளாமல் பார்த்துக் கொள்ளுங்கள். உங்கள் வீட்டில் ஒரு படைப்பாளி
உருவாகட்டும்

முனைவர்.மு.அப்துல் சமது,தமிழ்த்துறைப் பேராசிரியர்ஹாஜி கருத்த ராவுத்தர் ஹவுதியா கல்லூரி,உத்தமபாளையம்

Source…….www.dinamalar.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day……” The Present Precious Life is not meant for throwing away just like that …”

February 7, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Those who are agitated by doubts about what to accept and what to reject, those who are blinded by illusion, and those who cannot distinguish between darkness and light, death and immortality — all these should approach great people who can show the path to understand the eternal truth – the self-illumined basis of all creation. Then both this world and heaven will be merged in the same effulgence! For the sake of this realisation, one should have deep yearning and hard, disciplined practice. This human birth is the consequence of countless good deeds, and it should not be cast aside; the chance must be fully exploited. As the Kenopanishad says, “This present precious life should not be thrown away.” When there are so many chances of saving oneself, isn’t it a big loss to waste them all? For all those who are slaves of pride and animal traits, this awareness in time is most important. Delay is fruitless; it is as silly as starting to dig a well when the house catches fire.

Image of the Day….” Ancient Butterfly like Insect….”

February 6, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Fossilized lacewing butterfly

A record etched in rock from 120 million years ago shows the fragile beauty of an ancient butterfly-like insect.

Fossilized Kalligrammatid lacewing (Oregramma illecebrosa). Image via James Di Loreto / Smithsonian

Here’s a fossil of a large butterfly-like insect known as a Kalligrammatid lacewing, which has been extinct for more than 120 million years. Scientists at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History used new fossil analysis techniques to learn that these ancient lacewings were surprisingly similar to modern butterflies, which did not appear on Earth for another 50 million years.

Message for the Day…” As you think that you become “…Develop Good thoughts …

February 6, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

While doing Kundalini Yoga, people practice breath control. In the breathing exercises, inhalation is described as Purakam, exhalation as Rechakam and holding the breath as Kumbhakam. These alone do not constitute the means to achieve yogic power. To breathe in all that is good is Purakam. To give up all that is bad isRechakam. To retain in the heart what is good isKumbhakam. Every human being must practice this divine type of yoga; in fact this must become your primary goal. Puttaparthi is a small hamlet. How has this village attained this eminent state? You can find the answer for yourself. It was not merely a great piece of good fortune or a lucky accident. It is due to the power of thought. Every sacred thought has the power to find fulfilment. Hence scriptures declared: “As you think, that you become (Yad bhavam tad bhavati)”. Develop good thoughts and naturally you will be entitled to the right of its fruits.

Sathya Sai Baba

So, Who is the Mom ….? !!!

February 6, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

A mother and her twin daughters have sent the internet into a tizzy and how!

On January 28, Kaylan Mahomes, a resident of Indianapolis, US, posted a selfie of her twin and her mom in a car. The caption read, “Mom, twin and me.”

However, the photograph left everyone scratching their heads as all three women share a youthful glow and look like sisters, rather than mom and daughters.

The internet simply couldn’t figure out of the three women in the photo, which one was the mom.

The photo since then has been notching up serious viewership with the current count being 19,000 retweets and 30,000 likes. Some Twitter users have also shared it along with the hashtag #blackdontcrack, an expression that refers to African-Americans whose smooth skin makes them look younger than their age.

But the big question remains: Which young-looking lady is the mom?

For those who can’t figure it out, this video (external link), might give you a clue.

So, go ahead, …….. who’s the mom?

Photograph: @kaylan_17/Twitter

Source……..www.rediff.com

Natarajan

Construction Worker Becomes Sarpanch & Teaches Villagers How to Use Computers Too !!!

February 5, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Nauroti Devi is not any ordinary 70-year-old. This Dalit woman from Harmada village in Ajmer district of Rajasthan never went to school. But she got elected as the sarpanch of the village and is famous for overcoming the domination of the Jat community in the village.

Can you believe that Nauroti is the one who taught the panchayat secretary how to operate a computer?

She has also trained many other women from her village to use computers.

Photo source: dalitjagran.blogspot.in

According to The Hindu, she says “I carried the computer and printer into the office and used it for regular communication and also to take out printouts of notices.”

In the 1980s, Nauroti joined The Barefoot College in Tilonia. It is here that she joined adult literacy classes and learnt to operate a computer.

During her five-year term as sarpanch, Nauroti Devi managed to do a lot of work for the community. She constructed toilets and houses for those living below the poverty line. She restored a burial ground and fenced it to stop encroachment. She started work on a long-pending Primary Health Center in the village. She also waged a battle against the alcohol mafia. When Nauroti ended her term, she left a surplus of Rs. 13 lakh in the panchayat account.

Nauroti has always been a woman of great resolve. Prior to joining the Barefoot College, she used to work at a construction site as a stone worker. When she was not paid the minimum wage, she managed to mobilise other construction workers and fought for a raise. The workers finally got justice when their case was taken to the court by an NGO.

She was disqualified from contesting in the 2015 panchayat elections for being illiterate. And for this, she has filed a writ petition in court.

Even though she’s no longer a sarpanch, she continues to be a voice for the marginalised in her community.

Source……Meryl Garcia in http://www.the better india .com

Natarajan

Parents Don’t Have to Worry About Their Child’s School Bus Anymore. All Thanks to This 15-Year-Old!

February 5, 2016NatarajanLeave a comment

Parents are often worried about the safety of their children whenever they are going to or coming back from school. Why is the bus late? Did my child reach safely? Did my child get on the bus? But not anymore! A 15-year-old has developed a solution in the form of an app.

Getting irritated because your school bus is stuck in a traffic jam due to heavy rains is one thing. But to reach home late, find your parents worried, and develop an app so they won’t be stressed the next time – that’s called combining innovation with care. Arjun S. is a 15-year-old student of Class 10 in Velammal Vidhyashram School in Chennai. He has developed an app that can help parents track the position of their children’s school buses whenever they want.

“I got the idea after a cyclone hit Chennai in 2012. I reached home late one day and my parents were really scared because they had no way of finding out if I was safe. I thought that if there could be a way to track school buses easily, it would be so much better for parents and school authorities. I was learning more about building apps and the android programming language at that time, and decided to find a solution,” says Arjun.

The young boy’s love for technology led to the development of LOCATERA – an app to find out where exactly a school bus is located at any given time, and to know if a particular child is there in the bus or not.

“I have been using computers since the age of two. My dad had a system and I would stack up some pillows on the chair to reach the keyboard to use some basic electronics simulation software. My parents were always careful about giving me age-appropriate tools for using the system,” he says, talking about his interest in this field.

The first app developed by Arjun was called Ez School Bus Locator. He shared it with many schools, including his own, and collected the feedback from administrators and parents about their specific requirements. “I collected the information about the schools’ basic requirements and modified the app accordingly. LOCATERA is a modified version of Ez School Bus Locator, and it came two years after the first one. Unlike other solutions that require some kind of hardware installation, all this app needs is the presence of a phone inside the bus,” he adds.

LOCATERA is basically a tri-app solution, which means three apps working together. These include the attendant, admin, and parent apps.

1. LOCATERA attendant:

This app captures the location of the bus and shares it with parents and the school if required. The bus attendant can install and keep it on his/her phone. The attendant adds all students to the app by scanning their Quick Response (QR) Code-based ID cards, using bar code scanning, as and when the students board or get off the bus. Student activities are recorded on the Cloud – to be used by schools in case of emergencies.

2. LOCATERA admin:

The admin version has to be with the administrator of the school transport system so he/she can see all the buses together, locate the position of a particular bus, get information about it, and find out which students are present in the bus at any given time.

3. LOCATERA parent:

Parents have to get their mobile numbers verified before they get access to the app. Once they are in, they can find the location of the bus by clicking on the ‘Bus on Map’ option. Alternatively, they can tap on ‘Bus Location’ and ‘Distance & Time’ options to find out the exact address of the bus and how soon the child will reach home. To find out if the child is there in the bus or not, they just have to select the ‘Child in Bus’ option. Parents who don’t have android phones can give a missed call to the attendant’s phone whenever they want the information. The LOCATERA attendant looks into the bank of registered numbers to find out which parent has called. He/she then sends an SMS with information about the child and the bus location.

Arjun used Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s programming tool called MIT App Inventor to develop LOCATERA. It is basically a programming language tool with a more graphical user interface, instead of codes.

Arjun submitted the app to ‘Google India Code to Learn Contest 2015’ and was declared the winner. He also won the MIT ‘App of the Month (Best Design)’ award in December 2012 for Ez School Bus Locator.

Among other awards, he also received the 2014 ‘National Child Award for Exceptional Achievements for Computer Technology’, which was initiated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.

“I would like to work in the field of computer science itself, and would like to go to IIT or MIT or something like that,” says Arjun, talking about his future plans.

He also started a company named LateraLogics in 2012, which has several products including some other apps that Arjun has developed over the past three years. Currently, only the demo version of LOCATERA is available on Play Store, for all three stakeholders. Those who want to use the complete version can fill out the LOCATERA Flexi Plan Enquiry Form to receive the pricing details for that particular school. Arjun keeps receiving constant feedback from the schools that are already using it.

As he is also preparing for his board exams, Arjun has a tough time juggling his studies and his passion. “But I somehow manage it,” he says.

Arjun at the award ceremony

He also likes to play the keyboard, and is a badminton enthusiast in his free time.

“We have been supporting Arjun from a very young age…He has always been passionate about technology. We gave him the right kinds of tools from the start and he has always been serious about what he does. He does a lot of research and discusses his ideas before finalising anything. We are also in touch with the state and Central government to see how the app can be implemented all over the country. The Ez School Bus Locator version is free of cost and it is being used in more than 10 countries right now. We think it can be used in India as well,” says Arjun’s father Santhosh Kumar.

The agreement for using the app for one academic year includes a one-time activation fee (per child, per year) and a monthly maintenance fee option (per month, per child). After a successful pilot project in his school, Arjun is having discussions with other schools for implementation the same. Trial runs have been scheduled for some schools in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and other parts of the country as well.

“Look for problems around you and get inspired by them. You’ll see a lot of opportunities to make this world a better place using your own skills,” is Arjun’s advice to other youngsters like him.

Download the demo versions of the app here:
LOCATERA attendant
LOCATERA admin
LOCATERA parent

You can find other details about installing the app here.

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

Natarajan