Interesting read

Joke of the Day…” Are there any Alligators around here …” ?

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While sports fishing off the Florida coast, a tourist capsized his boat. He could swim, but his fear of alligators kept him clinging to the overturned craft. Spotting an old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouted, “Are there any gators around here?”

“Naw,” the man hollered back, “they ain’t been around for years!”

Feeling safe, the tourist started swimming leisurely toward the shore.

About halfway there he asked the guy, “How’d you get rid of the gators?”

“We didn’t do nothing,'” the beachcomber said.

“Wow,” said the tourist.

The beachcomber added, “The sharks got ’em.”

Source::::Joke a day.com

Natarajan

“இயற்கையை ரசியுங்கள்” – பாரதியார் நினைவு நாள்… செப்.11

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சுப்பிரமணிய பாரதி

சுப்பிரமணிய பாரதி

கரிய நிறமான காகம் கா… கா… என்று கத்தும்.

மரக்கிளைகளில், வானவெளியில், அதிகாலைப் பொழுதினில்

காகம் தன் கூட்டத்தாரோடு சேர்ந்தே திரியும்.

நாலாபுறமும் சுதந்திரமாய் பறந்து செல்லும்.

தேவி பராசக்தி விண்ணில் செம்மையான கிரணங்களை

காட்டி சூரியனாய் வந்து உதிப்பாள்.

தென்னை மரக்கிளையில் அமர்ந்திருக்கும் பச்சைக்கிளி

கீச்சுக் குரலில் பாடித் திரியும்.

சின்னஞ்சிறு குருவி விண்ணில் வட்டமடித்திடும்.

பருந்து மெல்ல வட்டமிட்டவாறே நெடுந்தொலைவு சென்று பறக்கும்.

தெருவில் இரை தேடித் திரியும் சேவல் ‘சக்திவேல்’ என்று கூவித் திரியும்.

செம்மை ஒளி வீசிப் பகலை வெளிச்சமாக்கிய கதிரவன்

மாலையில் மறைந்துவிடும்.

மயக்கும் மாலை வேளையில் நிலவு தன்

அமுதக் கிரணங்களைப் பொழிய ஆரம்பிக்கும்.

இந்த ரம்மியமான மாலை நேரத்தில், என் அன்பிற்குரியவளும்

உச்சி மாடத்தின் மீது ஏறி வந்து கண்ணுக்கு இனிமை சேர்த்திடுவாள்.

மனமே! வானில் திகழும் மணித்திரளான நட்சத்திரக் கூட்டத்தைக்

கண்டு இன்பம் கொள்வாய்.

நிலவையும், வான் நட்சத்திரங்களையும் கண்ணால் கண்டு மனதால்

உண்டு களிப்பதைவிடவும் வேறொரு செல்வம் உலகினில் உண்டோ?

தென்னை மரக்கீற்றில் ‘சலசல’ என்று சத்தமிடும் பூங்காற்றின்

மீது குதிரைச் சவாரி போல ஏறிக்கொண்டு

உலகம் சுற்றி வந்து இயற்கையின் இன்பம் காணுங்கள்.

பண்ணோடு இசைத்துப் பாடிக் களித்திருங்கள்.

Source:::The Hindu….Tamil
Natarajan

Message For the Day…” How to Get Rid off Desire and Expectations …”

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Is it possible for anyone in this world to be free of any desire and expectation? Not quite! Some things (material and sensual) may be attractive to some persons and some big aims (non-physical and transcendental) may interest others. Almost all desires fall into one of the above categories. Then how is it possible to get rid of both kinds of desires? This is possible! In the Gita, the Lord has declared that He is present in all righteous actions. Therefore those who perform righteous actions can develop anapeksha (desirelessness). This means that when a man performs all actions as OFFERINGS to the Lord, they become desireless actions. The Lord is the One who from within, makes one act, speak, listen, see, etc. If a person performs all actions with the conviction that the indwelling Lord is the real Doer, then the actions become desireless. Hence to begin with every sadhaka should regard one’s actions as OFFERINGS to the Divine.

Sathya Sai Baba

” சேலத்தில் பெரியவா கிரஹம்…” !!!

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தலைப்பைக் கண்டதும் வியப்பு மேலிடுகிறதா? ஆனால், இது உண்மை! சேலத்தில், தனக்கென ஒர் இடத்தைக் கேட்டு வாங்கி, அதில் பல ரூபங்களில் தோற்ற மளித்து, பக்தர்களுக்கு ஆசி வழங்குகிறார், மகா பெரியவா!

சுவாரஸ்யமான அந்தப் புனித நிகழ்வைத் தெரிந்துகொள்வோமா?

பெரியவாளின் பரம பக்தரான ராஜகோபால், இந்தியன் காபி போர்டில் உத்தியோகம் பார்த்துக்கொண்டு இருந்த நேரம் அது. அப்போது அவரின் பெற்றோர் சென்னையில் இருந்தார்கள். அவர்களின் வீட்டுக்கு அருகில் இருந்த ஒரு குடும்பத்தின் மாப்பிள்ளைதான், காஞ்சி மகானின் தீவிர பக்தரான பிரதோஷம் மாமா.

ராஜகோபால் தம்பதி, காஞ்சி மகானிடம் பக்தி கொண்டு இருந்தார் களே தவிர, அவ்வளவு நெருக்கம் இல்லை. பிரதோஷம் மாமா ஒரு தடவை இவரைத் தன் வீட்டுக்கு அழைத்துப்போய், மகானைப் பற்றி விவரமாக உபதேசித்த பின்புதான், இவர் உள்ளத்தில் பெரியவா மீது அளவற்ற பக்தி தோன்றியது.
உத்தியோகம் நிமித்தமாக அடிக்கடி இடம் மாறிக்கொண்டு இருந்த ராஜகோபால், சேலத்துக்கும் மாறுதல் கிடைக்கப்பெற்றார். சேலத்துக்குத் தனக்கு மாற்றல் கிடைத்த விஷயத்தைப் பெரியவாளிடம் ராஜகோபால் சொன்னபோது, ”சேலத்தில் உனக்கு வீடு இல்லையா?” என்று ஒரு கேள்வியைக் கேட்டார் பெரியவா.

”சென்னையில் பூர்வீக சொத்து இருக்கிறது” என்று ராஜகோபால் சொல்ல… ”சேலத்தில் வீடு இருக்கிறதா என்றுதான் கேட்டேன்” என்றார் மகான் அழுத்தம்திருத்தமாக.

”இல்லை!” என்று மெல்லிய குரலில் பதில் சொன்ன ராஜகோபாலின் மனத்தில் அப்போதே ஓர் எண்ணம் ஓடியது… சேலத்தில் எப்படியாவது ஒரு வீட்டை வாங்கிவிட வேண்டும் என்று!

சேலத்தில், அவர் உமா நகரில் குடியிருந்தார். அதுவரை சேலத்தில் வீடு வாங்க நினைக்காதவர், மகானின் கேள்வியால் வீடு வாங்கும் உறுதிகொண்டார். எங்கெங்கோ தேடி, கடைசியில் ஒரு நண்பர் மூலமாக, ரகுராம் காலனியில் ஒரு வக்கீலின் வீட்டைப் பார்த்துப் பேசி முடித்தார். அதை வாங்கும்பொருட்டு சென்னை வீட்டை நல்ல விலைக்கு விற்றுவிட்டார்.

அதன்பின், காரியங்கள் அசுர வேகத்தில் நடக்க, ஒரு நல்ல நாளில் வீட்டை வாங்கி, தன் மனைவி கீதாவின் பேரில் ரிஜிஸ்தரும் செய்துவிட்டார் ராஜகோபால்.

”சொந்த வீடு இருக்கிறதா?” என்று மகான் கேட்டதை நிறைவேற்றிவிட்ட திருப்தி அவருக்கு. வீட்டுப் பத்திரத்தை எடுத்துக்கொண்டு, தன் மனைவியுடன் காஞ்சிக்குச் சென்ற ராஜகோபால், மகானின் முன்னால் போய் நின்றார்.

இதற்கு முன் நடந்த சம்பவத்தை இங்கு சொல்லியாக வேண்டும்.

வீட்டைப் பார்த்துப் பேசி முடித்ததுமே, நேராக காஞ்சிக்குப் போன ராஜகோபால், மகானிடம் பவ்வியமாக, ”ஒரு வீட்டை சேலத்தில் பார்த்திருக்கிறேன்” என்றார்.

மகானின் அடுத்த கேள்வி, ராஜகோபாலை வியப்பில் ஆழ்த்தியது… ”வடக்குப் பார்த்த வீடுதானே? வாங்கிடு!”

வீடு எப்படி இருக்கிறது, எந்தத் திசையை நோக்கி இருக்கிறது என்கிற விவரம் எதையும் மகானிடம் சொல்லவே இல்லை ராஜகோபால். ஆனால், அந்த மகான் கேட்டார்… ”வடக்குப் பார்த்த வீடுதானே?’
‘
அவரது அடுத்த கேள்வி: ”என்ன விலை சொல்றான்?”

ராஜகோபால் சொன்னார்.

”அவன் இன்னமும் குறைச்சுக் கொடுப்பான். வாங்கிடு!” என்று ஆசி வழங்கினார் மகான்.

மகான் சொன்னபடியே, வீட்டின் சொந்தக் காரர் அதன் விலையில் மேலும் 10 ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் குறைத்துத் தர முன்வந்தார். வீடும் கைமாறியது.

இதோ… ராஜகோபால் தம்பதி, மகானுக்கு முன்னே நிற்கிறார்கள். ஒரு தட்டில் பழம், தேங்காய், பூவுடன், பத்திரத்தை அவர் முன் வைக்கிறார்கள். தட்டைக் கையில் எடுத்து மகானிடம் நீட்டும்போது, தன்னை அறியாமல் ராஜகோபால் சொல்கிறார்…

”மகா பெரியவா அனுக்ரஹத்தில், மகா பெரியவா கிரஹம் வாங்கப்பட்டு இருக்கிறது!”

‘தங்கள் வீடு’ என்று அவர் சொல்ல வில்லை. ‘பெரியவா கிரஹம்’ என்று தன்னிச்சையாக அவர் வாயிலிருந்து வார்த்தைகள் வந்து விழுந்தன.

மகான் ஒரு புன்சிரிப்போடு நிமிர்ந்து, ராஜகோபால் தம்பதியைப் பார்த்தார். பிறகு, சிறிய டார்ச் வெளிச்சத்தில் பத்திரம் பூராவையும் படித்தார். அதன்பின் கேட்டார்… ”எனக்கே எனக்கா?”

”பெரியவா அனுக்ரஹம்” என்றார் ராஜ கோபால். பத்திரத்தை மகான் உடனே திருப்பித் தரவில்லை. சற்றுநேரம் கழித்து, அந்தத் தம்பதியை தன் அருகில் அழைத்து, பத்திரத்தின் மீது தாமரை இதழும் வில்வமும் வைத்துத் தந்தார்.

வீட்டின் சாவியைக் கையில் எடுத்த மகா பெரியவா, சாவியை ராஜகோபாலின் கையில் தந்து, ”சாவியை அவகிட்டே கொடு! அவதானே வீட்டுக்காரி” என்றார் புன்னகை புரிந்தபடி.

உண்மைதான்! வீட்டுக்காரி என்னும் சொல் மனைவி என்கிற அர்த்தத்தில் மட்டுமல்ல… வீட்டைத் தன் மனைவியின் பேரில்தானே பதிவு செய்திருந்தார் ராஜகோபால்! எனவே, வீட்டுக்கு உரிமையாளர் என்கிற அர்த்தமும் அதில் உள்ளடங்கியிருந்தது.

அடுத்தபடியாக பெரியவா சொன்ன விஷயம் யாரும் எதிர்பார்க்காதது.

”உனக்கும் உன் குழந்தைகளுக்கும் சௌகர் யமாக மேலே வீட்டைக் கட்டிக் கொள்; கீழே நான் இருக்கேன்!”

இவை எப்படிப்பட்ட வார்த்தைகள்! ராஜ கோபால் கொஞ்சம் ஆடித்தான் போனார். ‘பெரியவாளை கீழே விட்டுவிட்டு, மேலே போய் எப்படிக் குடித்தனம் பண்ணுவது!’ என்று கவலை வந்தது.

மகானுக்கு அவரது எண்ண ஓட்டம் புரியாதா?

”நான் எல்லா இடத்திலும் இருப்பேன்” என்பதைப்போல கையைத் தூக்கி ஆசி வழங்கினார்.

”எத்தனையோ பேர் கோடி கோடியாகக் கொட்டிக் கொடுக்கக் காத்துக்கொண்டு இருக்கிறார்கள். பெரியவா உன் வீட்டை எடுத்துக்கொண்டது, உன் மீது அவர் வைத்துள்ள அபிமானத்தையே காட்டுகிறது!” என்ற பிரதோஷம் மாமா, அந்தத் தம்பதிக்கு தன் வீட்டில் தடபுடலாக விருந்து வைத்து அனுப்பினார்.

இதுதான் சேலம் காந்தி ரோடு, ரகுராம் காலனியில் உள்ள மகா பெரியவா கிரஹத்தின் வரலாறு.

இந்தக் கிரஹம் இப்போது ஏராளமான பக்தர்கள் ஒரே சமயம் வந்து தரிசனம் செய்யவும், உணவருந்தவும் வசதியாக, மிகவும் விசாலமாக மாற்றி அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

புனிதமான கோயிலாகக் கருதப்படும் இந்தக் கிரஹத்தில், பிரதோஷ நாள்களில் வரும் கூட்டத்தைச் சமாளிக்கமுடியாமல் திணறிப் போகிறார்களாம்!

மகா பெரியவா இங்கே பல உருவங்களில் காட்சி தருகிறார். ஸ்ரீவிநாயகரும் ஸ்ரீதட்சிணாமூர்த்தியும் விக்கிரக வடிவில் இருக்க, கயிலாசபதியும் நந்தியும் இங்கே கொலுவிருக்கிறார்கள்.

புதிதாக 4 அடி உயரமுள்ள ஆஞ்சநேயரும் இங்கு காட்சி தருகிறார். சுமங்கலி பூஜையும் இங்கே நடைபெறுகிறது. அவ்வப்போது ராமபக்த ஆஞ்சநேயருக்கு வடைமாலை சாத்தப்படுகிறது.

மகானின் பல்வேறு உருவப் படங்கள் இங்கே ஒரே இடத்தில் காணக் கிடைப்பது மிகவும் சிறப்பு! காலையும் மாலையும் கற்பூர தீபாராதனை நடக்கும்.

சேலத்தில் உள்ள மகா பெரியவா கிரஹம் ஒரு புண்ணிய ஸ்தலம். அவசியம் ஒருமுறை அந்த கிரஹத்துக்கு விஜயம் செய்து, காஞ்சி மகானின் பேரருளைப் பெறுங்கள்!

Read more: http://periva.proboards.com/thread/7911/#ixzz3CpLlCFRG

Source:::: http://www.periva.proboards.com

Natarajan

CEO @ the Age of 17 !!!

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Computer whiz Jefferson Prince, who has built a 70-employee gaming company from scratch, tells S Saraswathi about motivations and challenges of entrepreneurship.

He is just out of high school, but 17-year-old Jefferson Prince is already the CEO of a company that is engaged in developing multi-platform compatible games for the PC and next-gen consoles (Xbox One, PS4).

He was born in Tirunelveli. His family relocated to London when he was three. He returned to India in December 2013 to head his own company, iCazual Entertainment.

The company had its humble beginnings in a small room in East London in 2011. Today it is housed in a four-storey building in Kodambakkam, Chennai, and employs about 70 people.

In this interview with Rediff.com, Prince talks about his interest in computing, his present endeavours and his ambitious plans for the future.

How did you get interested in IT?

I was introduced to technology when I was around four years of age.

Math, physics, computer science and robotics were my favourite subjects in school. I also enjoyed sports, but my greatest passion was working with computers.

Trying to understand the nuances behind the technical aspects of programming and applying them to my own innovations gave me a lot of joy.

My father has a background in computing and engineering.

He introduced me to electronics. Later he bought me a computer. I started pushing buttons and playing around with the applications and it just pulled me in.

I was amazed with what can be achieved with a big box with a screen attached to it!

From that point I started messing around with MS Word and I started to hunger for more knowledge. I started going into the technical side of computing which was programming.

Ninety-nine per cent of the things I know today, I learnt myself.

What were your early projects?

When I was 15, I was asked to take part in two programmes which taught me a lot about business and presentation.

The first programme was for the University of Warwick, for this I created an application that would allow parents to monitor their children at school when they are out of sight.

The second programme was for St Francis Hospice where I created a small game application and raised £1000 (1 lakh INR) without touching the £250 start-up MONEY, within the final week. The team had the opportunity to work with Mr Barry Hearn on this project. This was an amazing experience at school.

What were your early inventions like?

I was amazed with C programming. With that I created my own basic IRC (Internet Relay Chat) network. I used it to chat with friends with a client called mIRC.

I created my own IRC Bots to keep people informed with my social links, information, etc by coding commands into the bot, so when people would say “!website” my bot would answer automatically with my site URL.

I also created my own social media network, something like Facebook. I used it to message my mother downstairs if I wanted anything, such as food or a drink. It was much easier than yelling down two floors.

I built a robotic arm with a small computer. I made it respond to my voice. For example, if I said “Elbow up,” the elbow would move. I later made it learn more complex commands and made it store information and repeat it.

I would also mix up a bunch of junk on to a small plastic board and later make it carry out some sort of function. It amazed me because I could give something that looked useless some sort of purpose in life.

What about video games?

The first games I played were the 1980/90s version of Prince of Persia, Age of Empires and later on World of Warcraft and RuneScape.

I used to play for hours. Then I stopped for many years and focused on learning technology and programming. My love for games was once again sparked when my friend asked me to buy an Xbox. I played Halo: Reach with my friend a lot, but I got bored because I couldn’t add many things of my own.

But more than Xbox I played RuneScape. It was a private version which I tried to alter a lot. My abilities were so limited that I couldn’t add anything 100 per cent new, so I decided to create my own game from scratch for me and three other friends.

Later on I started seeing a business opportunity here and as we progressed, this project turned into something that I wanted to build for the world to see.

What prompted the decision to get into the gaming industry? Did your parents approve of your plans?

When I got into the gaming industry, I had no idea I was doing so. I had little knowledge about the industry. But I slowly got up to speed on how big it is. It’s a $70 billion dollar industry.

My parents approved of my plans. They have been really supportive.

You are just 17 years old. How well-equipped are you to handle the challenges of running your own company?

I wasn’t equipped at all! I learn new things every day. It’s fun!

I was guided by my father and a couple of other people. I’ve learnt mostly from making a lot of mistakes. It’s the best way to learn.

When did you start your company?

This company was registered in 2011 but I’ve been building its foundations from 2009.

Did you encounter initial failures?

We first built a game trailer without any plan of the game. That was the biggest mistake I have ever made and it was a lesson.

I don’t consider it a failure; it’s more of a learning experience. I was smart enough to deal with everything else appropriately.

Game developing is not easy. With a staff of about 200, creating, developing and publishing one game could take at least 3 years and would require a huge INVESTMENT. It is like making an Avatar, just smaller.

So many different technological aspects need to come together. We need a rigging artist,

dynamic artist, lighting artist, visual-effect artist and many more.

Despite offering good salary, there are not many people here for this industry. We find people in Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai, but they refuse to come down to Chennai. A lack of staff is our biggest challenge; we have only about 70 employees as yet.

Do they look up to their 17-year-old CEO or do you have problems?

The fact is no one wants a kid telling them what to do. It’s a bigchallenge but I have built an excellent rapport with my team and we are a cohesive unit.

Who put up the initial INVESTMENT?

The initial INVESTMENT was put up by me as well as my father. He has given me a stepping stone and I have put it to good use.

Why did you move back to India?

I asked my parents if I could move back temporarily to India so I could finish this project as it is impossible to direct something of this scale without being physically present at the centre of it.

My parents also moved back with me until this project was complete. We’ve made a lot of sacrifices for this and it was a really hard migration. We have already made plans to move back next year.

What is the MARKET for video games in India?

India has a pretty big MARKET for games. Even though most of it is for mobile devices right now, it will soon change.

Next month, iCazual plans to host a convention, wherein we plan to bring in game developers and students from across the globe to participate and talk about the gaming industry. We hope to create an ecosystem for gaming in India.

What are your favourite games?

My favourite games are World of Warcraft, RuneScape, MineCraft, Halo and Age of Empires.

What do you think makes a particular game go viral? And what will be the USP of your product?

A viral game requires multiple addictive elements that keep pulling the user back in. It’s hard to explain as there are many different types of games.

I cannot disclose the unique selling point of my product at this time.

But what I can mention is that our title is a futuristic FPS (first person shooter) game based in the future — 150 years from now. It has a campaign (story mode) as well as multi-player (the main focus).

For the last year and a half, we have been building the elements for the game. Every game is built on an engine. And our game is built on the Unreal Engine 4 (a revolutionary toolset used for building high-quality games) that was launched earlier in March this year.

So it is only since then that we have actually been developing the game, but we are making good progress.

We are the first in the country to be developing a game for the latest next-gen consoles like Xbox One and PS4. iCazual Entertainment is the first company aspiring to not only develop but also publish a Triple A game.

We aim to launch this title in 2015, probably in the third quarter of next year. We still have not decided on the venue, perhaps in the United States or a European destination.

Who are the people who have inspired you?

Elon Musk, Sir Richard Branson, Steve Jobs.

What motivates you?

The feeling of doing something big and different every day; the satisfaction of getting one step closer to my dreams every day at this young age and the prize that waits for me at the end of this journey.

What are your future plans?

My future plans for this business is to expand it into the US (Los Angeles, California).

My academic goal is to enrol at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and this way I can strike a balance between business and education.

For my office in India, it’s too early to comment. But, yes, I am betting big on India.

After this is done I have some plans for operating in the Robotics and AI (artificial intelligence) industry in the future; this is my ultimate passion.

Image: Jefferson Prince, CEO, iCazual

Source::::S Saraswathi in Rediff.com

Natarajan

 

Dubai’s AL Maktoum International Airport …Will be the World’s Biggest Airport…

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Dubai announced this week that the emirate’sAl Maktoum International Airport is about to get a massive $32 billion expansion.

Since opening in 2010, the four year-old airport has been mainly used for cargo operations. Passenger service commenced last year.

With this announcement, the seaside emirate will have a second major international airport, in addition to the already palatial Dubai International – home to Emirates Airlines.

The Al Maktoum Airport will serve as the focal point for Dubai World Central, a purpose-built “airport city” located 23 miles outside of Dubai. The 54 square mile airport metropolis will feature everything from commercial, residential, and leisure developments to state-of-the art cargo and air passenger facilities.

Dubai Airports expects Al Maktoum to be able to handle more than 120 million passengers a year, making it the busiest airport in the world. The expansion, which is expected to take six to eight years to complete, will enable the facility to accomodate up to 100 Airbus A380 Superjumbos simultaneously.

If that’s not enough, Al Maktoum International Airport can be further expanded to handle up to 200 million passengers per year. By 2020, the airport is expected to support more than 322,000 jobs and account for as much as 28% of Dubai’s GDP.

According to Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports:

Our future lies at Dubai World Central (DWC). The announcement of this $32 billion development of DWC is both timely and a strong endorsement of Dubai’s aviation industry. With limited options for further growth at Dubai International, we are taking that next step to securing our future by building a brand new airport that will not only create the capacity we will need in the coming decades but also provide state of the art facilities that revolutionize the airport experience on an unprecedented scale.

SOURCE:::: BENJAMIN ZHANG  in Business Insider India

Natarajan

Joke of the Day…” I am not an Ordinary Man…” !!!

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Joe was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sick father died, he decided he needed a wife with whom to share his fortune.

One evening at an investment seminar he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her beauty took his breath away. “I may look like just an ordinary man,” he said to her, “but in just a few years, my father will pass, and I’ll inherit his large fortune.”

Impressed , the woman took his business card and three months later, she became Joe’s stepmother.

Women are so much better at estate planning than men!!

Source::::joke a day.com

Natarajan

” When a Baby Hears His Mother’s Voice For the 1st Time… Incredible Indeed. …”

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This is one of those rare and beautiful moments when you feel a world of emotions but are still rendered speechless.

A video posted on YouTube shows the exact moment when a seven-week-old baby heard and reacted to his mother’s voice for the first time. Captured and shared by proud father Toby Lever, the video has already gone viral with over 7.5 million views.

Baby Lachlan, now two-years-old, was initially diagnosed with having moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears.

The video shows Lachlan receiving his first hearing aid. You can see the baby going from tearful bewilderment to smiling wonder in a matter of seconds.

Mere words cannot describe the beautiful reactions that follow. “We cried from happiness,” it says in the descriptor for the video. And we’re sure watching the video will overwhelm you as well.

Like we said, some things need to be felt and this most definitely is one of them.

Source::::You Tube and NDTV.COM

Natarajan

The Man We Should Thank for Hi Speed WiFi and 4 G…

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Meet Joseph Paulraj, a pioneer of MIMO wireless communications, a technology breakthrough that has revolutionised high speed wireless delivery of multimedia services for billions of people across the globe.

 “Though I initiated this concept, there are thousands of engineers and researchers all over the world who have made research advances and developed products that we all use. I was just a small spark that lit a pretty big fire,” says Joseph Paulraj on his achievement.

It has been an incredible journey for Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj, Professor (Emeritus), Stanford University, California who started his career in the Indian Navy.

Winner of the prestigious $100,000 Marconi Prize for 2014, considered the Nobel Prize of Information Technology, Joseph Paulraj has done India proud with this award.

The Marconi Society, founded 50 years ago by Gioia Marconi Braga, annually recognises one or more scientists who — like her father, radio inventor Guglielmo Marconi — pursue advances in communications and IT for the social, economic and cultural development of all humanity.

Dr Paulraj is known as the father of MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) — the idea of using multiple antennas at both the transmitting and receiving stations that is at the heart of high-speed WiFi and 4G mobile systems — and has revolutionised high speed wireless delivery of multimedia services for billions of people across the globe.

The big value of MIMO is that it multiplies radio spectrum, a precious and a limited resource.

‘Every WiFi router and 4G phone today uses the MIMO technology pioneered by him,’ Professor Sir David Payne, chairman, Marconi Society, and director, Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, said in a press statement.

‘MIMO will soon be pervasive in all wireless devices. Moreover, Paulraj’s work has provided fertile ground for thousands of researchers to explore and advance MIMO’s potential to enhance wireless spectrum efficiency.’

N R Narayana Murthy, executive chairman, Infosys, said in statement that Professor Paulraj ‘revolutionised wireless technology, bringing a lasting benefit to mankind.’

Paulraj joins the elite group of IT pioneers like Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web; Vint Cerf, considered one of the fathers of the Internet; Larry Page, co-founder, Google; and Marty Hellman, inventor of Public Key Cryptography.

“I feel truly honoured. I was fortunate to come up with the idea,” Paulraj told Rediff.com. “Though I initiated this concept, there are now ten of thousands of engineers and researchers all over the world that have made research advances and developed products that we all use. I was just a small spark that lit a pretty big fire.”

But to get the small spark required to light a big fire, he had to deal with a lot of push back and skepticism before getting his technology to the point where now there are about 14,000 research papers surrounding it of which he and students have written only about 300.

“It has been a lot of work, but it has all been worthwhile because MIMO is a very important technology,” he said. Paulraj not only invented and developed MIMO, he also gave India a world-class sonar technology.

Advanced Panoramic Sonar Hull mounted (APSOH), which his team developed, remains one of India’s truly world-class achievements in electronics. The ship-borne sonar system, which performs active ranging, passive listening, auto tracking of targets and classification, is used by the Indian Navy, where Paulraj began his career.

Paulraj said he always worked on research and development assignments during his 25-year Navy stint.

As part of the electrical engineering branch, his training focused on practical skills for maintaining weapons systems, but he wanted more and taught himself subjects like control theory, information theory and signal processing, said the Marconi Society.

Impressed, the Navy sent him to the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi, for an MS programme in 1969.

Paulraj performed so well at IIT that he caught the eye of an influential professor of electrical engineering who convinced the Navy to allow Paulraj to switch to the PhD programme.

Paulraj had just two years to wrap up his research for the doctoral programme, but that opportunity changed his life.

It was there that he met Thomas Kailath, the man whose book, Linear Systems, is considered one of the most referenced books on the subject. The Pune-born Hitachi America Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, Stanford University, visited IIT-Delhi to deliver a few lectures.

Inspired by those lectures, Paulraj went on to make fundamental advances in non-linear estimation theory using tools from Ito calculus and stochastic diffusion theory. He earned his PhD for his work on non-linear estimation theory.

He returned to the Navy where he was eventually asked to lead the sonar development project that resulted in APSOH.

As a reward for his work on this, Paulraj was given a two-year sabbatical to explore new areas, and he earned a visiting scientist slot in a group working with Kailath, despite, he said, some initial scepticism from the latter.

At Stanford, Dr Paulraj worked on a multiple signals directions of arrival estimation problem that had a long history of advancements using a spectrum approach. He discovered a new method called ESPRIT (Estimation of Signal Parameters via Rotational Invariance Techniques).

“This work became very well known and led to a mini-revolution in the field,” Paulraj said. “Coming to Stanford was one of the most fortunate breaks in my life, I am very grateful to Professor Kailath for the huge opportunity.”

After two years, in 1986, Dr Paulraj returned to India where the Navy assigned him to serve as founding director for three major labs — Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics; Center for Development of Advanced Computing, Bengaluru Center; and Central Research Labs of Bharat Electronics.

But by 1991, the bureaucratic difficulties of operating in government labs had begun to take their toll on Paulraj. With the Navy’s consent, he took early retirement and returned to Stanford.

Kailath told Rediff.com, “I have known Paul since his IIT-Delhi days and brought him to Stanford and after a struggle got him a Professor (Research) appointment. He is a remarkable individual — strong in theory (not unusual for academics), but also very capable in practical technology.”

‘At Stanford, while awaiting a faculty appointment, Paulraj worked on signal separation experiments for airborne reconnaissance,’ the Marconi Society said in its announcement.

‘He noticed something surprising: In the presence of scattering, co-channel wireless signals from closely spaced transmit sources were often separable by an adaptive receiver antenna array.’

‘A few days later, sitting in a barber shop, he had an idea for increasing throughput in wireless systems using multiple transmit and receive antennas (MIMO). Paul applied for a US patent titled ‘Distributed Transmit — Directional Receive DTDR’ (with his then supervisor Prof Kailath as co-inventor) in February 1992 and the patent was granted in September 1994.’

John Cioffi, a Stanford colleague and the inventor of DSL technology, called Dr Paulraj’s capability ‘almost unparalleled in the world.’

‘But what impresses me most,’ he said in a statement, ‘is how Paul endured the tremendous, pressure, turmoil and stress of people saying his ideas weren’t going to work, and persevered until he found success.’

He remembers the scepticism Paulraj faced about MIMO’s practical feasibility, and his belief in the technology.

Paulraj took leave from Stanford in 1998 to found Gigabit Wireless, now known as Iospan Wireless Inc, and built a MIMO-based commercial system. He used his savings to build the MIMO radio, which finally made venture capital firms take notice.

Within three years he had proven MIMO’s worth in typical cellular applications and in another two years Intel Corp had acquired Iospan’s technology.

With Intel, Dr Paulraj worked on the development of WiMAX mobile standards. He continued this work with the co-founding of Beceem Communications, which became a world leader in WIMAX semiconductors before being acquired by Broadcom Corp.

Dr Paulraj told Rediff.com, “The best thing that happened to me was Stanford. It was a huge opportunity for me, but it was a loss for India. I was successful within the Indian R&D system and could have contributed much more if I had persevered there.”

Paulraj, who today straddles an academic and industry role, lives on the Stanford campus with his wife, but remains a frequent visitor to India. And when he goes back he sees the burning need for the country to build its own telecommunications technology industry.

“India imports almost all of its commercial high technology from commercial jets, to laptop and cell phones to MRI equipment and we are paying a big price for doing so,” he said. “Not only is our import bill huge (approximately $200 billion) in 2014, and probably unsustainable in the long  term, such total reliance on technology imports is a national security vulnerability since telecom networks underlie many systems — transportation, power grid, and banking/ finance.”

“Moreover the country has so much talent that could be used to build a high-tech industry. India needs somebody with great vision and determination to make us a leader in high technology. China and Korea have done it. We can do it.”

He said he hoped to find more ways to contribute personally to that goal.

Dr Paulraj, who received the IEEE Alexandre Graham Bell Medal in 2011, will receive the Marconi Prize at a ceremony in Washington, DC in fall, becoming the only India-born scientist to receive the two top global IT awards.

The Marconi Prize will include a $100,000 prize that he plans to gift back to the Marconi Society.

Source::::Rediff.com

Natarajan

 

 

 

 

” Dog and Sanathana Dharma …”

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Dattatreya is the Grand Teacher or “Guru principle” in the universe. The teachers in various planes are the manifestation of the one teaching principle who is referred to in the ancient Indian wisdom as Dattatreya.

Sri Guru Datta is accompanied by 4 dogs, in his figurative symbol. These 4 represent the 4 Vedas the 4 Yugas, and the 4 states of the Word. They also refer to the 4 states of Existence.

The 4 Vedas are : Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yayur Veda and Atharva Veda.
The 4 Yugas are : Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali Yugas.
The 4 states of the Word are : Para (beyond), Pasyanti (perception; Madhyama (conception), Vaikhari (vocal).
The 4 states of Existence are : Existence, awareness, thought and speech or action.

Dog at Kanchi Mutt
From 1927 a dog was following Kanchi Paramacharya. It stayed near the camp wherever he pitched the camp. It wouldn’t touch anything impure. It was taking food that was given by the Mutt workers. It was guarding the property of the Mutt. Paramacharya used to ask every evening whether the dog was fed. Whenever Swamiji was travelling in the palanquin (Pallakku in Tamil) from one town to another town, it was walking under the palanquin. As soon as the palanquin stopped it would run away and stay at a distance like a humble servant. Sometimes it used to walk under the elephant of the Mutt. It never hurt any devotee but wagged its tail to show them its welcome or gratitude.

It starved on the day it was not fed by the Mutt workers. One day a boy threw a stone at it and it came rushing towards him to bite. Mutt workers thought it was a danger to the devotees and took it 25 miles away from the camp and tied it to a pole. But it somehow escaped from that village and came running towards Shankaracharya’s camp. Even before the workers who took it to another village arrived at the camp, the dog was already there!! Till it met its death it was with Swamiji. No one hurt it. Devotees who came to see Swamiji were eager to see the dog as well.—From Sri Jagath Guru Divya Charithram in Tamil, 1959)
Who knows the secret behind its previous births?

Ramanashram
A dog used to sleep next to Bhagavan, and there were two sparrows living at his side in the Hall. Even when people tried to drive them away they would come back. Once he noticed that the dog had been chased away. He remarked: “Just because you are in the body of a human you think you are a human being, and because he is in the body of a dog you think him a dog. Why don’t you think of him as a Mahatma, and treat him as a great person. Why do you treat him like a dog?” The respect he showed to animals and birds was most striking. He really treated them as equals. They were served food first like some respected visitors, and if they happened to die in the Ashrama, they would be given a decent burial and a memorial stone. The tombs of the deer, the crow and the cow Lakshmi can still be seen in the Ashrama near the back gate.

Who knows in how many different forms – animal, human, and divine beings visited this embodiment of the Almighty! We, common and ignorant women knew only the bliss of his presence and could not tear ourselves away from the Beloved of all, so glorious he was. It has been sixty years, I think, since I came. The days I spent with Bhagavan are memorable days indeed. Somehow, in my old age, I am pulling on with Bhagavan in my heart and his name on my tongue. 


Dogs in Heaven
A universal story from Hindu mythology about dharma.

There is a very beautiful story from the Hindu mythology’s Mahabharata that provides an insight to the meaning of our existence.
Five brothers who were kings and their wife, the queen (this happened through a misunderstanding of the concept of ‘sharing’ as expressed by their mother) after a long reign were embarking on their final journey – to heaven. To do so they had to trek up a mountain and along the way they were joined by a dog. The climb was so arduous they began to die off. Even the second oldest brother, the ‘Hercules’ of his era, fell.


However, the eldest, Yudhishthira and the dog made it to the top where they were greeted by Indra the king of the gods. He congratulated Yudhishthira and told him to get into his chariot to go to heaven, but the dog walked in first.

Indra was infuriated (he had this tendency): “I will not tolerate a dog in my chariot! Get him out and let’s go.”

Yudhishthira said, “Through my journey up the mountain, my queen and my brothers left me. Only this dog stayed with me – I cannot leave him now.”

Indra exclaimed, “What! Are you mad? Dogs do not belong in heaven! Do you want to give up your place for a dog?”

Yudhishthira replied, “The dog stayed faithfully by me, I will not desert him – even for heaven.”

Just then the dog transformed himself into Yama the god of the underworld and spoke: “You have chosen rightly, my son. In life all shall leave us, our passions, our acquaintances and even those we love dearest. Only our Dharma, like the dog, stays with us regardless. To this Dharma, we must be true.” 
Source:::Input from a friend of mine
Natarajan