Photography – Page 52 – Take off with Natarajan

Top 31 Amazing Innovations from Young Indians….

December 9, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The National Innovation Foundation India (NIF), Ahmedabad shared the ideas that shined at the IGNITE 2015.

Every year, the National Innovation Foundation India (NIF), Ahmedabad invites students from across schools in the country to share their innovative ideas on how to build a better world.

The competition is organised by NIF in association with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Society for Research and Initiatives in Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI), various State Education Boards and other partners.

Students in (up to class 12) or out of the school (up to the age of 17 years) can participate in the IGNITE competition by sending their original technological ideas to solve any problem in day to day life or real life technological innovations demonstrating innovative ways of solving problems/ reducing drudgery/generating efficiency/ conserving resources etc.

More than 28,000 entries were received this year of which 31 best ideas made the cut.

This year the ‘Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards 2015’ were given by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad in the presence of state chief minister Anandiben Patel.

President Pranab Mukherjee interacts with a young innovator at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE Awards 2015

1. Innovation: Water filter/purifier at source

Names: Soring Lepcha, Class 4, and Subash Prodhan, Class 5, Lingzya Junior High School

Place: North Sikkim, Sikkim

Inspiration behind the idea: Most people today prefer to use a water filter/purifier at their home.

Both the children have given idea to have filter/purifier at the source of water so that everyone has access to clean water without having to make an investment in purchasing a filter/purifier.

Soring’s idea is to have a centralised purification system at the point of distribution like water tank while Subash’s idea is to have such purifiers attached to public taps.

2. Hand rest for fractured hand

Name: Adi Kumar, Class 5, Deens Academy

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Inspiration behind the idea: Generally shoulder arm slings are used to provide support to a fractured hand.

Using this for a long time sometimes give discomfort to the neck/ shoulder region.

Adi’s idea is to have a waist worn appendage, which can provide support to a fractured hand instead of the sling. The fractured arm would be rested comfortably on the appendage and kept in position by straps.

3. Umbrella for more than five persons

Name: Tarna Joy Tripura, class 6, Kabi Guro Rabindra Nath Smiti

Location: Dhalai, Tripura

Inspiration behind the idea: Many times, it becomes difficult for more than one person to share an umbrella during rains. Young Tunnab has given an idea of an umbrella, which could be held by two children from two sides under which other children can stand and thus go to school together without getting wet.

4. Alerting system for bus drivers

Names: Pradyumna Kumar Pal, class 7, Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir, Unit-3, Khordha, Orissa; and Rahul Kumar, class 9, Rajkiya Balak Uchh Vidyalaya, Patna, Bihar

Sometimes accidents occur when a passenger puts his body part outside the bus window. Pradyumna and Rahul have independently conceived an idea of an alerting system for the bus driver, which enables them to know which passenger has put his hand or head outside the bus window.

5. Reversible benches at public places

Name: Simran Chadha, Class 8, BCM Arya Public School

Location: Ludhiana, Punjab

Simran’s idea is to have reversible benches at public places so that if they become wet (due to rains) or dirty, they can be rotated using a handle so that the other side, which comes up can be used.

6. Solar seeder

Name: Subash Chandra Bose, Class 8, St Sebasthiyar Matriculation School

Location: Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu

Subash has developed a solar powered seed drill, which can undertake plantation for different size of seeds at variable depth and space between two seeds.

7. Looms for physically challenged

Name: R Elakkiya, Class 6 and R Pavithra, Class 9, SRC Memorial Matriculation

Location: Erode, Tamil Nadu

The two sisters have come up with loom for lower limbed physically challenged. In their loom they have replaced the pedal operated system with a motor and a gearbox attached to a pulley mechanism.

8. A device to collect Mahua flowers from ground

Name: Lipsa Pradhan, Class 9, Government High School, Kamagaon

Location: Bargarh, Orissa

Mahua flowers have many medicinal properties and are also used to make pickles, jams, and now ice creams as well. Lipsa has suggested a manual device like a lawn mover, which can collect Mahua flowers, which are otherwise picked up by hands, which is a time consuming and tiring process.

9. Pebble indicating system for cooking vessel

Name: Mohd. Tawseef Thoker, Class 9, Government Higher Secondary School, Nihama

Location: Kulgam, Jammu and Kashmir

It happens many a times that while cleaning food grains for cooking, some impurities remain, which get cooked with the food. Tawseef suggests having a vessel with sensors, which can indicate the presence of pebbles or other similar impurities in rice or other food grains being cooked.

10. Gas lighter with gas leak alarm

Name: Nilesh Ras, Class 9, DAV Inter High School

Location: Patna, Bihar

A lot of mishaps occur when cooking gas regulator has been left on accidentally or due to a gas leak. Nilesh’s idea is to have a gas lighter, which can sense and indicate gas leakage before it is lighted thereby preventing accidents.

11. Innovative dustbin

Name: Prem Ranjan Singh, Shivani Singh, Ankush Pal, Class 9, Divya Jyoti English High School

Location: Daman, Daman & Diu

Concerned with the sight of overflowing garbage bins, the three friends have come with an idea of a dustbin with separate slots for bio-degradable and non bio-degradable waste with a message sending facility to the municipality once dustbin is filled up to a preset level.

12. Lac extraction machine

Name: Saurabh Dey, Class 10, Govt. High School, Barajamda

Location: West Singhbhum, Jharkhand

For lac extraction generally the lac coated branches of host trees are cut, crushed and sieved to remove impurities.

Saurabh has made a machine, which can remove lac from the branches without breaking them. As a result, the amount of impurities is lesser in lac and it takes lesser effort to clean it.

13. Pay as you weigh!

Name: Rishab Mallick, Class 10, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort William

Location: Howrah, West Bengal

An idea of an automatic ticketing system where fare is calculated as per the weight of the passenger and his luggage

14. Passcode based locking system in gas stove

Name: Nim Lepcha, Class 10, Gor Secondary School

Location: North Sikkim, Sikkim

An idea to have a manual or digital pass code system for gas stoves to avoid accidents involving children.

15. Spectacle microscope

Name: Hadasha Ruangmi, Class 10, Lorna’s School

Dimapur, Nagaland

An idea to have wearable microscope like a spectacle so that it becomes easy to store, carry and use.

16. Seed container that indicates growth of germs

Name: Deepti Manjari Dakua, Class 10, Bahadjhole Girls High School

Location: Nayagrah, Orissa

An idea to have a seed container, which can detect the growth of organism by detecting increase in temperature of the container and alert

17. Colour coded thermometer

Names: Jaspreet Kaur, Class 10, Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar, Punjab; and Janmejay Rathore, Class 12, CMR PU College, Bangalore, Karnataka

An idea to have a colour coding scheme in thermometers to indicate fever level.

It shows red for emergency, orange for intermediate temperature and green for normal.

It also gives out precautionary measures and even dials an ambulance in case of an emergency!

18. Machine to pluck Tendu leaves

Name: Bharat, Class 11, Shashkiya Uchhtar Madhyamik Vidyalaya, Bacheli

Location: Dakshin Bastar, Chhattisgarh

Collecting Tendu leaves is one of the important sources of income in the tribal regions.

The leaves are plucked manually, which is a tedious process. Bharat’s idea is to have a machine to pluck Tendu leaves from the tree.

It would have blades for cutting the leaves, a container to store leaves and a sensor based sorter to segregate leaves according to their size.

19. Watch with medicine delivery system

Names: Navjot Kaur, Class 11, Senior Secondary Model School, Chandigarh; and Vaishnavi Patra, Class 9, Odisha Demonstrated Multipurpose Public School, Khorda, Orissa

An idea of a watch, which can store and timely deliver appropriate dose of medicine to the person.

20. Printed paper reclaiming machine

Name: Arvind Gopalkrishnan, Class 11, Smt. Narbada Devi J. Agarwal Vivekananda Vidyalaya Jr College

Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu

An idea of printer like device, which can erase all data on a printed page fed to it making it plain and hence reusable.

21. Smart Walking Stick

Name: Siddhant Khanna, Class 11, Sanskriti School

Location: New Delhi

A walking stick for the elderly and the visually challenged with many features like counting of steps, medicine reminder, locator, emergency alarm, fall detector and automatic torch, etc.

22. Drawbridge door for trains

Names: Ram Akash, Class 11, Excel Central School, Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu; and Nimisha Katyayan, Class 12, DAV Kapil Dev Public School, Ranchi, Jharkhand

An idea to have a drawbridge door for trains, which when opened at the railway platforms, acts like a ramp, making it easy for people to carry their luggage inside the train bogie.

23. Solar pulse thresher

Name: Dipankar Das, Class 12, Govt. Senior Secondary School, Diglipur

Location: North Andaman, Andaman & Nicobar Islands

A device for efficient threshing of matured pulses (grains, green gram, black gram, arhar, horse gram) without using electricity or fossil fuels, thereby reducing the harvesting cost.

24. Differentiating artificially and naturally ripened fruits

Name: Neha, Class 12, Govt. Model Sr. Secondary School, PAP campus

Location: Jalandhar, Punjab

Neha suggests having paper like litmus paper, which can change its colour depending upon the level of naturally occurring sugar in a fruit thereby helping distinguish between artificially and naturally ripened fruits.

25. Stress monitoring mechanism in animals

Name: Diva Sharma, Class 12, GD Goenka Public School

Location: New Delhi

An app, which records the respiratory rate, temperature, pulse rate, heart beat rate of animals, through sensors attached to their bodies.

The program also performs an analysis of the co-dependency of these parameters to each other and prompts for a stressful condition, if parameters vary beyond a range.

26. Foot operated door opening mechanism

Name: Jayprakash B Rathwa, Class 12, Shree Gram Shala Grambharti, Gandhinagar, Gujarat; and Tanmay Takale, Class 12, Shri Mhalsakant Vidyalya

Location: Pune, Maharashtra

An idea to have a system using which a door can be opened by activating a sensor using a leg.

This may be useful for the physically disabled or someone carrying load in both hands. It can also be used in public toilets.

27. Punching machine with hole reinforcement feature

Name: Tanmay Takale, Class 12, Shri Mhalsakant Vidyalya

Location: Pune, Maharashtra

An idea to have a punching machine with a hole reinforcement mechanism so that the punched holes last longer and do not tear off from inside.

28. Body suit

Name: Ayush Gupta and Arnov Sharma, Class 12, Delhi Public School

Location: Haridwar, Uttrakhand

An mechanical exoskeleton or suit, which can support a physically disabled person, and aid orthopedic patients.

29. Low cost grass and leaf cutting machine

Name: Sapir Debbarma and Klishan Debbarma, Class 12, Bharat Sardar H. S. School

Location: Khowai, Tripura

A hand held cutting machine for cutting grass and leaves.

30. Portable latch for restrooms

Name: PS Senthur Balaji, Class 12, Maharishi International Residential School, Kanchipuram

Location: Erode, Tamil Nadu

An idea of a latch useful for people travelling frequently or in rural areas, which can be used for locking a door temporarily. This can be used in public restrooms or other places that lack latches.

31. Soundproof hammer

Name: Prithwish Dutta, Class 12, Don Bosco High & Technical School

Location: Howrah, West Bengal

An idea of a soundproof hammer, which would not make any sound when struck against any object. The impact energy would be absorbed in the hammer itself, which will be covered with a foam like substance.

So, which of these innovations did you like the most? Tell us! Share your views in the messageboard below!

All Photographs: Courtesy National Innovation Foundation India

Source…..www.rediff.com

Natarajan

“Malaysia searches for Boeing 747 owners…” !!!

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Boeing 747-200F planes parked on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

STILL puzzled by the mystery of missing flight MH370, Malaysian airport authorities now have the opposite problem: three Boeing 747 planes left unclaimed at the country’s main airport.

The operators of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) have placed a bizarre advertisement in a Malaysian newspaper seeking the owners of three 747-200F aircraft apparently abandoned there.

“If you fail to collect the aircraft within 14 days of the date of this notice, we reserve the right to sell or otherwise dispose of the aircraft” under Malaysian regulations, said the ad which ran in Monday’s edition of The Star.

The notice was addressed to the “untraceable owner” of the planes.

Zainol Mohd Isa, general manager of Malaysia Airports (Sepang), which operates the facility, said the airport had been trying to contact the planes’ last known owners.

He said they were “international” and not Malaysian, but declined to give further details.

“I don’t know why they are not responding. There could be many reasons. Sometimes it could be because they have no money to continue operations,” Zainol said.

The ad placed in The Star.Source:Supplied

In addition to wanting the planes to be claimed, he said the airport is seeking payment from the owners for landing, parking and other charges.

If no payment is received by December 21, the planes will be auctioned or sold for scrap to recoup the outstanding charges. The notice gave the planes’ registration numbers as TF-ARM, TF-ARN, and TF-ARH.

Two are passenger jets.Source:AFP

Zainol said two are passenger aircraft and one is a cargo plane. It is not the first time this has happened at the airport, Zainol added.

Whose are they?Source:AFP

In the past decade a few other planes, mostly smaller aircraft, were abandoned.

He said an aircraft that was abandoned in the 1990s was eventually bought and turned into a restaurant in a Kuala Lumpur suburb.

KLIA was the origin of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared after taking off on March 8, 2014 with 239 passengers and crew aboard in what remains one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

Malaysia earlier this year confirmed that a wing part found on the French island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean was from the plane.

But no further wreckage has been found despite an intensive Australian-led oceanic search.

Source…….www.news.com.au

Natarajan

” Occupation: Mother! ….”……

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The officer at the driving license counter asked the lady: “What is your occupation?“

The woman, seeking a renewal of her license seemed to be puzzled.

so the officer said “Ma’am, are you employed, have your own business or…”

“Oh yes!‘ The woman replied, “I do have a full-time occupation. I am a mother!“

The officer rolled his eyes: “We don’t have ‘mother’ as an option for occupation. I’ll write it down as ‘housewife’. That takes care of all questions.”

This had happened long ago, and was forgotten. Years later, when I (the woman in the story, if you hadn’t guessed) went to get my license, the public relations officer was a somewhat pompous woman.

“Your occupation?” she asked in a rather authoritative tone.

I just had a moment pf inspiration and replied “I am a researcher in the field of child development, nutrition and inter-personal relationships.”

The lady officer stared at me in amazement.

I calmly repeated my statement and she wrote it down verbatim. Then, unable to conceal her curiosity, she politely asked “What exactly do you do in your profession, ma’am?”

I was feeling good about having described my occupation so calmly and confidently. so I replied “My research projects have been going on for a number of years (mothers NEVER retire).

My research is conducted in the laboratory as well as in the field.

I have two bosses (one is god and the other is my entire family).

I have received two honors in this field. (a son and a daughter)

My topic is considered to be the most difficult part of sociology.

(all moms will agree).

I have to work more than 14 hours every day. Sometimes even 24 hours are not enough and the challenges are tougher than many other professions. My compensation is in terms of mental satisfaction rather than money.”

I could see that the officer was thoroughly impressed. After completing the

licensing formalities, she came to the door to see me off.

This new viewpoint about my occupation made me feel much better on my way back home.

I was welcomed by my 5-year-old research assistant at the door. My new project (my 6-month old baby) was energetically practicing her ‘music’.

I had earned a small victory over the governmental red tape today. I was no longer merely ‘a mother ‘. Instead, I was now a highly placed functionary in a service vital to mankind – motherhood!

‘Mother ‘ – isn’t it a great title? Fit to be added to the nameplate on the door?

By this standard, grandmothers deserve to be called senior research officers, and great- grandmothers qualify as ‘research directors ‘. Aunts and other ladies of that age group can be called ‘research facilitators’!

Please share this with all mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, all ladies currently holding posts like this – they deserve it!

Photos courtesy of: Ambro, David Castillo Dominici / freedigitalphotos.net

Source……….. Alejandra B.…in http://www.ba-bamail.com

Natarajan

This Engineer from a Village in Karnataka Won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award in London

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Have a hobby that you love? Pursue it with passion and hard work. That is exactly what Raviprakash, an engineer from a small village in Karnataka, did. And his efforts were recognized in London, where he won a very prestigious award for wildlife photography. Here is what he has to say to other aspiring photographers.

“It is a dream come true,” says Raviprakash SS — last year’s winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award in the ‘Amphibians and Reptiles’ category. “I won the category award for the picture titled Divine Snake – a shot of a green vine snake clicked from behind it, focussing only on the eye. That is the most memorable picture I have taken till now. It has always been one of my favourites,” he adds.

Born in Hosahalli village, located in the Malnad region of Karnataka, Raviprakash grew up amidst the beauty of the Western Ghats.\

Raviprakash SS

He was surrounded by rich biodiversity and a picturesque environment. It was there that he first developed his love for exploring nature and wildlife.

Raviprakash is interested in Macro Photography

“I was very interested in photography since childhood. During my high school days my father bought me a point and shoot camera, with which I used to capture all family functions or outings.”

Building upon this hobby later in life, Raviprakash began exploring macro photography techniques.

Divine Snake

“The macro mode interested me. I started by capturing flowers, butterflies, dew drops, etc. My interest went on developing. Based on the suggestions of my friends and mentors, I bought a DSLR camera about seven years ago,” he recounts. Macro photography is extreme close up photography of small objects; it captures them in such a way that the size of the subjects appears larger than the life size in the photograph.

On October 21, 2014, at the Natural History Museum in London, 37-year-old Raviprakash’s talent was recognized and he received the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award.

The prestigious award

Considered to be one of the most prestigious honours for wildlife photography, this award ceremony, which dates back to 1965, is organized every year by the Natural History Museum. The photographs are showcased at an exhibition in the Museum and appear on their website. They are also published in BBC Wildlife Magazine and other leading publications. Last year was the 50th year of the award, and the exhibition attracted nearly 1.5 lakh visitors.

A popular choice award was also introduced and Raviprakash won the second prize, based on worldwide voting.

The Museum calls for entries every year and participants can enter up to 24 photos. Last year, the competition received about 43,000 entries from 96 countries. The panel of judges includes people from different fields related to photography and the environment. There are 14 categories, with four finalists in each. Winners receive a cash prize of £ 1,250, and the trip to London is also sponsored.

Raviprakash is a software engineer by profession. Photography for him was always a weekend hobby.

Macro photography is very beautiful and colourful but very few people are exploring it well.

“The support given by my family and friends encouraged me to take it up more passionately. I did some reading and watched online videos. I had many mentors too, some of whom are guiding me even now. Once in a while, I used to visit my hometown, just to spend my days shooting. And after the award I started taking it a lot more seriously.”

Initially, after taking many pictures for about three years, Raviprakash felt that he was only documenting things — like seeing a butterfly and capturing its image. This became somewhat boring for the artist in him. Then, one of his mentors, Ganesh H. Shankar, formed a website called Creative Nature Photography.

The aim was to capture things in a unique and artistic manner, rather than just documenting them.]

“It has become a very interesting journey from then on. I am not really interested in capturing all the details of the subject. I am more interested in capturing in an artistic way,” says an enthusiastic Raviprakash. Currently posted in Bangalore, he plans to take up wildlife photography full time in the future.

Speaking about the equipment he uses, Raviprakash says, “I feel a lot of photographers these days think that only a high end camera can result in good pictures. But my award winning pictures are from an old Nikon D5000 camera.”

He also has some useful tips for amateur photographers who want to take up wildlife photography as a career.

1. Understand your equipment well because you don’t need expensive cameras. I am not against someone buying an advanced camera that will definitely help in taking better pictures. But ultimately it’s the person behind the camera who matters the most.

2. Some people think that wildlife photography is all about big cats and elephants. But you don’t need to visit wildlife sanctuaries to become a good photographer. Macro photography is very beautiful and colourful but very few people are exploring it well.

3. Understand your location and subject(s). Pay attention to factors like light, angles and moods.

4. Learn to click, click to learn — click as many pictures as possible for practical knowledge.

5. Background is as important as subject. Choose it carefully.

6. Share your pictures on various forums that are frequented by good photographers and be open to criticism.

7. Shoot in aperture/shutter priority/manual modes. Control your output rather than leaving everything to the camera to decide.

8. Don’t get bogged down by technical terms and details.

9. A two-hour field trip along with good photographers helps you gain more knowledge than two days of indoor workshops or online learning.

“Hard work always gives the right dividends. I hail from a small village. That’s where my journey started. I want to highlight that the result may not be visible overnight but if someone is interested in something they should pursue it passionately and should be open to criticism and learning,” concludes Raviprakash.

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

Natarajan

” : I Lost Everything in the #ChennaiFloods but It Still Left Me with Gratitude…”

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Our home was destroyed. We were stranded. But wave upon wave of humanity kept our spirits high and our belief in the Indian people afloat.

It was Tuesday morning. I woke up at 6 am, made breakfast and bid goodbye to my husband who left for office at 7:15 am. I was still trying to get my house back in order since the first wave of floods had hit us the week before. The cleaning and washing seemed to be never ending. I started the washing machine and lay down next to my 5-year-old daughter, checking to see if there was anything about the incessant rains in the news. There was nothing – the media seemed to be obsessed with how Aamir Khan had the right to be afraid of living in India, and the twists in the Sheena Bora case.

The rain was still at its peak. At 8 am, I looked outside. The water level had reached the main gate. I knew my maid wouldn’t come now, so I thought I’d clean the dishes first. I had barely done two dishes when I felt the urge to look out again.

The water had touched the porch now.

I left the dishes and started putting our clothes in a travel bag. Thankfully, I had the keys to an empty second floor flat. I went upstairs and left our clothes there, then packed the induction cook top, electric kettle, a few utensils, my laptop, a couple of rice and daal packets, and biscuits. After carrying this bag upstairs, I thought I’d wake up my baby and give her breakfast. But by the time I came back to the ground floor, water had started entering the verandah. I woke up my kid, took six bottles of water and her brush and toothpaste, and rushed her to the second floor.

After settling her there, I came back and tried to put as many of our belongings as I could on the beds and on the top shelves of the cupboards. By this time the water was about to enter the house. I thought I’d drag a mattress and a few blankets upstairs but suddenly the power went off. I got worried that my daughter would get scared in the dark, so I just picked up three blankets and rushed to the second floor. Around this time my husband called and said he was leaving office to come back home. His office is an hour away so I was praying that he would reach us safely.

I kept trying to call for help. Taxi services were busy. Rescue teams assured me that they would send help. But none was forthcoming as yet.

My daughter was hungry by now. I had raw food but no resources to cook it. I kept standing near the window, waiting for my husband. Suddenly, I saw four young men going through the water on the other side of the road. I thought they were the rescue people sent for me. I called out for help. At first they did not hear me but when they passed by a second time they did. I asked if they were from the rescue team.

“We are not a rescue team ma’am but we will help. Tell us what you want,” said one of them.

These were four unknown boys. I was not sure if I was doing the right thing but I called them in. My husband was stuck in a water wave in the lane next to our house. His phone was not reachable now.

The boys came in. I asked if they could get the gas stove and cylinder to the second floor. Without wasting a second, they started helping me.

I gathered more food while they were trying to take the stove upstairs. They also helped me get the drinking water can to the second floor.

After ensuring that my daughter and I were alright, they left, smiling and giggling.

The four boys who helped without expecting anything in return – Sagar, Suresh, Jagan and Gopal

The water was rising so fast, that by this time it had reached knee level inside my house. Thankfully, my husband reached home by 2 pm and started rescuing as many of our belongings as he could. Things like the fridge, washing machine, sofa and bed had started floating.

By 5:30 pm, it was so dark that it was impossible to see anything inside the house. We went back up to the second floor, waiting for the rain to stop. But it kept raining…

Next morning.

The entire ground floor was under water!

A few families from the ground floor flats had shifted to their neighbours’ homes on the first floor. But this morning they just wanted to get out of there. It was only a matter of a few hours before the water would reach this floor too.

We finally saw a boat at the entrance of our area at 9 am. The boat rescued just one family and went away. People kept whistling, clapping and calling out for help. Later on, I came to know that it was the family of the municipality head of our area. No helplines were working. The next boat came at 1 pm. It did not stop anywhere else but only at a house next to our flats. The family was rescued. We pleaded with the boatman to come back, and he said he would, but never did!

I could see from our terrace that a couple on the terrace behind ours was desperate to leave. I asked them if they were alright and they said they had climbed up to the first floor without any food or water. We started sharing food with them. But water was too limited!

By 5:30 pm it was almost dark and we lost hope of getting any help now. Several helicopters had flown by during the day but food and water had not yet been distributed.

Next morning.

The water level was going down. We could see the boundary walls of the ground floor houses now. Our neighbours decided to walk through the water once it came down to hip level. We were in a dilemma whether to do the same but finally decided to go ahead. We were about to leave when a small boat carrying two elderly ladies passed us from the backyard. We called out for help. When we told them that we have a kid with us, they allowed us to get in.

The boat left us till the main road where an ambulance was ready to take people to a government school. All this was being done by an organization called TMMK.

When we asked them where we should go, one of them offered us his own home.

We kept looking for hotels and finally got a room in one. Once our family was safe, my husband went back to our area to help others.

In the meantime, my friends were using social media to the fullest extent possible to help me. Some had tagged as many as they could on Twitter. Others had posted my address on Facebook. One friend had even arranged for us to join her relative in his hotel room.

There were friends who kept calling helpline numbers and sending me the same too. My employers ordered food for us, called up the disaster management team, and managed to speak to a boat guy to come rescue us.

All this time, I don’t know why, but I was pretty relaxed. We were happy about all the positive things that were happening with us amongst all the chaos.

Here are 6 lessons I learnt:

1. The water level in our area rose so suddenly, not due to rain, but because the canal water had to be opened by the government. We don’t know why this decision was made but perhaps we could have been alerted.

2. When the lady from the balcony opposite ours came out and saw me on the second floor, she exclaimed: “Thank God, you are safe.” She is Tamilian and I am North Indian (as she knows). Yes, Tamilians and North Indians feel happy when they see each other safe!

3. The four young boys who helped me did not know my name, status or religion. Yes, young boys are good people too. And there are still people who will help without expecting anything in return.

4. My husband risked his life to reach us and kept struggling till the end to save our belongings. Yes, though men don’t show their emotions, they can go to any extent to save their families.

5. I have always understood the plight of farmers and tried to help them. But this time, when my house was sinking with all the little things inside it that my husband and I had put together through our efforts in the past seven years, I could feel the pain that a farmer goes through every year his crop is destroyed.

6. When government boats decided to rescue only important people, a common man’s organization came forward to help the needy. Do you know what TMMK stands for? Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham. They did not ask if we were Hindus or Muslims or Christians. So this whole debate about India being intolerant is just a news and social media creation. During the three days, whenever I switched on my phone to check for important messages, all I saw was that my Hindu, Muslim and Christian friends were equally concerned about me. I did not see any intolerance anywhere.

When actors say they don’t feel safe in our country… I just pity their thinking.

Jai Hind!

Source….” My Story ” of a Chennai Resident as reported by Manabi Katoch in http://www.the betterindia.com

Natarajan

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

December 8, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

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

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

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

Autism Speaks

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

Autism Speaks

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

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

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

Source……..www.viralnova.com

Natarajan

“சென்னை அழியாது… ஏன்? – ஒரு நெகிழ்ச்சிப் பதிவு”….

December 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

செல்வா, ஆதீஸ்வரி தம்பதி

வெள்ளத்தில் தத்தளிக்கிறது சென்னை. வெள்ள நிவாரணப் பணிகள் தொடர்பாக செய்தி சேகரிக்கச் சென்றிருந்தபோது செல்வா ஆதீஸ்வரி தம்பதியைச் சந்திக்க நேர்ந்தது.

மறைந்த நடிகர் சிவாஜி கணேசனின் இல்லத்துக்குப் பின்புறம் உள்ள கோபு சாலையில் வரிசையாக இருக்கின்றன குடிசை வீடுகள். அதில் இரண்டு ஆட்கள் நின்று பேசும் அளவுக்கான உயரத்தில் மூன்று பேர் அமர்ந்து பேசும் அகலத்தில் ஒரு குடிசை வீடு.

“இது வீடில்லைங்க. எங்க இஸ்திரி கடை. எங்க வீடு தண்ணீல போய்டிச்சி. இப்ப இங்கதான் நாங்க இருக்கோம்” என்கிறார் செல்வா.

“பூனைங்க எல்லாம் உங்களுதா..?”

“ஆமாங்க. நாங்களே வளக்குறோம். இதுங்க நம்ம கொழந்தைங்க மாதிரி” ஆதீஸ்வரி.

“உங்களுக்குக் குழந்தைங்க இருக்கா..?”

“நாலு பேருங்க…” ஆதீஸ்வரி.

“சரி… நீங்களே வீடில்லாம கஷ்டப்படுறீங்க. இப்ப பூனைங்க எல்லாம் தேவையா?” என்று செயற்கைத்தனமாய் கேட்டேன்.

“என்ன பண்றதுங்க… வாயில்லா ஜீவனுங்க. இதுங்களுக்கு சாப்பாடு கொடுக்கறதால மனசுல ஒரு சந்தோஷங்க” செல்வா.

பேரிடர் சார்ந்த களப் பணியாற்றுவோரின் பார்வையில் படுகின்ற பல்லாயிரக்கணக்கான நி(நெ)கிழ்வுகளுள் இது ஒற்றைத் துளி.

இன்னும் எத்தனை முறை மழை வந்தாலும் சென்னை ஏன் அழியாது என்பதற்கு வேறு காரணம் வேண்டுமா?

Source…..ந.வினோத் குமார்….www.tamil.thehindu.com

Natarajan

Jaw-dropping photos of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster that unleashed 50 million tons of toxic mud….

December 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Last month, a dam burst at an iron ore mine in southeastern Brazil, unleashing 50 million tons of highly toxic mud and mining waste, covering an area the size of 25,000 Olympic pools.

Brazil is calling it the worst environmental disaster in its history. “It is not a natural disaster,” Brazil’s environment minister said. “It is a disaster prompted by economic activity but of a magnitude equivalent to those disasters created by forces of nature.”

A general view of Bento Rodigues district which was covered with mud after a dam owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd burst, in Mariana.

The search for bodies and survivors was slow. Mudslides knocked out roads and cellular towers, covered houses, upturned cars, smothered wild and farm animals in their paths, cut off drinking water for a quarter-of-a-million people, and raised health and environmental concerns in cities more than 186 miles downstream.

Brazil’s environmental officials warn the damages to aquatic flora and fauna could last a generation. The contaminated waters have both surged upstream and reached the Atlantic by now, killing thousands of fish and turtles in the process. Depending on the tides, they could reach a system of islands and reefs that are a safe haven for endangered sea turtles and dolphins to breed.

During the climate conference in Paris this week, president Dilma Rousseff blamed the disaster on the “irresponsible action of a company,” Samarco, which operates the site and is owned by two mining giants, Vale of Brazil and BHP Billiton of Australia. Brazil will sue the companies for $7.2 billion in damages.

BHP Billiton is helping in Brazil’s damage control efforts, particularly with Operation Noah’s Ark, an effort to rescue and relocate aquatic life, but it denies the U.N.’s claims that the residue is highly toxic.

Residents observe the Bento Rodrigues district covered with mud after a dam owned by Vale SA and BHP Billiton Ltd burst in Mariana, Brazil, November 6, 2015.

An aerial view of the flooded Rio Doce (Doce River).

The mud which flooded the Rio Doce joins the sea on the coast of Espirito Santo.

The sea (left) and Rio Doce on the coast of Espirito Santo in Povoacao Village, Brazil.

Debris of a house is pictured at Bento Rodrigues district, covered in mud.

A firefighter stands on the roof of a destroyed house.

Children play at a hotel housing people displaced of Bento Rodrigues district.

A rescue worker touches the face of a horse as they try to save it.

The swings of the municipal school of Bento Rodrigues district.

A boat is seen on the mouth of Rio Doce.

Another aerial view of the Rio Doce.

The mouth of the Rio Doce.

Source…..

Juliana Jiménez Jaramillo, Slate….www.businessinsider.com

Natarajan

The Floating Forest of Homebush Bay, Sydney….

December 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The affluent suburb of Homebush Bay on the south bank of the Parramatta River, in the inner west of Sydney, was once the dumping ground for a large range of industrial wastes including a few decommissioned ships. Private companies would pay a monthly fee to the Maritime Services Board, and tow in vessels that had outlived their useful lives in order to break them up to salvage steel and parts that could be reused. Ship-breaking operations began in 1966, but ended prematurely before all the ships moored in the bay could be broken down. At least four ships’ hull and the remains of several barges and smaller vessels are still visible in Homebush Bay. These are protected under the historic Shipwrecks Act, 1976 which applies to all shipwrecks over seventy five years old. One of the most photogenic shipwreck in Homebush Bay is that of SS Ayrfield.

Photo credit: Rodney Campbell/Flickr

SS Aryfield began its life as SS Corrimal at Grangemouth Dockyard Company, United Kingdom in 1911. It was a steel-hulled, single screw, steam collier of 1,140 tons and 70 meters in length. SS Corrimal was purchased by the Commonwealth Government and used to transport supplies to American troops stationed in the Pacific region during WWII. In 1950, it was sold to Bitumen and Oil Refineries Australia Pty Ltd and in 1951 sold to the Miller Steamship Company Ltd and renamed Ayrfield. The ship was decommissioned in 1972, and sent to Homebush Bay for breaking-up.

The shipbreaking yard ceased operation before SS Aryfield could be torn apart. Now abandoned and lying in the shallow waters of Homebush Bay, the ship has become home to a lush green, miniature floating forest.

Photo credit: Brent Pearson/Flickr

Photo credit: Rodney Campbell/Flickr

Photo credit: Steve Dorman/Flickr

Photo credit: Gafa Kassim/Flickr

Photo credit: Tina Reynolds/Flickr

Photo credit: Travis Chau/Flickr

Sources: Afloat.com / Wikipedia

Source….www.amusingplanet.com

Natarajan

East Meets West in China’s New Hybrid Building….

December 6, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

In the past few years, China’s replica business has gone beyond fake Puma shoes and mobile phones. The country is now making headlines with replica landmarks from around the world. London’s iconic Tower Bridge, the Sphinx from Egypt, Paris’s Louvre Museum, St. Peter’s Basilica of Vatican, the Sydney Opera House and the Colosseum are just a few of the landmarks Chinese residents can see without leaving their country. Recently, a new replica was completed in the northern city of Shijiazhuang. This unique building is not one but two landmarks fused into one.

Half of the structure is a copy of Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, but the other half is the whitewashed US Capitol building. The structure is four-stories high and stands in the grounds of the New Great Wall International movie studio on the outskirts of the city. The one-of-a-kind building is expected to feature in a number of movies and TV shows in the future. The hybrid building has already attracted plenty of visitors and earned thousands of comments on social media.

Photo credit: China Central Television

One half looks like Beijing’s Temple of Heaven. Photo credit: China Central Television

The other half looks like Washington DC’s Capitol Hill building. Photo credit: China Central Television

Photo credit: Reuters/Stringer

A replica of the Sphinx is seen through a door on a building. Photo credit: Reuters/Stringer

via BBC

Source……..www.amusing planet.com

Natarajan