Source….www.ba-bamail.com
Natarajan
social networking
Here’s How a Facebook Group will Feed Over 1 Lakh People in Bangalore This October….
If every home in Bengaluru cooked 5 additional meals, would it ensure that the hungry don’t go to bed on an empty stomach? Here’s a community initiative that’s going to find out.
“This Dusshera, my aim is to try and ease Bangalore’s hunger problem.” So begins Mahita Fernandez’ post on the Facebook group Feed Your Neighbour.
The idea for the initiative, Feed Your Neighbour (FYN), came to Mahita in the wee hours of a night when she woke up hungry.
She says, “I woke up with a rumbling stomach around 3 am and felt thankful that I had food to eat. I then thought about the thousands in Bengaluru who are probably hungry and have nothing to eat. The very next morning, I put down the idea on paper and created the group to reach out to people.”
The Facebook group has since been joined by over 1,300 people.
Through the FYN initiative, Mahita aims to mobilise the community to cook and share food with the homeless and hungry in Bengaluru. The initiative, which will run from October 12-22, 2015, hopes to rally a minimum of 2,000 people who are willing to cook five extra meals each day. The food will then be distributed to the needy. This would also mean that across the eleven-day period, the initiative will have ensured that 1 lakh people do not go to bed on an empty stomach.
How does Feed Your Neighbour work?
While the FYN initiative primarily aims to do its part to ease Bengaluru’s hunger problem, it also hopes to build a sense of community among Bengalureans by giving them an opportunity to make a difference to the lives of those in need, via a ripple effect.
The initiative is simple – those interested in participating are required to cook a minimum of five meals which they will have to drop off at a particular point in their neighbourhood.
From here, volunteers will pick up the food and deliver them to the homeless and hungry.
Picture for representation only. Credit: vahrehvah.com
Mahita says that so far, around 900 people have agreed to provide food, and 75 others have signed up as volunteers to distribute the food. She is also looking for more volunteers to identify distribution points, and actually pick up and drop off the food. In addition, she is also looking for coordinators who can help with liaising with the volunteers, verifying the distribution points, etc. More details on this can be found here.
For those interested in being a part of the FYN initiative, here’s how you can get on board.
• Drop an SMS to +91 99723 24458 or a mail to feedyourneighbour@gmail.com with your name, locality, mobile number, email ID and what you would like to volunteer as.
• Those volunteering to cook are expected to cook a minimum of five packs of any rice-based dish like pulav, bisi bele bath, lemon rice, etc.
• Packing material will be provided so that quantities are standardised.
• The packed food will need to be dropped off at a designated point by 7 pm each day.
• From here, volunteers will distribute the food to the needy in various parts of the city.
Those people who are neither able to cook nor volunteer their time, but wish to be a part of the FYN initiative, can do so by donating money or by spreading the word. The funds collected will be used to purchase packing material, hire transportation for the pickup and distribution of food, etc. Mahita adds that if there is any excess money remaining after October 22, she will continue to distribute food to the needy till the money runs out.
How will the logistics be managed?
Picture for representation only. Credit: Terry Feuerborn/pixabay.com
In addition to mobilising the community to cook, Mahita is also currently working with volunteers to identify areas where the food can be distributed. Most of the food that is collected from a particular neighbourhood, will be distributed in that neighbourhood itself.
Mahita clarifies, “There are some areas like MG road and Lavelle road from where people want to donate food. However, these areas do not have a proliferation of the homeless. We’re planning to distribute the food collected from such areas, elsewhere.”
She also adds that while most of the food will be distributed to people on the streets, homes for the destitute, beggars’ homes, slums etc. are also being looked at. She mentions how one of the volunteers suggested a colony of Metro workers in South Bengaluru as one of the distribution points.
Ask Mahita why she has targeted dinner time, and she responds, “Most volunteers are likely to be busy during the day with their jobs and home chores. And considering we are rolling this out during Dussehra, pujas even. Also, many of the people who we are distributing the food to are possibly employed, whether they are daily wage labourers or beggars. Dinner time is probably the most convenient for both our volunteers, and the people who we are looking to help out.”
Food to be packed in eco-friendly material
Picture for representation only. Credit: Terry Feuerborn/Flickr
Mahita says that as far as possible, people are being handed eco-friendly material to pack the food.
“We are looking at giving out the food in boxes made from cardboard or other recyclable material,” she says. “However, there are some darshinis who have also agreed to send food. We can inform them, but we don’t really have control over what kind of packing material they will use.”
In addition, at the time of distributing the food, volunteers are being asked to inform the people who come to collect the food to dispose of the waste responsibly. Mahita hopes that educating them about this aspect will also sensitise them about proper waste management in the long run.
Mahita also believes that it is unlikely that there will be excess food. She says, “No matter how many people volunteer, the number of people who can do with a good meal will always be more. So we will ensure that the food reaches as many people as possible.”
She also expects that the number of people who come to collect the food is bound to increase over the ten days, as word gets out. Should this happen, she is in talks with caterers and darshinis who can help supply the additional food at subsidised costs.
To know more about the Feed Your Neighbour initiative and be a part of it, click here.
Written by Ganga Madappa for Women’s Feature Service (WFS) and republished here in arrangement with Citizen Matters. The story was originally published here. (c) Oorvani Foundation/Open Media Initiative. –
Source….Ganga Madappa….www.thebetterindia.com
Natarajan
‘நான் மகிழ்ந்த தருணம்!’ – அப்துல் கலாம்…..
அப்துல் கலாம் பிறந்த நாள் – அக். 15
குழந்தைகளே! மற்ற நாடுகளின் சுதந்திரத்தை நாம மதிக்கிறோம். நாமும் சுதந்திரமாக இருக்க விரும்புறோம். நாம சுதந்திரமா இல்லைன்னா, நம்மள யாராவது மதிப்பார்களா?
நாட்டின் பாதுகாப்பை மனதில் வைத்து வேலை செய்த முன்னோடிகளான விஞ்ஞானிகளோடு வேலை செய்கிற அதிர்ஷ்டம் எனக்குக் கிடைத்தது. இந்தியாவோட ராக்கெட்டுகளை வானத்தில் ஏவுகிற இஸ்ரோ நிறுவனத்தில் 20 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு நான் வேலை பார்த்தேன். இந்தியாவோட முதல் ராக்கெட்டை ஏவுகிற திட்டத்தின் இயக்குநரா நான் இருந்தேன். அப்போதுதான் முதலாவது செயற்கைக்கோள் ரோகிணி வெற்றிகரமாக வானத்தில் ஏவப்பட்டது.
அதுக்கப்புறம் நாட்டின் பாதுகாப்புக்கு அவசியமான ஏவுகணைகளை உருவாக்கும் பணியில் சேர்ந்தேன். இந்தியா இப்போ வளரும் நாடு அல்ல, வளர்ந்த நாடு என்று உலகத்துக்கு நிரூபிப்பது போல இருந்தன அந்தப் பணிகள். அப்போதுதான் ‘நான் ஒரு இந்தியன்’ என்ற பெருமிதம் எனக்கு அதிகமானது.
அப்போது நாங்கள் மிகவும் லேசான ஒரு கார்பன் பொருளைக் கண்டுபிடித்தோம். ஒருநாள் நிஜாம் இன்ஸ்டிடியூட் ஆஃப் மெடிகல் சயின்ஸ் நிறுவனத்திலிருந்து ஒரு டாக்டர் என்னைப் பார்க்க வந்திருந்தார். எலும்பு அறுவை சிகிச்சை நிபுணர் அவர். எனது ஆய்வகத்திலிருந்த லேசான பொருளை அந்த டாக்டர் தூக்கிப் பார்த்தார். அதன் பிறகு அவரது மருத்துவமனைக்கு என்னை அழைத்துப்போனார்.
அங்கே சின்னஞ் சிறுமிகளும் சிறுவர்களும்கூட நோயாளிகளாக இருந்தார்கள். அவர்கள் தங்களது உடலில் மூன்று கிலோவுக்கு அதிகமான எடைகொண்ட ‘காலிபர்’ எனும் கருவிகளைக் கால்களில் தாங்கியபடி இருந்தார்கள். அவற்றை நாங்கள் 300 கிராம் எடையுள்ளதாக மாற்றினோம். அதைப் போட்டுக்கொண்டு கஷ்டமில்லாமல் சுலபமாக நடந்தார்கள். அந்தக் குழந்தைகளால் அதை நம்பவே முடியவில்லை. அவர்களுடைய அம்மா, அப்பா மகிழ்ச்சியாக இருந்தார்கள். எனக்கும் மகிழ்ச்சியாக இருந்தது.
நம் தேசம் ஒரு மகத்தான தேசம். நமது சாதனைகளையும் ஆற்றல்களையும் நாம்தானே அங்கீரிக்க வேண்டும். அற்புதமான சாதனைச் செய்திகள் நம்மிடம் உள்ளன. பால் வளத்தில் நாம்தான் உலகில் முதல் இடம். தொலைதூர உணர்வு கொண்ட செயற்கைக்கோள்களை உருவாக்குவதில் நாமே முதல் இடம். கோதுமை, அரிசி உற்பத்தியில் இரண்டாம் இடம்.
ஒரு முறை இஸ்ரேல் நாட்டில் பேப்பர் படித்தேன். பாலைவனத்தை ஐந்தாண்டுகளில் சோலையாக்கிய ஒரு சாதனை மனிதன் பற்றிய செய்தி இருந்தது. உள்ளேதான் சண்டைகள், சச்சரவுகள் பற்றிய செய்திகள் இருந்தன. ஆனால், இந்தியாவில் தலைகீழாக உள்ளது.
பதினான்கு வயதுச் சிறுமி ஒருத்தியிடம் ‘உன் குறிக்கோள் என்ன?’ என்று கேட்டேன். ‘வளர்ச்சியடைந்த இந்தியாவில் வாழ விரும்புகிறேன்’ என்று சொன்னாள்.
நமது நாட்டைப் பற்றி பல புகார்கள் கூறுவார்கள். ஆனால், அப்படி புகார் கூறுபவர்கள்கூட வெளிநாடுகளுக்கு சென்றால் மிகவும் கட்டுப்பாடாக நடந்துகொள்வார்கள். அசுத்தப்படுத்த மாட்டார்கள். அதேமாதிரி உள்நாட்டில் நடந்துகொண்டால் என்ன?
யாரோ வந்து நாட்டின் பிரச்சினைகளை எல்லாம் தீர்த்து வைப்பார்களா? நாமே நமது பிரச்சினைகளைத் தீர்த்துக்கொள்ள ஆரம்பித்தால் என்ன? நன்றாக யோசித்துப் பாருங்களேன்!
(மறைந்த முன்னாள் குடியரசுத் தலைவர் அப்துல் கலாம் ஹைதராபாத் பள்ளிக் குழந்தைகள் மத்தியில் பேசியது)
சுருக்கமாகத் தமிழில்- த. நீதிராஜன்
Source…..www.tamil.thehindu.com
Natarajan
” முதல் I.C.S. பெண்மணி …. சி .பி .முத்தம்மா ….”
இந்தியாவின் முதல் பெண் ஐபிஎஸ் அதிகாரி கிரண் பேடி என்று தெரியும். இந்தியக் குடிமைப் பணிகள் தேர்வு என்று அழைக்கப்படும் ஐசிஎஸ் தேர்வில் முதன்முதலாக வெற்றிபெற்ற பெண் யார் தெரியுமா? அவர்தான் சி.பி. முத்தம்மா.
கர்நாடகாவின் குடகு மாவட்டத்தின் விராஜ்பேட் நகரில் 1924-ல் பிறந்தவர் முத்தம்மா. தனது 9-வது வயதில், தனது தந்தையைப் பறிகொடுத்தார். எனினும், வைராக்கியம் கொண்ட அவரது தாய், தனது நான்கு குழந்தைகளையும் நன்கு படிக்க வைத்தார். மடிகேரி புனித ஜோசப் பெண்கள் பள்ளியில் பள்ளிப்படிப்பை முடித்த முத்தம்மா, சென்னை பெண்கள் கிறிஸ்தவக் கல்லூரியில் பட்டப்படிப்பை மேற்கொண்டார். மூன்று தங்கப் பதக்கங்களுடன் படிப்பை முடித்த அவர், சென்னை பிரெசிடென்சி கல்லூரியில் ஆங்கில இலக்கியத்தில் முதுகலைப் பட்டப் படிப்பை முடித்தார்.
1949-ல் ஐசிஎஸ் தேர்வில் வென்ற பின்னர், வெளியுறவுத் துறையில் சேர்ந்தார். ஆண் அதிகாரிகளின் ஆதிக்க மனப்பான்மைக்கு எதிராகப் போராடினார். சவால்களை வெல்வதைப் பழக்கமாகக்கொண்டிருந்த முத்தம்மா, பெண்களுக்கு எதிராக இருந்த அரசு விதிகளை எதிர்த்து நீதிமன்றத்தை அணுகினார். அந்த வழக்கை விசாரித்த வி.ஆர். கிருஷ்ணய்யர் தலைமையிலான மூன்று நீதிபதிகளைக் கொண்ட அமர்வு, அவருக்குச் சாதகமாகத் தீர்ப்பு வழங்கியது. இந்தியப் பெண்கள் வரலாற்றில் மிக முக்கியமான தீர்ப்பு அது. பின்னர், ஐரோப்பா, ஆசியா, ஆப்பிரிக்கா ஆகிய மூன்று கண்டங்களின் பல்வேறு நாடுகளில் இந்திய வெளியுறவுத் துறையில் பணியாற்றினார். 1970-ல் ஹங்கேரிக்கான இந்தியத் தூதர் பதவி அவருக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டது. 1982-ல் ஓய்வுபெற்ற முத்தம்மா, பல்வேறு விஷயங்களைப் பற்றிய கட்டுரைகளை எழுதினார். 2009 அக்டோபர் 14-ல் காலமானார்.
Source…. சரித்திரன் in www.tamil.thehindu.com
Natarajan
Phone From Pepsi …?
File photo – A case of Pepsi Cola is shown in this photo illustration in Encinitas, Calif. Oct. 10, 2013. (REUTERS/Mike Blake )
What do guitar amp maker Marshall and construction equipment companyCaterpillar have in common? They’ve both for some reason or another released branded smartphones. Now, you can add beverage conglomerate Pepsi to that not-so-exclusive list: a spec sheet leaked on Chinese social network Weibo shows the P1, a mid-range Pepsi-branded Android phone bound for overseas markets.
Like Marshall and Caterpillar before it, Pepsi seems to be betting on brand recognition rather than beefy hardware. The P1 features a 5.5-inch, 1,080p display, an unspecified 1.7GHz processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of onboard storage, and a 3,000 mAh battery. It’s got a 13-megapixel rear-facing shooter and 5-megapixel front camera, and leaked images seem to show capacitive buttons beneath the screen (back, home, and multitasking) and a fingerprint sensor around back.
Just what makes the P1 uniquely “Pepsi” isn’t obvious, except for the color scheme. The leaked renderings show a home screen background featuring Pepsi’s signature red, white, and blue logo, and the phone’s reverse sports an embossed logo beneath the camera. But that appears to be the extent of customization.
Related: Is the world ready for a Pepsi Phone?
Branded handsets are obviously trendy, but Pepsi and smartphones seem like a particularly unintuitive pairing. Marshall’s effort at least sports features most people would identify with the company’s history and expertise — the Marshall London sports twin headphone jacks and a dedicated audio chip. Caterpillar’s phone, appropriately enough for a construction equipment company, features a ruggedized design. The Pepsi P1 by comparison seems pretty homogenous.
One thing the P1 will have going for is price, apparently. The leaks show a 1,299 yuan price point — about $205.
Pepsi confirmed the P1 to Reuters Tuesday, but declined to share specifics. If there’s more to the P1 than meets the eye, we’ll find out as soon as October 20 — the rumored announcement date. Here’s hoping for a Crystal Pepsi dispenser, a body crafted from Pepsi-can aluminum, incredibly good waterproofing, or any combination of the three, really.
Source….www,foxnews.com
Natarajan
Boeing’s new overhead bin will increase carry-on bag capacity by 50 percent….
Alaska Airlines Space Bins will give passengers almost 50 percent more space overhead for carry-on bags. Within two years, nearly half of Alaska Airlines’ fleet will be fitted with the larger bins, the airline said. (Boeing)
Is the end of scrambling for overhead bin space near?
Boeing revealed new overhead bins on its Boeing 737s that will give passengers almost 50 percent more space for carry-on luggage.
Alaska Airlines is one of the first major airlines outfitted with Boeing’s bigger and wider bins, it dubbed Space Bins, which will fit six bags instead of four.
In order to do that, it’s sacrificing about 2 inches of head space, says Boeing.
But the move could mean savings for passengers who spent $3.5 billion last year on fees to check their bags–and are trying to find ways around check bag fees, which average around $25 per bag.
On Alaska’s 737-800, the expanded bin space will increase the number of bags that can fit overhead from 118 to 178 — a difference of 60 more standard sized bags.
“Alaska is relentlessly focused on making the travel experience better,” Sangita Woerner, Alaska Airlines vice president of marketing said in a release. “We’ve been on a mission to improve our cabin experience for several years and Space Bins are part of a $150 million investment we’ve made to make flying more comfortable and enjoyable.”
Within two years, nearly half of Alaska Airlines’ fleet will be fitted with the larger bins, the airline said. Delta will also have Space Bin 737s in early 2016 and United has also committed to the bins.
But that doesn’t mean you can bring on a bigger bag— the size limitations for carry-ons on Alaska will stay in place.
Source….www.foxnews.com
natarajan
Message for the Day… ” Truth is inseparable from ‘dharma ‘…”
Dharma is the moral path, which is the light; the light is bliss (ananda). Scriptures convey that Dharma is the essence of spiritual wisdom (jnana). Dharma is characterized by sacredness, peace, truth, and fortitude. Dharma is yoga (union); it is truth (sathya). Its attributes are justice, sense control, sense of honour, love, dignity, goodness, meditation, sympathy, and nonviolence. It leads you onto universal love and unity. It is the highest discipline and the most profitable. All this ‘unfoldment’ began with Dharma;this is stabilized by truth (sathya). Truth is inseparable fromdharma. Truth is the law of the universe, which makes the sun and moon revolve in their orbits. Dharma is the course, the path, the law. Wherever there is adherence to morality, there you can see the law of Truth (sathya-dharma) in action. In the Bhagavata too, it is said, “Where there is Dharma, there is Krishna; where there are both Dharma and Krishna, there is victory.”
Joke of the Day…”It is Booked…”
| A newlywed farmer and his wife were visited by her mother, who immediately demanded an inspection of the place. The Farmer had genuinely tried to be friendly to his new mother-in-law, hoping that it could be a friendly, non-antagonistic relationship.
To no avail, she kept nagging them at every opportunity, demanding changes, offering unwanted advice and making life unbearable to the farmer and his new bride. While they were walking through the barn, the farmer’s mule suddenly reared up and kicked the mother-in-law in the head, killing her instantly.
At the funeral service a few days later, the farmer stood near the casket and greeted folks as they walked by. The pastor noticed that when ever a woman would whisper something to the farmer, he would nod his head yes and say something. Whenever a man walked by and whispered to the farmer, however, he would shake his head, no and mumble a reply. Very curious as to this bizarre behavior, the pastor later asked the farmer what that was all about. The farmer replied, “The women would say, ‘What a terrible tragedy’ and I would nod my head and say, ‘Yes, it was.’ The men would ask, ‘Can I borrow that mule?’ and I would shake my head and say, ‘Can’t. It’s booked up for a year.’
Source…..www.ba-bamail.com Natarajan |
Term of the Day….” Anamoly” …
1.Deviation from the norm; something unusual. “Bob searched the data for anomalies that would indicate that there was an error with the system.”
2.Medicine: a physical defect or abnormality.
Use anomaly in a sentence
- Dave’s doctor told him that he was a medical anomaly because the tumor shrunk on its own, and they no longer needed to do radiation.
He thought that making the shot was an anomaly, but it turned out that he was actually pretty good at basketball.
Source…..www.businessdictionary.com
Natarajan
Cash reward for Google.com takeover man…!!!
A man who briefly bought and owned the Google.com web domain has been rewarded by the search giant.
An administration oversight allowed US student Sanmay Ved to buy the right to control the domain on 29 September.
The oversight left him in charge of Google.com for about a minute until Google caught on and cancelled the transaction.
Now Mr Ved has been given a cash reward for spotting the error, which he has decided to donate to charity.
Google declined to comment on the story.
Mr Ved detailed his experience in a post on the LinkedIn site saying that he had been keeping an eye on Google-related web domains for some time because he used to work at the search giant. Mr Ved is currently an MBA student at a US college.
In the early hours of 29 September he noticed a for sale sign next to the Google.com name while browsing sites on Google’s own website-buying service.
He used a credit card to pay the $12 (£8) fee to grab google.com and got emails confirming he was the owner. Almost immediately he started getting messages intended for Google’s own web administration team.
This was followed by a cancellation message sent by the website buying service which said he could not take over Google.com because someone else had already registered it and his $12 payment was refunded.
Now it has emerged that Mr Ved has been given a “bug bounty” by Google’s security team for revealing the weakness in the domain buying system. The internal emails Mr Ved received while in charge of google.com have been passed to this team.
Mr Ved decided to give the cash to an Indian educational foundation and in response, Google doubled the reward.
Source….www.bbc.com
Natarajan
Take off with Natarajan 