Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
CricTrivia
Is it true that Rahul Dravid has faced more deliveries than any other player in Tests?
It is true: Rahul Dravid passed the 30,000-ball mark during his superb rearguard 146 not out against England at The Oval in August. He has now faced 30,090 deliveries in Test cricket. In second place is Sachin Tendulkar, who has faced around 27,700 balls. I have to say "around" because although we know he has faced 27,665 deliveries, there remains one Sachin innings for which we don't have full details - his 11 in 92 minutes against Sri Lanka in Chandigarh in November 1990 (if anyone knows where the scorebook is, please let us know!). Allan Border is known to have faced 27,002 deliveries in Tests, not including four innings (in which he scored 78 runs) for which we don't know the balls-faced details.
It is true - although Flintoff's father, Colin, was not on the field at the time. The incident came as Flintoff was hurtling towards his highest Test score, 167, against West Indies at Edgbaston in 2004, and he smashed a ball from fast bowler Jermaine Lawson into the upper tier of one of the stands. Wisden takes up the tale: "In one act of glorious bravado, he lofted Lawson high into the top tier of the Ryder Stand. A powerfully built middle-aged man stood up to take the catch. From a crowd of 20,000, Flintoff had somehow picked out his father, who muffed it: the only false move from a Flintoff in the entire Test."
Watch it on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZQU-EGT50
Azim Premji to start two free schools in every district
MUMBAI/ BANGALORE: After chipping in for the country's educational system
for a decade, the Azim Premji Foundation (APF), run by the third richest Indian
on his own money, is all set for a generous initiative. The foundation plans
to start 1,300 schools across the country- two per district - which will be free,
impart education in the local language and be affiliated to the state board.
If the idea succeeds, it could shame India's dysfunctional public education
system - and perhaps inspire other wealthy tycoons to look beyond their personal
status-building.The APF schools, from preschool to class 12, will be on the lines
of government ones. The difference will be in quality. "Quality education is
fundamental to our becoming a developed nation. And the final crucible of
learning is the classroom," says Azim Premji.
Wipro's idea of starting 1,300 schools came after the Azim Premji Foundation
recently reviewed its work from 2001, the year in which it was set up. "We felt
the need to graduate from programme interventions to institution-building,"
says Dileep Ranjekar, APF's CEO. "One of our ideas was to set up a separate
educational board like the ICSE/ CBSE. But most of us...felt that change would
be better felt and seen by actually setting up schools."
Those associated with the planning of this Rs 9,000-crore project say that
the schools will focus on the overall development of their students, including
their health and nutrition. "The attempt is also to establish schools in corners
that are currently educationally under-served and not to compete with existing
schools, whether public or private," says Ranjekar, adding that seven schools
will start within a year-and-a-half in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and
Chhattisgarh. If things go as forecast, all the 1,300 schools should be up and
running by 2025.The aim behind the schools is two-pronged. "One is to build
social pressure for other schools to follow suit and provide quality education.
Two, we want to test ourselves, understand what it takes to deliver quality
teaching and learning. One cannot tell the world to improve unless one actually
leads by example," says Ranjekar.
A focal aim of the foundation is to get each school to evolve, over time,
as a development centre integrated with the community. Thus, the schools will
be staffed with teachers from the rural areas, but appointed after written tests
and an interview.
"Emphasis will be placed on their expertise in the subject, their understanding
of pedagogy and their social orientation. Parents of the children will be important
partners in the process of development," says Ranjekar.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
70% people in Indian metros fat: Survey
70% people in metros fat: Survey
Urban India's greatest comforts are the cause of a super-size health problem: obesity. Easy access to high-calorie packaged foods, sedentary lifestyles and a predilection for gizmo…
http://toi.in/lY2h-Z
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Just in case, you get it wrong......
An older gentleman was
On the operating table.
Awaiting surgery
And he insisted that his son,
A renowned surgeon,
Perform the operation.
As he was about to get the anesthesia,
He asked to speak to his son
'Yes, Dad, what is it? '
'Don't be nervous, son;
Do your best
And just remember,
If it doesn't go well,
If something happens to me,
Your mother
Is going to come and
Live with you and your wife....'
On the operating table.
Awaiting surgery
And he insisted that his son,
A renowned surgeon,
Perform the operation.
As he was about to get the anesthesia,
He asked to speak to his son
'Yes, Dad, what is it? '
'Don't be nervous, son;
Do your best
And just remember,
If it doesn't go well,
If something happens to me,
Your mother
Is going to come and
Live with you and your wife....'
Fantastic--- US Navy Aerobatics
The US Navy Blue Angels Aerobatics
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=W6tB8Lf7YoU
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Again and Again !
A Wise Man Once Sat In An Audience And Cracked A Joke ..
All Of Them Laughed Like Crazy ..
After A Moment He Cracked The Same Joke Again
& A Little Less People Laughed This Time ..
He Cracked The Same One Again & Very Few Laughed…..
This Time When There Was No Laughter In The Crowd
He Smiled And Said
''If U Cant Laugh At The Same Joke Again & Again
Then Why Do U Keep Crying Over The Same Thing
Over & Over Again''………………
Why the decline of the West is best for us ( India) – and them
The Professor makes some interesting points !
RSK
RSK
Why the decline of the West is best for us – and themBy R Vaidyanathan, Professor of Finance, IIM Bangalore.
Ten years ago, America had Steve Jobs, Bob Hope and Johnny Cash. Now it has no Jobs, no Hope and no Cash. Or so the joke goes.
Only, it's no joke. The line is pretty close to reality in the US. The less said about Europe the better. Both the US and Europe are in decline. I was asked by a business channel in 2008 about recovery in the US. I mentioned 40 quarters and after that I was never invited for another discussion.
Recently, another media person asked me the same question and I answered 80 quarters. He was shocked since he was told some "sprouts" of recovery had been seen in the American economy.
It is important to recognise that the dominance of the West has been there only for last 200-and-odd years. According to Angus Maddison's pioneering OECD study, India and China had nearly 50 percent of global GDP as late as the 1820s. Hence India and China are not emerging or rising powers. They are retrieving their original position.
The dollar is having a rollercoaster ride at present. In 1990, the share of the G-7 in world GDP (on a purchasing power parity basis) was 51 percent and that of emerging markets 36 percent. But in 2011, it is the reverse. So the dominant west is a myth.
Similarly, the crisis. It is a US-Europe crisis and not a global one. The two wars – which were essentially European wars – were made out to be world wars with one English leader commenting that 'we will fight the Germans to the last Indian'.
In this economic scenario, countries like India are made to feel as if they are in a crisis. Since the West says there's a crisis, we swallow it hook, line and sinker.
But it isn't so. At no point of time in the last 20 years has foreign investment – direct and portfolio – exceeded 10 percent of our domestic investment. Our growth is due to our domestic savings which is again predominately household savings. Our housewives require awards for our growth not any western fund manager.
The crisis faced by the West is primarily because it has forgotten a six-letter word called 'saving' which, again, is the result of forgetting another six letter word called "family". The West has nationalised families over the last 60 years. Old age, ill health, single motherhood – everything is the responsibility of the state.
When family is a "burden" and children an "encumbrance," society goes for a toss. Household savings have been negative in the US for long. The total debt to GDP ratio is as high as 400 percent in many countries, including UK. Not only that, the West is facing a severe demographic crisis. The population of Europe during the First World War was nearly 25 percent and today it is around 11 percent and expected to become 3 percent in another 20 years. Europe will disappear from the world map unless migrants from Africa and Asia take it over.
The demographic crisis impacts the West in other ways. Social security goes for a toss since people are living longer and not many from below contribute to their pensions through taxes. So the nationalisation of families becomes a burden on the state.
European work culture has become worse with even our own Tata complaining about the work ethic of British managers. In France and Italy, the weekend starts on Friday morning itself. The population has become lazy and state-dependent.
In the UK, the situation is worse with drunkenness becoming a common problem. Parents do not have control over children and the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation in London said: "There are all signs of arteriosclerosis of a culture and a civilisation grown old. Me has taken precedence over We and pleasure today over viability tomorrow." (The Times: 8 September ).
Married couples make up less than half (45 percent) of all households in the US, say recent data from the Census Bureau. Also there is a huge growth in unmarried couples and single parent families (mostly poor, black women). Society has become dysfunctional or disorganised in the West. The government is trying to be organised.
In India, society is organised and government disorganised. Because of disorganised society in the West the state has to take care of families. The market crash is essentially due to the adoption of a model where there is consumption with borrowings and no savings. How long will Asian savings be able to sustain the western spending binge?
According to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal (10 October 2011), nearly half of US households receive government benefits like food stamps, subsidised housing, cash welfare or Medicare or Medicaid (the federal-state health care programmes for the poor) or social security.
The US is also a stock market economy where half the households are investors and they have been hit hard by bank and corporate failures. Even now less than 5 percent of our household financial savings goes to the stock market. Same in China and Japan.
Declining empires are dangerous. They will try to peddle their failed models to us and we will swallow it since colonial genes are very much present here. You will find more Indians heading global corporations since India is a very large market and one way to capture it is to make Indian sepoys work for it.
A declining West is best for the rest and also for the West, which needs to rethink its failed models and rework its priorities. For the rest—like us—the fact that the West has failed will be accepted by us only after some western scholars tell us the same. Till then we will try to imitate them and create more dysfunctional families.
We need to recognise that Big Government and Big Business are twin dangers for average citizens. India faces both and they are two asuras we need to guard against. The Leftists in the National Advisory Council want all families to be nationalised and governed by a Big State and reform marketers of the CII variety want Big Business to flourish under crony capitalism. Beware of the twin evils since both look upon India as a charity house or as a market and not as an ancient civilisation.R.VAIDYANATHAN
Professor of Finance
IIM, Bangalore--
Germans go to Italy !
Five Germans in an Audi Quattro arrive at the Italian border. The Italian Customs Officer stops them and tells them "It'sa illegala to putta 5 people in a Quattro."
"Vot do you mean it's illegal?" asks the German driver. "Quattro meansa four" replies the Italian official. "Quattro is just ze name of zefokken automobile" the German says unbelievingly. "Look at ze dam papers: ze car is designed to karry 5 persons" "You canta pulla thata one on me!" replies the Italian customs officer. "Quattro meansa four. You have five-a people ina your car and you are thereforea breaking tha law."
The German driver replies angrily, "You idiot! Call your zupervisor over. I vant to speak to someone viz more intelligence!" "Sorry" responds the Italian officer, "He can'ta come. He'sa busy witha 2 guys in a Fiat Uno"
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Hastinapur Temple Complex : In Argentina !
Hastinapur, the city of wisdom, in Argentina
Hastinapur has a total area of twelve acres. Its population consists of a dozen Indian gods and an equal number of Argentine human beings. Some of the Indian gods reside in authentic temples filled with the scent of Indian agarbatties while others stay outdoor enjoying the fragrance of the flowers from the garden. Some are sitting or standing on the pedestals and others hang on the sides of walls and pillars. The gods who have their own temples include Ganesh, Krishna, Surya, Narayana and Siva. Since it is Hastinapur there is a temple for Pandavas too. Hastinapur is clearly a place fit for the gods ...who should be pleased with the cleanliness of the place, the serene surroundings and the green garden with Rosewood trees. The only noise comes from the hundreds of birds nesting in the trees. Then there is the soft music of the devotees who sing Bhajans. It is indeed a divine place which inspires sacred thoughts and holy spirit.
Ganesh is standing out in white against the greenery of the garden in the picture below.
The dozen Argentines who live there look after the gods and the place. During weekend, the human population increases to over one hundred. The Argentines do not go there seeking favours as many Indians do in Tirupathi. They go there for wisdom. This is why Hastinapur is called as the City of Wisdom (ciudad de la sabiduria). Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning blesses the students through the sculptures all around the compound. The Argentines learn philosophy, read in the library, practise yoga and meditation and sing Bhajans.
On the other side of the fence, there are cows grazing and occasionally staring at the Indian gods. The cows are relaxed and free from fear because they know that they will not become food at the dining table in Hastinapur, which is a vegetarian place. The inmates cook vegetarian food and share it with the children from poor families in the neighbourhood.
Hastinapur does not have any godmen seeking fame and fortune and flaunting wealthy followers. It is an instituition to pursue pure wisdom, peace and divinity. Neither in the city nor in the website names of those who run the place are given. The founders and directors of the Hastinapura Foundation do not seek publicity. They are humble but devoted people. They have their professions as company managers, engineers or professors. They volunteer their time and talents for the foundation.
Nor is Hastinapur the work of some overenthusiastic drum-beating Hare Krishna types or faith-lead Saibaba followers. Hastinapur respects all the religions and beliefs. Their ten temples include one for Buddha, one for Virgin Mary, one for the Greek god Demeter and another one called as the the Temple of All Faiths. Their library has books of all religions and schools of thought. Hastinapur seeks true wisdom, going beyond the boundaries of established religions. The City of Wisdom is not the ultimate destination. It does not prescribe wisdom doses. It simply helps people to seek, find and pursue their own path to wisdom. They give classes in yoga, meditation, philosophy, devotional singing and sacred drama. They organise workshops, seminars and retreats. They also provide community service. They celebrate festivals such as Ganesh Chathurthi and Baishaki. Their next project is to broadcast through radio.
Hastinapur temples do not have priests or other middlemen between the gods and worshippers. There is no money collection, like in Tirupathi. Worshippers pray, recite mantras and sing devotional songs individually or in groups.
Meditation Hall
Hastinapur has a post graduate course in yoga which takes three years to complete. The classes are held in the weekends only. There are 2500 students studying yoga and philosophy in the Hastinapur centres. The students are being taught by 100 teachers on philosophy and 120 teachers on yoga.
Many Argentines go to Hastinapur as a retreat from the hectic city of Buenos Aires which is just fifty kilometres away. They practise meditation in the quiet natural environment. They do yoga, read books from the library, discuss philosophy and join the singing of bhajans. Hastinapur is an authentic Ashram.
Hastinapur Foundation has published a number of books on Indian philosophy and translated Bhagwat Gita, Bhakti Sutras, Upanishads,Srimad Bhagwatam and Yoga Sutras. Their latest publication is Mahabharatha in Spanish. They have so far published three volumes and plan to do a total of twelve volumes in the coming years. Each volume is over 500 pages. The founder Alda Albrecht and other members of the Foundation have also written a number of books.
Hastinapura Foundation was established by Ada Albrecht in 1981. She introduced Indian philosophy and became a Guru for the Argentines seeking wisdom. She wrote a number of books such as ¨The Saints and teachings of India¨ and ¨The teachings of the monks from Himalayas¨.
Gustavo Canzobre was one of her students, who is now the Director of the Hastinapur college of professors. He was seventeen years old when he became interested in Indian wisdom. During the Third Festival of India organised by the embassy in Buenos Aires in November 2010, he gave a talk on the templearchitecture of South India. He has agreed to give a talk on Indian philosophy in the forthcoming Fourth Festival of India in December 2011. He is a manager in a local company for living and dedicates rest of his time to Hastinapura Foundation. He is knowledgeable about Indian vedas and upanishads and is going to India on his second visit in August this year.
Pillars of the entrance to Ganesh temple below:
The pond in front of the temple has fresh water and fish:
A small outdoor Ganesh temple in the garden
Lord Siva is sitting majestically in the large garden guarded by Ganesh on the four sides:
Hastinapura Foundation has sixteen centres in Buenos Aires and three more in the rest of Argentina. They have also established centres in Uruguay, Bolivia and Colombia. Information on the Foundation and its activities can be seen at their website
Latin Americans are, of course, known for fun and fiesta. At the same time, there are thousands of Latin Americans who take Mahabharatha and Meditation more seriously than many Indians....
Monday, October 17, 2011
Saturday, October 15, 2011
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