Panchaamritam- 6
ONE
There are more than enough signs pointing to India Inc taking its place on the global map. Take for example the recent case Dr Reddy’s Lab won against Pfizer challenging its patents for Norvasc (a billion drug). The victory of Reddy’s was written about by every Wall Street pharma-ceutical analyst of significance. It also had an impact on Pfizer’s share price. AN Indian company today has the audacity and resources to challenge a global industry leader over a billion dollar product in the US courts, to win a summary judgement and to knock billions of dollars off the market capitalization of the global leader.
(Based on an email in January 2003 from Shri.Balakrishnan Hariharan).
TWO
It is said that in any aspect of life, the difference between the numbers one and zero is greater than the difference between the numbers two and one; nowhere is it as clearly illustrated as in the case of education, where a little bit can go a long way in improving the quality of life. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India (EVFI) is one such concept that hopes to empower young tribal children in India through education. The premise of EVFI is "Ek Shikshak, Ek Vidyalaya," which means "one teacher for every school." Founded 15 years ago, by Shyamjee Gupta, EVFI focuses attention on Vanavaasis (wrongly described as “tribals”) and tries to bring non-formal education within their reach. Currently EVFI is running over 8,000 schools in remote and Vanavaasi villages all over India and hopes to reach a target of 100,000 schools by the year 2010.
( From RADHIKA SHARMA’s write up in www.ekalvidya.org).
THREE
Thandavampatti hamlet with a population of 276 in 69 houses in Araichi village panchayat in Taathaiangarpet block of Tiruchirappalli district, Witnessed a silent revolution two months ago when the staff of a Tiruchirappalli based NGO, Gramalaya, could talk the local women's self help group into taking up the work of providing a cheap toilet for each house in the hamlet. The work commenced on January 16 when 13 households dug the necessary three-foot deep pits that were closed with a cement slab with a drop-hole that in turn was covered with a wooden plank. While thatch, old mats and used jute bags served as the superstructure, an old cloth covered the entrance. Women were the most enthusiastic workers as they had been the worst sufferers. Earlier, they had to wait for darkness to descend so that they could use the open field as toilet. Men had no such compulsion, and when some men initially refused to be drawn in to use the new toilets, they were warned by village elders that they could opt for open defecation, but only beyond the village boundary.
(Source: ‘The New Indian Express’, January 28, 2003).
FOUR
He returns from his work, takes off his uniform and starts cooking. His flat is full of big vessels. He prepares food packets containing lemon rice or curd rice. Next, he sets out in search of his patrons – the beggars. He knows where they are – in front of temples, mosques or churches. He distributes the food he has brought and walks back home. This routine is several years old. He spends all his salary in this way. His own food consists of juice of Karisilangkanni ( a herb). He takes it thrice a day. His name is Subramaniyan, but people call him Swami, because of his attire resembling that of Ramalinga Vallalar a saint who lived in Chennai a hundred years back. Vallalar is the inspiration for Subramaniyan’s daily annadaanam and herbal diet. A graduate from a city college, he is employed as a security guard in Chennai IIT. In the nights he practises Dhyanam.
(Based on a news clipping from a city daily provided by a local resident).
FIVE
People go to temples to worship and rightly so. Pandurangan(age: just 85), a retired school teacher of Thiruvannaamalai, has some other agenda. Once a week, he goes to the famous and ancient Arunaachaleswara temple, to the Nandavanam (flower garden) there to be precise, and involves himself in gardening work. He does this service for years. This is known as ‘uzhavaara pani’ among the devout. Another service that Panduranganaar, as he is called in reverence, has been doing is distribution of free booklets containing verses from devotional literature among the millions who converge in the sacred city on Deepam day (in November) every year. But his most favourite weekend pastime is recital of Bhakti geet, stationing himself at street corners. He writes them on old envelopes that he patiently collects.
(Based on a box item in VIJAYABHARATAM, a Tamil weekly Chennai-31, dated December 6, 2002, contributed by Shri.C. Praveenkumar, Thiruvannaamalai).
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Panchaamritam- 7
ONE
''Namaste,'' Om Dutta Sharma, 65, said standing at the gate of his school, sweetly bidding farewell to 180 little girls returning home after school. For 20 years, Mr. Sharma has been a taxi driver in New York. He has been saving his tips; has never taken his wife out to eat; the couple sparingly spent on new clothes for their sons Mrs.Sharma packs lunch for her kids when they go to school so that they need not spend anything at the canteen – all this to make this act of goodness possible: Mr. Sharma has given his village Dhoober Kishenpur in Saharanpur district near Delhi in Bharat, a school for girls. He has named it after his illiterate mother, Ram Kali. Mr. Sharma and his wife, Krishna, a nurse at Bellevue Hospital Center, contribute the $2,500 a year it costs to run the school. The two-story brick house, Mr. Sharma’s ancestral property, is now filled with first to fifth graders laboriously scratching out their lessons in chalk. The Sharmas can afford to educate and care for these farmers' daughters because money buys more here than in New York. To hire a local doctor to give the girls regular check-ups, Mr. Sharma spent $500 more from the earnings of a mango orchard he planted years ago when he and his brother inherited the family plot. The Sharmas live in Woodside, Queens, USA. In New York, Mr. Sharma is just a cabby. In India, a school's hero.
(From a NEW YORK TIMES article (January 23, 2000) by CELIA W.DUGGER, made available by Kannan-Vasuvaj-Arun-Narayanan on email) .
TWO
Meet the ‘hero’: It is a note book kept in the Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Office in SIDCO Nagar, Villivakkam (Chennai). A number of pages in it are full of praise, praise and more praise for the way the office functions(penned by the members of the public): Each visitor – whether an IAS officer or a daily wages earner – gets the same polite treatment and prompt attention; the staff never leave their seats but for lunch; etc. Part of the inspiration for such a desireable ambience is provided by the Bhagavadgita slokas and Thirukkural couplets adorning the walls of the office. The man behind all this is Assistant Commissioner S.Kothandaraman,57. He says one Pulavar Ma.Ki.Ramanan came forward with the suggestion to display inspiring quotes on the office walls and adds that the message of the display not only evoked positive thinking and right behaviour among the staff, it caught the imagination of the visiting public as well.
(Based on a report by Shri. Zia-ul-Haq in DINAMANI, Tamil daily on February 4, 2003) .
THREE
Krishnan’s neighbours address him as RD Krishnan and hasten to explain that RD stands for Recurring Deposits! Krishnan lives in Rajapandy, a hamlet in the Kizhappavur Panchayat Union of Thirunelveli district in Tamilnadu, Bharat. Rajapandy has just 440 families. The Post Office Savings Bank there, anyhow, boasts of 503 accounts; every family in this agricultural hamlet saves money in RD; some families have more than one account. Each family deposits anything from Rs. 50 to Rs. 600 per month; in this way, this hamlet with no source of income other than agriculture saves a sum of Rs. 55,745 every month; the Small Savings Agent Smt.Peychi Ammal, 50, assisted by her husband Shri. Krishnan, has achieved this feat by undaunted work ever since 1982. Even as the news of USA as a nation sliding into the labyrinth of debts spreads, the Krishnan – Peychi Ammal couple has succeeded in painting a bright picture in contrast.
(Based on a DINAMANI report circulated through SETU, a fortnightly News Summary in English dated February 13, 2003 from Chennai Media Centre, Chennai – 600 031).
FOUR
Shri. Shivaramji, hailing from Maharashtra, served Tamilnadu for over six decades as a Sangh Pracharak. He inspired hundreds of householders to take to seva karyas like Rakta Daanam, Netra Daanam, Deha Daanam and serving the visually challenged. On one occasion, he himself was inspired by a letter written by a father to his own son. It happened like this: As part of his search for good persons living scattered in the society (He could spot nearly a 1,000 in five years in Chennai alone), Shivaramji met an elderly doctor. Let us call him Dr.K.G. Vidyasagar. Shivaramji records his meeting with him thus: “ In reply to our query as to what had inspired the doctor to lead an unblemished life, he handed me the copy of a letter he had received from his father Shri. T. Govindaraj the day when the son set up practice as a young physician. Here is the text: ‘I would not merely be happy but proud to hear that Dr.KGV is an upright man, a kind doctor whose hands are clean except when bloodsmears tarnish his hands in surgical operations! I pray you would rise to these heights. By and large, I have so far kept my personality in tact without disintegrating under the pressure of evil forces. I pray you would also be in a position to say at my age that your hands are clean and were clean. -- T.Govindaraj’ ”. Need we state the obvious that the son measured up to his father’s standards since he succeeded in attracting Shivaramji’s attention, after all ! But we must place on record that Shri Shivaramji’s body was handed over to Shri. Ramachandra Medical Research Centre, Porur, Chennai, in deference to his Deha Daana pledge, when Shri.Shiivaramji expired in June,1999.
(Based on a narration by an associate of Late Shri. Shivaramji and, of course, the letter).
FIVE
Potters of Thiruvarur, in Thanjavur district, Tamilnadu, lead a hand to mouth life. The small shrine of Thiruneelakanta, a potter – saint and one of the sixty-three Shaivite Nayanmars was in a shambles. Their entreaties to officials to renovate it failed to have any immediate effect. So they tightened their belts and raised Rs.6,000. They renovated the shrine and performed the Kumbhabhishekham with deep fervour in mid ‘80s. Tamil weekly VIJAYABHARATAM paid its tribute to this remarkable devotion by highlighting the event with an illustration on its cover.
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ONE
K.P.MANIVANNAN, 76, set aside 5 percent of his salary all through his 30 years of service in the State Transport department. Interest and all, it added up to Rs. 5.4 lakhs. He instituted a charitable trust with that amount to award scholarships to needy students of the school where he studied in Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu, Bharat. When he was studying in the fourth standard, his name was struck off the rolls as his family was too poor to pay the fees in those days. He managed to complete his school education and became a commerce graduate with the help of kind-hearted persons. Now his family is well off. His son Malarvannan works as a computer engineer in the US and he has married off his daughter Kanmani. Anyhow, Manivannan did not forget the hardship of his childhood and so, at least 60 students of his alma mater receive the help they need most, courtesy Manivannan’s thoughtful action.
(Based on a DINAMANI report by Prema Narayanan on December 4, 2002).
TWO
While the latest urban scare is the quality of bottled drinking water, a village in Gujarat has put it all behind. Once a sizeable market for branded water, Ena village in Bardoli Taluk, now enjoys pure drinking water, thanks to a reverse-osmosis plant, at a mere 20 paise per litre. Ena, with a sizeable NRI population, boasts of many more such benefits provided by those who have made it big abroad. It all started in Ena seven years ago with NRI visitors preferring to get mineral water from Surat. One visiting NRI suggested that a plant could be set up in the village and villagers could use the water for nominal charges. Says Pravinbhai M Patel, general secretary of the Ena Gram Vikas Samiti, which manages the plant and other development works: ''The plant was built at a cost of Rs 3.5 lakh seven years ago, with Ramanbhai Patel, who runs a chain of motels in the US, donating the whole sum. We charge a nominal 20 paise per litre.'' The village of 5,000 gets 1,200 litres of water treated every day.
(From an article by Tanushree Chakraborty in INDIAN EXPRESS, Feb. 24, 2003).
THREE
T.N.MUTHUKUMARASWAMY has been working as an accountant in the State Treasury department for 36 years. On retirement, he has donated Rs.10 lakhs from out of his retirement benefits towards construction of a school building in the government school in Lakshmipuram, Chrompet, a suburb of Chennai. All along his service period, Muthukumaraswamy has been distributing text books and note books free to students of the Municipal school close to his residence. He had few personal needs as he led a frugal life throughout. Tamilnadu state government honoured him in appreciation of his services to the cause of education at the secretariat in Chennai on February 25, 2003.
(Based on a report in DINAMANI of February 26, 2003).
FOUR
Let us listen to Lord Navneet Dholakia, Member, House of Lords, Britain: “On 21 October 1997, I was elected to the House of Lords, the upper house in the British parliament. When I reached the House of Lords, a friend of mine, an Englishman, said, ‘Please give your bag to me, I shall carry it’. I handed him the bag. Observing a smile on my face, he asked ‘why are you smiling?’ ‘Not because you have lessened the load by carrying the bag, but because I feel particularly happy today’, I told him and continued, ‘our forefathers used to carry the bags of you people 250 years back. Now, you are carrying the load for me. Today, we all have become equals’.” Shri. Dholakia was recently in Bharat to receive the honour at the Pravasi Bharatiya (NRI) conclave in Delhi. “I value this honour as far more than the Order of British Empire that the Queen of Britain has awarded to me. I am proud to be a British citizen, but the pride of being a Bharatiya is far greater,” the Lord further observed after receiving the honour.
(Coutesy: RASHTRA DEV, a Hindi fortnightly of Dehradun, Uttaranchal, Bharat; dated February 15, 2003).
FIVE
Location 1: A late night tea stall in Sector 13 of the Lignite mines town of Neyveli, Tamilnadu, Bharat. The Scene: Shri. M.Balashanmukhanandam, a resident of Sector 25 tries to give Rs. 500 to the owner of the tea stall Shri. Adimoolam. The latter refuses to accept the money and the former refuses to give up. Location 2: Police Station in Sector 8. The scene: Balashanmukhanandam gives away to Adimoolam a few stainless steel utensils for use in the tea stall and a Kuthuvilakku (holy lamp) in the presence of DSP Shri. Murugayya and the Neyveli town secretary of DMK Shri.G.Ramakrishnan. It is Saturday afternoon of February 15, 2003. Flashback: On January 25, Balashanmukhanandam withdraws Rs.10,000 from the Canara Bank branch situated in Sector 6. On his way back home, he misses the handbag containing the amount. Adimoolam finds it, locates Balashanmukhanandam and hands over the bag to him but refuses to accept gift. (It seems the ‘sense of gratitude’ and ‘appreciation of honesty’ of one have won the battle over ‘honesty’ and ‘integrity in the face of poverty’ of the other!)
(Based on a DINAMANI report of Februay 17, 2003).
ONE
Comrade Radhika Ranjan Pramanik may not be as famous as Jyoti Basu, Harkishen Singh Surjeet, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Somnath Chatterjee, E K Nayanar or E M S Namboodaripad, the stalwarts of the Communist parties in Bharat. But Pramanik recently refused to be infamous. This is how it all happened: He represents Mathurapur -- a constituency in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal -- in the Lok Sabha. He has been a Member of Parliament since 1989. On February 3, Pramanik announced he was snapping ties with the CPI-M. He gave a very specific reason for doing so, accusing his former comrades of 'exerting pressure to misuse funds from the MP quota for the coming Panchayat polls’ in his state. He added, 'When I made it clear I would spend the money for schools, colleges, hospitals and other developmental works, Party’s district committee leaders insisted I spend this amount for panchayat elections. I cannot abide by the party's dictate on the MP fund. It is meant for public welfare, and should be used for it.' He has subsequently repeated the same charges in a television interview. There has not been a single peep from the headquarters of the CPI-M -- though it has been a month and a half since Pramanik publicly accused the party. Considering the fact that the total amount doled out to legislators -- those from Parliament as well as those in the Assemblies in the States -- comes to near about Rs 4,000 crore (40 billion), Pramanik’s praamaanikata (honesty) merits a special mention indeed.
(Based on an article by Shri. T.V.R.Shenoy in the Rediff on the Net on March 12, 2003).
TWO
Seshdhar Pandey, of village Takana off Pithoregarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bharat, lost the elder of his two sons, Shobit Pandey a couple of years back. It was just seven months after Shobit’s marriage. After such a very short married life Shobit’s young wife became a widow. Seshdhar was concerned about her future. He decided to arrange a secure life for her by finding a suitable youngster who would accept her as his wife. He, at first, prepared the minds of his family members for this proposal. Next, came the task of finding a bridegroom. He turned to his own younger son Rohit and Rohit gave his consent. Last month, at a simple celebration, Rohit’s marriage with the widow was solemnized at the local Devi Mandir. This hillside village follows strict orthodoxy and Seshdhar Pandey’s bold initiative in rehabilitating a young widow in this manner has set a healthy precedence. It is significant that Seshdhar is a Swayamsevak of the RSS.
(Based on a report in the HINDU GARJANA, Hindi monthly (February, 2003) of Gwalior,MP).
THREE
The small shrine dedicated to Goddess Meenakshi in the Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai, Tamilnadu, presented an unusual scene on February 14, 2003. A wedding - yes, a wedding - took place there. Jeevakan, the bridegroom, tied the mangalasutra and Sheela, the bride, was brimming with pride. Now, the flashback: The betrothal ceremony of Sheela, an MBA of Chennai and Jeevakan, a computer engineer of Paramakkudi woking in Chennai was over. Later, while he was doing the rounds extending wedding invitations to his near and dear, Jeevakan met with a road accident. He suffered a thigh bone fracture and was admitted to the Meenakshi Mission Hospital. A situation arose when it seemed the marriage proposal was cancelled since the bride’s family members considered that the accident was a bad omen. They actually decided to that effect. Bride Sheela was shocked at this. She argued: ‘It is thoroughly unjust. If the accident were to take place after the wedding, what would you people do?’ She declared her firm resolve to marry Jeevaan alone. She did not stop at that. Went straight to the hospital and stayed there looking after Jeevakan undergoing treatment. She let him know of her determination to see that the marriage took place on the appointed date. Jeevakan was highly appreciative of her steadfastness and love. The hospital authorities too were happy at the young couple’s good nature and volunteered with all the arrangements for their wedding in hospital premises itself. In the presence of a large number of the hospital staff and close relatives, of course, Jeevkan - sitting on his stretcher - tied the knot.
(Based on a DINAMANI (Tamil Daily) report dated February 16, 2003).
FOUR
On Sunday, February 23, Kannambal, 59, a retired nursing superintendent, fell off a two wheeler her daughter Dr.Chitra Bharati was driving, while negotiating a badly built speed – breaker near Ambattur (Chennai). She was rushing to assist a Caesarean delivery in a private nursing home. Within 24 hours, Kannambal was declared ‘brain dead’ at the hospital. Her daughter, despite the suddenness and shock of the event, decided that her mother’s organs be harvested, so that they could be used to give life to others. Her father, Shri. M.Chandrasekaran, a retired PWD chief engineer, and her two sisters Dr. Umamaheswari and Krithika were all for the proposal. Says Chitra Bharati, “My mother, even after her retirement, wanted to help people and continued helping out on a free-lance basis. She definitely would have approved.” After a paper signing ritual, doctors at the Sundaram Medical Foundation, Anna Nagar, Chennai, operated on the otherwise healthy Kannambal and removed her eyes, kidneys and liver on Monday. Five persons waiting for transplantation in various hospitals were benefited by these organs.
(Based on a report by RAMYA KANNAN in THE HINDU of February 28, 2003).
FIVE
It is a Hindu cremation ground(smashan) in Coimbatore. Time: midnight. A van arrives. A shav is taken out from the rear door. Opening the front left door, a lady gets down. She at once gets busy, spreading the cremation material donated by the Sampoorna Trust. The funeral procedes smoothly. She assists smashan workers as well as the purohit. Once the entire ritual is over and the cremation is complete, she gets into the van. The van speeds out of the smashan. For people of Coimbaore, this scene is not at all odd. A woman going to the smashan that too to manage the last rites? Gomati Mami (that is the name of the fearless lady) who is now 57 years old, has been doing this final service to unclaimed bodies for over 32 years now. “ Why fear? The police is there in case any trouble crops up,” says Gomati Mami. The police and government authorities, in fact, promptly summon her whenever an unclaimed body is to be cremated. Three decades back, when her huband forsook her, she did not cry over her fate. She took up this work which now supports half a dozen families. On occasions when Gomati Mami is ill or goes out on a tour, Karpagam, her daughter (like her mother, forsaken by husband) does all the work. That is certainly a great solace to the brave mother.
(Based on an article in the Coimbatore City Special Number of KALKI, Tamil weekly, dated September 27, 1992).
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ONE
Bogi. This is the name of a mid January Hindu festival observed in the northern districts of Tamilnadu, Bharat. It falls on the day prior to the Makara Sankranti (Pongal festival). On Bogi day, people heap old and useless household articles on the public throughfare and burn them. This acts as a preparation to welcome a cleaner dawn on Sankranti. This tradition went astray. Old tyres came to be burnt replacing harmless organic waste. Pollution resulted. While motivated groups, using an ever-ready media, kept flooding Hindu society with their harangues on ecology, there was at least one concerned individual: Shri. K.Narayana Rao, a staunch Hindu activist, bent upon putting an end to harmful fumes on Bogi day as well as the indirect attempt to chuck out a healthy tradition. Accordingly, he organized Bogi at the school of which he is Secretary. On this year’s Bogi, the school, Sita Devi Garodia Hindu Vidyalaya, East Tambaram, on the outskirts of Chennai Metro, set a novel but noble convention. Each one of the children, parents and teachers picked a dry leaf of ARASU (pipal) tree and on that they scribbled an evil trait they wish to destroy. Coming in queue, each consigned the leaf to the fire in the Homa Kundam arranged for the occasion inside the school premises.
(Based on a report in the children’s suppliment of Tamil daily DINAMANI,
on February 22,2003).
TWO
He might be visually challenged, but this has not deterred the 25-year-old Shri. Buse Gowda of Bangalore, from achieving expertise in Bharatanatyam, the traditional South Indian classical dance. When he was a small boy, a dance teacher had come to a blind school in Bangalore to train some of them for a group dance. The teacher spotted the talent in Gowda and from then on there was no looking back for him. Now Gowda is part of a dance troupe called 'Natyanjali' and has given more than 1,000 performances, both within and outside Bharat. Another blind, Shri. Pradeep Sinha, is also deaf. But sheer persistence, grit and determination, has enabled him to become an assistant at a Braille press in Mumbai. Sinha's communication with others is through an interpreter. Sinha says he goes to the press on his own and does not need the help of others. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Justice A S Anand presented both Gowda and Sinha with Cavinkare-Ability awards for this year. The awards have been instituted by the Ability Foundation, an NGO, and carry a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a citation. Naseema Mohammed Amin Hurzuk, a paraplegic from Maharashtra's Kolapur, has won the award for her contribution to the disabled. She has been instrumental in rehabilitating over 8,000 physically challenged children with medical aid and vocational training. She had been awarded Rs 1 lakh in cash and a citation.
(Based on a coverage of a Chennai press meet addressed by the handicapped. Posted in chennaionline on March 17, 2003).
THREE
Plug your TV into the WICE box and a fluorescent green menu prompts you to select from live channels, Video-on-Demand (VOD), MP3 music, chat and learning, email and SMS. The joy comes from knowing that you pay only for the TV channels you watch! VOD lets you watch your choice of movie at your convenience. You can fast-forward, rewind or pause, as if it's your own mini-movie theatre. Stunned yet? There's more. Such as unlimited MP3 titles. You can also use the Karaoke function and re-record classics using your own voice. The icing on this huge cake is the email and chat without an Internet connection. When Anupam, Divinet's multilingual software expert (and also the brain behind CDAC's GIST technology), actually sent an email to me on my cellular phone using the TV set I was viewing, I began looking at it as if it were the eighth wonder of the world. The email can be in any Indian language, you can chat online (when you're not actually 'online'), and even see the person you're talking to if you choose video-conferencing. Your email address is Yourname.number@DivinetAccess.com, incorporating a unique identification number for every user. Developed by P R Eknath, Sanjay Wandhekar, and B P Narayan -- founder members of CDAC, brains behind India's PARAM-supercomputer, and currently the management team at Divinet Access Technologies Ltd, Pune -- this little gizmo is no larger than an overhead projector. Called the WICE (Window for Information, Communication and Entertainment) Box, or WICEMAN, it is Eknath's brainchild; his dream of creating a generic platform that can run any application. The best thing is, it is a boon to India's Net users. Divinet received USD 150,000 as prize money, thanks to the first E-Biz challenge award instituted by Dubai Internet City for world-class innovative e-business ideas. “We do not have any competitors yet. This technology is the first of its kind", says Narayanan, CEO-MD, Divinet. If it works, our TVs will never be the same again.
(Based on a ‘Rediff on the Net’ news item. Author: Nikita Agarwal. Date: March 20, 2003).
FOUR
Bharat’s struggle for freedom from the British rule had a lofty, unstated purpose. It was a fight to uphold values. See, for example, what THE HINDU on February 9, 1894, reported : “A poor native heroically resists them (the British soldiers) with a stick in hand and is shot down dead.” It happened like this: A group of British soldiers, on their way from Nilgiris to Secunderabad were waiting at Guntakkal railway station. They spotted two women on their way to their village and chased them with a mischievous intention. The two ran to protect their honour and rushed into the Gatekeeper’s cabin. To save them, Gatekeeper Hampanna locked the cabin and kept the keys with him. The soldiers told him to open the cabin. Hampanna refused. A fisticuff followed. One of the soldiers shot Hampanna, who collapsed and died later. People gathered and caught the culprits. But justice was not meted out. Hampanna’s killer Corporal Ashford was later acquitted by an English Magistrate. THE HINDU published names of donors who contributed towards erecting a memroial for Hampanna. With the money received from readers, a granite tablet was prepared in Poonamalee near Chennai and sent to Guntakkal. The tablet says: “Here lie the remains of Goolapalien Hampanna, the Gatekeeper, who, while defending two Hindu women against a party of European soldiers near the Guntakkal rest camp was shot by one of them on October 4, 1893. He died here on October 5. Raised by European and Indian admirers.”
(Source: A book, ‘THE HUNDRED YEARS OF THE HINDU’ ; Pages 86 – 87).
FIVE
''Welcome. Please sit down. Would you like some water? Nice to meet you. See you again. Goodbye.'' From the walls of Shambhunath Jha's house, in the vanavasi (wrongly referred to as ‘tribal’) village Ganoda, district Banswada, Rajastan, Bharat, plastered posters vie for attention. But the one that catches the eye is a conversation chart like the one above.The chart doesn't just tell you how to make polite conversation. It also tells you how to do it in Samskritam (Sanskrit). Jha's little daughter rapidly replies to her father's questions, all in Sanskrit. Near the kitchen, the Jha household has put up another chart, this time listing the name of cooking ingredients and food items. ''We use it as a regular glossary. Sanskrit is not our mother tongue, so sometimes we need to look up the chart. But most of the time, we manage without it,'' says Jha proudly. The professor is one of the many residents in Ganoda village who are confident that they can carry on an entire conversation in Samskritam without a problem. The grocery shop owner claims he can rattle off shlokas in Samskritam. ''Almost everyone can speak or understand the language here,'' Naresh Doshi says. In this village, Samskritam is slowly becoming a way of life.The language spoken in practically every house and every school-going child rattling off a few sentences. Over 1,000 students in the three Samskritam institutions of the village - a primary school, middle school and the college - have joined hands with a group of their teachers to try and make Samskritam the second language of the Wagdi-speaking population. Kanhaiya Lal Yadav is a first generation learner from his vanavasi (tribal) household in Dukhvada. ''We speak Wagdi at home but with my friends I often debate in Samskritam,'' says the undergraduate student. And to spread the good word, the teachers and students are practically going door-to-door, teaching, putting up posters and impressing many with their synchronised recital of shlokas. For the motivated Samskritam-speaking lot of Ganoda, the ulitmate aim is to make it a unique and model Sanskrit village. Their punchline is ''don't say hello, say HariOm.''
(Based on a write up by Anuradha Nagaraj [Indian Express, March 11, 2003]).
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