I’d like to dedicate this post toall the wonderful fathers, father figures, and male
mentors out therewho have touched the
lives of people out there: be it your own kids, others’kids, your family,
people you’ve mentored, people you’ve coached, and the world at large. Thank
you for all that you do.Thank you for being you.We appreciate your
existence and the often times silent but impact role you have played in our
lives.
International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights," says world-renowned feminist, journalist and social and political activist Gloria Steinem. International Women's Day is all about celebration, reflection, advocacy, and action - whatever that looks like globally at a local level. But one thing is for sure, International Women's Day has been occurring for over a century - and is growing annually from strength to strength.
International Women's Day 2016 campaign theme
#PledgeForParity
Worldwide, women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievement.
And we have much to celebrate today. But progress towards gender parity has slowed in many places. So we want to celebrate International Women's Day 2016 by saying Pledging For Parity!
Everyone - men and women - can pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity more quickly - whether to help women and girls achieve their ambitions, call for gender-balanced leadership, respect and value difference, develop more inclusive and flexible cultures or root out workplace bias. Each of us can be a leader within our own spheres of influence and commit to take pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity.
Commit to take action to accelerate gender parity
Globally, with individuals pledging to move from talk to purposeful action - and with men and women joining forces - we can collectively help women advance equal to their numbers and realize the limitless potential they offer economies the world over. We have urgent work to do. Are you ready to accelerate gender parity?
Maha Shivratri, which literally translates to "great night of Shiva" is a Hindu festival largely celebrated in India. The festival is celebrated on the new moon day in the month of Maagha according to the Hindu calendar. The day is celebrated to venerate Lord Shiva, an important deity in Hindu culture.
There are many mythological legends associated with this day. According to a popular legend, when a hunter could not find anything to kill for his food in a forest, he waited on the branch of a Woodapple tree. In order to attract deer, he started throwing the leaves of the tree on the ground, unaware that there was a Shiva Lingam beneath the tree. Pleased with the Woodapple leaves and the patience of the hunter, it is believed that Lord Shiva appeared in front of the hunter and blessed him with wisdom. From that day onwards, the hunter stopped eating meat.
Another legend has it that after the Earth was faced with an imminent destruction, Goddess Parvati pledged with Lord Shiva to save the world. Pleased with her prayers, Lord Shiva agreed to save the world on the pretext that the people of the Earth would have to worship him with dedication and passion. From that day onwards, the night came to be known as Maha Shivratri and people began worshipping Shiva with a great enthusiasm.
Some folklore also consider this to be Shiva's day as this was believed to be the answer given by Lord Shiva when asked about his favorite day by Goddess Parvati.
Maha Shivratri is a Hindu festival which is celebrated by people following Hinduism in India. People often fast on the night of Shivratri and sing hymns and praises in the name of Lord Shiva. Hindu temples across the country are decorated with lights and colorful decorations and people can be seen offering night long prayers to Shiva Lingam. Woodapple leaves, cold water and milk are offered to the Shiva Lingam on this day as they are believed to be Lord Shiva's favorite.
It is believed that the people who fast on this night and offer prayers to Lord Shiva bring good luck into their life.
India's youngest CEOSharvan and Sanjay Kumaran... two
brothers from Chennai ...
Shravan Kumaran and his younger sibling Sanjay Kumaran are perhaps India's youngest entrepreneurs. Shravan, 14, is the president and Sanjay, 12, is the CEO of Go Dimensions, an app development unit that they founded two years ago from their bedroom in their home in Chennai.
On Saturday, they stood before the 5,500 attendees at an SAP event in Bangalore, and talked about how to ideate, and draw up a business plan. "You should have a strong idea, self-confidence, a good business plan and know about sources of funding," said Sanjay with the confidence that you normally only see in much older people. And he then went on to ask: "Have you heard of dad funding?" The crowd roared.
In the past two years the two have developed eleven apps that are available on the Apple App Store and Google's Android Play Store. The apps have received over 35,000 downloads. Their first app -- Catch Me Cop on the Apple App Store -- was released last year and was a hit. That was a game where a con escapes prison and a wide hunt is launched for him. There are chases through a desert, beach and a maze.
"Abdul Kalam (former president of India) once came to our school and he loved playing Catch me Cop," recalled Sanjay. Shravan is in class 9 and Sanjay in class 7 at the Vael's Billabong International High School in Chennai.
Since the two are less than 18 years, Go Dimensions cannot be registered in their names as per Indian law. So the registration is in the names of seven of their family members who are above 18.
Today, a spare room in their Chennai home is a digital lounge filled with Apple Macs, iPads and Samsung Galaxy Notes. The ''after homework hours'' are spent on coding and debugging test apps, while nibbling on cheese fritters and lasagna. Recently, they launched an action game called Extreme Impossible 5 or EI5.
"We developed more than 150 test apps before releasing the first app, Catch Me Cop. That app was launched within a week of submission to Apple, and that was really exciting. Another app, Alphabet Board, got a rating of 5 on the app store," said Shravan, who credits Apple founder Steve Jobs for inspiring him to be what he is today. "Jobs is the big daddy of clean and intuitive user interfaces and who changed the way we communicate. And how can I forget his famous line, `Stay hungry, Stay foolish'," he said.
Despite their star status, they have their feet on the ground. "Some of the teachers told them they would be more productive at home than coming to school," said their mother and former journalist Jyothi Lakshmi. But they are clear they will attend classes regularly, and also pursue their love for cricket and the keyboard. They admire Dhoni for his aggressive play.
The boys credit their father Kumaran Surendran, director with anti-virus and security solutions company Symantec, for encouraging them to learn programming and play with gadgets. They learnt QBasic, a programming language for beginners, when Shravan was in his fifth grade and Sanjay in his third grade. They learnt to code on Java by reading books and information available on the internet.
Programming on Apple's iOS required a bit of handholding from their dad.
This is an incredible achievement by two brothers
Sharvan and Sanjay Kumaran as they have launched their own mobile application
firm.
Aged only 14 and 12 respectively !!!
Sharvan is the Co-founder and President of "GO
DIMENTIONS" while his brother is Co-founder and CEO.
The two brother are the youngest CEO's of India and
also youngest promoters of a company who are studying in class 10th and class 8
at a Chennai school.
When most adults have trouble in understanding Java
code,these two kids have used the code to build mobile applications.
The brothers have developed 11 appsfor the Apple
Store(eg:Catch me cop,Alphabet board etc.)
Which have been down loaded more than 35,000 times
from 20 countries !!!
Their role model is Steve Jobs(co-founder of Apple).
The brothers usually quotes Steve's famous saying,
One day a Man
in his 30's got fed up and decided to quit...."I quit my job, my
relationship, my spirituality, In fact I want to quit my life"... He said.
Then He went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God! Can you
give me just one ... good reason not to quit?" He said. But God's answer
surprised him... "Look around", God said. "Do you see the fern
and the bamboo?" "Yes", The Man replied. Then God continued..."When
I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds at the same time, I took very good care
of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the
earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo
seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more
vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did
not quit on the bamboo. In the third year, there was still nothing from the
bamboo seed. But I would not quit! In the fourth year, again, there was nothing
from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit! Then in the fifth year a tiny
sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and
insignificant. But just six months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots but six months to shoot to the Sky!
Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed not just to SURVIVE but
to be SIGNIFICANT amidst its peers. I would not give any of my creations a
challenge it could not handle because I love them too well!" God said to
Him... "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been
struggling, you have actually been growing roots." "I would not quit
on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to others."
"The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet, they both make the
forest beautiful." Your time will come and you will rise high! "..God
said. "How high should I rise?" The Man asked. "How high will
the bamboo rise?" God asked in return. "As high as it can? The Man replied.
"Yes!" God said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can!
Dear Friends,
He (GOD) will
never give up on Us because We are close to His Heart. Never regret a day in
your life. Good days give you happiness and Bad days give you experiences. Both
are essential to life! A happy and meaningful life requires our continuous
input and creativity. It does not happen by chance. It happens because of our
choices and actions. And each day we are given new opportunities to choose and
act and, in doing so, we create our own unique journey...Keep going...
Remember, GOD
WILL NOT GIVE UP ON YOU! DON'T GIVE UP ON YOURSELF!!! You want to ENJOY life?
ENDURE it first!
How
To Never Give Up
Let’s go
through each step together.
1. Stay
alive.
As long as you
are alive, anything is still possible.
2. Lower your
expectations.
Most successes
are not overnight successes. You can work for it. But you can’t expect it.
Lower your expectations.
3. Remember
that you are stronger than you think.
At times, you
might privately think to yourself that you can’t handle the pressure. You have
to persist. And just doing the same thing is not enough. You must try different
things before you learn what works. Let’s say of the 99 things you have tried,
nothing works well. Will you try the 100th thing? If you think about it, the 99
failures have almost no bearing on the success of the following one, as long as
you trying different things.
4. Fake it.
Other people will do the same. They will never give up, why would you?
Fake success.
Everyone does. You should as well. Don’t lie, but act as if you already
succeeded. It makes a difference.
5. Don’t
compare yourself to people who already succeeded.
Never give up
if someone is doing great. You never know how he is really doing. Even
if you think you know, you don’t.
After you have
done all of this, you will fall into the dip. Most people who look at
this info-graphic think that they are stuck in the dip. The
trick is that if you are stuck, you have to keep moving. And sometimes that
means going back to square one. If nothing else, never give up because you only
might have one last thing to overcome.
Now stand up
and say to yourself as loud as you can, “Never give up! Never Give up!
Never Give up!”
The India Smart Cities
Challenge is a competition for municipal leaders and their partners to promote
economic opportunity in India, improve governance, and produce better results
for urban residents.
What is a Smart City?
1. Cities which use
technology to monitor the use of electricity, gas, harvesting, oil, transport,
water etc.
2. This is carried out
by employing ICT (Information and
Communication Technology)
|| : Everything You
Should Know About Smart City : ||
A 'Smart
City' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of
overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market
viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal
infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents.
There are many technological platforms involved, including but not limited to
automated sensor networks and data centers.
According to the documents released on the Smart
Cities website, the core infrastructure in a smart city would include:
Adequate
water supply
Assured
electricity supply
Sanitation,
including solid waste management
Efficient
urban mobility and public transport
Affordable
housing, especially for the poor
Robust
IT connectivity and digitization
Good
governance, especially e-Governance and citizen participation
Sustainable
environment
Safety
and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly
Health
and education
(Source: http://smartcities.gov.in/)
In a smart city, economic development and
activity is sustainable and rationally incremental by virtue of being based on
success-oriented market drivers such as supply and demand. They benefit
everybody, including citizens, businesses, the government and the environment.
I am very happy for the Initiative taken by the
Gov. of Odisha. Hope by smart city plan Bhubaneswar will be most valuable city
from economical point of view. Top infrastructure is most important because
most of big companies are not in BBSR, which is creating problem for job
creating. Most of Oriya young people are going to out of state for job. If more
job can create in Bhubaneswar by industrial development then job problem can
solve.
HOPING TO FIND ALL THESE TECHNOLOGIES IN OUR CITIES IN
THE NEAR FUTURE
If you can't remember the last
time you laughed, it doesn't mean you can't.
It may indicate that your life
has been stressful, or that everyday challenges seem overwhelming. In any
event, you might be convinced that laughter is great for those happy moments
when smiling doesn't take an effort. For the pressured times, who can laugh
anyway?
Frankly you might be
surprised.
For many, laughter is a
powerful healing elixir, or better yet ... natural Prozac. It enables us to re frame our worries and it has extraordinary capacity to help us reestablish a
positive and healthy perspective when we're down. Yet even more amazing is the
fact that some of the best jokes are based on true-to-life stories about things
that actually happen to ordinary people.
why aren't we all laughing?
The answer tells us a lot
about ourselves. Essentially there are two basic reasons. The first is that no
two perspectives are necessarily alike. Some people naturally discover the
light-hearted side of things while others seem to settle into a "doom and
gloom" mode about practically everything that occurs in their lives.
The second reason is based
upon what few of us ever really want to face - self-reflection and self-image.
After all, some of what we do and what happens to us must be very funny!
Obviously the comedians think so. The bottom line here is straight-forward. Can
you laugh at yourself in a positive way?
So why aren't we laughing?
This answer is simple: because
we want to be seen as "perfect!" And when we "mess up," we
don't want anyone to notice those ridiculous things we do, or the silly
situations we somehow create for ourselves. Yet "to err is human."
Change just 2 letters and what we have is "to err is humor!"
Isn't it surprising that the
words, "human" and "humor" are so alike? Maybe our
ancestors knew something we as a society need to relearn. Simply stated, none
of us are perfect.
Frankly I believe the quest
for perfection has profound physiological effects like wrinkling of the
forehead and a strong gravitational pull on the mouth muscles. I'm also
convinced that when we discover the "sense of humor" areas of the
human brain, they're likely to be atrophied in those who take everything so
seriously - only kidding! I'd hate to be the researcher searching for those
regions in some of the people I know.
I suppose we all know those
people. In fact, we are those people a good part of the time. The most
important question we face is "how to turn that frown upside down?"
The process requires 7 simple
steps.
Give yourself permission to
laugh at yourself.
Rediscover your sense of humor
by easing off your drive for perfection and seriousness while encouraging a
light-hearted approach whenever possible.
Stimulate your mind to uncover
the humor in every situation and give your laughter muscles a daily workout.
Allow laughter to replace
alcohol, tobacco, drugs and medications when you're stressed and need to cope.
Encourage your playful side to
emerge even during those challenging times.
Accept every funny
happenstance as a gift to be shared. When you laugh, especially at yourself,
everyone else will join in. Laughter is nothing less than contagious - and
healing.
Don't take yourself or anyone
else too seriously.
There is a fundamental body of
medical evidence that shows laughter's positive effects on the immune system.
It has also been recently established that future health outcomes are enhanced
by "the glass that's half full" as opposed to "the glass that's
half empty." The same rationale likely holds true for those who laugh.
Someday, I'm sure we'll find what a great philosopher once said, "he who
laughs ... lasts"" - Mind Over Matter!
Let me tell you a secret: Hindustan is
derived from Indus, not Hindus. From Wikipedia: Secular: Not Connected with religious or spiritual matters
Hindustan (Hindi: हिन्दुस्तान) both Hindustan, Hindoostand or Indostan,
literally "land of the Indus", is a popular name for
the Indian subcontinent
Hindustan is derived from the Modern Persian word Hindu.
In Old Persian, the region beyond the Indus River was referred to
as Hindus (which in turn is derived from Sindhu,
the Sanskrit name for the river), hence Modern Persian Hind and
(as a borrowing) Hindu. This combined with
the Iranian suffix -Stan (cognate to Sanskrit Sthana,
both meaning "place" results in Hindustan, as the
land on the other side (from Persia) of the Indus.
"Hindustan" is made up of 2 words, "Hind" and
"Stan".
Hind in Arabic language translates to "Ind" in Latin, as
in Indus River. Thus pointing to the land where river Indus Flows. Hence
Hindustan is nothing to do with any religion. It's exactly the same as India in
Latin, which again means Land of Indus River. And people living in "Hindustan"
are called Hindus in the Middle Eastern tongues, relating to Indian in Latin
borne languages. Again it has nothing to do with any religion. And it is for a
fact that all Indians are Hindus, irrespective of what religion they practice.
Hinduism is not a religion per say, it is "the way of life, of people/civilization
which began and flourished along River Indus".
Please do not make a mess
of "Hindustan" with stupid questions born out of ignorance.
“What makes a nation, is the past, what justifies one nation
against others is the past“, says the noted historian Eric Hobsbawm.
Hence, when talking of a nation, it becomes absolutely imperative
that the past should also be talked about. And the past of India is fascinating
and interesting as it is momentous.
Today the country is celebrate its 67th Republic Day, many of us
have perhaps forgotten that that day was important. The only thing that remains
in our mind now, is the break from the regular work we had. Ironically, today,
Valentines Day, New Years day etc. make us feel ecstatic and festive but
Republic Day and other national days do not throw us into a similar festive
frenzy. The reason being, there is no business opportunity, glamour or show off
associated with our national festivals.
We urge the youth to look at all that India as a nation has
achieved; be proud and determined to take her to new heights.
As a tribute to our nation we present 55 most amazing, awesome,
interesting, unknown and mind blowing facts about our motherland that we should
be proud of India which every Indian must know.. So here it goes:
We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America ,
even faring better than the whites and the natives.
1. Sanskrit is considered as the mother of all higher languages.
It is the most precise and therefore suitable language for computer software.
2. India was one of the richest countries before British rule in
India, i.e. during the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted
by India’s wealth and was looking for a route to India when he discovered
America by mistake.
3. India is the Largest democracy in the world, the 7th largest
country in the world and one of the most ancient and living civilizations (at
least 10, 000 years old).
4. India has the largest number of biomass gasifier systems in the
world producing over 656 mega watts (MW) of power; and still has the potential
of producing over 30000 mega watts of power.
5. India was the first country to be accorded the status of a
Pioneer Investor in 1987 and was allocated an exclusive area in the central
Indian Ocean by the UN for exploration and utilisation of resources.
6. Indian factories exported a record 3.5 million cars in the
March 2014-March 2015, 15% more than last year.
7. India has the maximum number of post offices in the world!
8. India has separate civil and military nuclear facilities owing
to the 123 Agreement with US in 2005.
9. India has the largest number of news channels in the world. It
has 798 TV channels as of July 2014.
10. India is the 3rd largest producer of solar photovoltaic cells
in the world producing 2.12 MW of power. India is the world’s 4th largest wind
power user.
11. India is the 9th largest solar thermal power generating
country in terms of million units per sq. m. It will have 20 million solar
lights installed by 2022 which will save 1 billion litres of kerosene every
year.
12. India is the world’s largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
13. India never invaded any country in her last 10,000 years of
history.
14. IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the
world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof.
Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.
15. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers
in the World.
16. India is the second largest English speaking nation in the
world.
17. India is the only country other than the USA and Japan, to
have built a super computer indigenously.
18. Sundar Pichai, an Indian, is the present CEO of Google Inc.
19. On 28 April 2008, a world record was set when India’s Polar
rocket successfully placed ten satellites, including the country’s remote
sensing satellite, into orbit in a single mission.
20. India is the world’s second largest producer of small cars. It
is the largest newspaper market in the world.
21. World’s largest electronic ID program, Aadhar, is underway in
India.
22. Bollywood with about 1000 films every year is the largest
centre of film production in the world.
23. India is the largest producer of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts,
tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper, in the world. It also has the world’s
largest cattle population (281 million). It is the second largest producer of
wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish.
24. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or NREGA, an
Indian job guarantee scheme, enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005 is the
largest ever – public employment programme visualized in human history.
25. The largest employer in the world is the Indian railway
system, employing over 1.6 million people!
26. Until 1896, India was the only source for diamonds to the
world. (Source: Gemological Institute of America )
27. A Cricket ground at the height of 2,444 meters, in Chail, is
the world’s highest cricket ground situated in India.
28. Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called “the ancient city”
when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously
inhabited city in the world today.
29. Jaipur (India) hosts the world’s widest concrete building. It
has a reinforced concrete cement (RCC) flat roof with a single span of 119
feet.
30. By volume of pills produced, the Indian pharmaceutical
industry is the world’s second largest after China.
31. ISRO 100 million dollars launching satellites in 2015. It
launched 5 UK satellites and is set to launch 9 micro satellites for US. .
32. A mass singalong of 160,000 people in the Indian city of
Hyderabad, in Andhra Pradesh, has broken a 72-year-old record for the world’s
largest choir.
33. India contributes the largest number of troops for UN
Peacekeeping Missions.
34. Indian banks are among top 500 financial brands.
35. The gathering of Kumbh Mela of 2011 was so huge that it was
visible from space.
36. United Nations Industrial Development Organisation found that
India ranks among the top 12 producers of manufacturing value-added(MVA) .
44. Indian American Prof. Praveen Jain of Queens University is
heading the project to make CFL’s more efficient.
45. The TATA group, State Bank of India and Infosys Technologies
are among 17 Indian firms that figure among the top 50 in the list of the
world’s 200 most-reputed companies.
46. World’s biggest family lives in India, a man with 39 wives and
94 children.
47. India’s per person consumption of meat is the lowest in the
world.
48. India has a 70% share in the export of spices.
49. Cancer drug Gleevec costs US$ 2500 in India, as opposed to US$
70,000, because it cant be patented here.
50. State Bank of India has the maximum number of branches in the
world.
51. Indian currency has braille markings for the blind.
52. India has the second largest network of paved highways, after
the U.S.
53.There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population).
YET,
38% of doctors in USA are Indians.
12% scientists in USA are Indians.
36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are! Indians.
54. The Golden Temple provides food to over one lakh people
everyday.
55. India has more mosques than any other nation than the world.
So what do you think? Have additions? Does this list make you proud of India?
