TIGblogs - Anu maheshwari's TIGBlog http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us SaciWATERs at the 5th World Water Forum , Istanbul, 2009 http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/626271
The side event titled Up-scaling IWRM Education in South Asia: Which boundaries to cross? was organized by SaciWATERs for the Crossing Boundaries Project in Feshane Lale Hall 5 at the World Water Forum 5, Istanbul, Turkey. The session evaluated the current status of water resources education, assess the demand for interdisciplinary water professionals and identify challenges, opportunities, and new initiatives in the realm of higher education for water resources in South Asia through the findings of the study titled “Strengthening IWRM Education in South Asia; Which Boundaries to Cross?”. Prof. S Janakarajan, President, SaciWATERs, welcomed the panel members and the session speakers and briefly described the purpose of the Crossing Boundaries Project, an endeavour of SaciWATERs with six partner institutions in four South Asian countries, to bring a paradigm shift in water resources management education in South Asia. Dr. Peter Mollinga, Convener, SaciWATERs, initiated the session by briefing the participants on the objectives of the study which was to review the progress of the Project’s initiative and to determine whether higher education system in South Asia was responding to the reforms generated by the Project.

Dr. Vishal Narain, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Governance, Management Development Institute (MDI), Delhi, further elaborated on the findings of the Study in North India by tracing the changing perceptions of IWRM among water professionals and emphasized the fact that though there is a demand for IWRM water professionals in the Government sector, a visible demand still needs to be created. Dr Nimal Gunawardena, Professor, Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Steering Committee Member, Cap-Net, Sri lanka, followed with a brief presentation on the status of the IWRM Education Programme in the Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Ms. Nazmun Naher Mita, South Asia Water (SAWA) Fellow, Masters in IWRM, Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh, shared her personal experience of being one of the first female students to take up the IWRM course in South Asia with the help of SAWA Fellowship provided by the Crossing Boundaries Project.

Following this, the three panelists, Dr. Shahbaz Khan, Chief, Sustainable Water Resources Development Management Section, Division of Water Sciences, Natural Sciences Sector, UNESCO, Paris, France, Dr. Paul Taylor, Director, Cap-Net, Pretoria, South Africa, and Dr. Joke Muylwijk, Executive Director, Gender Water Alliance, The Netherlands, provided their comments and insights on the study. Dr. Khan shared his vision of IWRM programme gaining a stronghold in the higher education sector. However he also expressed his disappointment in the Draft Istanbul Ministerial Statement of the World Water Forum 5, 2009 which he regretfully pointed out, focused on the technical aspect of water management ignoring the socio-cultural constraints of implementing a change. He emphasized the urgent need to press the interdisciplinary approach to water resources management. Dr. Paul Taylor, congratulated SaciWATERs and the partners of the Crossing Boundaries Project for the remarkable progress made in promoting IWRM Education in region and further emphasized the need for capacity building of higher level water professionals. Dr. Joke Muylwijk lauded the report but also pointed out the lack of comprehensive gender-segregated data. The participants of the session followed with various questions and comments on the issues of gender, capacity building of not only technocrats but also of social scientists and extending the programme to other countries of South Asia especially Pakistan.]]> Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:18:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/626271 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Crossing the Disciplinary Boundaries in IWRM Education http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/626267
The side event titled Up-scaling IWRM Education in South Asia: Which boundaries to cross? was organized by SaciWATERs for the Crossing Boundaries Project in Feshane Lale Hall 5 at the World Water Forum 5, Istanbul, Turkey. The session evaluated the current status of water resources education, assess the demand for interdisciplinary water professionals and identify challenges, opportunities, and new initiatives in the realm of higher education for water resources in South Asia through the findings of the study titled “Strengthening IWRM Education in South Asia; Which Boundaries to Cross?”. Prof. S Janakarajan, President, SaciWATERs, welcomed the panel members and the session speakers and briefly described the purpose of the Crossing Boundaries Project, an endeavour of SaciWATERs with six partner institutions in four South Asian countries, to bring a paradigm shift in water resources management education in South Asia. Dr. Peter Mollinga, Convener, SaciWATERs, initiated the session by briefing the participants on the objectives of the study which was to review the progress of the Project’s initiative and to determine whether higher education system in South Asia was responding to the reforms generated by the Project.

Dr. Vishal Narain, Associate Professor, School of Public Policy and Governance, Management Development Institute (MDI), Delhi, further elaborated on the findings of the Study in North India by tracing the changing perceptions of IWRM among water professionals and emphasized the fact that though there is a demand for IWRM water professionals in the Government sector, a visible demand still needs to be created. Dr Nimal Gunawardena, Professor, Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Steering Committee Member, Cap-Net, Sri lanka, followed with a brief presentation on the status of the IWRM Education Programme in the Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Ms. Nazmun Naher Mita, South Asia Water (SAWA) Fellow, Masters in IWRM, Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Dhaka, Bangladesh, shared her personal experience of being one of the first female students to take up the IWRM course in South Asia with the help of SAWA Fellowship provided by the Crossing Boundaries Project.

Following this, the three panelists, Dr. Shahbaz Khan, Chief, Sustainable Water Resources Development Management Section, Division of Water Sciences, Natural Sciences Sector, UNESCO, Paris, France, Dr. Paul Taylor, Director, Cap-Net, Pretoria, South Africa, and Dr. Joke Muylwijk, Executive Director, Gender Water Alliance, The Netherlands, provided their comments and insights on the study. Dr. Khan shared his vision of IWRM programme gaining a stronghold in the higher education sector. However he also expressed his disappointment in the Draft Istanbul Ministerial Statement of the World Water Forum 5, 2009 which he regretfully pointed out, focused on the technical aspect of water management ignoring the socio-cultural constraints of implementing a change. He emphasized the urgent need to press the interdisciplinary approach to water resources management. Dr. Paul Taylor, congratulated SaciWATERs and the partners of the Crossing Boundaries Project for the remarkable progress made in promoting IWRM Education in region and further emphasized the need for capacity building of higher level water professionals. Dr. Joke Muylwijk lauded the report but also pointed out the lack of comprehensive gender-segregated data. The participants of the session followed with various questions and comments on the issues of gender, capacity building of not only technocrats but also of social scientists and extending the programme to other countries of South Asia especially Pakistan.


http://saciwaters.wordpress.com/]]> Sat, 28 Mar 2009 14:10:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/626267 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Hilarious !!! just for fun !!! why did the Iraqi Chicken Cross the Road ??? http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/507525 "Some of the references might require a bit of explaining if you weren't in Iraq about then (2005) or part of the transportation reconstruction sector. But you shoud get the gist."
http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2008/03/why-did-the-ira.html

Why Did the Iraqi Chicken Cross the Road?

Coalition Provisional Authority: The fact that the Iraqi chicken crossed the road affirmatively demonstrates that decision-making authority has been transferred to the chicken well in advance of the scheduled June 30th transition of power. From now on the chicken is responsible for its own decisions. 



Halliburton: We were asked to help the chicken cross the road. Given the inherent risk of road crossing and the rarity of chickens, this operation will only cost the US government $326,004. 



Muqtada al-Sadr: The chicken was a tool of the evil Coalition and will be killed. 



US Army Military Police: We were directed to prepare the chicken to cross the road. As part of these preparations, individual soldiers ran over the chicken repeatedly and then plucked the chicken. We deeply regret the occurrence of any chicken rights violations.

Lyndie Edwards: The chicken was lead across the road on a leash by me, after we made it and all the other chickens form a naked pyramid. I only did this because all the other soldiers wanted me to and I'm a moron. It's really not my fault. Besides, I'm pregnant.



Peshmerga: The chicken crossed the road, and will continue to cross the road, to show its independence and to transport the weapons it needs to defend itself. However, in future, to avoid problems, the chicken will be called a duck, and will wear a plastic bill. 



1st Cav: The chicken was not authorized to cross the road without displaying two forms of picture identification. Thus, the chicken was appropriately detained and searched in accordance with current SOP's. We apologize for any embarrassment to the chicken. As a result of this unfortunate incident, the command has instituted a gender sensitivity training program and all future chicken searches will be conducted by female soldiers. 



Al Jazeera: The chicken was forced to cross the road multiple times at gunpoint by a large group of occupation soldiers, according to eye-witnesses. The chicken was then fired upon intentionally, in yet another example of the abuse of innocent Iraqi chickens. 



Blackwater: We cannot confirm any involvement in the chicken-road-crossing incident. 



Translators: Chicken he cross street because bad she tangle regulation. Future chicken table against my request. 



U.S. Marine Corps: The chicken is dead.

CAOA Joint Venture (a reconstruction contractor): We would be willing to allow the chicken to cross the road, as long as we are allowed to evaluate the relevant transportation infrastructure and get 3 competent and graded bids. Given the overhead rate of 23% and forward depreciation…

Donald Rumsfeld: There are known chickens and unknown chickens. Did the chicken intend to cross the road? Heavens, yes! Was it her intention to cross it in the manner that she did cross it? Perhaps not. 



Scott McLellan: As I said before, what the president said earlier about the chicken incident is still operative. If I receive further information I will of course be glad to share it with you. 



John Ashcroft: The chicken was possessed by Satan and deserved everything that happened to him. National security prohibits me from saying more. 



Condoleezza Rice: No one could have possibly foreseen that chicken would try to cross that road to get to that side. 



John Kerry: While I cannot say that I do not fully support the president's actions in the chicken-road incident, it is certainly not my intention to state that, in conjunction with our long-time friends and allies, I would not have done it better. Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it!

Dick Cheney: The press is using the chicken incident to divert attention from the fact that Saddam had nuclear weapons and was going to use them on us. AAAAGH, my heart!!! Lay off or I'll shoot you in the face.



Colin Powell: These satellite photos conclusively show that there was, indeed, a road there. That the chicken had the intention of crossing this road is made clear from this recording made the night before in the chicken coop... Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

PRESIDENT BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.



HANS BLIX: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.



RALPH NADER: The chicken's habitat on the other side of the road had been polluted by unchecked industrial greed. The chicken did not reach the unspoiled habitat on the other side of the road because it was crushed by the wheels of a gas-guzzling SUV.



BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with THAT chicken. What is your definition of chicken? Does the chicken have any distinguishing characteristics?



PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.



ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain. Alone.

RUSH LIMBAUGH: I don't know why the chicken crossed the road, but I'll bet it was getting a government grant to cross the road, and I'll bet that somebody out there is already forming a support group to help chickens with crossing-the-road syndrome. Can you believe this?!? How much more of this can real Americans take? Chickens crossing the road paid for by their tax dollars. And when I say tax dollars, I'm talking about your money, money the government took from you to build a road for chickens to cross. Where is my OxyContin? I'll bet Michael J. Fox is swaying and exaggerating the entire thing just to get some sympathy.



GRANDPA: In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.



OPRAH WINFREY Sally Jesse Raphael: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heartwarming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its life long dream of crossing the road.



JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together-in peace.



ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.



KARL MARX: It was an historic inevitability.



CAPTAIN KIRK: To boldly go where no chicken has ever gone before.



SIGMUND FREUD: The fact that you are at all concerned that the chicken
crossed the road reveals your underlying sexual insecurity.



BILL GATES: I have just rolled out eChicken2003, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet explorer is an integral part of eChicken.



ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?



THE BIBLE: And God came down from heaven, and he said unto the chicken THOU SHALT CROSS THE ROAD. And the chicken didst cross the road, and there was much rejoicing.



SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Navy: The chicken upon crossing the road was painted and lashed to the curb.
 


Baghdad Bob (the Iraqi Information Minister under Saddam): The chicken never crossed the road! He is safe in Baghdad, miles from the marauding vehicles of the infidel! THERE IS NO ROAD!


USAF: "As you can see here in the target video, the bomb was locked onto the chicken...and there it goes...the chicken is still moving...still moving...and unfortunately passed out of the parameters of the guidance system so that the bomb completely missed it and hit the weasel instead. Gotta admit though, it's impressive footage..."

MOHAMMED ALDOURI (Iraqi ambassador) 
The chicken did not cross the road. This is a complete fabrication. We don't even have a chicken.

SADDAM HUSSEIN
This was an unprovoked act of rebellion and we were quite justified in dropping 50 tons of nerve gas on it.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
I envision a world where all chickens will be free to cross roads without having their motives called into question.

RONALD REAGAN
What chicken?

FOX MULDER 
You saw it cross the road with your own eyes! How many more chickens have to cross before you believe it?

AL GORE 
I invented the chicken. I invented the road. Therefore, the chicken crossing the road represented the application of these two different functions of government in a new, reinvented way designed to bring greater services to the American people.

MARTHA STEWART 
No one called to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the farmer's market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

JERRY FALWELL 
Because the chicken was gay! Isn't it obvious? Can't you people see the plain truth in front of your face? The chicken was going to the "other side." That's what they call it -- the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And, if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like "the other side."

DR. SEUSS 
Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road; but why it crossed, I've not been told!

JACQUES CHIRAC 
We will veto any resolution regarding non-compliance of the chicken whether is has or has not crossed the road!

AEGIS PSD (a security contractor): The chicken attempted to cross the road we were using. And after the chicken ignored numerous warning shots, we shot the chicken's car up and set the video record of the incident to an Elvis tune. That's what is now on the internet…

NSA: Of course we monitored the Chicken's conversations on the XXXXXX with XXXX, XXXXX and XXXXXX, using our national technical assets XXXXXXX and XXXXXX in XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX despite the laws forbidding such spying without a warrant. President Bush said XXXXXXX and that's good enough for us! (redacted, for reasons of National Security)

Colonel Stevens (BAF commander): Denied, denied, denied. The chicken may not cross the road. Because I said so and that is that.

Diligence Middle East (another security contractor) You fooking C#nt! Get your feathered arse across the road or I'll choke the life out of you.

Controlled Risks (yet another security contractor) Chicken? Is this another way to refer to our esteemed Filipina housemaids?

Average Iraqi security guy. Chicken on the road? Let me get my flip flops…

FOX NEWS (Fair and Balanced): And Fox News' exclusive reporting has determined that the Islamofascist liberal terrorist chickens in Iraq have crossed the road. Loyal and patriotic Americans (Republicans All) have been "staying the course" to allow the president (God bless him) to announce MISSION ACCOMPLISHED at will. In other news, cut and run "pro death" antichristian Democrats have introduced a new death tax bill to steal money from hard working deceased Americans.

Average Afghan: They have chickens? Truly they have all the blessings of Allah…
]]> Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:40:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/507525 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Dear Abid jan, http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/473459 I can't believe that he was kidnapped and murdered in Parwan, Afghanistan.
http://profiles.takingitglobal.org/Abid-Akmal

Abid was a true Afghan, a true pathan who believed in a merciful God and who believed in his people and so he stayed back in his country and worked to bring peace and safety back to his beloved land.

My heart goes out to his family . I pray they get the strength to carry on.

I have Abid's number but I dont have the courage to call knowing that he won't be there on the other end to receive my call ... He has touched our lives in such beautiful ways...its hard to hold back tears now ...when I was in Delhi there was a part of me which was very sad ...and it was Abid who healed that part ...He gave me hope and taught me to look at life from a whole new point of view...I truly respect and love him for being such a good friend...

His zest for life was so infectious that he made everyone around him happy. No one can take his place !

I know we have to gain strength from his life and stand up against all who took him away from us... and let's promise each other never to stop fighting against those evil elements.

Let us all do our bit to bring peace and safety back to Afghanistan...

Love peace

]]> Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:36:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/473459 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Pabulum or the lack of it ! http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/398353
Food for thought or food for survival? ... though the creation of thought is definitely dependent and influenced by the presence /absence / quantity or quality of food .

The first half of my day was spent casually going about my reading and other mundane chores and anticipating the culinary delights that I might be savouring in the evening.
So much was the anticipation that I and my friend practically starved ourselves thinking about the treat..."we better prepare ourselves ...adjust the space in our tummies... make way for the excess calories that were going to be added in the evening"...

Ah ...well the wait for the food stretched so much that sitting in the restaurant we could think of nothing but food....food that was travelling from the kitchen to the tables with eagerly awaiting palates, ready to gobbled, munched or chewed carefully( depending upon on the time-lapse between their previous bite).

For a moment we looked at each other, sparks flying????
...ummm no ...
we just couldn't take our mind off food...we just smiled .... " Ohh I wish the order comes or I swear I am going to snatch that next plate that passes by me! " screamed my "on-the-verge-of-a-major-social-breakdown" friend.

We tried to shift our gaze to a particular loud table where a few drunkorexic two-pot screamer kids were practising the art of "Yo/hey-man-ing" [screaming the words "Yo/hey-man" accompanied by the hip-hop hand gesture (
it is the arm bent at around a 90 degree angle out from the body and being moved up and down :)) or as a 'disillusioned-with-rap' guy describes "making a pouty-kinda face and waving their arm in the air like they're swatting flies")......

no it doesn't work!!!!....
the aroma of freshly baked cakes with pinguedinous layers just filled my senses immediately reminding me that our order had still not arrived...
I looked at my companion who had turned atrabilious for the lack of food and summoned up the greatest gravitas that I could accomodate on my face in that situation and enquired about our order to which I got a polite but firm reply that "'it's almost ready ma'am". ]]> Sun, 29 Jun 2008 01:41:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/398353 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Standard Deviation??? http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/363567
Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels(1726)

The quote rings a bell when I ponder over the misfortunes that "man"kind ends up inviting on itself on a remarkably regular and consistent basis. ... be it ignoring the climate crisis or orchestrating and fanning strifes in various corners of the world for selfish reasons or planned or random acts of violence...
The scale on which such issues come up poses a question to my mind ...

Is it human to be so selfish or is it a standard deviation?

I know reducing the problem to selfishness is very simplistic yet it could also be the key... we are all born selfish... the values of sharing and giving are instilled in us during our rite of passage into the adult world...
A child learns to share and give while trying to protect herself/himself from a perceived danger that is displeasing the parents... she/he learns the first lessons of moral responsibilty at this young stage...Yet the basis of this very act of learning is a selfish urge to protect oneself...

and no I am not a misanthrope ...au contraire ....


]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:25:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/363567 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 An Eternal Optimist http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/363565
But for an eternal optimist 'like me' ...I 'm supposed to be happy at the fact that they have found another planet worth living in another solar system in some "impossible-to-reach-in-this-lifetime" corner of the universe.
amen...

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070425-habitable-planet.htm

]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:24:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/363565 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 One of my favourite english essays http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/363563 http://grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/goldsmithessay7.htm


Some snippets ....


Among all the famous sayings of antiquity, there is none that does greater honour to the author, or affords greater pleasure to the reader (at least if he be a person of a generous and benevolent heart) than that the philosopher, who, being asked what "countryman he was," replied that he was a citizen of the world. How few there are to be found in modern times who can say the same, or whose conduct is consistent with such a profession! We are now become so much Englishmen, Frenchmen, Dutchmen, Spaniards, or Germans, that we are no longer citizens of the world; so much the natives of one particular spot, or members of one petty society, that we no longer consider ourselves as the general inhabitants of the globe, or members of that grand society which comprehends the whole human kind
]]> Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:19:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/363563 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 The Gods Must Be Crazy http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/330207

The Gods Must Be Crazy.

]]> Sat, 02 Feb 2008 12:54:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/330207 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Alarming situation in Pakistan!!! http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/278597
check this news item on the following link !

Militants Draw New Front Line Inside Pakistan

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/world/asia/02pakistan.html?ei=5087em=en=418d3ce8e32c33d2ex=1194235200pagewanted=all

I am glad that my friends in Pakistan are safe but I am seriously worried about their future and actually the entire region's safety for if the current trend in Pakistan is not quelled ...anything can happen especially if crazy people like Maulana Fazullah gain more power !!!

The world community must turn their attention to what is going on inside Pakistan ... I am wondering why the situation in Pakistan is not coming up as a crisis in the UN SC !!

]]> Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:00:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/278597 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Mon monsoon http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/240243
There is just no point carrying an umbrella here....the rain lashes at you from every direction possible ... and if that is not enough....the Mumbai traffic doesnt slow down to avoid splashing a jet of muddy water at you !!!!!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

And by the time we have dried ourselves we have to get ready to have another rain dance while going back home !!!

Above is a picture of the flooded railway tracks that I clicked while coming back home in the train....]]> Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:21:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/240243 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Dr A P J Abdul Kalam's Speech http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/237625 Why is the media here so negative?
Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our
achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success
stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why?
We are the first in milk production.
We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.
We are the second largest producer of wheat.
We are the second largest producer of rice.
Look at Dr. Sudarshan , he has transferred the tribal village into a
self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements
but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters. I
was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the
day
after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The
Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a
Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid
and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The
gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the
newspaper, buried among other news.

In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so
NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign
things? We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign
technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that
self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this
lecture,
when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal
in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India . For her,
you and I will have to build this developed India . You must proclaim. India
is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation. Do you
have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is
yours.
YOU say that our government is inefficient.
YOU say that our laws are too old.
YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.
YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke,
The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.
YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say. What do YOU do about it?
Take a person on his way to Singapore Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a
face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International
best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in
the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay
$5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim
Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking
lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or
a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you
don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during
Ramadan, in Dubai YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered
in Jeddah . YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange
in London at 10 pounds ( Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD
calls are billed to someone else.'YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph
(88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop,
'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son.
Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell
anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New
Zealand .
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo ? Why don't YOU use
examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston ??? We are still
talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system
in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and
cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an
involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the
same here in India ?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay , Mr.
Tinaikar , had a point to make. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the
streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And
then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the
authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the
officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure
in his bowels?
In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job.
Same in Japan Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to
the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility.
We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do
everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the
government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all
over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper
and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms
but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.
We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and
toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity.
This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to
the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to
women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room
protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the
whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my
sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of ? Very conveniently for us it consists of our
neighbours, other households, other cities, other communities and the
government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually
making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with
our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far
away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along work miracles for us with a
majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.
Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their
glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to
England When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out
to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and
brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape
the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is
mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great
deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J. F.
Kennedy 's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA
AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA
WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'

Lets do what India needs from us.

Forward this mail to each Indian for a change instead of sending Jokes or
junk mails.

Thank you,

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam
Former President of India " The Best One " :)



http://inspiration.yashks.com/2005/06/speech-by-dr-apj-abdul-kalam-president.html

]]> Sat, 28 Jul 2007 13:23:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/237625 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 sono al settimo cielo http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/228493 bereft of me
Long and weary
my road has been
I was lost in the cities
Alone in the hills
No sorrow or pity for leaving
I feel (chorus)
I am not your rolling wheels
I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
Friends and liars
don't wait for me
I'll get on all by myself
I put millions of miles
Under my heels
And still too close to you
I feel (chorus)
I am not your rolling wheels
I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
I am not your blowing wind
I am the lightning I am not your autumn moon
I am the night

by Audioslave
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/audioslave/i+am+the+highway_20010132.html

One of my favourites :) ...for good times as well as times when all is not well ... ]]> Sat, 07 Jul 2007 14:20:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/228493 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Interesting ..... http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/224817

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

if you can raed tihs forwrad it.
]]> Fri, 29 Jun 2007 11:39:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/224817 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 What does my name mean ? http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/202177 Well , each of us have a name and it gets associated with the way we do things.....

Otherwise I found some ref online to my name :)
I didnt knew it had so many meanings :) interesting ...

Anu (Sanskrit) As a noun, an atom of matter;
as an adjective, atomic, fine, minute.
A title of Brahma, conceived as both infinitesimal and universal, thus pointing to the pantheistic character of divinity.
Hence, every anu is "a centre of potential vitality, with latent intelligence in it" (SD 1:567; cf FSO 273-5, 431).
In the Bhagavad-Gita (8:9) Arjuna is enjoined to meditate on the "seer," i.e., the enlightened, omniscient One, who is "more atomic than the atom" (anor aniyamsam) and yet "the supporter of all" (cf VP 1:2, 5:1; ChU 3:14, 3-4, Katha 2:20, MU 3:1, 7).

In Jainism the soul is represented as being like an anu, atomic in size, and seated within the heart, while the jiva (life-monad) is the quickening element that pervades the whole.

http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Anu/id/99039

It's a popular name in Finland
It's a popular name in Estonia
In Hawaiian, it means coolness, cold, or temperature
In Hebrew, Anu means us or we
In Hungarian, it means mom
In Indonesian, it means something unknown
In Inuktitut, it means sled dog harness
In Konkani, it means this year
Anu was the earliest known librarian (around 2000 BCE)
In Igbo language of the Ibo Ethnic group of Nigeria, depending on the pronunciation and intonation, it means to marry/to hear/to wage/meat
One of Hittites' chief gods is named Anu
From the Dictionary of Celtic Goddesses and Heroines by Edain McCoy, chapter "Celtic Myth Magick":
Anu (Irish) In Myth - {AW-noo} (also spelled as Ana anCatana) Anu is the virgin aspect of one of the triple Goddesses of Ireland. Her Mother aspect is Dana, or Danu, and her crone aspect is Badb. She is known as a Goddess of prosperity and abundance, which suggests that name is also associated with the Mother aspect of this triplicity. In Magick and Rituals - Call on Anu for fertility and magick.
Anu is the name of a Sumerian god. It means "the Heavenly One"
Anu, is a name in the Yoruba ethnic group in Nigeria. It means "mercy". It's the short form of the name: Anuoluwapo, meaning "the mercy of God is great".
http://wordsmith.org/anu/anu-name.html
]]> Fri, 11 May 2007 13:13:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/202177 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 300 http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/174965 what a waste of precious time and energy !

Somehow I cant be so flippant about the effects of popular culture. For a common viewer with no real knowledge of the historical accuracies ... it might
not be possible to see through the blatant exaggeration and falsities in the movies.

But the very exaggeration in the movie can also be a plus point as I really find it hard to believe that anybody would be fooled by the image of Xerxes as depicted in the movie !!!
It was just RIDICULOUS !
A face full of holes or as some prefer to call it ( multiple piercings), full make up !!!! complete with eye shadow, pink lipstick, a pencil drawn eyebrow !!!

I had read the reports about the Iranians being upset over the depiction of ancient Persians in the movie but when I saw Xerxes , I almost fell from the chair !!!!

I personally wouldnt be very happy
if some crazy filmmaker who made( Dawn of the Dead !) makes a movie about the Indian past depicting soem characters like that !
Although I would not be burning any posters and creating a riot....i would be just laughing over it and advise others to do so !

I also believe in not taking such movies seriously but But ... somehow I just can't dismiss the effects of popular culture on the mass public!
I read somewhere people equating the 'madman' Leonidas and the 'megalomaniac' Xerxes with Prez Ahmedinejad and Prez Bush...
.....which could be the side effect of such stupid movies.

if everyone can go home and forget about seeing it then it should be absolutely fine ....
Which i think many would be trying to do after seeing the blood and the gore...

But again after the movie , I heard my friend say that he would now get a DVD of the movie for the men aboard his ship. He loved the movie and said that that's the kind of brainwashing an army needs !

]]> Sun, 01 Apr 2007 12:54:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/174965 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Back from Geneva http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/166263
Thanks for filling my mailbox while I was gone....it truly shows how much you guys care ....:)

I had a great time in Geneva at the GIMUN 2007....actually I was voted as the Best delegate in the Security Council this year ...hehe....i was on cloud nine then .... truly delighted :)

I was representing the French republic in the Security Council... yes.. a country with a veto power....and believe me it feels great to have the veto.... but now I know why things get done the way they are in this world today.....we have to take this cherished veto away or at least make it less effective for things to move in the right direction....

I will give more inputs later as I have to catch up on some sleep right now.... its 1.15am in Mumbai right now...!!!!

cin cin ,
Anu



]]> Tue, 13 Mar 2007 15:18:00 EDT http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/166263 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Happy Republic Day 26/01/07 http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/153647
Jhanda Uncha Rahe hamara!

read the President of India's Address
Here .
What can I give to my Nation?


Vande Mataram !
Jai Hind !


]]> Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:03:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/153647 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 India moving ahead ! http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/152117 But what about the Inflation rate which is creeping up slowly and steadily?
One day they give us the good news that our salary is being hiked and the very next day we know that the prices have gone up again.
I guess its wait and watch for now....

Indian economy 'to overtake UK'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6294409.stm


India could overtake Britain and have the world's fifth largest economy within a decade as the country's growth accelerates, a new report says.

If trends continue, India's economy may then surpass the US and be second only to China's by mid-century, the report by investment bank Goldman Sachs says.

The report says India's programme of reforms has brought increased competition and efficiency.

But there will be a heavy cost as India demands more and more energy.

Boom time

Everywhere you turn in India's cities are signs of economic boom.

The implications of projections are that India will overtake the G6 economies faster than envisaged

Goldman Sachs report


India's IT revolution
Globalisation shakes world

New cars choking the streets, middle-class housing and shopping malls swallowing up farmland, airports chock-a-block with travellers.

But this is probably only the start of a transformation that will reshape the global economy.

Within a decade India can overtake Italy, France and the UK to become the world's fifth largest economy if it keeps up its current pace of expansion, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.

India has shifted into a higher gear, they believe, because a decade of reforms have opened the country to greater competition, and spurred industries to become more efficient.

By 2050 India's economy could be larger even than America's, only China's will be bigger, the bank predicts.

The result will be huge demand from this new giant.

Within 15 years Indians should, on average, be four times richer than today, buying five times as many cars, and the country will burn three times as much crude oil to power its growth, putting yet more strain on the world's resources.

Potential

But India could also be held back.

The country's poor infrastructure is already struggling to keep up with growth, power cuts are common as there isn't enough electricity to meet current demand, ports are overflowing, many roads pot-holed and crumbling.

And a shortage of skilled workers may undermine the future expansion of India's much-vaunted IT industry.

However, other nations are increasingly waking up to the potentially vast market India holds. Last month the largest-ever American trade delegation to India spent two weeks searching out opportunities.

They were followed by a British group 150-strong led by the finance minister, Gordon Brown.

And the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, is to visit this week where he is pressing for major contracts providing nuclear power and defence equipment
]]> Wed, 24 Jan 2007 12:11:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/152117 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Convocation Day http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/86807 I finally have the medal in my hand. Yippeee!!! :)

In Mumbai University , we are supposed to dress in only whites this day.
White Salwar Kameez/Churidaars( traditional Indian formal wears) or White Saree !

Here is my Gold medal.... it has my name followed by father's and then my mother's name.
and 'Kum' at the beginning is a title equivalent to 'Miss" in Hindi.

I am thankful that they got it right this time. When the exam seating arrangement list came out they had also included my father's rank ( army designation) in my name.
Anu Maheshwari Lt Col ..........

I had to get it corrected. And then for a month the peon in the office saluted me whenever he saw me ....( hehe)

Though in my rank certificate , they have still misspelt my father's name ! sigh!
now I will again have to go and get it corrected!


]]> Sun, 14 Jan 2007 11:18:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/86807 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 On Board INS Mumbai http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/85939 I cancelled my trip to Goa to be on Board INS ( Indian navy SHip ) Mumbai.

My childhood friend who is an officer in the Indian Navy offered me and my Sis passes to be on board on the family's day at sea. The family's day at sea comes once a year as part of the celebrations of Navy Day.

we sailed for around a total of hundred miles. We also saw some spectacular airshow and other exercises.

it was simply marvelous..... we also saw some porpoises...diving around..but before I could take out my camera ....they were gone....! i had the option to either see them or start my camera ....I chose the former....;)

The above pic shows our ship trying to overtake another ship called INS Mysore from the same class.]]> Mon, 08 Jan 2007 13:41:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/85939 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Happy New Year 2007 http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/85141
I hope you had a gala time this New year !
I thought I would spend a relaxing night at my place ... But it was not to be .... I dont like parties that much , so when my friends warned that they would kidnap me and take me to the New year's Ball , I was not very happy about it ! I refused till the very last moment and then just two hours before the event , I decided to give it a try !

And it turned out to be awesome !!!

We partied till three and burned the danced floor !
I and my friend even got the prize for best dancing couple on the floor ! It was the Bumper prize !
We laughed our way to the podium as we just couldnt believe it !
I took some cool videos of the entire thing ! Clicked some crazy photos !
There was also an awesome display of fireworks at Midnight.
Overall I am glad that my friends forced me into attending the party !

I hope this New Year is full of sweet surprises for all of us !

I hope this year brings peace and joy into our world !

Cheers
Anu]]> Mon, 01 Jan 2007 12:40:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/85141 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 its the Upanishads and Vedântâ-Sûtras day today ! http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/84903 It is the supreme mystery beyond thought.
Let one's mind and one's subtle body rest upon that, and not rest upon anything else.
God is sound and silence.
Attain therefore contemplation, contemplation in silence on him."

Upanishads
..................
Inference also teaches difference.

Perception thus having for its object only what is marked by difference, inference also is in the same case; for its object is only what is distinguished by connexion with things known through perception and other means of knowledge. And thus, even in the case of disagreement as to the number of the different instruments of knowledge, a thing devoid of difference could not be established by any of them since the instruments of knowledge acknowledged by all have only one and the same object, viz. what is marked by difference. And a person who maintains the existence of a thing devoid of difference on the ground of differences affecting that very thing simply contradicts himself without knowing what he does; he is in fact no better than a man who asserts that his own mother never had any children.

The Vedântâ-Sûtras

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe48/sbe48013.htm

Today I just wanted to get back to some good Ol' ancient Indian philosophy. I am glad I did ...


]]> Fri, 29 Dec 2006 10:38:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/84903 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 Eggperts say Eggs came first ! http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/84771


A geneticist, a philosopher and a chicken farmer say they have found the answer to a great evolutionary puzzle.
The experts looked at the evidence in the long-standing debate over which came first - the chicken or the egg - and opted for the egg.

Professor John Brookfield, a genetics expert from Nottingham University, said the first chicken must have started out as an embryo in an egg.

This means the organism in the eggshell would have the same DNA as the chicken.

He explained that the reason was due to the fact that genetic material does not change during an animal's life.

Professor Brookfield said: "The first living thing which we could say unequivocally was a member of the species would be this first egg, so I would conclude that the egg came first."

Kangaroo eggs

Professor David Papineau, an expert in the philosophy of science at King's College, London agreed that the first chicken came from an egg and this proves there were chicken eggs before chickens.

"I would argue it is a chicken egg if it has a chicken in it," said Prof Papineau.

"If a kangaroo laid an egg from which an ostrich hatched, that would surely be an ostrich egg, not a kangaroo egg," he added.

Charles Bournes, chairman of trade body Great British Chicken, said "Eggs were around long before the first chicken arrived.

"Of course they may not have been chicken eggs as we see them today but they were eggs," he said.

Professor Brooke added the debate could finally be laid to rest.



Mystery solved ?.
]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 12:25:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/84771 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333 smiles :) http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/84753 My friends say that I have got a twinkle in my eyes ...(well they say that everyday )
But today .... I feel it ....
It feels as if I have got wings and I can fly !
I feel so light ...
I am floating ........
Is this happiness ????
And I am NOT in love !
LOL !
I feel closer to my destiny than ever before ........

Have a nice day friends .... I will keep you all posted ...;)]]> Thu, 28 Dec 2006 05:18:00 EST http://anuriandima84.tigblog.org/post/84753 18.975 72.825833318.97572.8258333