Bai Fangli - an inspiring legacy

In 1987, a 74-year old rickshaw puller by the name of Bai Fangli came back to his hometown planning to retire from his backbreaking job. There, he saw children working in the fields, because they were too poor to afford school fees. 

Bai returned to Tianjin and went back to work as a rickshaw puller, taking a modest accommodation next to the railway station. He waited for clients 24 hours a day, ate simple food and wore discarded second-hand clothes he found. He gave all of his hard-earned earnings to support children who could not afford education.

In 2001, he drove his rickshaw to Tianjin YaoHua Middle School, to deliver his last installment of money. Nearly 90 years old, he told the students that he couldn't work any more. All of the students and teachers were moved to tears. 

In total, Bai had donated a total of 350,000 yuan to help more than 300 poor students continue with their studies. In 2005, Bai passed away leaving behind an inspiring legacy. 

If a rickshaw-puller who wore used clothes and had no education can support 300 children to go to school, imagine what you and I can do with the resources we have to bring about positive change in our world!

If you are going to LIKE and SHARE one post today, let it be this one! 

(Source: china.org.cn)

The Supergoats of 'Gasteiz Cup' from Ranchi.

Why's there no media coverage of this inspiring victory , is it because this was not cricket? Here is a heroic tale of our underprivileged girls, who made us proud despite all odds.

Two weeks back, as a billion plus India slept, a handful of Jharkhand tribal girls proudly held aloft a trophy they won in their *maiden entry* in a football tournament in far-flung Spain.

They were the same girls who were slapped, kicked and made to sweep floors by arrogant bureaucrats in Jharkhand when the girls asked for birth certificates, a necessity to apply for passports.

It was the night of July 13. Hundreds of fire crackers lit the skies as the girls screamed Vande Mataram – their battle cry – for being placed third in the Gasteiz Cup, the world’s best testing ground for teenager football in Victoria Gastiez.

The girls were lovingly titled 'The Supergoats' by the organizers in Spain the moment they saw the girls playing barefoot in practice matches on arrival.
Why? Because the girls had limited football gear and could not take the risk of tampering it before the tournament. They were overawed by international teams in the first tournament, the Donosti Cup, but came to their own in the second tournament.

Offering a consolation prize for the third team – winner of a match between losing semi-finalists – was a mere formality for the organizers.But for the girls, it was a giant leap into global soccer from their impoverished Rukka village near Ranchi, considered one of the world’s epicenters of child marriage and human trafficking.

As soon as the announcement was made for the prize distribution ceremony, the girls rushed into their dressing room and returned, some barefoot, wearing red-bordered white saris, their traditional festive dress. Many had their plastic flowers in their hairs.

And when they huddled together after the mandatory photo session, some wept inconsolably because they had almost given up their hopes to participate in this tournament.
All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Praful Patel was not aware of the girls’ superlative achievement, nor was the country’s new sports minister Jitendra Singh.

“We could not sleep that night (July 13),” says Rinky Kumari, 13, captain of Supergoats. Once she bunked her school helped her mother do household chores. Today, thanks to football, everyone knows her name in the village.

She says she remembered the days she was slapped and sweep floors when she went to the Panchayat Office get birth certificates for her passport.
“ I do not remember the slap, I remember the Cup,” says Rinky. For her, and her teammates, it means a lot.

Malala Yousefzai - ملاله یوسفزۍ

 


You might have heard of Malala Yousafzai, the young woman who was shot by the Taliban for speaking up for educational rights, survived the attacks, and is now a champion for young people and educational reform. This is the speech she gave to the United Nations Youth Assembly on her 16th birthday. 

Malala Yousefzai, who was shot by Pakistani Taliban last year, addressed the UN Youth Assembly on her 16th birthday and called for improvements in global education.

The UN has declared her birthday, July 12, as "Malala Day".

Please visit these sites for more information/updates on this young & brave kid.

http://www.malala-yousafzai.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai

Namma Auto in 'Singara Chennai'

Courtesy  & Thanks :   Tharik Anwar  (For sharing this)

Today I was returning from my relative's home from tondiarpet. I spoke with an auto man. Well, the distance is around 5 km. The amount for that distance was 100. Holy god. I bargained with him but he doesn't want to come down. I walked away with my family members. I waved hands towards one auto. he stopped. There is a badge says namma auto. I asked him how much?. He said "meter charge sir! nothing extra". Reluctantly I got into the auto. All through the journey I was looking at the meter in a fear that it would exceed my budget. I asked him "how many autos are running under namma auto". that gentle men replied 60 autos. After that I shifted my gaze on the meter. I reached home. I saw the meter. The amount was unbelievable. It's 54 rupees. First time I said thanks to an auto man. To my surprise he dint accept any tips. He gave a receipt for my payment. Well, this kinda initiative needs an applause. I wish many more autos under the banner Namma auto.

P.S: I asked him his phone number since he is living near our area, he denied to give it. He said, "if u see me on the road by chance jus wave your hands". Well, Jus share it.

I attached the receipt as a proof here

20 things from PARENTS to KIDS

TWENTY THINGS THAT PARENTS SHOULD TEACH THEIR CHILD:

1. Play a sport.
It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time and stay out of trouble. And maybe even throw or catch.

2. It is better to be kind than to be right.

3. Save money when you're young because you're going to need it someday.

4. Allow me to introduce you to the dishwasher, oven, washing machine, iron, vacuum, mop and broom. Now please go use them.

5. Believe in Nature and respect it and be a good leader.

6. Don't ever be a bully and don't ever start a fight, but if some idiot clocks you, please defend yourself.

7. Use careful aim when you pee. Somebody's got to clean that up, you know.

8. Your knowledge and education is something that nobody can take away from you.

9. Treat your partner kindly. Forever is a long time to live alone and it's even longer to live with somebody who hates your guts.

10. Take pride in your appearance.

11. Be strong and tender at the same time.

12. A woman can do everything that you can do. This includes her having a successful career and you changing diapers at 3 A.M. Mutual respect is the key to a good relationship.

13. "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir" still go a long way.

14. The reason that they're called "private parts" is because they're "private". Please do not scratch them in public.

15. Peer pressure is a scary thing. Be a good leader and others will follow.

16. Bringing her flowers for no reason is always a good idea.

17. You will set the tone for the sexual relationship, so don't take something away from her that you can't give back.

18. A sense of humor goes a long way in the healing process.

19. Please choose your spouse wisely. My daughter-in-law will be the gatekeeper for me spending time with you and my grandchildren.

20. Remember to call your mother and father because I might be missing you.

I want to Say 'Sorry' & 'Thank you'

I would like to say two thing. Sorry & Thank you.

I'm sure almost everyone would have felt to say them in most of the times and may have missed the correct time/opportunity to express/say them.

Here comes mine. I'm sure this is
     - going to help me with a great relief and chance for realization (if any).
     - & not going to impact/harm my ego & attitude in anyway as people would normally have such hesitation sometimes. :)

I'm Sorry to anyone who felt that i have hurt you in anyway in any of my interaction with you, be it a professional or personal interaction.

I'm sure it might not be intentional/personal and may be due to the scenario @ the moment (or) as part of job, scenario i was in and the priorities i had might have forced/made me to do something which might not have been nice to you.  Sorry again please accept my apology.

Thank you to anyone who feel i have missed to Thank you in any of the previous instance where i could/should have. Thank you again please accept my Thank you.

You are most welcome to share your feedback/comment on both of the above scenario's if you have seen/felt with me in anyway, and wanted to share and help me.

I will gladly listen to it , check and work on it. After all life is about trying to improve ourselves in every possible way and make this world a better place to live for the new generations to come  :-)

**Story of Appreciation** - MUST READ for MANAGERS

Courtesy & Thanks : Forward Mail & Arun Menon ,Useful info (For sharing)

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research,
Never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked,
"Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"
The youth answered "none".

The director asked,
" Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"
The youth answered,
"My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked,
" Where did your mother work?"
The youth answered,
"My mother worked as clothes cleaner.
The director requested the youth to show his hands.
The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked,
" Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"
The youth answered,
"Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books.
Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said,
"I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother's hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked:
" Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered,
" I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked,
" please tell me your feelings."

The youth said,
Number 1,
I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today.
Number 2,
By working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.
Number 3,
I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said,
" This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality"and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts.
When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others.
For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement.
He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*

You can let your kid live in a big house, give him a Driver & Car for going around, Eat a Good Meal, learn Piano, Watch a Big Screen TV. But when you are Cutting Grass, please let them experience it. After a Meal, let them Wash their Plates and Bowls together with their Brothers and Sisters. Tell them to Travel in Public Bus, It is not because you do not have Money for Car or to Hire a Maid, but it is because you want to Love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will Grow Grey, same as the Mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done..

Arvind Kejriwal - Friend's words about him

Thanks (For Sharing) : Deepak Dubey

George Lobo NY, USA

I know Arvind since our IIT Days. Since I know the man like the back of my hand, it really pains me in reading all these misinformed opinions of him. He is one of the most intellegent & knowledgable person I have come across in my life & definitely the most selfless & honest.

On those IIT Days also, while we all were thinking about our career & thinking of leaving India at the 1st oppurtinity, he was hell bent on doing something to change the face of In

dia. He was a big fan of V.P. Singh those days & was very inspired with his honesty (bofors) & efforts to achieve social justice (mandal commission). He was almost a non-believer & hated BJP for the mandir movement. Whoever is accusing him to be a RSS/BJP agent has no idea what he/she is talking about.

Those doubting his honesty/integrity should be informed that he was Joint Commissioner, Income Tax Dept in Delhi when he resigned from IRS. By conservative estimates, officer of this rank in Delhi/Mumbai makes atleast Rs. 1 crore per month from external sources (you can make out what these external sources can be).

How many of us can dedicate our life to the mation when such a lucrative career is infront of us? I am making USD 125000/month here & he was 10 times brighter than me.

I appeal to all Indians (irrespective of caste/religion) to not let go of this chance to reclaim our country from these corrupt politicians. It is because of our "Chalta Hai" & "Dont Care" attitude that things have come to this.

And lastly, if you cant do anything for the country, atleast please dont accuse Kejriwal of being communal/arrogant/dishonest without checking the facts. We all batchmates (belonging to various castes/ religions) believe that if India can elect 100 leaders like Kejriwal to the Parliament, the country will be counted among the best in 10 years time.

The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

Courtesy & Thanks : It's All About Women  (Who Shared this)


Thanks to an IAAW community member for sharing the author's name and original version of the "NY Taxi Driver Story." Here is the true story by Kent Nerburn. Enjoy!

The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget

There was a time in my life twenty years ago when I was driving a cab for a living. It was a cowboy's life, a gambler's life, a life for someone who wanted no boss, constant movement and the thrill of a dice roll every time a new passenger got into the cab.

What I didn't count on when I took the job was that it was also a ministry. Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a rolling confessional. Passengers would climb in, sit behind me in total anonymity and tell me of their lives.

We were like strangers on a train, the passengers and I, hurtling through the night, revealing intimacies we would never have dreamed of sharing during the brighter light of day. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and made me weep. And none of those lives touched me more than that of a woman I picked up late on a warm August night.

I was responding to a call from a small brick fourplex in a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or someone going off to an early shift at some factory for the industrial part of town. When I arrived at the address, the building was dark except for a single light in a ground-floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a short minute, then drive away. Too many bad possibilities awaited a driver who went up to a darkened building at 2:30 in the morning.

But I had seen too many people trapped in a life of poverty who depended on the cab as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation had a real whiff of danger, I always went to the door to find the passenger. It might, I reasoned, be someone who needs my assistance. Would I not want a driver to do the same if my mother or father had called for a cab?

So I walked to the door and knocked.

"Just a minute," answered a frail and elderly voice. I could hear the sound of something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman somewhere in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like you might see in a costume shop or a Goodwill store or in a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The sound had been her dragging it across the floor. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.

 

"Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said. "I'd like a few moments alone. Then, if you could come back and help me? I'm not very strong."

I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm, and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

"It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. Her praise and appreciation were almost embarrassing.
When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered.

"Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice."

I looked in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were glistening. "I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I should go there. He says I don't have very long."

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to go?" I asked.
For the next two hours we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they had first been married. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she would have me slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. Without waiting for me, they opened the door and began assisting the woman. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her; perhaps she had phoned them right before we left.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase up to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.

"Nothing," I said.

"You have to make a living," she answered.

"There are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held on to me tightly. "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you."

There was nothing more to say. I squeezed her hand once, then walked out into the dim morning light. Behind me, I could hear the door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I did not pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the remainder of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away? What if I had been in a foul mood and had refused to engage the woman in conversation? How many other moments like that had I missed or failed to grasp? 

We are so conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unawares. When that woman hugged me and said that I had brought her a moment of joy, it was possible to believe that I had been placed on earth for the sole purpose of providing her with that last ride.

I do not think that I have ever done anything in my life that was any more important.

From "The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget" by Kent Nerburn.

Concord - world's only supersonic airliner.

Courtesy : wikipedia  &  Youtube

Concorde is a retired turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner or supersonic transport (SST). It was a product of a Franco-British government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation. First flown in 1969, Concorde entered service in 1976 and continued commercial flights for 27 years.

Among other destinations, Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights from London Heathrow (British Airways) and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (Air France) to New York JFK and Washington Dulles, profitably flying these routes at record speeds, in less than half the time of other airliners.

With only 20 aircraft built, their development represented a substantial economic loss, in addition to which Air France and British Airways (BA) were subsidised by their governments to buy them. As a result of the type’s only crash on 25 July 2000 and other factors, its retirement flight was on 26 November 2003.

Concorde's name reflects the development agreement between the United Kingdom and France. In the UK, any or all of the type—unusual for an aircraft—are known simply as "Concorde", without an article.

Sad to know that this British Pride was not bought back to being part of 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony (which was expected as per the news and efforts from some concord fans)

CONCORD is the queen of the skies. Is regarded by many people as an "aviation icon" and an "engineering marvel".
The world's only supersonic passenger airliner.
That plane was a beautiful achievement of mankind in times when, apart from money, ideas where also significant.

It took my breath away to watch it take off. Such dignity man had. We still had the dream. I had the dream. So many of us did. Some like me still do. She was retired only for cost reasons and without other true cause. Every technology and generation has the best of something. Concord. The name said it all.

Its sad that Air France and British Airways couldn't keep at least one in flying condition due to cost reasons.
Now its said that with high cost factors and little chance of renewing her "Certificate of Air Worthiness" it is unlikely that the CONCORDE will ever fly again.

There are + and - everywhere, but still she is the queen of the skies. Miss you angel :(

----------------------------------------------

In total 20 Concordes were built between 1966 and 1979. The first 2 Concordes were prototype models, one built in France and the other in England. Another 2 pre-production prototypes were built to further refine design and test out ground breaking systems before the production runs, of only 16 aircraft in total, commenced in both countries.

The first production aircraft off each production line did not enter service but acted as a test bed for production techniques, airline training and further development work. They also paved the way for the granting of airworthiness certification as well as providing extensive route proving information.

In the end only British Airways and Air France purchased Concordes, with the airlines initially purchasing 5 and 4 aircraft respectively. British Airways acquired the 2 unsold UK built aircraft, while Air France bought the 3 unsold French built craft.

British Airways have a fleet of 7 aircraft while Air France had 5 aircraft. The two prototypes, two pre production and one first production model are now on show in museums on both sides of the channel. The first British production Concorde is now owned by BA and used for spares.

Air France returned 4 aircraft to service after the Paris accident in July 2000, of the others; one was retired for spares use in 1982, one never completed a D check (due to retirement) and the final one was the aircraft lost in the accident.

British Airways operated 5 aircraft, after the accident with a further 2 in storage at London Heathrow, that were not modified post accident.

The AirFrance 4 servicable aircraft were retired to museums in France, Germany and the US.

Since the last commercial Concorde flight on 24 October 2003, the British Airways fleet of seven Concordes have now been retired and have gone to their final resting places at museums around the world.

British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington said, "We have chosen the final homes based a number of criteria: their ability to properly exhibit and preserve the aircraft, their geographical location and accessibility to the public."

The locations are:

· Airbus UK, Filton Bristol, UK
· Manchester Airport, UK
· Museum of Flight, near Edinburgh, UK
· Heathrow Airport, UK
· The Museum of Flight, Seattle, USA
· The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York, USA
· Grantley Adams Airport, Bridgetown, Barbados

---------------------------------------------

For further details please refer to :  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concorde

Concord Last Flight  

  History, the ONLY CRASH (of the type) & Last Flight

================================================================

Concord Pictures : 

 
 

CONFIDENCE

Courtesy & Thanks :  Inspirational, Motivational & Moral Stories For All

The business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out.

Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from ba nkruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," he said.

After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you."

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today,
and you can pay me back at that time."

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.
The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

"I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check.
At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.
"I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller."

And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, c onvinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.


Thanks : Shared by our (Inspirational, Motivational & Moral Stories For All) Fan: Uma Rani

DETERMINATON

Courtesy & Thanks :  Inspirational, Motivational & Moral Stories For All

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island.
However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roeblingcould not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge.
He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son
Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be
overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which
resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.

"We told them so."
"Crazy men and their crazy dreams."
"It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the
bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever.

He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle
breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of
communication with his wife.

He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but
the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the
triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

Dr.Abdul Kalam’s Letter

Courtesy & Thanks : Indian Army Photo

 

Dr.Abdul Kalam’s Letter to Every Indian (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.

APJ Abdul Kalam at Speech1In 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?

APJ Abdul Kalam at Speech2 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

APJ Abdul Kalam Wings of fire 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.
Thank you,
Dr.. Abdul Kalam

A dream worth dreaming - SMJ

Courtesy & Thanks : The Hindu

Health care for the poor, a dream worth dreaming

I am a bit of a dreamer. I dream that one day we will be living in a country where things will be different, and where the rich and the poor will both get the same, good, quality health care. To many it may seem like a totally impractical, and an unachievable dream. But it's a dream worth dreaming, and one that has every reason to come true.

Irrespective of whether you are rich or poor, when you lose a loved one, the pain is the same. To watch my child suffer and die because of an incurable disease while I am unable to do anything is truly sad. But if there is treatment available which can save my child, and I am unable to save my child because I can't afford it — and can only helplessly sit by and watch my child die — that is unimaginably tragic.

What is stopping us from having a great public health-care system?

A number of us pay our taxes. Some of us don't. And most of us don't earn enough to be required to pay direct taxes. A host of indirect taxes are also collected by each State. Each time we buy something, big or even small, we pay some or the other tax. So it turns out that the poor are also paying for public health care. Only they don't get proper services in return. Less than two per cent of our Gross Domestic Product — 1.4 per cent to be precise — is allotted to public health care.

Why?

Experts who work in this space say that it should be at least six per cent for a very basic level of public health facilities. I am neither an economist nor a doctor, but I would prefer to err on the safer side and say eight to 10 per cent is what it should be.

What is the point of having a great GDP if as a society we are unhealthy? Economic strength will come only if, first, we are healthy; and it will be of some use only if we are healthy enough to enjoy it.

Importantly, health is also a State issue and each State collects only indirect taxes. Why isn't more of our money spent on setting up more public hospitals, and more importantly, on public medical colleges ? Why are there not enough public medical colleges with attached public hospitals across each State?

With a vibrant young population, more public medical colleges are the need of the hour. But it seems the government at the Centre, and all the State governments, are concentrating less on opening government medical colleges, and therefore, the great need of young students wanting to become doctors is getting filled by — you guessed right — private medical colleges, who, I am told, charge Rs.50 to 60 lakh as an unofficial donation.

In most cases, private medical colleges are basically springing up as businesses. Many of them don't even have proper working hospitals attached to them, which is mandatory. I sometimes wonder how competent the doctors who are coming out of these private medical colleges would be.

We need to firmly tell State and Central governments that we want more public hospitals with attached public medical colleges.

Private hospitals are most welcome, but let's concentrate on our public health-care system and make it so strong that private hospitals have to work harder to compete, and therefore, we as a society get better services.

When a student sits his/her MBBS exams and is asked what the prescription medication for a patient suffering from diabetes is, he or she might write “glimepiride.” This is the salt commonly used to treat diabetes. When this student becomes a doctor and a patient who has diabetes comes to him/her for treatment, he/she might write the medicine name as Amaryl. So, is that young doctor prescribing the wrong medication? No. Amaryl happens to be one of the brand names by which the salt “glimepiride” is sold. So what is the difference between the two, apart from the names? Well, a strip of 10 tablets of Amaryl costs around Rs.125, while a strip of 10 tablets of the salt “glimepiride” costs Rs.2. Both are essentially the same thing. We pay approximately Rs.123 more for the brand name.

Here are some more examples:

The common cold is one of the most prevalent illnesses. The salt name of the medicine used to tackle it is cetirizine. Now, the manufacturing, packaging, transportation costs of this generic medicine, including a decent margin, is Rs.1.20 for 10 tablets. But the branded version of the same medication, for example Cetzine, costs over Rs.35 for 10 tablets.

A common injection used to treat blockages that cause heart attacks is “streptokinase” or “urokinase”; these injections cost Rs.1000. However, in their branded form they cost over Rs.5000 in the market.

Malaria is a big killer in India, especially among children. A critical injection used to treat resistant malaria is available for as little as Rs.25 for a pack of three injections; however the branded versions cost Rs.300 to Rs.400.

In the case of diarrhoea, another big killer of children in India, the vomiting that causes dehydration can be stopped with a medicine whose salt name is “domperidone,” which is available at Rs.1.25 for a strip of 10 tablets; its branded version, Domstal, sells at Rs.33.

How can our poor, or for that matter even our middle class, afford medication?

Generic medicines are the answer.

In this regard we have to applaud the efforts of the Rajasthan government. It has set up shops selling generic medicines across the State in an effort to make good quality medicines available to people at the lowest possible rates.

Roughly 25 per cent of all ailments go untreated in India because of financial reasons. Think of the difference generic medicines can make to every Indian! If the Rajasthan government can do it, why can't other State governments do the same?

An interesting piece of information: the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers offers Rs.50,000 to anyone wanting to open a shop selling generic medicines, and at their discretion they sometimes offer space to open such a shop.

Looks like my dream of good, quality, public health care being available to the rich and poor alike may be possible after all.

P.S: Can our doctors please write out the generic name of the medication when they write out our prescription, and allow us to choose the brand — or not.

Jai Hind. Satyamev Jayate.

U. Sagayam from Tamil Nadu - The Real IAS Officer (Hero)

Courtesy & Thanks : http://www.outlookindia.com

Man With A Steel Frame

Under A Dangerous Motto

By refusing to take bribes, the Madurai collector has earned 18 transfers in 20 years, a modest house and bank balance and lots of respect

Trigger Why we are doing this story

• Because the assets of an IAS officer-couple in Madhya Pradesh were valued at Rs 360 crore. They had 25 flats in three cities.

On a hot summer afternoon, on Madurai’s busy main road, the district collector, U. Sagayam, saw a young man talking on a cellphone while riding a motorbike. He asked his driver to wave the man down, got down from his car and meted out instant punishment: plant 10 saplings within 24 hours. Somewhat unconventional justice, some might say. But that’s how Sagayam works.

‘Lanjam Thavirtthu, Nenjam Namartthu’ (Reject bribes, hold your head high), says a board hanging above Sagayam’s chair in his modest office. That’s the code he lives by, even if politicians are incensed they cannot bend him their way—he’s been transferred 18 times in the last 20 years—and has made enemies of both superiors and subordinates. “I know I sit under a dangerous slogan and probably alienate people,” he says. “But I have been the same Sagayam from Day 1. Standing up against corruption is not for a season. Nor is it a fad. It’s forever.”

Two years ago, as district collector of Namakkal, he voluntarily declared his assets: a bank balance of Rs 7,172 and a house in Madurai worth Rs 9 lakh. Once, when his baby daughter, Yalini, who had breathing problems, was suddenly taken ill, he did not have the Rs 5,000 needed for admitting her to a private hospital. At that time he was deputy commissioner (excise) in Coimbatore and there were 650 liquor licences to be given out. The going bribe for each was rumoured to be Rs 10,000.

Sagayam started cleaning up Madurai the minute he landed here. The main bus terminus at Mattuthavani looked more like a bazaar, with shops all over the bus-shelters and no waiting place for passengers. Even a police outpost had been turned into a shop. The system was well-oiled with haftas to local politicians and policemen. Sagayam quickly went through the rulebook, cited the relevant clauses and cleaned up the entire area. But didn’t it hit poor shopkeepers who lost their livelihood? “A violation is a violation,” says Sagayam, “but we will help them rehabilitate.” Nageshwaran, a taxi-driver and one of Sagayam’s many fans, says, “He’s strict and hasn’t taken even ten paise in bribe during his career. He’s like the upright collectors they show in some films, a real hero with integrity.”

Sagayam’s masters degrees in social work and law come in useful in his role as an administrator. He knows the rulebooks in detail and is not afraid of using them, however powerful the opponent. No wonder then that Sagayam’s career is marked with the scars of countless battles.

When errant village officers ganged up to get Sagayam transferred, people protested and the order was rescinded.

When he was in Kanchipuram as revenue officer, he took on the sand mafia, ordering them to stop dredging sand from the Palar riverbed. Large-scale dredging had made the area flood-prone. The mafia sent goons to assault Sagayam, but he did not budge and would not take back the order. He also took on a mighty soft-drink mnc when a consumer showed him a bottle with dirt floating in it. He sealed the bottling unit and banned the sale of the soft drink in the city. In Chennai, he locked horns with a restaurant chain and recovered four acres valued at some Rs 200 crore.

Given such credentials, it wasn’t surprising for him to be picked by the Election Commission to oversee elections in Madurai, as famous for its temples as its political gods. During the last polls, Sagayam took on M.K. Azhagiri, the local MP and son of former CM and DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi. He conducted voter awareness campaigns in colleges; the DMK petitioned the court twice, seeking to end what it said was an attempt to influence voters, but the court demurred.

Sagayam’s wife Vimala has stood by him all these years but she was rattled by some of the threats during the elections. “He always says if you are right, nobody can hurt you,” she says. “But sometimes it becomes difficult.”

Sagayam takes a hands-on approach to his work. He holds a Monday ‘durbar’, at which anyone can meet him with their complaints. During tours of the district for review meetings and inspections, he will suddenly stop a school bus to talk to children or duck into a school to take a class. When students tell him they want to be IAS or IPS officers, he asks, “It’s all well to say now that you’ll be honest, but will you remain unbending about not taking bribes throughout your career?”

Some months back, while driving to a village, he found a 92-year-old woman cleaning rice. She said she had to work in order to eat. He immediately sanctioned Rs 1,000 as old-age pension for her. When 60-year-old Vellamma met him during a tour of Uthappanaikkanoor village this week and asked him to grant her a pension, he said, “I can do that. But do you want me to send your son to jail too—for abandoning you?” He said it with a smile, as a joke, but he has in fact taken action against children who don’t take care of their aging parents.

“I believe, as Mahatma Gandhi said, that India lives in her villages,” says Sagayam, who also idolises Subhash Chandra Bose. His years as a collector—he has slept overnight in village schools many times—have convinced him to better the lot of villagers by strengthening the village administrative officer (VAO) system. Many VAOs have never visited villages and often stay miles away from where they should be, in cities. In Namakkal, his action against errant VAOs had them ganging up with politicians to get him transferred. Over 5,000 villagers protested, saying they wouldn’t let Sagayam go. The politicians had to retreat.

Sagayam says he learnt honesty on his mother’s knees. He is the youngest of four sons of a farmer from Pudukottai. “Our adjoining field had mango trees and my friends and I would pick the fallen fruit,” he says. “But my mother made me throw the mangoes away, saying I should enjoy only what is mine.” Now his daughter Yalini wants to become a collector. When she has an argument with her brother Arun, she asks her father, “Is he really your son? He just told a lie!” Both of them are proud of their father. Recently, after a long time, the Sagayam family went on a vacation to Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. While visiting a gurudwara, a stranger came up to their father and asked him, “Aren’t you IAS officer Mr Sagayam?” Yalini and Arun have not stopped beaming.

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Courtesy & Thanks : http://www.deccanherald.com

IAS officer makes assets public

M R Venkatesh, Chennai, Nov 11, DH News Service:

Namakkal collector creates history, voluntarily declares property worth Rs 9 lakh

Seeking to “walk the talk” on upholding probity in administration, a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer has put up his asset details on a state website.

U Sagayam, Collector of Namakkal district, has created history of sorts by being the first IAS officer in the state to upload details of his assets on the district website, taking fellow officers by pleasant surprise.

Taking recourse to the “purely voluntary disclosure” provision under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the 47-year-old officer, during the RTI Week observed in Namakkal district last month, had announced that he would make known his property and bank balance details on the website.

Walk the talk

Fulfilling his intent, Sagayam declared on the Namakkal district website recently that he has a house property worth Rs 9 lakh in Madurai, jointly owned by his wife Vimala and himself, besides a bank balance of a mere Rs 7,172 in his account with the State Bank of India.

As per the All India Service Rules, people entering IAS not only have to furnish details of their personal assets at the time of joining service, but should also submit their property statement to the government every year. Does this make the bold IAS officer’s move a wee bit superfluous?

Sagayam, speaking to Deccan Herald from Namakkal on Wednesday, said though the asset details of IAS cadre officers were already with the government and in the public domain at that level, he still felt impelled to take it to a larger domain of public visibility.

Leading by example

“The collector, as one leading the district administration, instead of just telling his subordinates to be honest, should lead by personal example,” he said.

“It will create confidence in the people and also motivate the administration at large as the impression of public servants in the eyes of the people is at low ebb,” Sagayam reasoned.

He hoped that his action would convey that “there are people serious about upholding integrity in public administration.” It should also help to strengthen the democratic process in the country.

Some IAS officers feel that there is no necessity to disclose their assets on the website as they are already with the government. Yet, Sagayam seems to have made a point to ponder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U._Sagayam

http://ab.nalv.in/general/the-real-ias-officer/