M. Sharanya : organ donation story

M. Sharanya had a positive outlook towards organ donation. She believed organs should be donated so that the beneficiaries could have a fresh lease of life. And when she died in a road accident on Saturday, her parents overcame their shock and made sure that their daughter’s wish was fulfilled.

The 21-year-old engineer’s organs were harvested after she was declared brain dead at the Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital where she was under treatment for over a week for injuries sustained in an accident near Bhavani in Erode district. She was returning with a group of friends after a lecture on career development at a private engineering college near Salem when a lorry collided with the car.

The doctors had told her parents that Sharanya’s brain was damaged and there was a possibility of recovery if a surgery was performed. The doctors did perform the operation but the girl died on Saturday. “Two days prior to the accident, Sharanya got her results. She had passed electronics and communication engineering with 94 per cent,” said her father, K. Manean who is an electrical engineer from Rathinapuri, Coimbatore.

As soon the doctors told them that she was brain-dead, they knew what should be done. “We requested the doctors to harvest her organs. It was not only her wish, but also ours. My wife, Kalamani, readily agreed.”

The doctors at KMCH harvested her eyes, heart valves, liver and kidneys. The eyes were sent to Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, heart valves to Frontier Lifeline Hospital, Chennai, liver to Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, and the kidneys were retained at the Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital, said V. Ramesh, vice president, KMCH.

Her parents believe that their action would do Sharanya proud as the girl was always in the forefront of social causes.

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Cherrapnuji : Wettest places on earth

India's Cherrapnuji is the wettest places on earth.

Cherrapunji situated in North East India in the Meghalaya State (separated from the state of Assam in 1972, Meghalaya means “Home of the clouds”) in the Khasi Hills, is unbelievably the wettest place on the planet earth which receives the maximum rainfall in the world, holding a record that it once rained continuously every single day for two years. It made a world record of 1,041 inches of rain in 1861.

The wettest place on Earth is the Indian town of Cherrapunji, with an average annual rainfall of 11.43 meters (38 feet 2 inches).

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A speech from Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers

Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav, 18 Grenadiers, in the wee morning hours of 04 July 1999 was part of the Commando 'Ghatak' Platoon tasked to capture three strategic bunkers on Tiger Hill. The approach was a vertical cliff face, snowbound at 16,500 feet. Grenadier Yadav, volunteering to lead the assault, was climbing the cliff face and fixing the ropes for further assault on the feature. Half-way up, an enemy bunker opened up machine gun and rocket fire. His Platoon Commander and 2 others fell to the heavy volume of automatic fire. Realising the enormity of the situation, he continued to scale the sheer cliff face alone through a volley of fire. In spite of having been hit by three bullets in his groin and shoulder, displaying superhuman strength and resolve, he climbed the remaining 60 feet, all by himself and reached the top. With rare grit and courage, he crawled up to the bunker critically injured and lobbed a grenade killing four Pakistani soldiers and neutralising enemy fire. This act was directly instrumental in facilitating the rest of the platoon in climbing up the cliff face.

Grievously injured, but with reckless disregard to personal safety, Grenadier Yadav now charged on to the second bunker and neutralised it, with two of his colleagues in an extremely fierce hand-to-hand combat, killing three Pakistani soldiers. Yhis extraordinarily gallant act motivated the rest of the platoon which quickly traversed the treacherous terrain and braving hostile fire, charged onto the enemy to capture Tiger Hill, a vital objective. Throughout this operation, from scaling the sheer vertical cliff face by rope for destruction of 2 Pakistani bunkers in succession, Grenadier Yadav displayed indomitable spirit, determination and action beyond the call of the duty. For his sustained display of the most conspicuous personal bravery and gallantry of the highest order in the face of the enemy, Grenadier Yogender Singh Yadav was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest medal for gallantry. Jai Hind!! Jai Jawan!

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Indian anthem Jana Gana Mana turns 100!

December 27, 2011 will not only be remembered as the day when Anna Hazare took Mumbai by storm with his fast against corruption. This is also the day when India’s national anthem – ‘Jana Gana Mana’ turned 100 years old.

Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was first performed on December 27, 1911, at the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress which underscored a national movement. The Constituent Assembly adopted ‘Jana Gana Mana’ as the national anthem on January 24, 1950.

Interestingly, Tagore’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’ overruled Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s ‘Vande Mataram’ in the face of Muslim opposition, thereby becoming the national anthem of India.

Written in Sanskritised Bengali, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ ran into controversy when in year 2005, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court demanding the inclusion of the word Kashmir and the deletion of Sindh, which became a part of independent Pakistan after the 1947 partition. However, the Supreme Court ruled against the petition stating that the national anthem is “a hymn or song expressing patriotic sentiments or feelings” and “not a chronicle which defines the territory of the nation”.

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Independence Day in Melbourne

Since, I belongs to a family of soldiers, Independence Day and Republic day is bit important for me. All Indians are pretty attached with their Nation. We call India as mother land. I am very emotional too. Today is 14th August, I am thinking of getting a flag tomorrow to celebrate 15th August over here. Still I am not sure, where I'll get the Tricolor, but, I'll try mys best to get one, or else I paint one and take a print out to celebrate the biggest Indian festival.

Today, I am missing India to celebrate this festival which resembles our victory of freedom. For those who are not aware of this very fact, that India gained Independence from British Rule in 1947, 15 Aug, do realise what we have achieved in just 60 years. American compare us with them, although they are more than 200 years old independent country. :)

Although, we have many internal issues, but today we'll celebrate this festival as an Indian. I am proud to be an Indian. So many diversity in each and every aspect is an added advantage in India. No one can survive with so many religions, castes, states with different cultures, environmental diversities etc. But we still attached to each other with the thread of Nationality.

Missing India Today. :)

Happy Independence Day.

Let Anna Hazare's 16th August incident able to succeed in making each Indian's Dream come True.

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Anna Hazare's Letter

I believe in Anna Hazare's dream and it will be fulfilled, today or tomorrow. So, have a look at his letter.

A decisive battle against corruption has begun. We are not against any political party. We want systemic reforms. We want a corruption-free India. After all, what are the people asking for – a strong anti-corruption law which provides for honest and time-bound investigations and trials that result in jail for the guilty, confiscation of embezzled money and their dismissal from service?
Are we asking too much? For two months, we were talking to the government. Government seems unwilling to take even small steps against corruption. Government appears insincere. We have met all prominent political leaders. We have tried everything. What do we do now? When I announced my indefinite fast from 16 August, the government threatened that they would crush us the way they crushed Baba Ramdev's peaceful agitation. Friends, this is a historic opportunity. We can't afford to lose it. We are determined to fight to the end. If they arrest us, we will peacefully offer ourselves. If they use batons and bullets, we will happily lay down our lives but will not leave the place. We will not retaliate. It will be a completely non-violent movement. “If you fast on 16 August, you will be crushed” – this is what they are saying. “We will impose section 144 on Jantar Mantar” – this is what they are thinking. But I say that if every citizen in this country takes off from his work from 16 August, comes on the streets in front of his house, at the crossing, with a tricolor in his hands shouting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and raising slogans against corruption, they will fall short of batons and bullets.
The government may arrest one Anna Hazare but how will they arrest 120 crore Anna Hazares? They may impose section 144 at one Jantar Mantar but will they impose section 144 on the whole country? And let me tell you – the police and army is with us. At traffic signals, policemen stop us, express their support and wish us well; at Raj Ghat, the policemen donated generously for the movement! So, will you take off from your work from 16 August? Will you descend on the streets with me? This year, the country will wait for 16 rather than 15 August.

In solidarity,
Anna Hazare

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Some Facts about India

Yesterday, I got this in mail, I knew few of these facts, but many of these facts are not known to me. After reading these facts I am really happy.

• The number of companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, at more than 6,000, is second only to NYSE.
• Four out of 10 Silicon Valley startups are run by Indians.
• With 800 movies per year, India's film industry overshadows Hollywood.
• The organized lottery market in India is US$7bn (2% of GDP).
• India consumes a fifth of the world's gold output.
• Indians account for 45% of H1-B visas issued by the US every year.
• Growing at 6%, in 25 years Indian GDP (on a PPP basis) will be at the same level the US is at today.
• Six Indian ladies have won Miss Universe/Miss World titles over the past 10 years. No other country has won more than twice.
• Bank deposits in India roughly equal 50% of its GDP OE again,among the highest in the world.
• Indian Railways is the largest railway network in the world under single management.
• India has the third-largest army in the world, nearly 1.5 million strong.
• India is the largest producer and consumer of tea in the world, accounting for more than 30% of global production and 25% of consumption.
• India is the world's premier center for diamond cutting and polishing. Nine out of every 10 stones sold in the world pass through India.
• India has the highest number of annual bulk drugs filings (77) with USFDA.
• India is home to the largest number of pharmaceutical plants (61) approved by USFDA outside the US.
• India's Hero Honda is the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer, with 2002 production of 1.7m units.
• Other than US and Japan, India is the only country to have built a super computer indigenously Indian Railways is the largest employer in the world, with a staff of 1.6 million people.
• It is the second-largest cement-producing country in the world, producing more than 110m tonnes.
• Of the Fortune 500 companies, 270 outsource their software-related work to India.
• There are 8,500 Indian restaurants in the UK, 15% of the country's total dining-out establishments.
• India is the largest democracy in the world, with nearly 400m voting in the last national elections.
• India has the second-largest pool of scientists and engineers in the world.
• India has the third-largest investor base in the world.
• According to the Gemological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds.
• The Kumbh Mela festival, held every 12 years in the city of Allahabad, attracts 25 million people OE more than the population of 185 of the 227 countries in the world.
• The Indian city of Varanasi, also known as Benares, is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
• There are 3.22 million Indians in the US.
• Indians are the richest immigrant class in the US, with nearly 200,000 millionaires.
• India is ranked the sixth country in the world in terms of satellite launches.
• There are over 70,000 bank branches in India - among the highest in the world.

While reading these facts, a scene of a Hindi Movie 'Namastey London' was running in my mind where Akshay Kumar was telling these facts about India to the English people.

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