Learn Permaculture ..!

Learn Permaculture ..!

When the entire world is busy with thinking on the issues before Copenhagen Summit, I received this interesting mail from Mr. Vasudeva, Secretary, IASK i.e. Institute for Indigenous Agricultural Systems and Knowledge (I-ASK), Bangalore.

Mr. Vasudev informed about the course on Permaculture Jan 2010.What is Permaculture?

Vasudeve notes that this is the special course to those who want to make the earth more sustainable. This course enlightens you how you can adopt Permanent Agriculture.

This is two weeks hands on residential Permaculture Design certification course in Mysore (January 4 to 11) and in Punarvasu (Adamaru, near Udupi) (January 12 to 19, 2009). Permaculture (Permanent Agriculture) is about designing sustainable ecological human habitats and food production systems.

If you want to be a certified Permaculture designer the course is two weeks long from Jan 4 to Jan 19, 2010. If you cannot come for the full two weeks, you can still join for one week sessions (without certification) either in Mysore from Jan 4-11 or near Udupi at an organic farm from Jan 12 to 19, 2010, Vasudev says.

Permaculture is an international social movement and design guide for creating sustainable eco lifestyles. One can join an exciting group of people and study how permaculture puts systems together, how to better manage the land you have and educate yourself on things you can do to be a better steward of this planet we call home.

Interested attendees should register themselves before December 26. For details pls click the image above and see the Flyer. You can pass the word around to your eco minded friends too.

For more details contact: Beeja, Mysore

Tel: +91 9900269756 (Ameli)

Email: ameli@beeja.net, iaskindia@gmail.com

Web : http://iaskindia.googlepages.com

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Fungi

Fungi

Fungi are large group of parasite and decomposers that include mushrooms, molds and yeasts. Once grouped along with plants, the fungi, are now thought to be more closely related to animals and are treated as a separate kingdom.

"I am very partial to mushrooms and use them generously in my cooking (I am not a bad cook at all!). The prized variety of mushrooms is the short lived variety that blooms with the onset of the monsoons available only on the coast' tells Mr. Mohan Pai.

Pls click the image to read more about Fungi.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Chalk out Programme to Rejuvenate Soil

Chalk out Programme to

Rejuvenate Soil

Do you think, Jeevamruta, organic fertilizer prepared as per the direction of Subhash Palekar will help to rejuvenate the soil in flood affected areas?

Recently, more than 30,000 people from Sarvajna Nagar and Bytarayanapura Assembly Constituency of Bangalore urged the Karnataka Government to Ban Cow slaughter and to make use of Jeevamruta, organic fertilizer made out of Cow Dung and Cow urine in flood affected areas to rejuvenate the soil which became salty due to heavy rains.

Experts say that there are about 100 crore microbes in one gram of Soil. And stomach of Cow is sea of microbes. One Gram Dung of Local breeds or Deshi Cow (Indian Cows) contains 200 to 500 crore microbes. When mixed, microbes of Cow Dung and Soil support each other and start multiplying.

Some scientists say soil has no life. But really it is not so. Microbes in the soil made it alive one.

Hundreds of farmers used this Palekar method in their fields and succeeded in increasing the the yield.

Hence it is high time to make use of this system to rejuvenate the soil in flood affected areas. And Government should chalk out a plan to feed the Jeevamruta to to soil in flood affected areas at least once in 15 days, till next rainy season, so that it will rejuvenate with full of microbes by next cultivation time.

Vijay Karnataka has published a timely article on this in its issue 22 October 2009. Pls read the article by clicking the image above and read some more information in http://paryaya.blogspot.com (Cow Protection / Gou Samrakshane Section)

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Thousands urge Ban on Cow Slaughter: Use 'Jeevamruta' to Rejuvanate Soil

Use 'Jeevamruta' to Rejuvanate Soil

Thousands urge Ban on Cow Slaughter

More than 30,000 people from Sarvajna Nagar and Bytarayanapura Assembly Constituency of Bangalore urged the Karnataka Government to Ban Cow slaughter and to make use of Jeevamruta, organic fertilizer made out of Cow Dung and Cow urine in flood affected areas to rejuvenate the soil which became salty due to heavy rains.

A Citizens Delegation of the above said areas submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, through Home Minister Dr. V.S. Acharya on Friday 16th October 2009, which was signed by more than 30,000 people.

Memorandum explained that rejuvenation of soil before next cultivation season is very important as most of the soil beame salty due to floods. There is no wonder if affected farmers try to use chemical fertilizers to improve the soil condition which will harm the soil further.

At this juncture need of the hour is to take some action to improve the soil condition to get good crops next year. Jeevamrut is simple and cheaper organic fertilizer and this could be prepared in the flood affected areas itself after collecting cow dung from various parts of state in the form of donation or through purchase. Such programme will provide employment at least to some flood affected people.

Dr. V.S. Acharya promised the delegation that Government will take action to protect cows shortly. In fact, draft bill has been already prepared and it will be passed soon, he said.

Marappa Alasoor, Thimmegowda, Govinda Rao, Dr. Raja Ram Prasad, Kamala, Muniraju, Vardhaman Jain, Muniraj Karnik and other prominent leaders were there in the the delegation.

To see reports appeared in Press in this regard click the image link above.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Save 1,147,995,904 Indians.

Save 1,147,995,904 Indians.

Tomorrow (14 October 2009) the GEAC meets to decide on the environmental release of GM i.e. BT Brinjal. We all know by now that GM is irreversible, dangerous and unpredictable. That it could change the world as we know it.There is just a day that separates us from this horrible technology.

Call Mr. Jairam Ramesh the environment minister on 011-24361727 or 011-24363958(If you’re calling from outside India, dial +91-11-24361727or+91-11- 24363958) and leave a message if you cannot get through to the minister, that you do not want GM to be allowed into this country. And that you are no labrat.

Pass on this message to all your friends. If a call can save a life, its worth making.

‘IAMNOLABRAT’ Team

http://www.iamnolabrat.com/

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

G. KRISHNA PRASAD

Sahaja Samrudha

'Nandana', No-7, 2nd Cross,

7th Main, Sulthanpalya, Bangalore-560 032 Phone: 080-23655302 /

9880862058

India Won 7th Nobel Prize on 7th October 2009..!

India Won 7th Nobel Prize

on 7th October 2009..!

It sounds interesting. Because India won its 7th Nobel Prize on Wednesday, 7th Of October 2009. Yes! Indian born Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, a senior scientist at the MRC Laborartory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge, England, has won the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry along with two others, the Nobel Committee announced on 7th October 2009.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

The two other scientists, who shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with V Ramakrishnan are Thomas E Steitz (US) and Ada E Yonath (Israel). They all are working with MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge.

Born in 1952 in Chidambaram, Tailnadu, Ramakrishnan shared the Nobel Prize with Thomas E Steitz (US) and Ada E Yonath (Israel) for their "studies of the structure and function of the ribosome".

Ramakrishnan earned his B.Sc. in Physics (1971) from Baroda University and his Ph.D. in Physics (1976) from Ohio University.

He moved into biology at the University of California, San Diego, where he took a year of classes, then conducted research with Dr Mauricio Montal, a membrane biochemist.

Let us remember the Great Sons of India who made Indians feel proud by winning the Nobel Prize which is the most respected award the world over.

Here is the list of Those Indians who won this prestigious award and let us salute them...

1) Rabindranath Tagore (1861 - 1941)

Nobel Prize for Literature (1913). Tagore was born and lived in Calcutta for most of his life. He was one of modern India's greatest poets and the composer of independent India's national anthem. In 1901 he founded his school, the Santiniketan, at Bolpur as a protest against the existing bad system of education.

The school was a great success and gave birth to Viswabharati. He was awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature for his work "Gitanjali"; for the English version, published in 1912. The noble citation stated that it was "because of his profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse, by which, with consummate skill, he has made his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, a part of the literature of the West." In 1915, he was knighted by the British King George V. Tagore renounced his knighthood in 1919 following the Amritsar massacre or nearly 400 Indian demonstrators.

2) Sir C.V. Raman (Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman) (1888 - 1970).
Nobel Prize for Physics (1930). C V Raman was born on 7th Nov. 1888 in Thiruvanaikkaval, in the Trichy district of Tamil Nadu. He finished school by the age of eleven and by then he had already read the popular lectures of Tyndall, Faraday and Helmoltz.

He acquired his BA degree from the Presidency College, Madras, where he carried out original research in the college laboratory, publishing the results in the philosophical magazine. Then went to Calcutta and while he was there, he made enormous contributions to vibration, sound, musical instruments, ultrasonic, diffraction, photo electricity, colloidal particles, X-ray diffraction, magnetron, dielectrics, and the celebrated "RAMAN" effect which fetched him the Noble Prize in 1930.

He was the first Asian scientist to win the Nobel Prize. The Raman Effect occurs when a ray of incident light excites a molecule in the sample, which subsequently scatters the light. While most of this scattered light is of the same wavelength as the incident light, state (i.e. getting the molecule to vibrate). The Raman Effect is useful in the study of molecular energy levels, structure development, and multi component qualitative analysis.

3) Dr. Hargobind Khorana
Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology (1968)

Dr. Hargobind Khorana was born on 9th January 1922 at Raipur, Punjab (now in Pakistan). Dr. Khorana was responsible for producing the first man-made gene in his laboratory in the early seventies. This historic invention won him the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1968 sharing it with Marshall Nuremberg and Robert Holley for interpreting the genetic code and analyzing its function in protein synthesis.

They all independently made contributions to the understanding of the genetic code and how it works in the cell. They established that this mother of all codes, the biological language common to all living organisms, is spelled out in three-letter words: each set of three nucleotides codes for a specific amino acid.

4) Dr. Subramaniam Chandrasekar

Nobel Prize for physics (1983)

Subramaniam Chandrashekhar was born on October 19, 1910 in Lahore, India (later part of Pakistan). He attended Presidency College from 1925 to 1930, following in the footsteps of his famous uncle, Sir C. V. Raman.

His work spanned over the understanding of the rotation of planets, stars, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. He won the Nobel Prize in 1983 for his theoretical work on stars and their evolution.

5) Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997)
Nobel Prize for peace (1979)

Born in 1910, Skoplje, Yugoslavia (then Turkey) and originally named Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, Mother Teresa dedicated her life to helping the poor, the sick, and the dying around the world, particularly those in India, working through the Missionaries Of Charity in Calcutta. The Society of Missionaries has spread all over the world, including the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries.

Missionaries of Charity provide effective help to the poorest of the poor in a number of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and they undertake relief work in the wake of natural catastrophes such as floods, epidemics, and famine, and for refugees. The order also has houses in North America, Europe and Australia, where they take care of the shut-ins, alcoholics, homeless, and AIDS sufferers. Mother Teresa died on September 5, 1997.

6) Dr. Amartya Sen
Nobel Prize for Economics (1998)

Amartya Sen (born 1933) was the first Indian to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics, awarded to him in 1998 for his work on welfare economics. He has made several key contributions to research in this field, such as to the axiomatic theory of social choice; the definitions of welfare and poverty indexes; and the empirical studies of famine.

All are linked by his interest in distributional issues and particularly in those most impoverished. Whereas Kenneth Arrow's "impossibility theorem" suggested that it was not possible to aggregate individual choices into a satisfactory choice for society as a whole, Sen showed that societies could find ways to alleviate such a poor outcome.

And the Seventh Man who won the Nobel Prize is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan.

There are few others connected to India also won the prestigious Nobel Prize.

They are:

1) Ronald Ross.
Born in Almora, India, in 1857 Ronald Ross was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on malaria.

He received many honours in addition to the Nobel Prize, and was given Honorary Membership of learned societies of most countries of Europe, and of many other continents. He got an honorary M.D. degree in Stockholm in 1910 at the centenary celebration of the Caroline Institute. Whilst his vivacity and single-minded search for truth caused friction with some people, he enjoyed a vast circle of friends in Europe, Asia and America who respected him for his personality as well as for his genius.

2) Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).
Rudyard Kipling, born in Mumbai, 1865 (then Bombay in British India), was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907.

He remains the youngest-ever recipient and the first English-language writer to receive the Prize. British writer, Kipling wrote novels, poems and short stories -- mostly set in India and Burma (now known as Myanmar).

3) Abdus Salam.

Abdus Salam (1926-1996), born in undivided Punjab and a citizen of Pakistan, and shared a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979, with Steven Weinberg, for his work on electroweak unification, one of the important puzzles of modern theoretical physics. He was a visionary and an advocate of science in the third world. He founded the International Center for Theoretical Physics, in Trieste, Italy, which has nurtured world class physicists through workshops, fellowships and conferences.

4) V.S. Naipaul (1932- )

A British writer, V.S. Naipaul (Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul) was born in 1932 in a family of north Indian descent living in Chaguanas, close to Port of Spain, on Trinidad.

He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. In awarding him the Prize, the Swedish Academy praised his work "for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories." The Nobel Committee added: "Naipaul is a modern philosopher, carrying on the tradition that started originally with Lettres persanes and Candide. In a vigilant style, which has been deservedly admired, he transforms rage into precision and allows events to speak with their own inherent irony."

The Committee also noted Naipaul's affinity with the Polish-born British author of Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad: "Naipaul is Conrad's heir as the annalist of the destinies of empires in the moral sense: what they do to human beings. His authority as a narrator is grounded in the memory of what others have forgotten, the history of the vanquished."

5)14th Dalai Lama

Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama ((Born on 6 July 1935 at Taktser, Amdo, northeastern Tibet).

Former Head of state of Tibet and active leader of Tibetan Resistance towards PRC. Escaped to India when the PRC took over Tibet. Although legally a citizen of Tibet and hence indirectly China, he is head of Tibetan Government in Exile which is stationed in India. He got Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for efforts for Tibetan Freedom through Non-Violence and Spreading Global Peace through Buddhism. Also during Prize Distribution, Head of Prize Committee commented that the prize was a part of tribute to memory of Mahatma Gandhi. Tenzin travels widely, in an effort to promote peaceful ideals.

(Imputs Courtesy: PTI, Wikipedia and other sources)

Historic Yathra commenced from Kurukshetra...

Historic Yathra commenced

from Kurukshetra...

108 days Historic Yathra for protection of Cows, 'Vishwa Mangala Gou Grama Yathra' was started amidst holy Sanskrit hymns and Vande Gou Mataram slogans from the gathering at Kurukshetra, Haryana on Wednesday, 30th September 2009 (on the occasion of Vijaya Dashami).

Speaking on the occasion Shree Raghaveshwara Bharathi Swamiji of Shree Ramachandrapura Mutt Hosanagar said that 'Dharma Yuddha was took place for Seeta Matha in Threta Yug, while Dharma Yuddha was held for Bhoo Matha in Dwapara Yugh and now in Kaliyug we have to start Maha Sangram (Great Fight) for the protection of Gou Matha.

Killing of Cows will lead to the destruction of entire human population. Several breeds of Indian Cows have already disappeared due to killings of Cows. Some breeds of Indian Cows are in the edge of extinction... If we won't fight for the protection of Cows even now, we would not remain eligible to seek excuse of Gou Matha also, He said.

We won't look towards politicians for protection of Cows and won't beg them to save Indian Breeds of Cows. We came to you. Governments have to hear what people say. So this movement should become peoples movement, Shankanaada of Kurukshetra must echoed in every nook and corner of the country, He said.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Ashok Singhal, RSS leader Bhayyaji Joshi, Sadhvi Rithambara, Moulvi of Uttara Pradesh Chote Mia Mouliddin Saheb and others present on the occasion.

Vishwa Mangala Gou Grama Yathra will cover 20,000 K.Ms in the country during its period of 108 days. 4000 Public functions would be held during the Yathra period and 15,000 Upa Yatharas also will be held in support of main Yathra. Total length of Yahtra route would be 10 Lakh KM's including the Upa Yathras.

Apart from Shree Raghaveshwara Bharati Swamiji, Shree Vishwesha Thirtha Swamiji of Pejavara Mutt Udupi, Sadhvi Rithambara, Shree Shree Shree Ravishankara Guruji, Ramdevji Baba, Mata Amrutanandamayi, Acharya Vidya Sagar, Bala Gangadhara Swamiji of Adi Chunchanagiri Mutt and several other saints will participate in the yathra at various points.

Non Chemical Agri expert Padmashree Kutti Menon, former director of CBI Joginder Singh and many others also participate in the yathra.

Kamadhenu Havan, Gayathri Havan and Puja to the Chariot for Yathra 'Gou Ratha' were held earlier on 28th and 29th September under the leadership of Shree Raghaveshwara Bharathi Swamiji.

During this yathra Signature Campaign also will held and Yathra intended to collect more than 50 crore signatures and memorandum with these signatures would be submitted to President of India on January 20th 2010.

View the Video here to know some more info about Gou Grama Yathra.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Count Down Begins to Vishwa Mangala Gou Grama Yathra

Count Down Begins to

A nation wide awareness movement ‘Vishwa Mangala Gou Grama Yathra’ will be inaugurated on 30th September 2009 at Kurukshethra.

Venue : Theme Park, Pehewa Road, Near Sannihit Sarovar, Kurukshethra, Haryana Programme

Starts at : 3:30 pm

Divine Presence : Poojya Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shree Swami Vasudevananda Saraswathi Ji, Pejavara Mathadheesha Poojya Shree Vishwesha Tirtha Swami Ji, Gou Rushi Poojya Shree Dattasharanananda Ji, Poojya Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shree Raghaveshwara Bharathi Swami Ji, Didi Maa Poojya Sadhwi Rutambara Ji, Poojya Shree Swami Chidananda Saraswathi Ji, Poojya Shree Swami Jnanananda Ji, Mahanta Manadas Maharaj Ji, Rinpoche Lochan Tuklu Ji, Bhikku Vishwa Bandhu, Dharmadhikari Dr. Virendra Heggade Ji, Poojya Acharya Shree Baladevji, Chote Miyan Moinuddin Sabari Ji, Navab Majda Ali Khan Hussain Tikari Ji Presence : Shri Bhayyaji Joshi – Sarakaryavah of RSS, Ka.Aa. Adhyaksha Shree Jagadevram Uramv Ji, Jalapurush Shri Rajendra Simha Ji, Padmashree Kutti Menon Ji – Agriculture Expert, Shri Vivek Oberoy Ji – Film Actor, Sa. Joginder Singh Ji – Ex CBI Director, Dr. Shirley Telles Ji – Yoga Expert, Smt. Santosh Yadav Ji – Parvatharohi

Yathra :

In 108 days it covers the distance of 20 thousand kms.

More than 15 thousand Upa Yathras will reach each & every corner of the country.

Signature Campaign : Crores together singnatures will be collected.

Come, Join Us, In this Historic Journey towards Universal Prosperity and Happiness.

For details click the image links above and lend your full support to the movement.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Lokayukta calls for Active Public Action to save Lakes

Lokayukta calls for Active

Public Action to save Lakes

Justice Santosh Hegde attributed the problems facing Bangalore’s lakes to the negligent attitudes of short-sighted politicians and an unconcerned bureaucracy.

Hon'ble Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde called for Active Public Action to save Bangalore Lakes. He was speaking in the workshop on “Urban Lakes as Ecological, Cultural and Public Spaces”, Organised by Environment Support Group in collaboration with Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology at Dr. H. Marigowda Hall, Lalbagh, Bangalore on 26 September 2009.

In his Keynote address Justice Santosh Hegde Karnataka Lokayukta addressed the overall lake situation in Bangalore and then on more specific issues of governance that worsen conditions for lakes.

He spoke of the undulating topography of Bangalore, lending itself to the huge system of manmade lake chains that was in place until relatively recently. He went on to explain that building upon and encroaching on lakes leads to problems of flooding, since problems of overflow were previously handled by water flowing from the upper lakes of a lake series to those further down. He spoke of other problems facing lakes, such as pollution from sewage and heavy metal contamination.

Justice Hegde attributed the problems facing Bangalore’s lakes to the negligent attitudes of short-sighted politicians and an unconcerned bureaucracy. He claimed that faulty governance and overcrowding of the city beyond its infrastructural capacities were both to blame for the death of the city’s lakes.

The only hope he saw was in people organising themselves to question the absolute collapse of the governance systems and engaging with each and every public action, demanding transparency, exposing corruption and ensuring only that development would take place that truly benefits the people. He spoke with alarm that less than 15% of public expenditure truly meets public objectives and cited the recent CAG report which exposed that Rs. 51,000 crores of investment in programmes like NREGA were unaccounted.

In that sense Justice Hegde wondered if the the thousands of crores that the Government proposed to be invested in rehabiltating lakes should be perceived as benefiting the public to the extent of 15%?

Justice Hegde also answered many questions from the audience and encouraged people to intervene at the very inception of a problem and not to presume it is not their problem at all.

Speaking on “A Historical Anthropology of Tank Irrigation Technology in South India” Dr. Esha Shah of the University of Suxxex investigated the history of tanks in Karnataka, studying in particular the folklore and songs that grew up around tanks. She disputed the common assumption that in pre-colonial times tanks were collectively constructed and maintained by communities, attributing that assumption to a tendency to glorify and romanticise history.

Dr. Shah discussed the system through which tanks were constructed, where temples would provide resources (donated by the elite of the community) and lower caste communities provided labour, often under cruel coercion. She spoke of folk tales passed on through the communities which support the latter theory, in which their people were through various means tricked and cursed into poverty and tank building. She also spoke of the complex mythology that would grow up around tanks, with songs and shrines created for women who were periodically sacrificed to make a tank provide water during droughts.

She also spoke of how tanks were not initially built with a view towards environmental sustainability. Of the over 35,000 tanks in Karnataka, merely 300 were built during the British period and most of the rest during the reign of the Vijayanagar Empire. The basic objective was to expand agricultur, particularly paddy cultivation, to places with water scarcity.

She concluded by saying that history does not hold the key to the problems of the present. Our history did not have the democratic structure of present day society, and thus its often brutal solutions to problems could not be replicated in society today. She said that we need alternative ways to imagine the future keeping well our memories from the past as a reminder of what to avoid.

Dr. S. Subramanya of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dr. D. S. Ravindran, IFS, Sunil Dutt Yadav, A. R. Shivakumar, Executive Secretary of the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology, A. T. Ramaswamy, formerly Chairman of the Joint Karnataka Legislature Committee on Encroachment of Public Lands in the Bangalore area, Leo Saldanha of the Environment Support Group, Ms. Bhargavi S. Rao, Trustee and Coordinator (Education) of Environment Support welcomed the audience and also thanked them for all their excellent participation and cooperation. also spoke. Ms. Bhargavi S. Rao, Trustee and Coordinator (Education) of Environment Support welcomed the audience and also thanked them for all their excellent participation and cooperation.

For detailed report of deliberations of the workshop by Anjali Vaidya, click the link to image above.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Proud moment to India: Chandrayaan founds water on Moon..!

Proud moment to India:

Chandrayaan founds

Water on Moon..!

BANGALORE/MUMBAI: This is the moment we should be proud. Yes, It is a giant leap for India's space programme and the biggest scientific discovery of the 21st Century.

India's maiden Moon Mission, Chandrayaan-1 has found water, a discovery that scientists say will upend thinking about space and boost research. And, of course, it has helped shake off the failure tag from the Rs 386-crore Chandrayaan-I project that was aborted last month.

India's own Moon Impact Probe (MIP) on board the country's maiden lunar craft had discovered water on the moon, a finding confirmed by US space agency NASA's probe that was also aboard Chandrayaan-1, India's top space scientist G Madhavan Nair said here on Friday. ( Watch Video by Times Now)

India's first lunar mission had made a "path-breaking and real discovery" by establishing the presence of water on the moon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Nair said.

While expressing pride in the achievement, Nair added: "But the water is not in the form of sea or lake or puddle or drops. It is embedded on the surface in minerals and rocks."

Apart from India's MIP, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) of NASA on board Chandrayaan-1 confirmed the presence of water. The lunar mission had to be aborted Aug 30 after it lost radio contact with Earth.

According to Nair, the "quantity found is much larger than expected".

On whether water can be extracted, Nair said: "Yes, we can. But one tonne of soil may yield half a litre."

Nair said MIP picked up signals about the presence of water as it journeyed down to land on the moon surface.

"One of the main objectives of Chandrayaan-1 was to look for the presence of water. Our MIP confirmed it."

Click the links to image to view the pictures.

(Imputs from ISRO and various other sources)

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Benefits of Gaumata (Cow)

Benefits of Gaumata (Cow)

This is the mail I received from Rohit Khisti. He pointed out the benifits from Cows and sent a vidio appeared in Youtube.

Rohit says ' If we can prove to people about benefits of gaumata, campaign on tv commercials about benefits of gaumata, then i think that will also help our farmers as well cow protection.

.

Few points would be:

1) Biogas plant. This will eliminate expense on Household LPG Cylinder ( Approximate 5000 Rs per year )

2) Milk & Dairy Products.

3) Fertilizers from Cow dung for Farming

Lets explore & start working on it. Drop of water helps to fill up the dam, so lets start contributing as drop of water in the activity..Dont get bugged up with political decisions, non gaumata followers etc.

In the Video here Chaitanya Kumar, Hyderabad city coordinator for Indian Youth Climate Network, explains the simple beauty of a biogas plant in a village nearby to Hyderabad.

Just go through it.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Come Let Us Save our Lakes..!

Come Let Us Save our Lakes..!

Bangalore: Environment Support Group ® in collaboration with Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology has organised a workshop on Urban Lakes to give a thought how to save them.

The workshop will be held on Saturday 26th September 2009 at Marigowda Hall, Lalbagh, Near Double Road Entrance, Bangalore.

Decision makers, media, NGOs, Teachers, students and the public will participate in the workshop and think on the importance of Urban Lakes and their importance in the aspects like Ecological, Cultural and Public Spaces.

Workshop is organised for Decision makers, Media, NGOs, Teachers, Students, Government and Private organisations and their employees. All interested Public are also requested to participate in the proceedings and give their suggestions.

The urban built area of Bangalore once had over 300 tanks (now also called as lakes). These water harvesting systems were built over hundreds of years by various generations, and formed an intricate network of water use serving agriculture and drinking water needs. In addition these water bodies have become critical sites for a variety of flora and fauna, especially local and migratory waterfowl.

Over time, these tanks have disappeared due to poor urban planning, lack of concern and reliance on drawing water from faraway rivers. The cultural underpinnings of water conservation that was so innate to life and living in these regions, slowly eroded with the disappearance of these lakes. As the city grows more dense in population and buildings, the critical importance of lakes as social, cultural and ecological spaces is being felt.

Presently less than 60 of these tanks exist in built Bangalore, and most are heavily polluted or drained. As a direct result of encroachment of lakes and its canal networks, Bangalore's neighbourhoods get easily flooded even in a short rain frequently resulting in loss of life and property.

This workshop will highlight the traditional methods of use and management of tanks and community relationships that kept these practices alive apart from l appreciating the dynamic ecology of lakes and their role in supporting livelihoods of communities dependent on fishing, horticulture and farming. Workshop will focus our concerns on how lakes have transitioned into cesspools of urban waste, sewage and decay.

'

'We will examine how critical lakes are to building water security for ever growing Bangalore. Workshop will examine the role of the Rule of Law and Community Action in reviving these critical water bodie' Organisers of Workshop says..

Workshop will also examine current policies of protecting and conserving lakes and examine their efficiency, especially ongoing efforts at privatising lakes. As an overall process it will try and evolve a series of good practices to ensure our lakes are retained for our generation and generations to come.

This workshop is for decision makers from the government and corporate sectors, academicians, media persons, legal professionals, political leaders, etc. Needless to state, anyone is welcome with prior registration.

Proceedings of this workshop will be widely circulated with the help of mass media and also electronically.

For More Details and Registrations contact:

Divya Ravindranath or Bhargavi S. Rao, Environment Support Group, 1572, 36th Cross, Ring Road, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore 560070 Tel:91-80-26713559/60/61 Email bhargavi@esgindia.org/divyarrs@esgindia.org Website: www.esgindia.org

Lalbagh requires all Participants to pay the entrance fee of RS.10/- at the gates.

For More details click the links to images above.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

People thronged Organic Mela..!

People thronged Organic Mela..!

BANGALORE: Thanks to Swine Flu H1N1 for bringing more awareness about health and strengthening immune system. 'Will Organic Foods wil strengthen our immune system?' This was the main question posed by people who attended the Organic Mela Held at Bangalore on 12th Saturday and 13th Sunday of September 2009 at Lalbagh.

But it was not just health-conscious Bangaloreans, also people from all walks of life who thronged the two-day Organic Mela organised by the Jaivik Krushik Samaj and Organic Farming Association of India (OFAI).

There were a number of farmers who turned up and not necessarily with their produce.

“The mela is a very good opportunity to bring about more awareness. But organic farming still has a long way to go,” said Kudlappa, an organic farmer from Nellur of Gadag district.

Apart from seeds of various food crops and vegetables, there were plenty of eatables such as jams, pickles, rotis, papads, juices made from organic produce.

Aim

The mela brought together farmers and producers of organic food from across the country, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat. The main objective of organising the event was to bring awareness to consumers about what was happening in the organic movement, said N.R. Shetty of Sahaja Samrudha, an organic farmers’ association, which is partnering the organisers.

Seminars

Not restricting itself to being merely a platform where produce is sold, seminars and practical demonstrations on different aspects of organic farming were held for two days in which more than 100 to 150 farmers participated.

Interesting thing is that several practing doctors from Bangalore City also participated in the seminars and enquired much about Organic products.

Calling for a separate ministry for small farmers, Subhash Mehta, Adviser for Food and Agriculture Organisation, said: “The Indian Government sanctions over Rs. 2,50,000 crore in farm subsidies. That amount goes only to farmers with large holdings, who constitute only 10 per cent of the total number of agriculturists. Therefore, a separate ministry should be constituted to look after the needs of farmers with small holdings as the Ministry for Agriculture has clearly failed to do so.”

The mela, which was at the MHS near the Lalbagh Main Gate, concluded on 13th September 2009 Sunday.

To view the photos of Organic Mela click the link to image above. (imputs by G. Krishna Prasad, Ganadhalu Srikanta and The Hindu)

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Photo Exhibition at Mysore

Photo Exhibition at Mysore

Photographers of State have organised beautiful Photo Exhibition at Mysore from September 18 to September 22 on the Occasion of Dasara Festival.

Photographers have invited all to visit and enjoy the Exhibition.

Click the Image above for details.

- Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Our last chance

Our last chance

You may be shocked but this is the truth. We just have one last chance to prevent this from happening to us. An unpredictable, dangerous technology is soon to be tested out on all Indians.

The first Genetically Modified (GM) food – Bt Brinjal , will soon be launched in India on a commercial basis. GM food is created by taking genes from one organism like bacteria, spiders, frogs etc. and inserting them into the genome (gene sequence) of another unrelated organism like rice, wheat, brinjals etc.

The insertion disrupts the genome and it is modified in ways one can’t predict. These unpredictable modifications can result in adverse health-impacts for those who consume GM food. Studies with lab rats fed on GM, linked GM to stunted growth, impaired immune systems, bleeding stomachs, liver and kidney lesions etc.

So, it is no surprise that majority of countries around the world have rejected GM food. The only proof in support of GM food safety comes from the companies themselves, who stand to gain from this.

It is time we stood up and refused to become lab rats in some genetic experiment of big companies. Send a petition to the prime minister now! .

Click the links above and Support the movement to save our food and health.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Film on Vishwa Mangala Gou Grama Yathra

Film on Vishwa Mangala

Gou Grama Yathra

Aastha TV Channel will telecast a film on Vishwa Mangala Gou Grama Yathra on 14th September and15th September, a press note from VMGG Yathra Media Centre said.

Programme Schedule :

On 14th September - 12 pm

On 15th September - 10:30 am

Watch and participate in the Second Freedom Movement.

Organic Mela at Bangalore

Organic Mela at Bangalore

Jaivik Krushik Society and OFAI have jointly organized an Organic Mela on 12th and 13th September 2009 at MHS Hall, Lalbagh, Bangalore, press note from G. Krishna Prasad, Convenor of Organic Mela said.

The purpose of this Mela is to introduce the progress of Organic movement in Karnataka to outside state representatives and also to bring in awareness among the Bangalore consumers about the organic food products, agro diversity and food traditions.

In similar to the success of Brinjal Mela the Organic Farmers Groups, Non-government Organisations and Organic outlet holders/ Organic food buyers have once again come together in organizing this mela. The mela will also house an exhibition of diversity of vegetables, cereals and pulses and a large number of desi varieties.

In this regard we are planning to hold exhibition and sale of crop diversity, food products, reading materials and more, Krishna Prasad said.

Interested can contact:

G.KRISHNA PRASAD

Sahaja Samrudha

www.sahajasamrudha.org

'Nandana', No-7, 2nd Cross, 7th Main, Sulthanpalya, Bangalore-560 037

Phone: 080-23655302 / 9880862058

Click the image above link for larger view of the Mela Details and read the programme details..

You can also view an article on the subject written by Mr. Ganadhalu Srikanta in Prajavani by clicking the link here.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Panchagavya to combat SWINE Flu

Panchagavya to combat SWINE Flu

Bangalore: Panchagavya Ayurvedic centres claims they have cure for SWINE FLU.

Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

When people are terrified by the media reports on the SWINE FLU or H1N1 (Handi Jwara in Kannada) several Ayurveda Experts including including Yoga Guru Ramdev and Sri Sri Sri Ravi Shankara suggested to take Amruta Balli or Tinospora plant with Tulasi everyday to combat Swine Flu virus. They said it strengthens the respiratory and immune system.

Now a mail I received from Media Centre, Shree Ramachandrapur Mutt, Girinanagar, Bangalore has said that Panchagavya also could cure Swine Flu.

Here are the details of the mail.

“Panchagavya, a formulation comprising cow milk, cow urine, cow dung as well as ghee and curd made from cow milk can prevent flu-like infections including swine flu by acting as an immuno-modulator” Meera Aurangabadkar, a senior Ayurvedic teacher associated with the Go-Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra Nagpur said.

"Various Ayurvedic medicines, particularly those prepared from cow products, have for centuries proved potent to build resistance against infectious diseases like flu. We would advise people to take the same along with modern medicines prescribed by experts" Aurangabadkar said.

She said cow urine concentrate, called ‘ Ark ’, could be extremely useful in protecting people against the virus and "probably" also in providing relief to those who have already caught the infection.

Tapan Chakravarty, director of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), who is closely associated with the Go-Vigyan Anusandhan Kendra of Nagpur, said “Both Panchagavya and Ark contain volatile fatty acids and have at the same time anti-oxidant properties. They can help reduce the virulence and multiplication of the viruses such as the one causing swine flu”.

Dr Jayakrishna, Hyderabad, Ayurveda andYoga consultant, suggest that Goumutra Arka, Goumutrasava and Bhibikavaleha are very good drugs to combat Swine flu. He also advices that the Deepopasana [lighting of lamp] with Desi cow ghee in pooja room, or in house.

It is important to note that these medicines should be made only from Indigenous cows.

Shreemad Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shree Shree Raghaveshwara Bharathi Mahaswamiji, Shree Ramachandrapura Math is pioneering in Desi Cow protection movement. Under the project Kamadugha, with continous research, many Panchagavya products are developed in the Amrithdhara Goushalas. Amrithsara [ Goumutra Ark ], Gousara Vati [Goumutra Tablets], Panchagavya Ghritha etc under Ayurveda doctors consultations are beneficial in Swine flu infections.

Gift of God: This is the right time to propagate the message of Gouraksha Andolan. We the people of this nation are lucky to have these knowledge within ourselves. This knowledge should be exposed to common man so that very cheaper but highly efficient medicines are available to every person...

Interested can contact the following persons for further details: Dr Ravi [09449595230], Dr Balamurali Krishna [09449664125],
Shree Narayana Swamiji [0821 2598668], Dr YV Krishnamoorthy [09449595206]

Media Centre
Shree Ramachandrapura Math
Girinagar, Bangalore - 560085, India
Telefax : 080 26420822 Mobile : +91 9972270941
www.srimath.org : www.vishwagou.org
media4cow.blogspot.com

Seer for Cow: Getting ready for Nationwide Yathra

Seer for Cow: Getting ready

for Nationwide Yathra

Shree Raghaveshwara Bharati Swamiji of Hosanagar ended his Chaturmasya at Kolkatha and getting ready to start Vishwa Mangala Gou Yathra from 28th of October Vijayadashami 2009. Why this yathra?

Nethrakere Udaya Shankara

Shree Raghaveshwara Bharati Swamiji of Hosanagar ended his Chaturmasya at Kolkatha and getting ready to start Vishwa Mangala Gou Yathra from 28th of October Vijayadashami 2009. Why this yathra?

This 108 day's Nationwide Yathra is intending to bring awareness about the importance and need of Cow Protection. Many organisations as well as prominent personalities including saints came forward to join their hands in this novel venture.

In the year 2007, much earlier to Deewali, the festival of lights, Gou Puja or Cow Puja was performed in Bangalore in various extensions like Kacharakanahalli, Raja Rejeshwari Nagar, Rajaji Nagar, Sanjaya Nagar, R.T. Nagar, Basavanagudi, Varthur, Koramangala, and Girinagar and so on since 4 months. Seer of Sri Ramachandrapur Math Sri. Raghaveshwar Bharti Swamiji named it as 'Gou Sandhya' means evening of Cow.

On that day Gou Rathyatra with the statues of various breeds of Indian Cows moveed on the main streets of the extensions with all festivity, farmers from in and around brought their cows and oxes for exhibition, doctors held Gavya Treatment camp whole day apart from discussions and speeches on the importance of Indian Breed Cows on the evening meetings. Then all participants in the programmes took the oath given by Sri Raghaveshwar Bharti Swamiji to protect and conserve the Indian Breed of cows for the future generation of India. The programme ended with the Gou Puja by Swamiji, guests and thousands of women who brought Arati from their homes.

This programme ran for 4 months in Bangalore ended with with large scale Programme of ‘Koti Neerajana' or showing Crores of lights to Cows by more than a lakh woman at Palace Grounds on Novermber 18th 2007.

On the end of this month’s together programme, several Muslim ladies also came forward to show light to the cows at the moment of ‘Koti Neerajana’.

Swamiji termed this Abhiyan as Second Struggle of Independence and appealed everybody to participate in it forgetting all caste, creed, political differences as it is only way to remove all financial difficulties of our people especially farmers and bring prosperity to the future generations.

Why this agitation?: The main intention of this agitation is to protect and conserve the Indian Breeds of Cattle from extinction. Ramachandrapura Math started it with its project "Kamadugha' some years back.

There were more than 70 breeds of Indian Cows in India before independence. But after independence they have reduced to 27-30 breeds. Indian breeds of cattle which were like the backbone of our farmers and agriculture started to perish after we achieved Green Revolution and White Revolution using chemical fertilizers and modern machineries. Lakhs of farmers also committing suicides in recent years. Reason for this is our dependence on foreign cattle breed for white revolution and chemical fertilizers for our agriculture. One more reason for this unfortunate situation is that we forgot the fact that cow is not only for milk but for the entire life.

Actually on the course of evolution through the ages Indian Cows have developed characteristics which are acclaimed all over the world. They are sturdy, disease resistant and adaptable to different climates and countries. They are easy and economical to maintain, absorb energy from the sunrays through solar pulse on their back and yield high quality of milk which has less cholesterol. Panchagavya made from these Indian Cow’s milk, ghee, curds, urine and dung has many medicinal properties which are being used in Gavya Chikitsa to cure ailments like cancer, arthritis, stomach disorders and skin diseases. Researches have showed that cow urine is useful to cure more that 165 diseases. Only Desi Bullocks could be used in agriculture and transport. Apart from these Cow dung is best fertilizer to farms.

In this backdrop, Raghaveshwara Bharati Swamiji thought that massive programme to bring awareness about the use of Indian Breed of Cows and importance of them is the only way to prosper our rural people especially farmers. He wanted to enlighten the people that Cow is not only for milk, it's urine and dung has more value compared to milk and for that purpose he started the Project Kamadugha.

Under Project Kamadugha, Ramachandrapur Math started more than 18 'Amruthadhara Goushalas' in Karnataka starting from Hosanagara to Kaggalipur in Bangalore to protect and conserve about 27 breeds of Cows which were collected from all over India, some from Pakistan also. Swamiji has planned to increase these Goushalas to 108.

Apart from setting up of Goushalas, Math has established Bharatiya Gou Bank to help farmers when they feel it is difficult to maintain cows. Farmers can leave their cows in the Gou Bank and take them back after their difficulties over. Math has also started Amrutasatva Project for use of cow dung and urine in agriculture, Amrutha Bharati Gavya Hospitals, Gavya Dairies to purchase Cow Urine and established Gou Raksha Parishats to protect cows from selling to slaughter houses by the way of purchasing them. Math has also established small scale units to produce Gou Arka, tooth powder, soap, dhoopa and variety of cosmetics from cow urine which are healthier than chemical cosmetics.

Object of all these programmes is to bring awareness that Cow is useful in its entire life, Urine of Cow as well as Ox is useful and has medicinal value, and cow urine could bring more income than cow milk to farmers.

Math has already conducted Gou Rathayathra in Karnataka and Kerala in 2005, Nine day Vishwa Gou Sammelana at Hosanagara during April 2007 to bring awareness on the above said issues. Bangalore programme of Gou Sandhya is the continuation of this awareness campaign.

What is the result of this Gou Sandhya? ‘Several Doctors are coming forward to give Gavya Treatment and several Industrialists are getting prepared to establish Cow Urine and Cow Dung based industries in rural areas’ Swamiji say.

Cow Urine Collection Centers in the lines of Milk Dairies should be established so that people could realize that Cow Urine is more profitable compared to milk. Then definitely Protection and conservation of Cow becomes effective and it leads the society to healthier and prosperous life, Swamiji adds.

Here are some answers by Raghaveshwar Swamji to some questions.

·* How you think Cow Urine is economical compared to Milk?

·** We kept the price of Rs. 100 per liter to Cow Urine. Actually it is more in Rajasthan. There is plenty of demand for Cow Urine in state, our collection is not sufficient. For medicine Urine of Indian Breed Cow, Calf and Ox could be used. Hence not only the cows, but calf and ox also could bring money to farmers. Collection of Cow Urine is easier compared to collection of Cow Milk.

·* What about cow urine purification and transportation?

·** Actually Cow Urine purification for preparing “Arka’ is very simple. It could be done in villages also by using mud pot. However experts after research said that cost for setting up of a well planned modern unit could be Rs. 3.60 Lakh. But you can get back this initial investment within two years. One such unit has been established at Jodhpur. We are planning to establish one such model unit at Bangalore.

·* What is so special with Cow Urine?

·** Urine of Indian Breed Cows has about 33 medicinal characters. It purifies blood, increases hemoglobin, cells in the body, cure ailments like cancer, arthritis, stomach disorders and skin diseases. Researches have showed that cow urine is useful to cure more that 165 diseases. Math has already produced several cosmetic items and other products like soap, Dhoopa etc from Cow Urine and Cow Dung.

·* How Urban people can help the programme?

·** Math has evolved a programme called “Gou Sanjeevini’ under which any person can protect a cow by donating minimum Rs. 3000. Normally farmers sell their cows to slaughter houses for this mere amount. Math purchases such Cows and conserve them. Urban people who keep dogs in their homes could definitely keep a cow or calf with them as the cost of maintenance of cow or calf will come out of its urine itself.