I was shocked to read recently that in India, over 1,20,000 persons are killed on the roads every year, and the economic loss due to the road accidents is estimated to be over Rs 20,000 crore per annum. According to a report of the World Health Organisation, India had the highest number of road accident deaths compared to other countries, including the most populous China.
The Chairman of the Transport Advisory Forum (TAF), Prof. Dr. N S Srinivasan says that the government should adopt long range vision to reverse the increasing trend in number of road accidents and accident related deaths and injuries in the country through comprehensive measures, covering engineering, enforcement, education and medical care.
In 2007, 1, 14,590 road fatalities were reported as against 79,000 in the year 2000, an increase of 45 per cent. Countries such as Germany, UK, Japan, Korea and Sweden witnessed a decreasing trend, varying from 13 per cent to around 39 per cent.
Better a thousand times careful than once dead.
Earl of Minto, the then Viceroy and Governor General of India laid the foundation for the building on December 12, 1909. It took four years for Loganatha Mudaliar to build it and it cost seven and a half lakh Rupees. Commissioned in 1913, the building was named after Lord Ripon, Governor-General of British India and the Father of local self-government.
The architectural conservation work for this 96-year-old Ripon Building, the heritage structure that is now the headquarters of the Chennai Corporation, began last Monday. This is the first project to be taken up in Chennai under the heritage funds made available as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
The Rs. 7.70-crore project would take 18 months. The focus would be on restoring the original glory of the building.
We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.
A friend of mine, now settled in Kumbhakonam writes:
One of the various issues of contention and disagreement between me and my wife relates to my hair cut. She is of the opinion that I am spending disproportionate money for cutting the countable hairs on my head. Of course, this has become only an annual ritual now. I have no particular time frame for this activity.
A few days back I was frightened to look at myself in the mirror on getting up from the bed with the hair going by the side giving a look of the yesteryear actor “omakkutchi narasimhan”. I thought I need to correct this before others get frightened. I approached one of my well wisher friends, who is presently my adviser on getting to know this town and asked him to suggest a decent hair cutting saloon. He said he will do so in a few days. I was surprised as to why he did not give a name immediately as there are quite a few saloons in this town.
This morning a very decently dressed middle aged person came in a motorcycle with a kid in his hand and called out for me. I looked out and opened the door and he announced he is a barber sent by my friend. I was pleasantly surprised and he did an excellent job by using the terrace as a temporary saloon. My wife had a hearty laugh and said “Don’t you think this is too much of a luxury for you!” Well, I am happy that I don’t have to worry for one more year!
Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like.
Mahatma Gandhi, the Taj Mahal or Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan drawn by schoolchildren may soon feature in specialised homepage logos in popular search engine Google on festive occasions in India. Specialised logos based on the theme ‘My India’ will feature on the special days including national holidays and other festive occasions.
These logos will be selected from the ‘Doodle 4 Google’ competition, where schoolchildren across the country will be asked to “think about what is India and what it means to them,” and then represent their vision pictorially.
The competition seeks to celebrate the talent and the spirit of Indian children. The winners’ doodles will be displayed on Google’s homepage for millions of people to see.
The contest is open to schoolchildren from standard I to X. The criteria for judges to evaluate the contest will be based on ‘artistic merit’ — based on the student’s drawing skills, ‘creativity’ — representation of the theme, and ‘My India’ communication — how well the concept is expressed through the sketch along with the supporting written statement.
Since the participants in this contest are children, the final winner will be honoured on Children’s Day (November 14). The winner’s doodle will be up on ‘google.co.in’ throughout that day. Apart from this, the winner will also get a laptop and the participating school a technology grant. Moreover, there will be 45 other finalists chosen after the contest, who will be felicitated at an awards ceremony to be held in November.
Max Mueller, the German scholar said, “If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India.”
A 28-year-old armed reserve force constable in Dindigul is poised to enter the Guinness Book of World records, having lifted a 68.5 kg sack of rice with his teeth and holding it for 40 seconds at a local school. The constable, Mariappan, beat the record held by Frank Simon of U.S.A, who lifted 63.5 kg with his teeth and held it for 10 seconds.
Mariappan performed the feat in the presence of the District Police Superintendent, Chinnasamy and hundreds of people at a special function at St.Mary's Higher Secondary school recently. Not content with this record, he plans to go a step further and lift a 65 kg sack, perched 38 metres above ground level.
Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves -- to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by our today.
A family court in Chennai has directed the husband of an 80-year-old woman to pay her Rs 4,000 per month as maintenance.
The octogenarian, after 60 years of married life had moved the family court in June this year for a direction to her 85-year-old husband to pay her a maintenance of Rs 10,000 after the man and their youngest son began "ill-treating" her.
The IVth Additional Family Court Judge gave the order following a joint endorsement by both parties and disposed of the petition.
In her petition, the woman, a city resident, submitted that she was married in February 1945 and has two sons and two daughters. She claimed that her youngest son and his family, living in the same house in which she and her husband stayed, joined hands with her husband and began ill treating her.
She said she had approached the police on September one last and after she and her husband were counselled, her husband out of fear for police allowed her to stay on the ground floor of their house and agreed to pay her Rs 2,000 as monthly expenses.
The woman claimed that the house was built from the money raised by selling one of the two acres of land given as dowry.
“When people divorce, it’s always such a tragedy. At the same time, if people stay together it can be even worse.” ~Monica Bellucci
Recently read: I've been to war. I've raised twins. If I had a choice, I'd rather go to war. - George W. Bush.