Wiped Away With Waves…..

On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by an enormous earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 about 400 km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. The earthquake of such high intensity further triggered a giant wave of around 33 feet on the shores of Japan sweeping everything in its way. The giant wave devoured whole cities and rural areas of country’s north, sweeping away cars, homes, buildings, trains, and boats, leaving a path of death and devastation in its wake. There has been death toll of more than 7,000 people and more than 1, 00,000 people have gone missing.

The tsunami disaster in Japan recalled memories of tsunami in South-East Asia in 2004. As soon as news spread the alerts were issued all across Russia, Taiwan, Hawaii, Indonesia, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the west coasts the U.S., Mexico, Central America, and South America.

There seemed to be a no end to the disaster in Japan as three of its nuclear reactors in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station crumbled one after another on Saturday March 12, 2011. The cooling system of the reactor failed, leaving behind grave danger of radiation for the people in Japan. Many people who got affected had nowhere to go for treatment. Alerts were issued to stay at home for fear of spreading radiation in the environment. Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Naoto Kan, declared it as one of its worst disaster after World War II in 1945.

The courage and patience of the people of Japan is quite commendable, but it is sure to have far reaching effects not only for Japan but for the other countries as well especially when the world is still trying to come out of economic slowdown.

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It was a deadly black Friday on March 11, 2011 for Japan as it was hit by an enormous earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 about 400 km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. The after effect was so devastating that it caused failure of 3 of nuclear reactors triggering high alert of radiation in the environment. More than 3000 people were wiped out in tsunami and now millions of people are facing the fear of radiation in their country.

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Wiped Away With Waves…..............

Wiped Away With Waves….............. On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by an enormous earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 about 400 km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. The earthquake of such high intensity further triggered a giant wave of around 33 feet on the shores of Japan sweeping everything in its way. The giant wave devoured whole cities and rural areas of country’s north, sweeping away cars, homes, buildings, trains, and boats, leaving a path of death and devastation in its wake. There has been death toll of more than 7,000 people and more than 1, 00,000 people have gone missing. The tsunami disaster in Japan recalled memories of tsunami in South-East Asia in 2004. As soon as news spread the alerts were issued all across Russia, Taiwan, Hawaii, Indonesia, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the west coasts the U.S., Mexico, Central America, and South America. There seemed to be a no end to the disaster in Japan as three of its nuclear reactors in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station crumbled one after another on Saturday March 12, 2011. The cooling system of the reactor failed, leaving behind grave danger of radiation for the people in Japan. Many people who got affected had nowhere to go for treatment. Alerts were issued to stay at home for fear of spreading radiation in the environment. Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Naoto Kan, declared it as one of its worst disaster after World War II in 1945. The courage and patience of the people of Japan is quite commendable, but it is sure to have far reaching effects not only for Japan but for the other countries as well especially when the world is still trying to come out of economic slowdown.

******************************************************************* ......... It was a deadly black Friday on March 11, 2011 for Japan as it was hit by an enormous earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 about 400 km (250 miles) north-east of Tokyo. The after effect was so devastating that it caused failure of 3 of nuclear reactors triggering high alert of radiation in the environment. More than 3000 people were wiped out in tsunami and now millions of people are facing the fear of radiation in their country.

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Happy Women’s Day!

One third of the human resources at VOICE are women working for various departments in the office. Our women make the best use of their grey matters, vigour and energy to empower consumers in India. Women at VOICE office make things happen in the subscription, management, writing, legal and technical team.

Isn't it time for our legislature also to have 33 percent women representation. Shouldn’t more women like Jaya Pradha stand up the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Parliament?

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If Wishes were Bar Coded

Are you aware of “Gift Registry”? If yes, do you think it is a good idea?

Western concept is setting a new trend in India, imported by young NRIs and travelers abroad. Prospective brides and grooms tell their friends the gifts they want, not vocally, but through a wishlist in the form of invitation letters or e-invitations. The concept is known as gift registry, where as soon as the preparation for marriage begins a wishlist of gifts is also made and mailed to the guest with the invitation card.

Are you one of the guests who would welcome “Gift registry”?

The brides and grooms are mostly educated in the west and they found the concept of wishlist quite pragmatic and economical. Back in India, they tie up with individual shop which is equipped to handle this kind of traffic or websites that provide gift registry services, and make a wishlist of the items they wish to be gifted. The barcode of these items are mailed to the guests, who can choose a single gift or pool the money to order products from the list. Payments can be made through credit cards, debit cards or directly at the shop. On the day of the event all the gifts are delivered at the doorsteps of the host.

Do you think it will send shock waves down the spine of most guests at the “big fat Indian wedding”?

Surely, gift registry is creating cultural shocks in the minds of Indians who consider it beneath their dignity to ask for gifts. We love giving and receiving gifts of cash, gift vouchers, or gold rather than try to understand what a friend wants or needs. We love to be bestowed with gifts but fight shy of demanding them outright by making wishlists – for after all, the definition of gift is ‘something given of your own free will, and not engineered to be delivered to meet specific wants or needs of the receiver.’

Are you amongst the newly-weds who do not want to end up with junk wedding gifts?

A shift in the mind set can reduce the wastage, as the newlywed will not end up with 4 pressure cookers, 3 dinner sets and a large number of wall clocks. With a little bit of prior consultation, checking out the wishlist and pooling of money the newly wed could have an entire range of kitchen appliances to start a new home. According to owners of gift registry websites, the young generation of 14-35 years is showing huge interest in gift registry, as they are more open to and will welcome new methods of giving and taking gifts.

Gift Registry is useful for occasions like Weddings, Birthdays, Baby Showers, Anniversaries and Festivals. Gift Registry shops and websites provide an array of products in various categories for various brands including foreign brands priced as low as Rs 300 for Apparels & Clothes, Baby & Maternity Care, Pregnancy Apparels, Bags & Luggage, Books & Magazines, Cameras & Accessories, Flowers & Gifts, Home Decor, Jewelery, Kitchen & Home Appliances, Wine Glasses & Accessories, etc. Some also prefer to have experience based gifts like spa treatment, hotel stays or pet grooming sessions.

A few websites like shareurjoy.com, Wishberry.in, lamhe.co.in., have ventured into this new concept with customer-friendly services. Registering and using their services is as simple as using any other online shopping services.

Many mothers of young children would also welcome this new concept on birthdays, as the guests always bring toys that the siblings can play together like chess, badminton racket, tennis racket etc. Gift registry is in its salad days, if we make it part of our culture it will bring smiles on the face of the host and a sense of satisfaction in the minds of the guest.

How to use gift registry service?

• Register with a website or shop.
• Create your wishlist
• Choose the products and get the barcodes.
• Send invitation cards with the link of the site or the shop to the invites.
• Guests can view the list online or contact the shops.
• Purchase the gift.
• Payments can be made through credit cards, debits cards, net banking.
• Gift will be delivered at the door steps on the day of the event.

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6-Year-Old Girl Is World’s Youngest Yoga Instructor:

6-Year-Old Girl Is World’s Youngest Yoga Instructor:

Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and the benefits it has for the mind and body are unquestionable, so its ever-growing popularity is not surprising . But what is very surprising is 6-year-old Shruti Pandey, who has been a successful Yoga teacher for two years now.
Interestingly enough, she is not the only “miracle” in her family, as her older brother, Harsh Kumar, mastered all 84 yoga positions by the age of five, making it into the Limca Book of Records and becoming a source of inspiration and motivation for Shruti. But he has never been interested in becoming a teacher.
67 year-old Hari Chetan, Shruti’s instructor, who set up the Swami Brahmachand Saraswati Kaivalya Dham Ashram 35 years ago, is simply amazed not only with her flexibility, which many may find normal for a child this age, but also with her talent and determination. She proved to be e vary quick learner and as she mastered this art for herself, it didn’t come as a surprise when she started teaching others, in classes of around 30 adults that start at 5:30am. Everyone is amazed with her talent and the patience she puts in for everything and every one.
“The best thing about Shruti is she tries to provide an alternative position for the complicated ones that are difficult for an older person like me to do. She’s very patient,” says 90-year-old retired teacher Swami Bhanu.
After only three months of attending Shruti’s classes, 48-year-old businessman Lokendra Pal Singh says: “I have noticed a positive change in my life. I used to be short-tempered, but now I’m able to control my anger to quite an extent and it’s all thanks to a little six-year old.”

http://zugem.blogspot.com/2010/12/6-year-old-girl-is-worlds-youngest-yoga.html

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Four Reasons Finland's Schools are Better Than Ours....
First, no child in Finland ever takes a standardized test. The only test a Finnish student takes is the one that determines if he/she will go on to university. In addition, standardized tests are not used to measure teaching ability or to compare schools..........
Second, Finland put time and money into elevating the teaching profession. Parents and politicians regard teachers in the same manner they do doctors.........
Third, administrators from principals to school superintendents are all former teachers. ......... Fourth, Finland does not promote the idea of educating its young as a competition. Schools work in tandem and cooperation is the rule rather than the freakish exception. Interestingly, Shanghai – whose students bested Finland in math and science this year – also shuns the competitive model of school reform...........
http://www.care2.com/causes/education/blog/four-reasons-finland-s-schools-are-better-than-ours/

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Consumer Club Activities

Contentment is natural wealth; luxury, artificial poverty

These are the words on which the TEEN CONSUMER CLUB OF BAL BHARTI PUBLIC SCHOOL has been working readily for the past five years since its establishment in the year 2005.

In association with VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION IN INTEREST OF CONSUMER EDUCATION(VOICE),the teachers and the club members have been striving for the augmentation of CONSUMER AWARENESS in the society.The club aims at preparing better consumers in future by sensitizing them towards the various consumer issues prevailing in the society.

The club has been motivating the students and their parents too to become consumer conscious and be vigilant and wide awake on all such consumer products that are detrimental and unsafe. In this regard every year at the school annual function the TCC has been distributing hand outs to teachers and parents that make them aware of their rights as consumers and enthuse them to be a part of this HEALTHY CONSUMERISM.

The club has been inspiring the students not only through speeches and discussions but has provided them a platform to showcase their own views and ideas on consumer issues. Each year the club organizes various fun activities like POSTER MAKING,POWER POINT PRESENTATION,SLOGAN WRITING,QUIZES AND VARIOUS OTHER COMPETETIONS to generate consumer awareness.

Most recently the club has initiated a GO GREEN MOVEMENT that has austerely banned polythene bags in the school premises, the club members monitor this on a regular basis and the club itself provides paper bags in place of poly bags to the students. Under the GO GREEN DRIVE, teachers and students of the school have also started CAR POOLS that saves a lot of fuel because We at the TCC believe that in a consumer society there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy, what we require to be better and green consumers is to move above both.

The club has been a regular witness each year at the IIPM Auditorium for the celebration of NATIONAL CONSUMER DAY ON 24^th DEC. The club members were also appreciated for their constant efforts regarding consumer issues by a famous news daily THE TELEGRAPH.

The TCC supported incalculably by the NGO VOICE has appealed to the rationales of its members and has been sufficiently victorious in gathering support from teachers, students and their parents in carrying forward our legacy MOTHER EARTH WITH DUE CARE.

TCC has constantly been shaping GREEN CONSUMERISM in the minds of its followers to have a better TOMORROW…It frequently reminds its members that it require more sense to spend than to earn it.

TCC’s firm belief is that when the awareness of environmental problems penetrates deeply enough into the community consciousness the purchasing power of the mass market will force all manufacturers to green both their products and their manufacturing processes -- on pain of being rejected in the market-place by green-leaning consumers.

With this the TEEN CONSUMER CLUB continues with the slogan WE CARE SO, WE DARE….!!!

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Helplessness of anti-ragging Helpline number (1800-180-5522)

Harsh Agarwal

It will be shocking to know that there are perhaps more digits (11 in total) in this national anti-ragging helpline number than the number of ragging complaints on which helpline system has achieved any success in last thirteen months. And if we talk of the colossal publicity that this helpline received and the tremendous hope it generated then there is no comparison with the little or no utility that this number has shown so far. Or this may be my illusion. But what can I do, I have read so many media stories on how this helpline would help eradicate ragging, but I am yet to come across even a single success story. And on top of it helpline people never share their internal information with us citing confidentiality as the reason. Confidentiality in helpline- Strange isn’t? If everything is going well as it was anticipated, then I don’t understand the reason to hide anything especially from a voluntary group which is pioneer in anti-ragging campaign in India and running it for almost 10 years now.

Just to make things clear, I am not opposed to the idea of running an anti-ragging helpline. Anti-ragging helpline is indeed important for students who wish to report the incident but do not know where to complain. However I am vehemently against excessive expectation from this helpline number. We are treating helpline number as if it is elixir to the problem of ragging. I wonder if social problems could be solved so easily by starting helpline numbers then India would have got rid of dowry, caste discrimination, and several other social maladies long ago simply by starting helpline numbers.

What is disappointing is that we have suddenly transferred the entire burden of the anti-ragging campaign on this helpline number. We don’t see it as merely one of the ways of lodging complaint against ragging but as a cure to ragging. Our too much optimism from this helpline would only lead us to disappointment. And I am saying this because our hope is based on a fundamentally flawed assumption that ragging victims have the courage to register complaint Here we are ignoring the immense role of fear involved in ragging and the pressure on students to anyhow survive in college as the stakes are very high- in term of getting admission and money and hard work invested on it.

If I recall my days in medical college, which I left 10 years ago because of ragging, I remember I didn’t share my torturous ragging episodes even with my parents for a month. I was afraid if my parents went and complained to the principal, what will be the consequences. And re-imagining the terror that I lived with during ragging day, I can say that 999 out of one thousand freshers in that situation would prefer to endure the torture and take injury on their body than think of lodging any complaint. The terror of ragging is so severe and the fear of consequences of complaining so threatening that the victim doesn’t want to confide the ordeal to anyone. If there is anything that can support my argument then there is nothing better than the revelation made by the government itself. This year in March, government on the floor of the parliament, admitted that helpline received 1.6 lakh calls but could register only 300 complaints. This skewed ratio might be surprising to many. However if we think little practically and understand the fear that a ragging victim has in giving sufficient information (name, name of the college, name of seniors, etc.) to lodge a complaint then we can easily understand why several thousand calls could not be registered as complaints.

The reason for my dissatisfaction is therefore simple. In May 2007 when Raghavan Committee made exhaustive recommendations to address ragging, I was extremely happy. I was full of hope because the committee had recognized all different aspects behind ragging- sociological, psychological and law and order aspect- and suggested appropriate remedies to cure them. But today we don’t know the fate of those 50 odd recommendations that were made in the report after so much deliberation? Today from media reports we hear only about the technical problems that helpline is facing and how we are busy solving them. It seems that our focus on helpline is paramount and we are fighting the entire battle against ragging with this 11 digit number.

Our focus on the real issue of ragging is lost so much so that recently even the news that 19 students died because of ragging in last one year, didn’t make national headlines; Even news of Nayan Adak who 10 months ago tried twice to commit suicide because of ragging and died in the second attempt- the most shocking suicide case I have heard of in my life- didn’t make national headlines. Are we too busy rectifying the helpline? Sigh!

I am deeply saddened. Since my ragging in 2000 till now, 10 years have passed and 2 committees formed, and today we achieved just a defunct anti-ragging helpline! I really don’t know when would we finally dial the right number to solve the menace of ragging? Is there a helpline for that?

(Harsh Agarwal is a Co-founder of Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE, Estd in 2001) and a former Consultant to Supreme Court of India –appointed Committee on Ragging)

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