Thursday 26 April 2012

First Global Road Safety Week (23rd-29th April 2007)I.R.T.E


In remembrance of the first Global Road Safety week (23rd-29th April 2007) who better person to write about –yes the man with  a mission  to see   roads  safe from  any mishap  Rohit Baluja .He is a member of U.N.Road Safety Collaboration and represents India at the commission for Global Road Safety .

As president of I.R.T.E ( Institute of Road Traffic Education) his brain child, he is the observer member party one of UN Economic Commission for Europe. The I.R.T.E has been granted Rooster Consultative Status by the UNESCO.

Dr .Rohit Baluja a  businessman of repute wanted to give back to the society in his own unique way. He took up an issue close to his heart that of Road accidents the largest killers of Indians .A split second miscalculation  perhaps because the driver has earphones plugged in his ears ,or simply music  blaring in the vehicle ,or driving after a drink or so with dulled senses or talking on the mobile phone ….in anger or happiness with the person on the other end or for that matter just tired and just  a  nano second of dozing or riding a two wheeler without a helmet …Karboom…. an accident just happens no excuse what so ever  can change the aftermath of an accident .Life changes forever for the victim and his family !   A traumatic life unfolds with the family painfully  grappling with the   unsettling situation . If the victim lives then  life begins in the backdrop of when the being was  fit and fine  and now broken and distraught. To rub it in so to speak he has the Trauma Centre of AIIMS (All India Institute Of Medical Science)Doctor who I remember had    given a hair rising account of the accident victims. Believe me its like a jolt to the insensitive  audience telling them in no uncertain terms that if the road rules are broken there is absolutely no pardon .The punishment is severe and unimaginable. No matter what… do not break road rules …that is the   message  loud and clear!

His mother a medical Doctor by profession gets misty eyed when she proudly talks of him happy in the thought that he is ‘always thinking about doing good  ’This goes by way of the  hand that rocks the cradle rules the world !In him she has a soft spoken, sensitive humble son who has set out to bring down the accident rate of the country. No he is not alone in his mission . His  lovely wife stands with him and is a rock solid support to his venture. His beautiful comely  daughters  are Papa’s pillars!!!!! Armed with support from family and well-wishers, he set out to help the city  deal with /prevent road accidents . He went on to establish a pioneering institute (I.R.T.E.)  a non profit  N.G.O.in 1991  in New Delhi. Heart and soul he devoted himself to spreading awareness among DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation)Drivers ,Traffic policemen, School children etc .Everything to develop ‘Road culture’ in the seventh largest country in the world with a burgeoning population .

To spread awareness amongst children the future of our country ,a series of workshops were organized in the schools . The results were encouraging . It  made children sit up and think .Their fertile minds came up with unique slogans ,posters , paintings drawings , depicting everything  concerning road safety  .Also brilliant declamations ,debates ,role plays  about Traffic ,roads ,accidents ,parking pedestrian crossing ,fines for offenders, getting licenses by dubious means  and the normative aspect i.e. what ought to be an ideal situation etc  were organized in the schools. The students were  quizzed on the Traffic signs and were  tutored  to be righteous and point out anyone breaking Traffic rules – be it their very own family members. e.g. if they zipped passed a red light …

There’s another feather in his cap that of establishing a college of Traffic Management in NCR Delhi.It is the only single umbrella facility for research and training in all areas of Traffic Management!

In  collaboration with Maruti Udyog he designed the interceptor to capture video based moving violation of the Traffic. His effort was appreciated and recognized by the government of India at the national Republic Day parade (1996) where one views the menacing looking tanks and missiles etc being showcased was his puny little Interceptor rolling  Raj Path India Gate and my heart swelled with pride !Yes even I am a founder member of his vision …though I have yet to make a meaningful contribution !


Monday 16 April 2012

Titanic Nostalgia

April 15, 2012 marks 100 years of sinking the world’s famous ship.
The world is gearing up to observe the day with:
1.       memorial cruises
2.       special merchandise
3.       books
4.       meals and music.

Of course all this helps to fuel a globally profitable business.
Delhi has also geared up to pay homage to the crew and passengers  as follows
serving the last 10 course meal that was on the Titanic First Class menu.,at Out of the Box restaurant in Khan Market .
or by paying tribute to luxury that was Titan’s integral part. The interiors of CafĂ© Cruise in Rajouri Garden have been made to resemble that of the luxury liner. The waiters stewards will be dressed according to the times.
Pirates of Grill another eatery will pay homage to the selfless members of the Band who chose to play amidst the chaos to calm and soothe the nerves of the terrified hapless humans .They will have a live Band play numbers of the 1900’s played aboard the Ship.  And so on…(I on my part find the very  thought of eating in the back drop of  a Titanic’s menu or Band or interior turns my tummy !The scary images of the helpless hopeless, terrified masses in the movie is vividly etched in my mind   )

It is indeed a story that refuses to sink .The mystery, fascination of the great tragedy hasn’t waned.
James Cameron has resurrected the movie Titanic in 3D.
Canada Post unveiled stamps last month to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the disaster.
A Titanic  Cruise with the same number of passengers abroad is setting sail to retrace the ship’s voyage including a visit to the location where it sank .The organisers of M.S. Balmoral Titanic Memorial cruise  are trying to recreate the onboard experience (minus the disaster),from the food to a band playing music from that era .

A former U.S. Navy officer Bob Ballard also a professor of oceanography discovered the remains of the iconic ship in 1985.He as a part of tie-up is presenting a documentary called”Save  the Titanic “on the 100th anniversary of it’s disaster. He refers to it as “irony  personified in history” He explains the phrase …’you have this revolutionary ship that is unsinkable carrying a cross section of people  in society .And then it goes and hits an ice berg and sinks on its maiden journey that’s why it is irony personified in history .

Talking about his discovery which came after considerable research he says it was a sombre moment when he and his team first spotted the boiler of the Titanic .Ballard feels that the Titanic is a common heritage of all of us .Steps should be taken to preserve human history in the ocean.

Even while I was writing this from the dailies Hindustan Times ,Times of India …the Discovery channel saw two great documentaries Titan –the Aftermath ,and Titanic-the inside story .

Sunday 15 April 2012

MUNICIPAL ELECTION OF DELHI.

Elections to the trifurcated Municipal Corporation

The people have experienced 5 years of BJP rule in MCD. There are two main parties and 15 parties along with 1,176 independent candidates in the fray 3 new civic bodies will replace the 54 year old Municipal Corporation of Delhi .

The Congress party says vote for development and the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) asks for vote against corruption.

For the past couple of weeks the lonely back lane of my house is teeming with activity …Jeeps and cars full of youth come here every morning chalking out the day’s itinerary with their banners flags and scarves etc. rehearsing their street plays in favour of the party/candidate they are canvasing for .There is so much of enthusiasm, din and bustle in the back lane .My favourite pastime is sitting glued to my window watching Democracy being played Live!

Around 1.15 crore people should vote today .However with Baisakhi festival on Friday we have had a long weekend perhaps quite a few of Delhites might be off on a vacation. These youngsters have been shouting themselves hoarse spreading awareness that   Delhi is yours ,participate in its progress by casting your vote etc.

Now for some facts
·         Rakesh Mehta is Delhi state Election Commissioner.
·         Around 2,400 candidates are contesting for 3 municipal bodies North
·         South and East .There are 904 candidates in South,885 in North and 634 in East.
·         There are 11,543 total polling stations.55 of them identified as  hyper-sensitive ,
·         275 declared as sensitive.
·         138 seats reserved for women.
Counting of votes on Tuesday …let’s see who wins!

Thursday 12 April 2012

TREMENDOUS POWER OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

Your subconscious mind is always working even when you are sleeping or not concentrating!
Hence beware of the thoughts that you harbour.
Whatever you think during your waking hours i.e. by your conscious mind -is a feeder to your subconscious thoughts .
Therefore it's important that you feed your subconscious  mind with positive thoughts.
Things work out the way you think!
Swallow your pride and weed out all sorts of negative thoughts!
Warning!
REMEMBER...
WHAT YOU PERCEIVE
IS WHAT YOU BELIEVE
AND WHAT YOU BELIEVE
H A P P E N S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                  B      A+   PERSON!
HAPPINESS WILL COME TO YOU!!

Thursday 5 April 2012

THE FIRST EVER U.N. WORLD HAPPINESS REPORT!!!!!

 I opened yahoomail to check for an e mail from my Dad and I came across this ...GNH(GROSS NATIONAL HAPPINESS) . I went on to read all about it and thought its not a bad idea after all to base all economic activities on variables that will keep mankind happy  .One I feel should be to keep strife both external and internal at bay...a very difficult proposition...right?!The word Happiness caught my attention . Is n't that the most important endearing wish for our near and dear ones?Great someone thought it important enough to put it down as a world report !
The report was released at the U.N. Summit in New York was convened by Bhutan -the tiny Himalayan Nation which made headlines 30 years ago for using the term (GNH) Gross National Happiness.GNH was coined in 1972 by the then king of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck .He said 'GNH is more important than GNP'
Economist Jeffery Sach who edited the WHR(World Happiness Report)said that Happiness could be achieved independent of economic welbeing as measured by the  Gross National Product(GNP)
The purpose of development must be to create conducive conditions through public policy for the pursuit of the ultimate goal of happiness by all citizens .
Social factors such as 1.strength of social support 2. absence of corruption 3.degree of personal  freedom ... are more important than wealth.
The report entitled Happiness and Well being -defining a new Economic Paradigm ,rellects on a new world wide demand for more attention to happiness and absence of misery as criteria for government policy .
It also listed suggestions for the government to follow in order to promote happiness...
1...helping people meet their basic needs
2...reinforcing the social system.
3...implementing  active labour policies
4...limiting the scale of green house gas emissions.
5...improving mental health system
6...promoting physical health 
7... helping public resist hyper commercialisation
8...promoting compassion,altruism honesty

The Happiest country is Denmark
2. Finland
3.Norway
4.Netherlands
5.Canada
6.Switzerland
7.Sweeden
8.New Zealand
9. Australia
10.Ireland
11.U.S.A.
18th is Britain and 156th is Togo
Well ! it's high time that we overcome our basic instincts that of  giant sized ego ,hatred,anger ,jealousy,mine and thine.Believe me happiness will be just round the corner!






Wednesday 4 April 2012

OXYMORON

A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms .The most common forms of oxymoron involves an adjective -noun combination of two words. They can be devised in the meanings of sentences too.
Some examples...
Dark light
Open secret
Original copy
Bright shade
Pretty ugly
Anxious patient
Alone together
Act naturally
Serious joke
Deafening silence
Free rent
Clever fool
Dry lake 
Fresh sour cream 
Bitter sweet 
A little big
Just war 
....there are so many find more and add to your list!