Panchaamritam 1

PANCHA IS FIVE IN SAMKRITAM ; AMRITAM IS NECTAR

ONE
Meet Elango. Age 12 years. A helper in a roadside automobile mechanic's shop in T.Nagar, Chennai. A town bus speeds past him as he stands near his shop. Elango notices something unusual with the bus; he hears a sharp noise from under the running bus. Yes, the transmission rod - rear axle joint had broken and the bus was about to go out of the driver's control. Elango decided to raise an alarm. He started running along with the bus shouting "stop, stop!" The driver applied the brake and the bus ground to a halt. All the fifty-odd passengers got down and learnt that their lives had been saved by the efforts of Elango. They heaved a sigh of relief. When they looked for the one who saved them all, they found the boy walking back to his shop calmly. A traffic constable who witnessed all this ran up to Elango. In gratefulness he offered to buy a breakfast for him. Elango politely declined the offer and kept on walking toward his workspot.
(Based on a news item which appeared in the Chennai edition of THE INDIAN EXPRESS in 1982. )

TWO
Meet 14 year old Om Prakash. A roadside dweller of Jammu in Jammu - Kashmir state. Once G.M.Jagtiani, a journalist from Mumbai, engaged him to carry his luggage. He took pity on the boy and gave a little more money. Om Prakash won't touch it. He said he would not accept alms. Jagtiani, in appreciation, left a few copies of his booklet with Om Prakash; asked him to sell them and send him the proceeds after deducting a commission. A few weeks later Jagtiani received the due amount. He was overwhelmed and sent back the same to the boy as a token of his happiness over the lad's honesty. To his utter dismay the money came back with the note that the addressee was dead. Om Prakash had died of frost bite while he was asleep at the roadside in that Himalayan state.
(Based on a Letter To The Editor published in the Mumbai edition of THE TIMES OF INDIA contributed by Jagtiani. )

THREE
Dahipara. A hamlet of Orissa 5 kilometres away from the coast. It had - yes, had - a population of 1,050. Of these, 587 were killed by a super cyclone which devastaed 5 coastal taluks of the state in October 1999. Even as the survivers of Dahipara were trying to adjust to their life in makeshift polythene jhuggies in the relief camp, an earthquake struck parts of Gujarat. These villagers of Orissa managed to collect Rs. 7,000. This they promptly handed over to the Chief Minister of Orissa with a request that the amount be sent to the quake hit families of Gujarat.
(Based on a report by THE HINDU dated February 22, 2001.)

FOUR
Meet the people of village Pokharan in the middle of the deserts of Rajastan. They have witnessed two underground nuclear tests, one in 1974 and the other in May 1998. Prior to the second test, one defence department official had a chat with some of the villagers. He hinted that some army men will be patrolling the place as a routine. To his surprise the villagers responded, "Sir, it is the bomb, is it not? We shall keep the secret. Don't worry." They did. Even the effforts of the CIA's surveilance satellites failed to locate the spot of implosion, media reports revealed later.
(Based on a 1998 INDIA TODAY cover story by Raj Chengappa.)

FIVE
The intersection of the then Mount Road and Nungambakkam High Road in Chennai was once the 'Gemini Circle'. About 35 years back, on a busy hour, a man lay there on the roadside in a pool of blood, screaming for help. Seemed to be a road accident. Office-goers were rushing to their offices - after a split second glance at the man. Lakshmi had no office to rush to. Once her eyes fell on the pathetic scene, not a second was wasted. She threw aside the construction worker's 'bond' on her head with the spade and her lunch box in it. Gathered the victim, put him in an autorikshaw and sped off to the hospital. This timely step helped save the man. Of course, Lakshmi had to part with her tiny nose - ring made of gold to pay the auto fare. Add to this the loss of that day's wage which Lakshmi would otherwise have earned by dint of hard work at some construction site. But had she the mind to calculate it all? No chance.
(Based on a report in DINAMANI, a Chennai Tamil daily.)

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PANCHAAMRITAM 99

Pancha is five in Samskritam, Amritam is nectar
ONE
Bharat carried out the first test of a cryogenic rocket engine at Mahendragiri (near Kanyakumari) in Tamilnadu on Saturday, October 28, 2006. That put the country in a select club of 6 nations possessing such a capability. The test lasting 50 seconds was conducted at the Indian Space Research Organisation`s liquid propulsion systems center. It was "very successful", said ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair. This cryogenic rocket engine will enable India to launch heavier satellites. India need not rely on other countries for this purpose hereafter. This is another proof of the capability of Indian scientific community to accept challenges. Earlier, Russia had signed an agreement with India to transfer this high-energy knowhow. But the US thwarted this attempt and made Russia to pull back. But Indian space scientists built this Cryogenic Rocket Engine indigenously after ceaseless efforts. In an earlier episode, Indian computer scientists had accepted a similar challenge and built a supercomputer indigenously.
Based on an editorial in
VIJAYABHARATAM, November 10, 2006.

TWO
Meet Smt. Shakuntala, 69, a housewife residing in KK Nagar, Chennai, Tamilnadu, Bharat. She has visited 2,50,000 Hanumans in 14 years. She read a news item in a 1992 issue of DINAMALAR VARAMALAR, a Tamil weekly that spoke of one Auto Pandi who regularly fed monkeys but always referred to them as Hanuman. That inspired Shakuntala to take a vow to visit 1lakh Hanuman temples. The highlight is that she always prays at those temples for others, not for herself. One prayer by her to bestow a child to an issueless woman flower vendor met with success. Now Shakuntalamma welcomes anyone with any grievance to contact her at phone number: 044-32520770. She offers to pray.
Based on a report by Shri. L.Murugaraj in DINAMALAR VARAMALAR of October 29, 2006. Idea: Smt. Vasantha.
THREE
Sri Lankan refugees, under the banner of the Organisation for Eelam Refugee Rehabilitation (OfERR), have set up 25 livelihood training centres for the tsunami-affected people in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Kanyakumari districts. The OfERR has planned to provide 504 women with skills that offered alternative sustenance avenues. In Cuddalore district, 204 women underwent training in tailoring and handicrafts. At a function organised at Chinnur near Parangipettai on November 2, 2006, Tamilnadu State Fisheries Minister Shri. K.P.P.Sami gave away certificates to those women who had successfully completed the training. Shri. S.C.Chandrahasan, OfERR treasurer, said the refugees had taken up this service to express their gratitude to the host country (Tamil Nadu in India) that provided them with shelter, food and education when they landed here in a destitute condition. A total of 75,737 refugees (most of them Tamil speaking Hindus) are living in 131 camps in the State, and of them, 2,500 obtained degrees he informed.
Based on a report by Shri. A.V.Raghunathan
in THE HINDU, November 3, 2006.
FOUR
Shri Selvakumar (now Shri. Raamaandi) runs a roadside idly shop on Ellis Road, off Walajah Road in Chennai, Tamilnadu, Bharat. Late night every day, he serves idlies and dosas free to about 60 old persons and children below 6 years of age. This annadaanam is going on for the past 25 years without break. He had suffered a lot in his childhood for want of food. So he feeds children. He feeds the aged as they are too weak to toil and eke out a livelihood. "Work hard. If you are unable to feed yourself even after that, come to me"-- reads a board displayed at Selvakumar's idly shop.
Based on report in ANANDAVIKATAN, October 25, 2006. Idea: Shri. Krishnaraj.
FIVE
Vedapuri is the ancient name of Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) on account of the presiding deity Shri Vedapreeshwara. Last week, a film company making a Tamil film `Sabari' held a shooting inside the holy precincts of Shri Vedapureeswara temple, causing much inconvenience to devotees. Many complaints were made to the authorities. On November 2, the company again tried to shoot the film this time with its lead actor Shri Vijayakant present on the site. The news spread and activists of Hindu organizations including Hindu Munnai and RSS, as well as workers of BJP staged a demonstration in protest. They said that such irreligious activities harm the sanctity of the temple. An altercation between the Hindu activists and the film company functionaries followed. Vijayakant hurriedly left the spot. The shooting was cancelled; the film unit packed up and left, complaining that it had obtained prior permission.
(DINAMANI, November 3, 2006)