Kochiness : February 2014

Top Must-Visit Tourist Destinations in India

20:19 Mohammed Ibrahim 0 Comments

Before Complaining, Read this!

06:13 Mohammed Ibrahim 0 Comments

Most of us complain that we have not developed even after 67 years of Independence. It is fine that we complain ourselves of our problems and limitations. Let us point out our problems for a better India. But beyond all this, there is a lot of achievements to be proud as an Indian. In front of the world you can proudly say, that You Are an Indian. Trust me, we are developed and flourishing as a nation. Read and understand how fortunate you are to be an Indian.

It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four world religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also helped shape the region's diverse culture.The Indian economy is the world's tenth-largest by nominal GDP and third-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies; it is considered a newly industrialized country. A nuclear weapons state and a regional power, it has the third-largest standing army in the world and ranks eighth in military expenditure among nations. India is a pluralistic, multilingual, and a multi-ethnic society. It is also home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. These were some excerpts from Wikipedia.

Yes, I do not forget the fact that we face poverty, corruption and malnutrition. But see the development we have gone through even after facing all these stigmas. Even though the British looted our wealth, diamonds and resources, We are still rich. We have made our path through stones and thorns. Even after the best corruption of the world, we have developed to this extend. Just imagine of the progress that we would have undergone if there was no corruption or looting.

Even after being the second largest populated country, we are able to provide free education, rice for 1 rupee, student concession in the transports, enhance our public distribution system, uplift the minority and deprived castes. We have made all this a reality. We have corruption and various problems even at all these steps, but still aren't we implementing all these steps efficiently?

When you complain about the transportation facilities provided here, are you aware that you are in a country

with the longest network of roads? Do you know that you are staying in a country which has the golden quadrilateral? If you are an Indian Driving License Holder, then you are eligible to drive the longest distance with a single driving license. Isn't this an achievement?

When you keep your jaws open and wide at the metro or the railways of another nation, are you aware that we have the largest network of railways? The largest employer in the world is the Indian railways. We have the metro. We have monorails. We have electric trains. We have locomotives. We have everything. Every state, every corner is connected with our efficient railway system.

When you complain about the our scientific and educational progress, have you forgotten about our IITs (Indian Institute of Technology)? Have you forgotten ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization)? Do you know that millions of students arrive every year to pursue quality education on our land? At least keep in mind that we found water on earth!

Now coming to the healthcare facilities, India is one among the leading healthcare providers in the world. There are millions of patients flowing into our nation for quality healthcare and they go back with a whole hearted smile. No, don't argue that they are expensive. India has the largest and the most efficient public health care system. You have magnificent government multi-speciality hospitals, doctors, specialists, labs and surgical facilities, and all this at 2 rupees. Isn't this something to be proud of?

This is not the end of our achievements. This is just a beginning people. If you simply browse through, you can find a million things that we'd find no where else in the world. We have the largest and the cheapest telecom network, stop complaining that your call rates are high. And there a billion things remaining. Keep discovering 'INCREDIBLE INDIA'.

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The Best of Indian Guinness World Records

19:50 Mohammed Ibrahim 0 Comments

Have you ever wondered the number of Guinness Records set by Indians? The exact number is still unknown as there is no official classification based on the country of origin. But today we are going to share some of the best Guinness World Records set by the Indians. Yes a list of purely Indian Guinness World Records. Some of them might give goosebumps to you.

1. WORLD'S HIGHEST SCORING ODI PARTERNERSHIP

This one might not make your jaws go wide. India is well-known for its glory in cricket and our players have always been among the best of cricketers. The highest-scoring batting partnership in a one-day international is 331, by Sachin Tendulkar ( 186 not out ) and Rahul Dravid ( 153 ) for India v New Zealand at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad, India, on 8 November 1999. They scored in the second wicket. The one day international match was against New Zealand, in the season of 1999.

2. WORLD'S MOST FORWARD THINKING RAIL TRAVELLER

Yes, this one is something really exciting and strange. An Indian man has entered the record books after making a rail journey to Delhi on a 26-year-old ticket.

On 19th Jan 2000, Fakhruddin Takulla ( India ) travelled from Mumbai ( Bombay ) to New Delhi, both India, using a ticket he had purchased on 15 July 1973 –26 years 6 months earlier. Takulla used the unlimited booking service offered by the Indian Railway Authority so that he could attend the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence.

3. WORLD'S CROWDIEST RAILWAY SYSTEM

The Bombay Suburban Railway has the highest passenger density of any urban railway system in the world.

The system carries more than 7.24 million commuters daily. It is a suburban rail system serving the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. It is operated by Indian Railways' two zones, Western Railways (WR) and Central Railways (CR). The trains plying on its routes are commonly referred to as local trains or simply as locals. Spread over 465 km, the suburban railway operates on 1500 V DC / 25000 V AC power supply from overhead catenary lines.

Keep checking for more updates.. ;)
Data obtained from various sites.

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Caste and Religion - Better left unknown

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How much are we going to pay for this idiotness?

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They call it a 'Municipality Road'

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20 Clever Indian Inventions - You definitely wouldn't have known these.

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1. Buttons

Buttons were first used in Mohenjo-daro for ornamental purpose rather than for fastening. They were first used in the Indus Valley Civilization by 2000 BCE.

2. Chess

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Chess developed out of Chaturanga, which is an ancient strategy board game developed during the Gupta Empire in India around the 6th century AD. Now you know why Vishwanathan is a wonder in chess.. Chak de India.

3. Prefabricated home and movable structure

In 16th century Mughal India, during the reign of Akbar, the first prefabricated & movable structures were invented.

4. Ruler

Rulers were first used by the Indus Valley Civilization prior to 1500 BCE. Made of ivory, the rulers found during excavation, reveal the amazing accuracy of decimal subdivisions on it.

5. Shampoo

The word ‘Shampoo’ is derived from chāmpo (चाँपो). It was initially used as a head massage oil for the Nawabs of Bengal during the Mughal Empire around 1762. It evolved into shampoo over the years.

6. Snakes and Ladders

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The game, Snakes & Ladders, was invented in India as a game of morals. Later it spread to England and eventually introduced in the USA by game pioneer Milton Bradley in 1943.

7. Cotton cultivation (We clothed the world, yay!)

The ancient Greeks used to wear animal skins and were not even aware of cotton. But Indians were sort of cool

and started cultivating cotton during the 5th – 4th millennium BCE in the Indus Valley Civilization. The word spread to the Mediterranean and beyond and soon everyone was ordering one from Flipkart. Well, pretty much.

8. Fibonacci Numbers

The Fibonacci numbers were first described by Virahanka, Gopala andHemachandra as an outgrowth of earlier writings by Pingala.

9. Decimal System, Quadratic formula and Zero!

It was in 7th century CE when Brahmagupta found the first general formula for solving quadratic equations. The decimal system (or the Hindu number system), which was a precursor of the Arabic numeric system, was developed in India between the 1st and 6th centuries CE.

10. Suits Game

The popular game of cards originated from India & was known as Krida-patram (which literally means “painted rags for playing”).

11. Cataract Surgery

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Indian physician Sushruta (6th century BCE) had the knowledge of performing cataract surgery. It spread to China from India. Greek scientists would visit India to get operations done and also to learn the nitty-gritties.

12. Diamond Mining

Worldwide, India was the only source of diamonds until the discovery of mines in Brazil in the 18th century. Almost 5000 years ago, diamonds were first recognized and mined in central India.

13. Water on Moon

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ISRO’s Chandrayaan-1 made the startling discovery that our moon is not a dry ball of rocks. The discovery of lunar water is attributed to the Chandrayaan mission.

14. Radio/Wireless communication

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We all know that Marconi received a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909 for contribution to the development of wireless telegraphy. But the first public demonstration of radio waves for communication was made by Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose in 1895, two years prior to Marconi’s similar demonstration in England.

Sir Bose was posthumously credited (more than a century later) for his achievement. The fact remains that this discovery truly shaped the face of modern wireless communication.

15. Flush Toilets

Flush toilets were first used in the Indus Valley Civilization. These existed in most homes and were connected to a sophisticated sewage mechanism. The civilization was prominent in hydraulic engineering.

16. Binary Code

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Binary numbers were first described by Pingala (c. 200 BC). Pingala is the traditional name of the author of the Chandaḥśāstra, the earliest known Sanskrit treatise on prosody.

17. Ink

Many ancient cultures and civilizations independently discovered and prepared ink for writing purposes. The source of carbon pigment used in Indian Ink (called musi) used in ancient India, was India. Since 4th century BC, the practice of writing with ink with a sharp pointed needle was common in South India.

18. Steel & Metal works

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Ancient Indians were pioneers in metallurgy. High quality steel was produced, almost two thousand years before it was understood by the West. One of the most remarkable feat in metallurgy: creating a seamless celestial globe, was invented in Kashmir. It was earlier considered impossible to create a metal globe without seams.

So thanks to India, Iron Man movie can be shot these days.

19. Fiber Optics

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Named as one of the 7 ‘Unsung Heroes’ by Fortune Magazine, Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany, is widely recognized as the ‘Father of Fiber Optics’ for his pioneering work in Fiber Optics technology. Watch him speak eloquently on his entrepreneurial journey.

20. Plastic Surgery

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Yes, you heard it right. Indians were pioneers in Plastic Surgery too. It was carried out in India as early as 2000 BCE.

So, we’ve always been a cool country. History is testimony to it. So what’s stopping you from being innovative? Go, win the world.

P.S Data obtained from various sites.

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The Life of a Street Dweller - a word for the Poor

03:07 Mohammed Ibrahim 0 Comments

As all the governments promise to rehabilitate the homeless, we still come across the homeless people in

every nook and corner of our cities. As we pass by them, we never wonder whether they have had a piece of bread in the morning or what they'd do all day to earn a living. In the fast moving world, everyone seems to be busy with their life, moving and running to catch buses and to punch the entry at offices. But these street dwellers seem to be paused in between a fast moving world. As the world progresses scientifically and financially into prosperity, these poor people of the streets have just a dream, a piece of bread three times a day.

Neither the society nor the government bodies are keen to know about their life or to learn about the life they live. As we are all blessed with a wonderful life filled with food, movies, broadband internet, education facilities and there goes our list of endless luxuries, these people are restricted even to dream a life with a shelter and food. As we are busy enhancing the lifestyles of our community, building bridges and eight lane roads, environment friendly buildings, parks and museums, and anything that would enhance our lifestyle, why don't we spend a 10% of our nations budget on rehabilitating these street dwellers. In a nation where the poor fights for a piece of bread and a place to sleep, how can we even think of an environment friendly architecture and a pollution free geographical area. The pollution that is spit out by a slum in Mumbai would be a hundred times hazardous than the smoke a BMW would emit out. It is too late to rehabilitate these dwellers and to enhance their life.

As a morning hits in, as you wear ironed clothes to go to your daily activities, there are these poor who polishes your shoes or washes the public lavatories to buy a piece of bread that you just dropped into the waste bin before you left to the office. There are millions of poor who are ready to work and earn a living but are left unemployed as they are unable to find jobs. Our country has a lot of public works and activities that needs man power to carry out. Why don't we use these people to complete such public government works, as this would make our nation beautiful and fill their life's with happiness.

Last day as I passed through the subway located in one of the metro cities of India, I came across a 45 year old man who was sitting idle wondering where to go and what to do. As I had some time before my bus arrived, I happened to have a small chat with him. I asked him whether he was born and bought up in the same city, and he passed me a smile. As I again inquired him about his whereabouts, all he wanted was a glass of tea to be bought and served to him. He then started speaking to me with a mild smile on his face. His father was a shoe polisher in the same metropolitan city of India. His mother died when he was 10 years old and it was his father who took care of him. The slept in the footpaths as their daily earnings could afford them nothing more than food to fill their stomach. They took bath and carried out other natures' calls at the lake that was located nearby. As he grew up, he tried for different kinds of jobs at different places. As he was an illiterate, he was mostly cheated without being paid enough wages for the work he did. Even that diminished as time passed. Now he is left without any job to do and the life is paused in the fast moving city. He cannot even carry out the shoe polishing as most of the white collared people had a shoe polisher at home, another technologies toy, he smiled. He said me that he was tired of his life and wanted to die as soon as possible. I stood in the crowd listening to him while my bus honked at me.

This is just a tiny bit of a street dweller. The English language itself isn't able to convey his situation with its seriousness and helplessness. Even if you aren't able to bring out a helping hand, offer them a silent prayer as God is the only one who can help them at the moment.

-The Reader is an I.T professional of 22 years working in the city of Mumbai.

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He raped, you celebrated, she suffered. Where is she now?

08:21 Mohammed Ibrahim 0 Comments

There was an incident that was celebrated by the local and national medias with unity and integrity. It was the incident of a partially sighted girl who was raped by an auto-rickshaw driver in the heart of the city.

You and I are equally aware of the incident and the social and media interference that was created following the incident. We appreciate them for bringing out the news to the people and for reminding the Keralites that such incidents can happen not only in Delhi or Mumbai but also Kerala, a place which is well-known for its cultural and educational prosperity.

But dear fellow brothers and sisters, let us think again. Is any one of you aware of the present situation of the victim? The progress of the cases that were charged on the guilty? What did the government and the welfare parties do for the girl?

I can definitely say, NO! Neither we are aware of all this nor we are interested in knowing it. Yes, we have forgotten her. The media has forgotten her. Let us not blame the media, the news value of the incident has been lost and cannot account for any further benefits to them. But as a citizen who pledges that all the Indians are our brothers and sisters, how can we forget her? She was an orphan. She had no one to console her. She had no one to bring her back to life. She was grown in an orphanage. And more over, she was partially blind. Don't we have a responsibility towards her?

Life is a journey. And when one of us slips a step, its ourselves who should help each other to carry on with our journey. The government has the responsibility of rehabilitating the girl to her normal life, not because she pays you tax or she is a citizen, but at least because that would benefit you in the coming elections.
I have my own limitations and I myself cannot investigate on her present state or whereabouts. I urge our local and national media to look into the issue and to bring about a helping hands to that sister of us.
She has to be helped to live further. It wasn't her mistake. She deserves to live a life in this world. Let us together bring her back to life.

And I repeat, SHE DESERVES TO LIVE HER LIFE.

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Pollution at its Best

04:08 Mohammed Ibrahim 0 Comments

Newer Posts

Popular Posts

Top Must-Visit Tourist Destinations in India

1. Chitrakot Waterfalls

2. City Palace in Udaipur

3. Mahabodhi Temple

Before Complaining, Read this!

The Best of Indian Guinness World Records

1. WORLD'S HIGHEST SCORING ODI PARTERNERSHIP

2. WORLD'S MOST FORWARD THINKING RAIL TRAVELLER

3. WORLD'S CROWDIEST RAILWAY SYSTEM

Caste and Religion - Better left unknown

How much are we going to pay for this idiotness?

They call it a 'Municipality Road'

20 Clever Indian Inventions - You definitely wouldn't have known these.

1. Buttons

2. Chess

3. Prefabricated home and movable structure

4. Ruler

5. Shampoo

6. Snakes and Ladders

7. Cotton cultivation (We clothed the world, yay!)

8. Fibonacci Numbers

9. Decimal System, Quadratic formula and Zero!

10. Suits Game

11. Cataract Surgery

12. Diamond Mining

14. Radio/Wireless communication

15. Flush Toilets

16. Binary Code

18. Steel & Metal works

20. Plastic Surgery

The Life of a Street Dweller - a word for the Poor

He raped, you celebrated, she suffered. Where is she now?

Pollution at its Best

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