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 I bow to Godess Saraswati who full-fills the wishes of the devotees.
I pray you to enlighten me with knowledge.

A presentation of Utsav

Editors: Alankar Chaudhary, Amit Kedia

Disclaimer: The editors and publishers of this magazine and Utsav – the Indian Student’s
Association at UBC, are not responsible for articles published in the magazine; they are the sole
responsibility and property of the original authors. This is an annual newsletter of Utsav – the
Indian Student’s association at UBC. The advertisements published in this magazine are
according to instructions given by the sponsors themselves.

The Editors will appreciate your views on the new issue of Geetanjali.
Please send your valuable feedback in gitanjali_utsav@yahoo.ca

Cover Design: Alankar Chaudhary

Printed at: Copysmart Copy Center 103-5728 University Blvd,

TEL: (604) 222-3189.
 UTSAV Executive Committee

Top Row (L to R): Hemanth K. Srinivas, Kailas V. Jondhale, Soubhagya Pattanayak,

Amit Kedia, Praveen Kaligineedi
Bottom (L to R): Alankar Chaudhary, Subrata Deb, Ankit Bhargava

“The challenge of every team is to build a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another
because the question is usually not how well each person performs, but how well they work
together.” -Vince Lombardi
 In This Issue…
Editorial 2 Poems 27
Ankit Bhargava & Alankar Chaudhary
Chief Guest’s Message 3
Recipe Corner 28
Message from Utsav President 4 Amit Kedia & Mohua Podder

Message from other committee members 5 Immigration 29

Rose Mary Chacko
Setting up Student Exchanges and Research
Collaboration Between UBC and Institutions in Some Naïve Questions Answered? 30
India 7 Hemanth Satish
M. A. Wells
Tripura: An unexplored Heaven in India 31
India Shining – A Sober Look 9 Subrata Deb
Mukesh Eswaran
Indian Government TRIPS on the New
Awards and Achievements 10 Pharmaceutical Legislation 33
Subhadip Ghosh
Myth of Aryan Invasion of India 11
Rajnish Kumar Some Interesting Facts about India 34
Praveen Kaligineedi
My country calls me back 13
Palash Bera Ancient India – Why do we let aliens write our
history 35
The rising of Bollywood – 2005 14 Raghavendra D
Hemanth K. Srinivas
Economic Integration between India and China:
Threw a cup of water on ants on a burning log to Shifting of power from West to East 38
save them 15 Amit Kedia.
Nitin Gupta
Something to write about 39
Was Introduction of English by Britishers a Boon Hemanth K. Srinivas
for India 16
Amit Kedia Medium (Space) around us and Our Existence
(Hindi with English Translation) 40
Laughter 17 Alankar Chaudhary
Lino Coria Mendoza
“AANSU”(Hindi with English Translation) 42
An Indian Dream – Returning to glory 18 Alankar Chaudhary
Raghavendra Devendra
“Bharat Setu” (Hindi with English Translation) 43
The Miraculous Breath 21 Alankar Chaudhary
Ms Sharmista Deb
Marathi Poem (Marathi with English Translation) 44
Discover India crossword 22 Kailas Jondhale
Amit Kedia
Calender 45
Victims of SEM 23
Alankar Chaudhary Authors’ Information 46

The Queen 26
Rajnish Kumar

1
 A Word to our Readers

Utsav celebrates the spirit and ethos of being an Indian at UBC. It aspires to make the international community
aware of our immense cultural heritage. The mission of Utsav is to provide a platform for continuous dialogue
and interaction among students of Indian origin at UBC, with a goal of improving student life. We serve to
represent and promote the common interests of the Indian students and create a spirit of togetherness.
Geetanjali, the annual publication of Utsav is a showcase of rich Indian cultural heritage and also serves as a
platform to recognize talent among the Indian Student community. As an Editor, It gives me immense
satisfaction and pleasure to introduce this issue of Geetanjali’05 to you all. Geetanjali is timed with the start of
the academic year and induction of new students to the Utsav’s fold and UBC in whole. Utsav of all hues
heartily welcome them with spread out hands.
At the outset I would like to thank the contributors of this issue. The diverse range of topics clearly speaks out
their versatility and creativity. Geetanjali’05 has something for everyone…. Nostalgic-about-India articles,
poems, facts and figures about India, jokes and some very serious articles. These articles may make you laugh,
shower you with mystic romanticism, or, in some cases, even make you think.
While you enjoy reading Geetanjali’05, please also thank our sponsors for their kind consideration and
continued support. Last but not the least; I would like to thank the Utsav’s committee members for their great
enthusiasm and guidance.
I am sure this Geetanjali would help in joining our hands together to express the real Indian before the UBC
community. Finally, I hope that you find the newsletter, a cool experience and thus reciprocate the selfless
efforts of the people behind it who have endeavored to make Geetanjali’05 happen.
Enjoy Reading!!!
Amit Kedia
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

“H ar mod par mil jaate hain humraah hazaron, Shayad meri basti mein adakar bahut hain, Mehfil sajayee
hai sitaron ne kuch aisi, ke har taraf saaz hain aur pyar bahut hai. - I find so many talented people in this
world. On this special occasion “Stars” are in such a favorable orientation that they are spreading music of love.
This is probably not the first editorial I am writing; sure, it is first of its kind. While, this year, we are
celebrating the 25th anniversary of Utsav, I am pleased to introduce you all to this issue of Geetanjali on the
occasion of Mehfil. Full of creativity, diversity of thoughts, and richness of words, we bring you a memento
embedded with Indian culture.
After the completion, layout and formatting, when I first turned over the pages, I found every next article so
interesting that it was hard to refrain from reading the article again. And I am sure that our readers would also
feel that our writers deserve that salute.
“Geetanjali” is a Hindi word that is the name of an epic collection of poems by late Rabindranath Tagore, the
noble laureate poet. This issue may not be that ostentatious as Tagore’s Geetanjali, but can be distinguished as
an excellent work of none but thoughts and pen. You will find articles on topics spanning from cultural heritage
of India to knowledge banks about India, from words of agony for the deprived state of the nation to ecstasy for
the achievements and from spirituality to fantasy.
I would like to quote here the words by famous Hindi writer Dr. Ramdhari Singh Dinkar – “Sahitya samaaj ka
aaina hai.” – Contemporary literature is a picture of the society. Here is a picture that shows different faces of
India and more. I hope you enjoy reading this issue.
While reading do not forget to read your face!

-Alankar Chaudhary

2
Chief Guest’s Message

3
 Message from Utsav President

Dear UTSAV members and Indian Community in Vancouver,

Utsav, The Indian Students Association at UBC, is celebrating its silver jubilee this year. From its
inception back in 1980, Utsav as a cultural organization has traveled a long way during the last two
decades in promoting Indian culture and tradition in Vancouver, Canada. Utsav organizes various colorful
Indian events such as Holi, Mehfil and Deepmala, which are immersed with fun, frolic and emotions of
Indian people away from their homeland. The enthusiasm and participation shown by the Indian
community of all age groups in various Utsav events during these years is simply spectacular. During the
last 25 years, Utsav is committed towards the new students coming to UBC to make them comfortable in
the new cultural and geographical sphere. I can still remember my first day in Utsav, when it gave me
immense pleasure and happiness to see so many Indian students together in Deepmala. Hence, as a
common platform for Indian students at UBC, Utsav takes pride in its contribution in helping new
students acclimatize at UBC.

The name of our annual newsletter, “Geetanjali”, itself evokes a deep sense of peace and gratitude to one
of our greatest sons of the soil, Rabindranath Tagore. For the last few years “Geetanjali” has been a
precious collection of article from various disciplines such as economics, science, poetry and cooking!!!!
The immense creative contribution from Utsav members and the Indian community enables us to publish
“Geetanjali” every year.

I take this opportunity to extend my heartiest thanks to the Utsav executive committee members (2005)
for their perseverance and dedication to this voluntary work, apart from their grinding academic schedule.
This year I have the privilege to work with an assortment of enthusiastic and hardworking cohorts from
various departments of UBC.

Utsav as a flag bearer of Indian traditions and culture in Vancouver invites more and more people from
the UBC campus and outside to work with us and contribute for thriving of Indian culture in Canada.

Jai Hind!

Subrata Deb
President, UTSAV- Indian Students Association at UBC
PhD Candidate,
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
UBC, Canada V6T 1Z3.

4
 Messages from other Committee Members
Alankar Chaudhary – Vice President and Newsletter Editor
“It gives me immense pleasure to avail this opportunity to write for Utsav. First of all I would like to
thank our sponsorship drive team for their invaluable contributions which has emerged to make Mehfil
2005 and Geetanjali, souvenirs of 2005 for Utsav. I thank to all guests and performers for making this
event even more successful by their contributions and presence. I am grateful to all of them who
contributed articles for Geetanjali and my colleague and ex-General Secretary Rajat Bathla for his
timely guidance. Last but not least I would like to thank our sponsors with out whom we would have not
seen this “Sehar – the victory”. Working with the Utsav team has been an electrifying experience. And
while working for Utsav and with this team I never felt that I am seven seas away from my home,
India.”

Kailas Jondhale – General Secretary

“It is fun to be a part of such an energetic and enthusiastic team of UTSAV executive committee and
pleasure of doing something for mini-India here.”

Ankit Bhargava – Treasurer

“Working for UTSAV has been a great pleasure. It is an experience that I will cherish for long. It’s a
great place to network with fellow Indian students.”

Hemanth K. Srinivas – Events Coordinator

“25 years and true to its name, Indian students are celebrating Utsav in UBC and I wish that this
celebration of love towards motherland continues forever. Being part of Utsav is one of
the cherished experiences that will linger in my memories for long time to come."

Praveen Kaligineedi - Events Coordinator

“I feel very happy to be part of UTSAV executive committee. Organizing the cultural event "Mehfil"
turned out be a lot of hard work but was fun all the same. I hope all of you enjoy the event.”

Soubhagya – Food Coordinator

“Working with Utsav was a great experience. It was a platform where I could introduce my country,
India, to the students of other nationalities. And I thoroughly enjoyed every moment while being a part
of this group.”

Amit Kedia – Newsletter Editor

“It is my pleasure to be a part of UTSAV which has contributed significantly in promoting
Indian Culture at UBC and in Canada”

Sameer Chandani - Web Administration and Archivist

“As the web administrator and Bharat mail administrator, it has been a pleasure to be part of the effort to
integrate new students at UBC and help them settle into their new environment. The website and mailing list
have proven to be the initial contact points for these new students. Existing members also have a source to share
their experiences and thoughts as well as enjoy memories by browsing the UTSAV website. I look forward to
continuing these responsibilities.”

5
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6
 Setting up Student Exchanges and Research Collaboration
between UBC and Institutions in India
M.A. Wells, Associate Professor
Department of Materials Engineering, UBC

There are important differences between Canada and India in terms of scientific and technological
production. Canada has a considerably larger output, but its production has reached a steady state,
whereas India, although producing less, has experienced rapid growth in both science and
technology outputs. Although these differences are substantial, some of the strengths are
complementary, suggesting that areas for potentially fructuous collaboration exist.

By sharing many important characteristics India and Canada have a natural affinity, making
Canada-India bilateral relations a fertile ground for the economic, scientific and cultural
development of the two nations. The fact that both countries are multi-ethnic, multicultural and
multilingual societies, that they have a similar form of governance, that they are members of
different multilateral bodies (the Commonwealth, the World Trade Organization, the United
Nations, the ASEAN Regional Forum, to name but a few) and that about 800,000 Canadians are
of Indian origin contributes greatly to facilitating bilateral relations.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) has identified India as a potential research partner.
Currently at UBC, the only engineering department to have a formal agreement with India is the
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering who has a formal agreement with IIT-Delhi
to exchange students in this discipline. As a result a group of three UBC Materials Engineering
faculty visited the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) and Tata Steel Research
and Development over the period of 8 days in March 2005. The purpose of this visit was to target
mechanisms for collaboration between these institutions, specifically the IIT Department of
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and UBC’s Department of Materials Engineering.

To provide you with some background on the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (MME)
department at IIT-KGP, it consists of 24 faculty members (13 full professors, 4 associate
professors, 7 assistant professors) and has 27 non-teaching staff. The department is currently
looking to fill two open faculty slots. The MME department is launching a new post graduate
diploma program in Iron and Steel. This program seeks to bring employees of the iron and steel
industry to IIT-KGP to complete advanced training in steel processing. A proposal is also being
presented from this department for a national Iron and Steel Research Centre. There was some
informal discussion regarding the possibility of Materials Engineering at UBC becoming involved
with these initiatives via e.g. visiting faculty lecturers or research internships for IIT-KGP
students at UBC.

The general impression of the UBC working group of MME IIT-KGP was very positive. The
ongoing research in the department is interesting and pursued at a high level. Noteworthy was the
nanomaterials and surface treatment programs supervised by Prof. Manna. A number of the
research areas common to the two departments were identified and are listed below:

• Process modeling of casting

• Physical metallurgy of ferrous and light alloys
• Biomaterials
• Nano and fine grained materials

At the end of the visit to IIT-KGP, the UBC working group and members of the IIT-KGP MME
met to summarize the common interests of the two groups. Both groups agreed to pursue
collaborations between the institutions. The UBC working group proposed that collaboration be

7
initiated through an undergraduate work exchange program. Though the IIT-KGP representatives
were keen to expand this to graduate student exchanges, it was agreed that an undergraduate
student exchange would represent a reasonable starting point for collaboration. This program
would be initiated in September 2005 and would see UBC Materials Engineering undergraduates
travel to the IIT-KGP for a four month work term (ideally for reasons of weather in India)
between September and December or January and April. The students would be employed within
the research programs of an identified faculty member and work on a research project during the
duration of his/her stay. Similarly, the UBC working group agreed to accept two IIT-KGP
students for a similar 2 ½ month period over the summer months (May to mid-July, the IIT-KGP
summer break) as summer research interns.

On a personal note, this was my first trip to India. I came away with a very favorable impression
of a beautiful country filled with warm and friendly people. Aspects from the trip which have
continued to stand out in my mind include the respectfulness and seriousness of the students at
the IIT. The overwhelming hospitality we received from the people in India – it has made me
think about the way we treat our guests in Canada. In fact two families of students of mine at
UBC made a special trip to Kolkata to meet with me while I was there – I really appreciated this.
The other aspect which struck me was the density of the population as compared to Canada. India
is a country I was very impressed with and will definitely visit again.

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8
 India Shining - A Sober Look
By Mukesh Eswaran, Professor of Economics,
University of British Columbia

India has much to be happy about in its recent record of economic performance. The country has
come a long way since 1991. The economic crisis of that year is quickly fading in the memory of
all but academic economists and policy makers. The current growth rate in the nation’s output of
around 7% per year is not an easy achievement for a country of India’s size. But whether we can
describe India as “shining” is debatable.

For a poor country, the distribution of the benefits to growth is at least as important as the rate of
growth. Since roughly a third of the Indian population lives on less than a dollar a day, one would
hope that these benefits would accrue mostly to the poor. Barring that, one would hope that the
benefits would be distributed equitably across all groups in the population. But this has not been
the case. What is clear even to a casual observer is that the middle class in India is thriving. Their
increased consumption of consumer durables—from automobiles to electronic gadgets—is
astounding. The conspicuous consumption of the rich is all too visible and presents a grotesque
contrast to the poverty that blights much of the population.

The bulk of the poor are in agriculture. They benefit from a growing economy only to the extent
that agricultural productivity increases. While this productivity has undoubtedly increased in the
last two decades, it has fallen way short of its potential. Large regions of India lack proper
irrigation facilities and are dought-prone. The rash of farmer-suicides in recent times in Andhra
Pradesh is a testament to failed agriculture.

If agricultural productivity increases, a smaller faction of the labour force would be needed to feed
the entire population. In the developed countries, typically one-twentieth of the workforce suffices.
In India, roughly two-thirds of the workforce is employed in agriculture. When many people are
working a fixed amount of land, naturally their productivity will be low. Agricultural technologies
with higher productivity would enable people to leave the land and work in industry.

The groups that have gained the most from India’s growth in recent times are essentially people
with assets and skills. It is heartening to see the highly skilled software engineers of Bangalore
grow rich in a short period of time, but they constitute a negligible fraction of the population. True,
the incomes they earn may benefit others through the goods and services they buy. But the rich in
India are much more likely to consume sophisticated industrial products, many of which are
imported. Little of this expenditure would find its way to the poor.

Even the small proportion of the rural poor that has been absorbed elsewhere in the economy
largely comprises the more educated Indians. With still only two-thirds of Indians being literate,
this excludes a large segment of the population to languish in the lethargic agricultural sector.

In India women have less education than men, on average. So, for improvements in their
wellbeing, women are more dependent on agricultural productivity growth; its slow growth has
affected women more adversely than men. While the proportion of the workforce employed in
agriculture has declined slightly for men in the past two decades, the corresponding proportion for
women has hardly budged.

There are good reasons to be proud of India’s recent past and to be optimistic about the future. But
there is certainly no place for complacency.

9
 Awards and Scholarships
Abhijeet Ghosh Sanjoy Ghosh
Ph.D.Student, Dept. of Computer Science Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Award: University Graduate Fellowship (UGF) Award: University Graduate Fellowship (UGF) 2004-
2005-2006 2005, 2005 -2006

Ankit Bhargava Sujay Sarkar

MASc Student, Dept. of Civil Engineering Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Materials Engineering
Award: Graduate Entrance Scholarship (GES) Award: Nadeau Award, 2002-2003
2004

Kailas Jondhale Thomas Pulinilkunnil

MASc Student, Dept. of Materials Engineering Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Award: Graduate Entrance Scholarship (GES) Award: Heart and Stroke Foundation Scholarship,
2004 Canada, 2004- 2005

Minesh L Ghedia
4th Year Student, Economics
Award: International Student of the Year 2005

Graduates of 2004-2005
Anand Deo Rajat Bathla
MSc, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences MASc, Dept. of Materials Engineering

Dipanjan Sengupta Rose Mary Chacko

MASc, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering MASc, Dept. of Civil Engineering

Harish Vasudevan Tanya Korde

MASc, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences MASc, Dept. of Civil Engineering

Kapil Singh
MSc, Dept. of Computer Science

Mugdha Yeolekar
MA, Politics

Partha P. Pande
Ph.D., Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Prabhakara Nagareddy
MSc, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Raja Chowdhary
MASc, Dept. of Civil Engineering
*These archives are based on responses to our e-mails to bharat@cs.ubc.ca.

10
“If there is one place on the face of this Earth "where all the dreams of living men have found a home" from the
very earliest days when Man began the dream of existence, it is India.” Romain Rolland – (Nobel laureate)
French Philosopher (1866-1944)
Myth of Aryan Invasion on India
This short article summarizes
recent scholarship on the Aryan
invasion theory. New
interpretations of ancient Indian
history deny the view that Aryans
entered India from the outside.
New information rejects the notion
that the Dravidian people were the
conquered races, or that the
Dravidians were pushed down
south by the invading Aryans.
The often perceived and frequently
quoted racial division in India
between the fairer Aryan North and
the darker Dravidian South is
pernicious and dangerous. The
British gave currency to this view
of racial divide in India. It was part
of their “divide and rule” strategy.
The Northern people in India got
especially sucked into this
interpretation of history because it
made the “Aryan”, northerners
appear racially closer to the white
races of Europe. This viewpoint is
also popular in Sri Lanka, where
the Sinhalese believe that they are
descendants of Aryans from the
North of India and that Tamils of
Sri Lanka are not.
The most interesting point is that
the Aryan invasion idea was not
originally based on any
archeological evidence at all, as in
the nineteenth century when it was
proposed very little excavation of
India had been done. It was the
product of linguistic speculation -
that similarities between Indo-
European languages require an
original homeland for the Indo-
Europeans somewhere in Europe or
by Rajnish Kumar
Central Asia - from which The ambiguity of Aryan Invasion
migrations and invasions occurred, Theory
which eventually reached India.
European scholars following Max
The latest archeological and Muller in the nineteenth century
historic evidence and the decided that the Vedic people
emergence of molecular biology whom they called the Aryans after
clearly show that the “Aryan Race a misinterpretation of that Vedic
theory” is false and just a term - invaded India around 1500
concoction of the Europeans, who BC. They were said to have
have been obsessed for the last overthrown the existing culture of
several centuries with racism and a the time, which was thought to be
superiority complex based on it Dravidian in nature, and brought a
(See; IDEAS OF RACE IN different culture and language
SCIENCE by Nancy Stepan, called Aryan and Sanskrit
Professor, Yale university, USA, respectively.
1982). Concoction of the Aryan
Race was an attempt by these In his biggest assumption (the most
racists to show that it was only the absurd) Muller had assumed that
Europeans who went to different just after the invasion, these so
parts of the world and developed all called Aryans (basically all
the civilization there. illiterate nomads) wrote all the five
layers of the four Vedas and
The recent discovery of the dried- Upanishads in a span of two
up Saraswati River also negates the hundred years periods before the
Aryan invasion theory. Satellite Buddha at 500 BC, as they were in
photography from outer space existence by that time. Now the
shows the existence of a dried-up biggest ambiguity is that, there are
river bed in Northern India. The more changes of language within
archeological evidence indicates Vedic Sanskrit itself than there are
that the river dried up several in classical Sanskrit since Panini
thousand years ago (around 5000 (classical Sanskrit is the one which
years ago), much before 1,500 we study today). Now Panini, is
B.C., the date ascribed to the Aryan regarded as a figure of around 500
invasions. River Saraswati is BC, or a period of 2500 years from
mentioned numerous times in the now. If there is so little change in
Vedic scriptures of the Aryans, classical Sanskrit the language of
indicating that the people who the common people for almost
wrote Vedas lived in India during 2000 years, how can one imagine
very ancient times and confirms that all the Vedas were written in
that Vedas are not written by so 200 years with such a variation in
called Aryans but existed in India the language from Rig Veda (the
from as early as 3500 BC. oldest one) to Atharva Veda
(youngest of the four)? Based on
11
the above fact it can be said that, as move or be assimilated. After all it people they overran? Infact, The
classical Sanskrit has remained the was not an organized conquest but movement of the Aryans could
same for a time period of 2500 a random movement of tribal have well as been from India to the
years, the two hundred year strata peoples, which is postulated for the west rather than from the west
for the Vedic language carries no Aryans. We should note that into India. As subtropical India
weight at all. Each of these periods Afghanistan is not an easy place to with its vast river systems is more
could have existed for any number cross through even today. Even able to produce the necessary
of centuries and the two hundred Alexander (326 BC) lost most of populations for such migrations
year figure is likely too short a his army trying to cross this region than barren Central Asia or cold
figure. by land. How could sufficient eastern Europe, which even today
numbers of people have done it in are very difficult to inhabit.
The Aryan invasion theory was ancient times so as to overwhelm
invented to solve the riddle of the existent population of north At last, the idea behind putting this
languages. However the invasion India? article was to convey the people
theory itself is filled with problems. that, an Aryan invasion of India
We could say that the Aryan How could the primitive Aryans from the outside around 1,500 BC.
invasion theory is an attempt to have been so successful in did not occur. People of North and
solve one riddle by postulating conquering the civilizations of the South India have lived together in
another. If such an invasion did world from Greece to India, as well peace as two branches of one
occur, what would have caused it? as imposing much of their culture, family since antiquity. People who
Central Asia is not a very favorable or at least language, on older and talk of an Aryan conquest of India
region for producing populations more sophisticated civilizations? parrot the 19th century British
even today. How could it produce Language, after all, is the most viewpoint and do disservice to the
the populations necessary to difficult aspect of culture to cause of unity of India. The
overrun not only India but much of change. Many countries, for references in the article is not given
the Middle East and Europe. example, Europe under Christianity to make it short, the article has
Ancient India was not uninhabited. or Iran and Pakistan under Islam, been composed by referring the
After the long urban Harappan age have changed their religion but not book “The Myth of Aryan
(most organized culture at that their language. How could the Invasion of India” by David
time) it was highly populated at the primitive Aryans be so successful Frawley.
time of the proposed invasion. at doing this, when they were not
Such populations could not have only less sophisticated but less Ref.:www.geocities.com/dipalsarve
easily been overwhelmed, forced to numerous and illiterate than the sh/footnotesaryan.html

Did You Know?

• His Highness Maharaja Jam Sahib Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji of the state of Nawagnagar about
midway between Bombay and Karachi was undoubtedly great figures in cricketing history. He
played for England but no Englishman that ever lived possessed that suppleness of muscle, that
quickness of eye that he once possessed.
He started his Test career with 62 and 154 not out against Australia. He once hit two separate
century innings in one day playing for Sussex. He is probably the only man in cricket history
credited with having invented a stroke, the leg glace. The famous “Ranjit Trophy” for domestic
cricket in India is named after him

• Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus all originated from India. Quadratic equations were used
by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used
were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 1053 (i.e. 10 to the power of 53) with specific
names as early as 5000 B.C. during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is
Tera: 1012 (i.e. 10 to the power of 12).

12
My country calls me
back by Palash Bera

Having spent almost four years in a foreign country, sometimes I feel that my motherland-
India calls me back. The familiar story runs here. A student comes to Canada or US,
finishes his studies and looks for a job in this continent hoping to go back to his home
country some day. After few years of working here, he gets married, buys a house and
slowly gets immersed to the western life. His longing to go back to his mother land slowly
diminishes and one day he realizes that it is no longer possible to go back. In this small
space I would like to discuss this issue of staying here or going back, as all students who
study in a foreign country face this issue one time or the other.

I have seen three types of persons who come from India to study in a foreign country.
First, those who like to settle down in a foreign country in search of better quality of life.
These people try to adapt to the new environment as fast as they could and upon arrival
start planning about life after a student. The second group consists of persons who haven’t
decided yet about their future. They procrastinate their decisions of where to work and
settle until they finish their studies. The third group consists of those who would not like
to stay in a foreign land a day longer than it is required to finish their studies. Usually
there are very few persons in the last group whom I have met with.

Let’s analyze why a student who comes from India to a foreign country is most likely to
stay and work there after finishing his studies. The first reason is the visible difference in
the quality of life between the two countries. The differences are too many to pen down in
this small space. Things that amaze a newcomer to this foreign land include the time it
takes to open a bank account, get a new telephone connection and pay tuition fees. Slowly
when one gets accustomed to the new environment, unnoticeably the expectancy level
about the quality of life rises. No longer is a wait of fifteen minutes acceptable for a bank
transaction. We don’t realize that slowly we have become part of a new system -the
system that works most of the time. Those who get quickly hooked on to this system find
it very difficult to go back to their home country.

So the question is what can students do when they are left in a situation when they have to
decide whether to go back or stay here? I present here some scenarios that people who
need to make such a decision often come by. Scenario 1: For me, my parents, family and
extended family are everything. I cannot think staying 13000 miles away from them.
Scenario 2: I have been brought up in an extended family where we share our joys and
sorrows. While working and staying here, I can afford a 42” plasma television and a
backyard swimming pool, but most of my family members have not seen a television
bigger than 20”. Scenario 3: I deserve to live the best quality of life that is possible on this
planet. I have really worked hard to reach where I’m now. For me going back is a
sacrifice. Scenario 4: I consider myself as a social reformer. I have been exposed to the
best of the world and now I take it as a challenge to reform my home country in whatever
possible way I can. Scenario 5: I’m a researcher and I can thrive only in high tech
laboratories, going back means stifling my career and ambitions. To end this discussion I
must say that to make an important decision -stay here or go back is a hard one and
requires deep introspection.

13
 The Rising of
Bollywood
– 2005
by Hemanth K. Srinivas
As a diehard fan of Bollywood
movies, I must say that year 2005
is indeed something special for
Bollywood. More than six months
passed, silver screen has seen a
string of movies, which defied all
the usual formula of Bollywood
and yet got the audience approval.
It feels like Bollywood never had
been charged up like this before.
So I thought of sharing about
these movies, which I think are
must see for any cine lovers. But I
missed watching movies like
Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi,
Mathrubhoomi, Sarkar, Viruddh ,
Yahaan and 7 ½ phere. With
interesting movies like The rising,
lining up to hit the marquee, I
hope the dream run of Bollywood
continues.
1) Inspired by true story, My
Brother Nikhil, tells a tale of a
family, relations and love. Hold
your breath; here the hero is gay
who is HIV positive. Sanjay Suri
carries the lead role with élan and
sensitivity. As Nikhil's soul mate
Purab Kohli brings tremendous
tenderness and moisture into the
arteries of his difficult character.
Relationship between Sanjay Suri
and Purab Kohli is etched
beautifully without a single scene
of vulgarity. Juhi Chawla as a
supportive sister of Sanjay gives a
gem of performance. Watch out
for the portrayal of father-son and
sister-brother relation, it was
never this genuine before on
Bollywood celluloid. Well-
written screenplay and certain
scenes just move you to tears but
its not one of those tear jerking
movies. Nothing is overdone.
Everything is in place. Kudos to
debutant director Onirban for
making a daringly different
movie. Watch this piece, I am
sure your heart will reach out for
My Brother Nikhil.
2) Sanjay Leela Bansali’s Black
is truly Oscar nominating
material, in the sense that it
reaches your heart and soul. Rani
Mukherjee and Amitabh
Bachchan are simply marvelous
in their respective roles. Where
should I start discussing Black? I
wonder to which previous
Bollywood movie can one draw
parallel. This movie is
incomparable. Black dwells on
the life of Michelle McNally
(portrayed as a child by Ayesha
Kapoor and as a woman by Rani
Mukherjee) who is born deaf and
blind. Her violent behavior is a
puzzle to her parents. Enters in
her life, Debraj Sahai (Amitabh
Bachchan), a teacher for the blind
and deaf, and the story unfolds, to
transport you to a different world.
Cinematography is a treat to
watch in this flick. Bansali has
created a masterpiece, whatever it
takes, beg-borrow-steal, watch
Black.
3) The life of celebrities - Hype &
Hypocrisy! –This is Page 3 all
about. It did not have any sealable
star cast and it was the first hit of
this year. Thanks to Madhur
Bhandarkar’s excellent story and
direction. Theme is bold,
painstakingly researched and
narrated in a simple way, yet
strikingly effective. The movie
has done full justice in covering
up the presentable facets of
celebrities’ lives. The movie
revolves around life & wife -
"Life of celebrities and of
journalists" & "wife of the
multimillionaire barons".
14
Konkana Sen as a journalist who
undergoes the journey of covering
Page 3 of a leading newspaper
with celebrities gives a natural
performance. This extremely
original movie cannot be missed.
4) Parineeta, is based on the Sarat
Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic
literary work on the same name. It
is a familiar story with two
childhood neighborhood friends
falling in love. What makes it
special on screen is the display of
emotions like possession,
suspicion, trust and hatred in a
constrained manner, which makes
the characters and story
believable. How separation
results following a
misunderstanding with quick
turns holds your attention. Rest,
watch it on the screen. Debutante
director Pradeep Sarkar recreates
the era with perfection. It is class
apart. Saif Ali Khan gets into the
character, one of his fine
performances. No doubt, he is one
of the skilled actors we have
today. Vidya Balan will take your
breath away, a dream debut and
Oh my! She does it to the
perfection. Music is in sync with
the story. Though I did not like
the climax, this movie is worth a
“dekho” for its story, performance
and narration.
5) Time to tickle your funny
bone. Watch Bunty aur Babli for
the following reasons
- Truly Bollywood - Don’t think
anything, simply sit and enjoy
- Amithab and Abhishek
Bachchan are treat to watch.
- Aishwarya’s Kajrare song
rocks! (Man, watch those
groovy dance steps)
- Good taste of comedy when
compared to Kya Cool Hai
Hum kinds of movies.
Threw a cup of water on ants on a
burning log to save them by Nitin Gupta
This article is just going to be my perspective on life consolidated through years and
years of living on this planet:

I once read the novel "A farewell to arms" by Ernest Hemingway. I appreciated the piece
of work at that time as well, but soon started to realize that it is so true. I faintly
remember the last chapter of the book, and using help from the online sources that one
has access to, have tried to re-articulate it.

Henry returns to the hospital and finds Catherine in the delivery room. She demands gas
repeatedly to soothe her labour pains. She is still in labour by the afternoon. Henry goes
out for lunch, and when he comes back Catherine is drunk from the gas. She assures
Henry that she's 'not going to die.' Henry goes out again and thinks about her pregnancy;
he feels this is the price people pay for loving each other, and worries that she might die.

The doctor informs Henry that the pregnancy is stalled, and recommends a Caesarean
delivery. Henry agrees and rejoins Catherine, who breaks down at the immense pain. She
worries she will die, and demands more gas. She is transported to the operating room, and
Henry remains in the hall. The doctor later emerges with the male newborn. Henry does
not feel fatherly at all; he tells the doctor that the baby 'nearly killed his mother.'

Henry goes in to see Catherine. She is all right, but looks nearly dead. He is taken out,
and the nurse tells him the baby was born strangled by the umbilical cord. (Some things
die before they begin - strangled by the umbilical cord) . He does not tell Catherine that
the baby is born dead. He thinks this will kill Catherine. At that time, he thinks of a time
in camp when he watched a burning log full of ants and all he did was throw a cup of
water on the log, which probably only steamed the ants.

He goes out of the hospital, when he returns to the hospital, he learns that Catherine has
had a dangerous haemorrhage. He prays to God not to let her die. He sees her, and she
says that she will die. They exchange a few words, but Henry has to leave so that she can
rest. He comes in later after she has fallen unconscious and suffered numerous
haemorrhages. He stays with her until she dies. He later leaves the room and talks to the
doctor briefly, then goes back into Catherine's room against the wishes of the nurses. But
he feels it is like "saying good-bye to a statue," and walks back to the hotel in the rain. He
walks back in the rain, pitch black – into darkness.

One does not always know the stakes of something until it is over. Henry, who has
previously tried to ignore thoughts of life without Catherine, must now confront it. He
now knows what it means, but only because he has already lost her.

Why am I typing out all this, I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. And I don’t want to
infer. I can see a small ship on the sea in the horizon where the sky meets a calm serene
line of aqua. Why can’t one's mind be at peace like that? I went to fill my cup with
coffee; I came back to where I was. The ship had disappeared. It was never mine, but still
it was missed. I don’t know, so serenity in essence is also turbulent, it shakes, it moves, it
has the potential of making pulp of your thought process.

15
Was Introduction of English by the Britishers a Boon for
India? - by Amit Kedia
India does not have English as its
first language or even as its
national language. Hindi is the
national language, although it is not
the first language of as many as 600
million Indians, rather Hindi can be
said to be the first among equals.
Hindi is spoken in the cow-belt
which constituents of nearly 400
million Indians (comprising most
of north & central India) or roughly
40% of Indians. Almost all people
in other north-western, western &
eastern Indian states can
understand, read, speak and
comfortably communicate in Hindi.
In the southern states Hindi is well
understood by people of two
prominent states, as these have a
fairly large number of north Indians
residing there, as this region is the
Information Technology Hub of
India, comprising the cities of
Bangalore & Hyderabad. Now
coming to the question of English,
well yes English is spoken fairly
widely and a lot of emphasis is
placed on learning English for good
career prospects & a certain elite
status.
The British introduced English to
facilitate their grip on a vast and
varied sub-continent that presented
them with numerous administrative
challenges. So a bureaucracy &
civil administrative elite class of
technocrats were purposely created,
and English was introduced in a big
way. The English Christian
missionaries came to India from
1813 and they also built schools at
primary level for Indians in which
the language of instruction was
local language. Later on the
missionaries built high schools with
English as the language of
instruction which obliged the
Indians who wanted to study to What was once thought of as the m
have a good knowledge of English.
The British rulers began building
their universities in India from
1857. English became the first
language in Indian education. The
‘modern’ leaders of that era in
India also supported English
language and claimed it to be the
main key towards success. Indians
who knew good English were seen
as the new elite of India. Many new
schools were established in which
the language of instruction was
English. English was used
extensively in government
documentation & there were huge
number of English newspapers,
journals & magazines.
After the British left India, English US
was retained alongside with Hindi
because of the fact that it had
already become a status symbol.
Also some states who felt Hindi,
the National language, had been
imposed upon them preferred the
use of English to connect them to
the other parts of India; and English billion of investment by American
which was stipulated to be phased
out as the official language of the
government refused to step down
even. Moreover, English was
gaining global acceptance and
Indians were unwilling to limit
themselves. Presently English after
Hindi it is the most commonly
spoken language in India and
probably the most read and written
language in India. English serves a
communicator between the non-
Hindi speaking Indians (most of
them in the 4 south Indian states.)
& and their northern Hindi
speaking country-men. English is
very important in some systems –
legal, financial, educational, If you want to read more about
business – in India.
http://adaniel.tripod.com/Languages.ht
16
ultimate colonial deceit by the
British to control India, is now
turning to be a boon in disguise for
Indians, as India is fast becoming
the call-centre, IT & BPO capital of
the world. What we nationalist
Indians once considered to be a
symbol of slavery introduced by
our erstwhile British masters is
turning out to be our greatest
weapon in subduing the west. In
this background, when IT happened
and English became the lingua
franca of the Internet, the Indian
smoothly fitted in. It had the largest
population of English speaking
people among the third world
countries. China and Japan who
had technologically challenged the
and raced ahead in
manufacturing could not do a
repeat performance, as its populace
had never mastered foreign
languages. India’s economy is
firmly rooted in the service sector.
Almost half of its GDP comes from
services, spurred by almost $4
companies. Because of its English
fluency, India is in a position to tap
into the growth of the U.S. and
U.K. economies and to provide
low-cost, high-quality services,
particularly to the high-tech market.
Millions of fresh university
graduates in India are finding jobs
with call-centres which offer decent
enough salaries for these other-wise
talented youth who may not have
been gainfully employed. The only
criterion being for them is
knowledge of English, which by
default has been a feature of the
Indian education system since the
colonial era or the British “RaJ”.
languages in India then refer to
Laughter by Lino Coria Mendoza

17
 An Indian Dream – Returning to the lost glory
A typical perception of India
inside a common western mindset
is a huge populous nation with
inexplicable diversity, spicy food,
wretched poverty, beggars, no
human rights, corruption, bullock
carts, dusty roads, hard weather,
tigers, and elephants roaming on
the streets, snake charmers, gods
and holy cows everywhere!
People blessed with unearned
wealth and comforts in the
western society find it hard to
understand the uniqueness in this
5000 year old civilization. I often
pondered whether most of them
know anything about India
beyond Yoga, Gandhi, Taj Mahal
and Kamasutra. Back in 1947,
when Clement Attlee announced
his government’s decision to hand
over power to the Indians to rule
over their own land, Winston
Churchill is supposed to have
prophesied this.
“Power will go into the hands of
rascals, rogues and freebooters.
Not a bottle of water or a loaf of
bread will escape taxation. Only
the air will be free and the blood
of those hungry millions will be
on the head of Attlee. These are
men of straw of whom no trace
will be found after a few years.
They will fight among themselves
and India will be lost in political
squabbles.” Churchill had
adopted a win-win approach on
India by exploiting her soldiers for
world war and playing political
cards with non-violent Gandhi. It
wouldn’t be a surprise to think
that he was embittered by Attlee’s
landslide victory over him in 1945
and tended to discount Attlee
politically in an effort to regain
his lost power that he successfully
did in the next election. While
by Raghavendra Devendra
one can dismiss his comments as
biased, it’s worth some time to
think on whether it came true and
if yes, how long did it.
Spencer-Churchill, a Nobel
Laureate in literature, wouldn’t
have led the United Kingdom and
its worldwide empire twice
without perspicacity and foresight.
India became free from the
clutches of the British but not
from the legacy of two hundred
years of colonialism - corruption,
inefficiency and decadence that
were alien to pre-colonial India,
once the richest and the most
knowledgeable land on earth.
With developed nations dictating
the rules of the world and India
struggling to come to terms with
its domestic complexities, things
became worse. Even after 50
years of independence and India
getting an urban look, differences
are still tangible. While her
doctors perform heart transplants
for western patients and the elite
Indians, millions of her
countrymen do not have access to
the most rudimentary health care
facility. Those who want to
become policemen often have to
bribe their way into the police
force. Religious and caste
background in the name of
secularity determine the eligibility
for government jobs and
promotions. Politicians buy
democratic vote bank with money
and country liquor. Public sector
fails to supply electricity and
water for 6 to 12 hours a day in
rural India when it’s 45 degree
Celsius in the shade (one wonders
how does it stand sixth in carbon
dioxide emission). Often next to
slums in her metros, gleaming
towers of glass mark the stark
18
difference between the poor and
the rich. Images of modernity are
far cries from stereotypical India –
a place of poor farmers bedevilled
alternately by drought and flood.
Despite being the world’s 11th
largest economy, it is home to
more than a quarter of the world’s
poorest people. 250 universities
educate 3.2 million science
students, yet 39 per cent of adult
Indians remain illiterate. While
arguing for Narmada Bachao,
Arundhati Roy once complained
that India must be the only
country in the world that builds
dams, uproots millions of people,
submerges thousands of hectares
of forest, in order to feed rats
because 10% of country’s total
food grain produce is eaten by rats
in government storehouses and
huge percentage of vegetables and
fruits rot while 350 million people
live under the poverty line!
Moreover, grain is imported!
Well, all is not bad though!
About eight years ago,
international media began to
report India Inc. While the
wealthy nations benefited from
cheap industrial jobs outsourced
to Asia, India began to snatch the
white-collar jobs of well-educated
people. Trickle of jobs that were
outsourced turned into a flood in
less than half a decade. Over the
past five years alone, more than
100 IT and science-based high-
tech firms including IBM,
Motorola and Intel have located
R&D labs in India hoping to find
world beating innovators.
Leading European and Japanese
automobile industries have
flocked India. India is now the
office of many banks, software
companies and customer services
of everything from British
Airways to Microsoft. Food
packaging giants have heard
Roy’s comments. They are in to
reap the Indian crops.
Pharmaceutical industry is
thriving and biotech is taking off.
Science and business are racing to
tap the 3,000-year-old system of
Ayurvedic medicine for new
drugs (Nature, 436, 486 (2005)).
New York Times (August 10,
2005) reported that MBA students
are bypassing Wall Street for a
summer in India to study
globalization firsthand.
India hopelessly lacked an
awareness of intellectual property
rights and historically lost all its
credits of inventions to stealers
elsewhere for centuries. Until
2005, India did not recognize
international patent rules, a failure
that hampered interactions with
foreign companies. On 1st
January 2005, India enacted a new
patent regime that is compliant
with the World Trade
Organization’s TRIPS (Trade
Related Intellectual Property
Rights) agreement, which
establishes a set of rules to ensure
that intellectual property rights are
respected in international trade
contexts. In anticipation of this,
Indian drug and pharmaceutical
industries increased their R&D
spending by 400% in the past 4
years. This year, India received
2nd largest number of drug patent
applications globally, next only to
the United States. This action has
given much needed momentum to
genuine India-based companies
that indulge in research and
innovation and also has helped
multinational companies to invest
in India confidently. The latest
Intel chip and the latest GE aero
engine are being designed in
Bangalore. India is now exporting
cars that are designed and made in
India to the European market.
Sleeping tiger wakes up!
With number of highly educated
people entering the nation’s
highest politics increasing, India’s
perspective on science and
technology finally seems to have
changed. For example, the
government recently gave Indian
Institute of Science a one-off grant
of about US$25.3 million. Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh has
also endorsed the creation of a
US$250-million independent
agency to support basic research.
India is not a poor country —
indeed, it is rich in natural and
intellectual resources — but it has
many poor people. More than 700
million people, nearly 70% of the
population, live in rural areas but
contribute only 20% of the GDP.
Until this disparity changes, vast
sectors of the Indian population
will never see the benefits of
information technology or
biotechnology or modern
medicine. Critics of India’s
investment priorities ask why the
country spends large sums on
moon rockets and giant telescopes
while it is still struggling to find
food and water for millions of its
citizens. “You cannot be
industrially and economically
advanced unless you are
technologically advanced and you
cannot be technologically
advanced unless you are
scientifically advanced” says
C.N.R. Rao, Chairman of Science
Advisory Council to the Prime
Minister and President of
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for
Advanced Scientific Research,
Bangalore. Rao is worried that IT
and outsourcing although have
improved the economy and
quality of life of people, has had a
negative effect on science in
India. For more of his views,
refer to Science, 1999,
286(5443),1295.
19
R.A. Mashelkar, Director General
of the Council of Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR),
analyses the past, the current
situation and predicts the future
(Science, 2005, 307(5714), 1415-
1417). He applies Lotka’s inverse
law of scientific productivity on
India’s brain drain and concludes
that India didn’t realize that by
losing top tier of talent, she lost
most of her intellectual and
economical energy. He attributes
the reason for 100,000 Indian
professionals leaving the country
every year to take up jobs in the
United States to economic gain
rather than material gain. The
Italian scientist Riardo Giacconi, a
Nobel Laureate in Physics,
summed up what might be the
most important factor behind such
a brain drain when he said: “A
scientist is like a painter.
Michelangelo became a great
artist, because he had been given a
wall to paint. My wall was given
to me by the United States.”
Mashelkar says that such walls
which were difficult to find 10
years ago, are becoming available
in India now. He cites the
example of John F. Welch
Technology Centre in Bangalore,
General Electric’s (GE) largest
single location for R&D in the
world. After studying in the elite
institutions abroad, young Indians
return home to invest their skills
in serving their motherland. As a
result, it’s extremely competitive
among the educated circles now to
return to one of the most
happening places in the world.
After a PhD and postdoc in New
York, Satyajit Major (now
Associate Professor at the
National Centre for Biological
Sciences, Bangalore) was
concerned that in India his career
would be threatened by
"obscurantist science, an ossified
research set-up and cash-strapped
institutes". Yet after ten years, he
is happy to admit that he was
wrong on most counts (Nature
436, 488-489). Mashelkar terms
it silent scientific repatriation.
GE’s research budget is said to be
higher than India’s entire $6
billion R&D budget and India
does not provide excellent
infrastructure even now. In this
scenario, why did GE set up a lab
in India? John F. Welch, GE’s
chief operating officer then opined
“India is a developing country, but
it is a developed country as far as
its intellectual infrastructure is
concerned. We get the highest
intellectual capital per dollar
here.” In 2004, Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore and National
Chemical Laboratory, Pune had an
average impact factor (IF) of 2.50
and 2.13 for their published
papers respectively. Mashelkar
calculates the number of major
journal publications per GDP per
capita per year and finds out the
top three nations: India (31.7),
China (23.32) and the United
States (7.0)!
The investment bank Goldman
Sachs estimates that if India gets
everything right, it will have the
third largest economy in the world
by 2050, after China and the U.S.
One can fairly say that India
stands on the threshold of
becoming a powerhouse that it
truly was once upon a time.
Today’s world is competitive. It’s
time to regain the splendour of the
past by assertive and authentic
performance. Shall we help?

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20
The Miraculous Breath
Have you ever noticed that when
you are absorbed in the suspense or
the drama of a film you find
yourself holding your breath? Or
when you become angry, your
breathing is shallow, coming from
your chest? Rapid breathing is a
signal that something is wrong;
both your physical and mental
powers are weak at this time. Thus
breathing is an automatic process
that goes on, without having to pay
conscious attention to it. The
intimate relationship between
breathing and the changing
emotional states of mind was
known long before the
development of modern science.
Scientist have observed that even
among animals, those that are
excitable breathe more rapidly than
those that are naturally placid. A
hare breathes 55 times a minute, an
ape 30 times, a cat 24 times, a dog
15-18 minutes, a horse 8-12 times
and a tortoise only 3 times a
minute.
One basic observable fact which is
unfortunately overlooked is that we
normally breathe freely through
one nostril at a time and this
alternate breathing changes roughly
every one and a half hours from
one nostril to the other. The breath
from the right nostril is cool,
soothing, passive and feminine in
nature and so on days associated
with moon like Monday,
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
we find ourselves freely breathing
through the left nostril and the
breathe from the right nostril is
warm energizing, active and
masculine and so on days
associated with sun like Sunday,
Tuesday and Saturday we find
ourselves freely breathing through
the right nostril. While breathing
the air that is driven out of the
lungs during exhalation makes the
by Mrs. Sharmista Subratra Deb
sound ‘ham’; and the air while system. Our exhalation contracts
being inhaled produces the sound the lungs, thereby relaxing the
‘so’. nerve activity and loosening a tense
body. Holding your breath makes
At a practical level the ‘soham’ for mental concentration and
sound that exhaled and inhaled forceful body movement but at the
breath make can be used as a means same time it can create rigidity. If
of developing awareness. This is you feel tense often, emphasize
traditionally called the practice of your breath more consciously make
spontaneous repetition and is very it a little longer than the inhalation.
effective in cultivating awareness We cannot live without air for more
and controlling the mind. This is a than four minutes. With deep
natural method and no initiation is breathing, we get seven times the
required. All that is required is to normal volume of oxygen. This
be constantly aware of the two means that we enrich the blood
sounds made by ‘in’ and ‘out’ acts with oxygen and vitality, which, in
of respiration. The sound is always turn, brings even more energy and
with us and remains constant essential life force. In the case of
during all states of consciousness: cancer, cancer cells do not like
waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. oxygen. They thrive in an unclean
If an awareness of the ‘soham’ environment. Cancer patients feel
sound can be maintained through much better when they combine
the three states of consciousness, proper diet, breathing, exercise, and
then the individual reaches the final physical movement. Even if they
state of enlightenment.
do a little, there are positive effects.
The richness of the blood is the
Thus by deep breathing and by basis of the entire body’s health,
changing the flow of breathe from and the blood can be called rich
one nostril to another, one can only if it contains the necessary
harmonize the forces of life. A amount of oxygen and other
long, deep, full inhalation and nutrients. This comes from proper
exhalation will expand and contract breathing, whole natural foods, and
the lungs. These two opposite exercises.
motions make a balanced breathing
rhythm. It is the balance of the Emotional
stress, anxiety,
autonomic nervous system with the depression, anger and much more
sympathetic and parasympathetic diseases are gaining ground in this
branches, which affects the fast competitive world and to free
functions of the internal organs. ourselves from them we are
Breathing affects the quality of consuming medicines thereby
blood through digestion and making ourselves a victim of low
assimilation. The long, deep, immune system, just forgetting that
rhythmical breath supplies both if we could control our breathe we
essential oxygen to body cells and can not only be free from painful
also mental stability. Only when diseases but also increase our will
the breath is calm can the mind be power and concentration and yes I
calm.
believe that everyone desires for a
prolonging youth which can also be
Inhalation expands the lungs achieved, interesting isn’t it?
creating a degree of tension within
the body. This activates the nervous
21
 Discover India Crossword
by Amit Kedia
ACROSS
3 Indian language also official langauge of
Singapore
5 Indian equivalent of the Pakistani Chagai
Hills (Hints: Nuclear)
11 Earlier known as Bachraj Trading Company
12 First Indian to win Oscar (Academy Award)
14 Chairman and CEO of World-Tel
15 This bowler has dismissed 67 batsmen on a
zero in his Test Match career
16 Asia's largest wind farm is located in this
Indian state
17 T in the name of Indian Entertainment
conglomerate T-Series stands for
22
DOWN
1 Now a software giant, earlier used to sell
cooking oil
2 River mentioned frequently in the Vedas has
vanished
4 This Indian state is considered to be the birth
place of the game of Polo
6 "Razm-Namah" is the Persian translation of
this epic
7 Outside India, this country also broadcasts in
Sanskrit
8 Indian Film Industry name admited into the
Oxford English Dictionary
9 Mother Teresa, country of birth
10 This book is dedicated to William Rothstein
and the first lines are "Thou hast made me
endless, such is thy pleasure".
13 Largest district in India
 Victims of SEM
by Alankar Chaudhary

Scanning Electron Microscopy is a

misnomer for SEM. It should have
been Serendipitous Emotional
Mesmerism.

After an accident the victim may or may not miss the culprit. But the SEM victims always miss the
culprit.

How do the culprits of SEM event look like?

1. They are the most beautiful and attractive creatures, God has ever made. I guess it was God's
long holiday. He took his time.
2. It sounds like hitting of pearls on glass floor when they speak.
3. The SEM virus attacks brutally on your primary CPU, your mind and secondary (weaker) CPU, your
heart. One may get badly wounded right at the first sight.

How do the victims of SEM feel?

1. They are most dejected species on the earth.
2. Normally they use shaving cream to brush their teeth and aftershave instead of hair oil.
3. They go to the exhaust floor looking for the top floor of the building. And they look for the
reception going to the basement of the building.
4. They don't sleep properly, and generally watch Love and Romance clippings of SEM virus during
their stand-by condition.
5. Their screensavers (cloths) are very colorful and they always seem to depict some e-motions
movies hero.
6. They are early bird and late owl both by default.
7. If you hear music of Bryan Adams, MLTR, Boyzone etc, it is confirmed that some SEM victim is
roaming around.
8. If they offer you some tea or coffee, say that you like them at Starbucks. Truly speaking SEM
victim's coffee or tea is not worth drinking because they make it in refrigerator instead of
microwave or coffee maker. Also their drinks seem to be a bit salty.
9. They are generally good media writers (CDs, Hard Disks, DVDs etc.) and poets and can be seen
with at least one admirer being attacked or harassed...or...or...my apologies I do not find any better
synonym.
10. Generally they take two baths one after another. Why? they forget that they have already
taken one?
11. Sometimes they can be identified by counting the number of under-wears they wear. Normally
they wear more than one. They are so busy with SEM dreams that they always think they didn't
wear underwear.
Be careful: Starbucks is a big portal of SEM viruses. Loads of SEM viruses, SEM victims and/or
their small counterparts in Baba Cabs with small honey zip drives inserted in their floppy drives
(mouth), can be found loving/fighting, and for sure affecting each other by inserting their floppy
disks (Lips) in others floppy drives.

23
There is no cure of SEM once it catches you. Care before it starts hitting, is the best cure.
1. Keep an eye on your emotional CPU, your heart. You will never know when you get fallen.
2. Use ultra sensitive scent detectors. Otherwise one may get addicted to the scent of culprit,
which causes frequent CPU breakdowns, sleeplessness, nostalgia, insufficient RAM memory, night
wandering, campus wandering, bad file names, wrong directory paths etc.
3. Use a suitable sound detector installed on your mikes, your ears. As soon as you hear some
attractive sound, get lost from range of culprit. Generally they attack from CPU to CPU i.e. heart to
heart. Some more severe incidences have been noticed in which they attack on your most sensitive
part, the kiss ground or power cabinet, your cheeks.
4. Be careful and use some beauty repulsive deodorants.
5. Watch some revolution movies like Independence Day, Gladiator, Patriot, Terminator and Brave
Heart.
6. Frequently run Anti-Romance Anti-Love virus scans on your machines. If any such virus is
detected, inform Central Anti Love and Romance Center (CALRC) or directly contact Dr. Al Chau
(Senior CPU Surgeon, Psychiatrist, CALRC). He is a bit affected but works efficiently. He is
generally found on top floors of buildings to help poor SEM victims.
May God bless SEM victims!

Popular Indian Diaspora

• Vinod Dham: popularly known as the father of Pentium microprocessor, which runs almost
90% of the computers today.

• Sabeer Bhatia: co-founder of hotmail.com and Arzoo.com. A young man only with a few
dollars in his wallet (when he left India) created software history.

• Laxmi Narayan Mittal: London based steel tycoon of Indian origin and a Forbes 100
billionaire. He is the richest Indian in the world and one of the richest person in Britain. By
his vision and hard work, Mittal built the moderate business of his family into a global steel
giant, which spans across many countries.

• Manoj Night Shyamalam: US based internationally acclaimed Hollywood director,

screenwriter and actor. He directed “The sixth sense”, which was one of the biggest box
office hits ever in the Hollywood. The movie was nominated for six academy awards.

• Vinod Khosla: Software professional and venture capitalist. Co-founder of the Sun
Microsystems and among the Forbes magazine’s list of America’s richest 400 people and one
of the most influential people of Silicon Valley.

• C. S. Ranwat: world leading orthopedic and knee surgeons. He is the chairman, Department
of Orthopedics Surgery, Lenox Hill Hospital, USA. Recipient of “Most Distinguished
Physician Award” from the American association of physicians of Indian Origin. He was
awarded the Padma Bhusan by President of India (2001) for outstanding meritorious
excellence.

For detailed biography refer to www.indobase.com/indians-abroad/index.html

24
Special discount for students with ID cards

25
The Queen
by Rajnish Kumar

26
 Poems
contributed by Ankit Bhargava My God is Missing
-Alankar.
Iceberg I meet her once in a week,
- Anonymous
Rest of the days I do not see.
I am an iceberg. I console myself saying-
Cold and coarse, She is always with me and will be.
Hard and brittle. I tell people "My God is missing"
Isolated, I float The other God says-
in waters unknown. She is in the cold western breeze-
What you see In the falling brown maple leaves,
is not what I am, In the snow of Grouse and Whistler,
There is more to me. In the ups and downs of Cyprus,
I am an iceberg. She is in the rising sun,
She is life of the universe,
You Fit Into Me She is in the bloods of my veins.
- Anonymous
I wait for the next Monday,
you fit into me
When I will see her again.
like a hook into an eye
And again, will try to say-
a fish hook "I have fallen for you my lord"
an open eye But the day will be gone,
In the stories of her week
My story will again be endless
Around the corner I search for the missing God
-Anonymous Just to see her, and get blessed.

Around the corner I have a friend

In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friends face,
Nirvana Indian
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
Cuisine
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine if, we were younger then, ultimate cuisine of India…
And now we are busy, tired men.
2313 Main Street
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Vancouver, BC
Tired of trying to make a name. V5T 3C9
"Tomorrow" I say "I will call on Jim"
"Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes, Open Everyday Special 15 % Discount
And distance between us grows and grows. 11:30 A.M. - 11:00 P.M. for Students
Around the corner!- yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir" "Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the Reservations
end.Around the corner, a vanished friend. (604) 872-8779
(604) 87-CURRY

27

PAV BHAJI
Contributed by Amit Kedia
Ingredients:
500gm potatoes, boiled, peeled and
diced
1 cup cooked small chopped mixed
vegetables - carrots, beans, peas,
cauliflower
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup ghee
4 green chilies, slit and chopped
1/2 inch ginger, sliced finely
250gm tomato, chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
salt to taste
5 tbsp butter
1 tsp garam masala
a bunch of fresh coriander leaves,
chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
lemon wedges for garnish
4 pao or buns, halved
Method of preparation:
Heat butter in a pan. Reserves 3 tsp
of chopped onions for garnish and
fry the remaining till light brown.
Add green chilies, ginger and
tomatoes and sauté over medium
heat for 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat,
then add the red chilli powder,
mixed vegetables and potatoes.
With a metal spatula, simultane-
ously mash and stir for 5 minutes.
While stirring, keep sprinkling the
ginger garlic paste, dissolved in 6
tablespoons water. Add salt and
two thirds of butter. Increase the
heat and stir well. Sprinkle garam
masala, coriander leaves, lemon
juice and remove from heat.
Garnish with remaining chopped
onions. Apply the remaining butter
on the bun-halves, place them on a
pre-heated frying pan. Fry until
golden brown on both sides. Serve
with the bhaji and a lemon wedge.
Recipe Corner
PRAWN MALAIKARI
Contributed by Mohua Podder
Ingredients:
500gm of medium to large size
prawns
One can thickened coconut milk
1tbsp of cumin seed paste
½ tsp of red-chilli paste
4 medium size bay leaves
1tsp of turmeric powder
2tsp of sugar
6 slitted fresh green chillies
4 whole cardamoms
4 cloves
2½” cinnamon
1¼ cup sunflower/vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Method of Preparation:
Wash the prawns thoroughly.
Rub some turmeric and salt on
the prawns and keep aside. Mix
the cumin-seed, red-chilli paste,
salt and remaining turmeric
powder with 4tbsp of water.
Sauté each side of prawns in 2
tbsp of oil for 2 minutes. Now
in a different vessel, heat the
remaining oil and add the bay
leaves. Wait for 2 minutes and
then add the mixture of cumin-
seed, red chilli paste and
turmeric powder. Cook for 5/6
minutes in open flame. Now
gradually add the green-chillies
and prawns and fry along with
the spices for 5/6min. Now add
the coconut milk, stir
thoroughly. Cover the vessel
and simmer in medium heat for
about 17/18 minutes. Mix the
cardamom, cinnamon and
cloves after crushing them in a
mortar and pestle (or coffee-
grinder) very finely. Remove
from the heat and leave covered
for 5 minutes. Serve hot with
steamed rice.
28
COCONUT BARFI
Contributed by Amit Kedia
Ingredients:
1 cup freshly grated coconut
¾ cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 tbsp Ghee/Oil
½ tsp Cardamom Powder
Method of Preparation:
Heat a heavy bottomed pan for about
one minute. Add ghee to the pan and
heat it. Then put the coconut and
continuously fry it till it becomes
dry. Then add sugar and milk. Stir it
continuously. Bring the contents to
boil. Add a pinch of cardamom
powder for flavor. Boil the syrup till
it becomes thick and starts sticking
to the bottom. Then add 1 tbsp. ghee
Disposable Leaf
Plates
The leaves of the banana
tree are used as disposable
plates, for ceremonial
meals, weddings and on
festive occasions in India.
and stir it for about half minute. The
mixture should be soft. Pour the
mixture into a greased pan so that it
spreads evenly. Let it dry for 5-7 min
and then cut into square/diamond
shape pieces.
Optional
Decorate it with a layer of silver foil.
You can also use fine grated coconut
available in the market. Use fresh
grated coconut for best results.
Immigration by RoseMary Chako
By nature man does not like risks and changes. He is the most comfortable mentally as well as
physically when things and people with which he is familiar surround him. This being the fact,
the process of immigration is an interesting subject in order to study human behaviour.
Usually a person is ready to immigrate only when the circumstances in his home country leave
him very few options. One of the most common reasons is overpopulation. The interesting fact
is that in general immigrants tend to be very successful in their new country. What is the reason
behind this? One thing very special about Canada and US is that meritocracy is in the thing
while a person is recognized purely on his merit & performance, not simply on ancestry. The
example of the educated and ambitious Indian and Chinese Diaspora to US is a very good
illustration. US have succeeded in attracting new waves of aspiring youth as a land of
opportunities.
From this we can make a conclusion that it is basically the lack of opportunities in a person's
home country that makes a person migrate. Hence it is a common refrain from parents of
students who want to go abroad that, they don’t want their children to go out, because they
might not return. This is an interesting point, when we consider the fact most of the
multimillionaires in India example- Reliance-Ambanis, Birlas, Tatas have educated their
children outside India but all have returned to their nests. This reinforces my opinion that a
person will not migrate if he has enough opportunities in his home country.
Yet another reason for immigration is that by some unlawful act or public disgrace the person
has no chance of leading a normal life in his home country.
Then there is forced migration, as in the case of Australia, whose first immigrants were
prisoners deported from England. In this context, I remember an anecdote of the former English
player Ian Botham, who was noted for his acidic wits. On being asked on the eve of departure to
Australia for an Ashes series, what were his thoughts, Botham replied “I can not wait to get
started and playing, where else in this world do you get a chance to play in front of 70 000
convicts!”
When we consider the wave of immigrants that have landed on the Americas shore, a
remarkable one is that of the Irish. They were basically people from a peasant background loath
to leave their motherland and it was dire poverty that forced them to migrate. The success of the
Irish cannot be doubted, considering that one of the youngest and only catholic president of
America, John F. Kennedy was of Irish descent.
As the saying goes, “change is the only unchanging thing in this changing world”. In any
society there is an initial resistance to any kind of change, whether that is a harbinger of good or
evil. The older the society or the culture more is the resistance.
One of the reasons for the success of US is the fact that as a society they are more ready to
experiment with new ideas. This is more due to the fact, the English society always readily
accepted meritocracy. The immigrants came to all over the NEW WORLD, but we find them
thriving only in US & Canada.
There is a saying that you learn more about your own country when you are not in your country.
I had not understood the meaning of this till I spent two years in Canada. One thing that
astounded me is that, we, in India, dissipate so much time and energy attending betrothals,
marriages, funerals and hardly any time for THINKING.
The major reason of our success in Canada is the freedom from social bondages of an ethnic
society and what we really miss is the colourful and varied hub of human relationship. In spite
of the worldly success, in our heart of heart we yearn to be back in our homestead.

29
Some Naïve Questions Answered? by Hemanth Satish

In this article I would like to briefly answer a couple of the questions I faced as an Indian in this
Western World.
I usually have the habit of keeping a “Teeka” on my forehead before I start my daily prayers and
that stays there all day. So, very obviously I look quite amusing to most of my Western friends
and I have been asked many times why are you bleeding in your forehead? Well, it is not
bleeding or some kind of a trendy fashion as to why one keeps a “teeka” or “tilak”. Let me first
define what a “teeka” or “tilak” is? It is a distinctive red mark (if one uses “kumkum”: finely
powdered bright red mercuric sulphide) or in some cases people also use sandle paste or turmeric,
that is applied on the forehead, just near the place where the eyebrows seem to meet. Many Indian
men apply “tilak” after their bath, just before they start their worship (prayers). The ancient
Hindu scriptures consider this place between the two eyebrows as the place where all the cosmic
power is said to have concentrated in a human body. When a “tilak” is applied just before the
prayers it is said to invoke religious feelings and emotions of deep concentration. Even when one
does meditation, this is the area where one is asked to concentrate his mind to.

One more very common question I was asked why do you salute each other by folding your
hands (“Namste”)? To begin with “Namaste” is a Sanskrit word that means, “I bow to you or my
greetings or salutations”. This is used in many contexts such as when two people meet, or when
one goes to worhip God or to pay homage. However, I will just keep my focus to when two
people meet each other, because each of the other contexts has deeper meanings. In this context
NAMAH can be literally interpreted as NA MA (not mine), which means that one foregoes his ego
in presence of the other. Now when we fold our hands, it signifies that let our minds meet. This is
because when two people meet, it is meeting of the minds that will have some tangible effect
rather than mere physical presence. As a whole “Namaste” means a gracious form of extending
friendship with love and humility. This is just a contextual meaning of “Namaste”, however this
has even deeper spiritual meaning, which I have not focused upon.

“LOVE” from Swami Vivekananda

I would like to share something on the 'nature of love'. I once had a friend who grew to be very
close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her
hand with a little water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this water carefully
contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love." This was how I saw it: "As long as you keep your
hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt
to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds. This
is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they try to posses it, they demand,
they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, Love will retrieve from you. For
love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow them to
be free beings. Give and don't expect. Advise, but don't order. Ask, but never demand. It might
sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true
love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and
yet an unconditional caring."

30
Tripura: An Unexplored Heaven in India by Subrata Deb

The northeastern part of India own tribal customs and beliefs but in
is a beautiful and virgin a broader sense of the religion they
land, where most of the are believed to be followers of
Indian people do not get a Hinduism. They worship elements
chance to visit. So let us such as the god of water, the god of
explore the gorgeous and fire, the god of forests, the god of
unraveled mystery of a earth etc. A trace of their old faith is
northeastern state, Tripura. found in their present practice of
The ancient history of striking a bamboo in the ground
Tipperah or Tripura is during religious festivals and
shrouded with mystery. It has worshipping it. Sacrifices form an
been learnt from Rajmala important part of their religion; the
(historical reports written in buffaloes, pigs, goats and fowls
Bengali) that more than 150 being the animals ordinarily used for
tribal kings ruled Tripura this ritual.
since the legendary period and King Ratnapha got the title "Manikya" The festivals and fairs in Tripura are
from the Lord of Gauda. Mahamanikya, the historical period of the a manifestation of cultural amalgam
"Manikya" dynasty started from medieval period, which continued till of tribals and non-tribals in this
1949. The history of the rulers of Tripura in medieval period is the story state. The entire population whether
of continual fights, particularly with the Sultans of Bengal. tribal or non-tribal gets engrossed in
After the death of Birbikram Kishore Manikya in May 1947, a council the festivals and enjoy themselves in
of regency under the leadership of his widowed wife Maharani a joyous mood. Different festivals in
Kanchanprava Devi took over the charge of the administration on every season speak of the people of
behalf of the minor prince. The Regent's rule came to an end on Tripura and their bent towards
September 9, 1947, when celebrating throughout the year from
due to popular pressure; times immemorial. The major tribal
the agreement of merger festivals are worship of 14 Devtas
of Tripura with the Indian popularly known as "Kharchi Puja,
Union was signed by the Garia Puja and ker Puja etc. Non-
Maharani on October 15, tribal festivals are same as other part
1949. Finally, Tripura of India.
became a full-fledged Tripura has fascinating destinations
State in January 1972. for discerning tourists. Like
Geographically, Tripura Neermahal, a summer resort in south
is surrounded by Tripura, built by late Maharaja
Bangladesh on three sides Birbikram Kishore Manikya way
and by Assam on one back in 1930, attract a good number
side. It’s the second of tourists every year. The Ujjayanta
smallest state in India Palace, a dominating building in
with a population of Agartala, was built by Krishna
3,191,168 (census 2001). Kishore Manikya Bahadur in 1901.
The original inhabitants of the land, i.e. the tribal people were noted for Sepahijala wild life sanctuary is
their tolerance and passive obedience. It is only in the 19th century that about 25 kms from Agartala
they started protesting against the oppressive feudal system. After more covering an area of about 18 sq kms.
than fifty years of partition, the majority of population of Tripura is It houses about 250 species of
Bengali-speaking and non-tribals. There are only four predominant animals, birds and the unique
communities in Tripura professing different religious beliefs - Hindus, spectacled monkey. The Trishna
Muslims, Buddhists and Christians. Most of the tribal people have their Wild Life Sanctuary for rhinos and

31
yaks is located about 100 kms away from the capital. The Rock-Cuts provides good marketing potential
and stone carvings of Tripura are huge and have been carved on open attracting overseas tourists, catering
vertical walls at Unakoti, Debtamura and Pilak. Unakoti is about 178 to these new found demands.
kms from Agartala. The name ‘Unakoti’ means one less than a crore (10
million) and legend. It is a Lord Shiva pilgrimage site dating back to the Most of the modern members of the
8th century. Mata Tripureshwari Temple is located at Udaipur about 58 ruling family of Tripura were great
kms away from state capital, Agartala and is considered one among the patrons of art and literature and had
51 pithasthans of India according to Hindu Mythology. Jampui Hills is great regard for eminent scholars of
the luxuriant forests of 'Jampui Hill', the premier one among the six the country. Maharaja
principal hill ranges of Tripura, provides a lifetime's exhilarating Dharmamanikya is said to have
experience for the tourist. 'Jampui Hill' - the permanent seat of spring, is inaugurated the ‘Rajmala’, a verse
situated at an altitude of about 3000 above sea level and about 250 km chronicle of the royal house.
away from Agartala. This hill range consists of cluster of tribal villages Tripura, a neighboring state, have
and is home for colorful Lushai and Reang tribal communities. The had a spiritual contact with Bengal
picturesque of neat and clean traditional wooden houses of the local for well over a few centuries and
inhabitants combined with greenery all around provide excellent this contact became all the more
opportunities for eco-friendly tourism. During the month of November significant due to Tagore's continued
every year, the unique ‘Orange Festival’ is celebrated in the Jampui association with the Maharaja’s of
Hill. Tripura and his benign influence
over them.
Tripura is known for its exquisite handloom fabrics, and it hardly needs
any introduction in the realm of colorful and quality handloom weaving, Tripura, in its own understated way,
creating dreams on the looms. They depict the inherent quality of work leaves an indelible impression on the
manship, and uniqueness of the people. Loin-loom, indeed is the oldest mind of the visitor. The picturesque
and most developed cottage industry of Tripura. Among the traditional capital city Agartala and other parts
produces mention may be made of dubris (a piece of skirt to be wrapped of Tripura are attracting more
twice over the body), bed-covers, screens etc. Next to weaving, cane overseas tourists. Recently, Indian
and bamboo works occupy place of prominence among tribal people. government has identified Tripura as
Bamboo is available in super abundance, and this typical forest wealth one of the key tourists place to
of Tripura is one material that is used in many ways from building promote in the next few years. So
homes to making toys. Fascinating variety of crafts and handwork are plan to visit Tripura in your next trip
created from simple materials such as bamboo, came, palm beaus. In to India!!!!!
fact, on these designed handlooms and bamboo works thrive many
industries and are exported outside India. Tripura tribal jewelry

How they prove that all odd integers higher than 2 are prime?
Mathematician: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, and by induction - every odd integer higher than 2 is
a prime.
Physicist: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 9 is an experimental error, 11 is a prime,...
Engineer: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 9 is a prime, 11 is a prime,...
Programmer: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 7 is a prime,...
Salesperson: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 9 -- we'll do for you the best we can,...
Computer Software Salesperson: 3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, 9 will be prime in the next release,...
Biologist: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 9 -- results have not arrived yet,...
Advertiser: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 11 is a prime,...
Lawyer: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 9 -- there is not enough evidence to prove that it is not a
prime,...
Accountant: 3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, 9 is prime, deducing 10% tax and 5% other obligations.
Statistician: Let's try several randomly chosen numbers: 17 is a prime, 23 is a prime, 11 is a prime...
Professor: 3 is prime, 5 is prime, 7 is prime, and the rest are left as an exercise for the student.
Computational linguist: 3 is an odd prime, 5 is an odd prime, 7 is an odd prime, 9 is a very odd prime,...
Psychologist: 3 is a prime, 5 is a prime, 7 is a prime, 9 is a prime but tries to suppress it

32
Indian Government TRIPS
Legislation by Subhadip Ghosh
Most of us here at UBC are
whining about the massive
medical insurance fees that we
have to pay here. One often
under-rated reason behind lower
medical expenses back home in
India, even allowing for the far
superior quality of facilities
available in the West, is the
success of the Indian pharma-
industry, thriving in an
environment of limited patent
protection. India’s drug prices
are one of the lowest in the
world, and drugs often cost seven
to ten percent of what they do in
the USA or Europe. India’s
many drug producers are also
strong exporters of generics:
export by the Indian firms
brought down the prices of
antiretroviral therapy from
$12,000 to $140 per year in the
world market.
However, things might start to
change for the worse in India. A
Patent (Amendment) Ordinance
has been issued by the Indian
government to bring the country
into compliance with its
obligations under the WTO
Agreement on Trade-Related
Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS). This has raised concerns
that it will put access to life-
saving drugs for diseases like
AIDS out of the reach of poor
people both in India and
elsewhere in the world.
Surprisingly, this Ordinance goes
even beyond the demands of the
TRIPS Agreement (termed
"TRIPS-plus Patent Regime” by
the critics) and fails to take
advantage of existing WTO
on the New Pharmaceutical
provisions for the protection of
public health.
Representing the strong lobby of
its pharmaceutical giants, USA
had pushed for a very high level
of protection for medicines during
the Uruguay round negotiations
of the GATT/WTO (1988-94).
India, which had witnessed its
poor benefit greatly from the low-
cost generic-drugs industry that
grew around its relatively weak
patent regime for medicines, had
led the fight against this US push.
In the end, India had managed to
push a set of flexibilities into the
Uruguay Round Agreement on
TRIPS that could be used to
protect the interests of the poor
against those of the
multinationals. Unfortunately, in
the recent Ordinance, India has
failed to take advantage of the
very flexibilities for which it had
fought so hard more than 10 years
ago. This means cheaper generic
versions of the newly patented
drugs will be slower and harder to
appear on the market even more
than the TRIPS Agreement would
permit.
The TRIPS Agreement allows
countries to issue compulsory
licenses (CL) for the manufacture
of patented drugs without the
patent holder's permission in case
of public-health emergencies. It
also gives the country the sole
right to determine if a particular
situation represents a public-
health emergency. The Ordinance
fails to take advantage of this
provision. Instead, what it does is
that it effectively gives the patent
holder the right to object to the
33
compulsory license even prior to
its issuance, and thus delay the
issue of the license (CL). Under
the TRIPS Agreement, it would
be perfectly legitimate to issue a
compulsory license expeditiously,
postponing any representations
against it till after production has
begun. India, with the highest
number of HIV positive people in
the world, can ill-afford to go
slow on allowing the manufacture
of generic versions of the future,
more effective AIDS drugs.
Next, consider the issue of
exports of generic versions of
patented drugs produced under
compulsory license to third party
countries that lack the capacity to
produce their own generic
versions. The WTO decision of
August 30, 2003, provides a clear
statement of the conditions to be
satisfied for a license for exports
to third party countries. These
conditions are quite transparent,
but strangely the Ordinance has
gone further by placing additional
conditions on the license and the
Ordinance will harm the poor not
only in India but worldwide.
Moreover, jobs will be lost in the
Indian Pharmaceutical Industry,
and balance of trade in this area
will henceforth be negative.
The Ordinance is also ambiguous
on the extension of patents
beyond the normal 20-year
period. This may allow
multinational firms to extend
patent by switching from capsule
to tablet or finding new uses. This
practice, widespread in the USA,
often extends the monopoly
power of the patent holder and
discourages innovations around
the patent. The 20-years patent
required under the TRIPS
Agreement is already excessively
long and there should be no room
for extension under any
circumstances. Moreover, the new
Ordinance weakens the procedure
for challenging patents more than
what is required by the TRIPS
Agreement, which may lead to
trivial or “wrong” patents being
granted. There is little excuse for
this weakening. Most developed
countries such as Canada and the
UK, which give priority to public
interest, have much tougher pre-
grant-opposition provisions.
http://lawmin.nic.in/Legi
s.htm.

Some Interesting Facts about India

Contributed by Praveen Kaligineedi
• The number system was invented in India. Aryabhatta was the scientist who invented the digit
zero.

• Chess, carom and snakes & ladders were invented in India.

• Until 1725, India was the only source for diamonds to the world. India is the world's premier
center for diamond cutting and polishing. Nine out of every 10 stones sold in the world pass
through India.

• India is one of just half a dozen countries to have successfully built and deployed their own
satellites and launch vehicles.

• Other than USA and Japan, the only other country which has built super computer indigenously,
is India.

• India is the fourth largest economy in the world on the basis of Purchasing Power Parity, behind
the United States, China and Japan.

• Population of India’s three largest cities Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata put together is more than
that of Canada.

• With more than 250 universities, 1,500 research institutions and 10,428 higher-education
institutes, India produces 200,000 engineering graduates, 300,000 technically trained and 2
million other graduates every year.

•
• 38% of doctors in USA are Indians.
• 12% scientists in USA are Indians.
• 36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
• 34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
• 28% of IBM employees are Indians.
• 17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
• 13% of XEROX employees are Indians.
• India has a large entertainment industry, which produces 800 movies per year overshadowing
Hollywood. The turnover is expected to reach US$6.7 Billion in 2005 from US$5.7 billion in
2002.

34
Ancient India – Why do we let aliens write our history?
For at least 50 years, Indian
intellectual life was stifled by a
Stalinist attitude. And before that,
for two centuries, colonialist
historians appro-priated Indian
past for their own purposes. What
they left for us was a mutilated
version of our past. Self-image is
a central factor in one’s
development. A cultural focus is
crucial for building faith in
ourselves. Our current self-
effacement is a result of the
negative stereotyping we have
experienced for generations.
School texts in American states
have been rewritten to reflect the
latest findings on Indian history.
Our school books still talk about
Socrates, Plato and Aristotle - and
rightly so - but they don't mention
Yajnavalkya, Panini and Patanjali,
which is a grave omission. In
India, such proposals would be
branded as reactionary and Hindu
funda-mentalist. Grand
boulevards in Delhi and other
cities are named after Copernicus,
Kepler and Newton, but there are
no memorials to Aryabhata,
Bhaskara, Madhava and
Nilakantha!
Many in the West straddle the CP
Snow-divide of science and the
humanities. The best scientists
are also competent philosophers,
well-versed in their Greco-Roman
heritage. It is only the India of the
past fifty years that has turned its
back on its own heritage and our
scientists literally know nothing
about our intellectual history,
excepting the distorted second-
hand accounts written by colonial
historians and their Indian
followers.
by Raghavendra Devendra
But there are sceptics who ask,
what good is all this? It is in the
remote past and today's Indian
science is at best derivative and at
worst grossly behind the times.
There are several reasons. First,
curiosity; we should know the
facts about our history. Second,
there is the puzzle that our
ancestors made astonishing
advances in certain fields - as in
grammar or in consciousness
studies - where we moderns are
yet to catch up! Third, for
lessons; so that we may know
where we went wrong. And then
there is another reason to study
ancient Indian science. Erwin
Schrodinger, was directly inspired
by Vedanta in his creation of
quantum mechanics, a theory at
the basis of all our advances in
chemistry, biochemistry,
electronics, and computers! Is
there more not understood in our
ancient science that is yet
relevant?
Is India the birthplace of
civilization? Was it Indus
Valley or Saraswati River Bed?
Recent theories challenge the
present theory of Sumer in
Mesopotamia (Iraq) being the first
civilization by proving that India
was the site of the very first
civilization. If this is true, then
India has not only the oldest
continuous and surviving
civilization, but in fact it is the
birthplace of civilization. India
has had cultural continuity for at
least 10,000 years. Before that we
had a rock-art tradition which,
according to some estimates, goes
back to 40,000 BCE. India is the
most ancient civilization with
35
solid recorded evidence of the
earliest astronomy, geometry,
mathematics, and medicine.
Artistic, philosophical and
religious impulses, central to the
history of mankind, arose first in
India.
Archaeological digs have
confirmed that the Sarasvati river
flowed down to the sea, parallel to
the Sindhu (Indus), before a major
earthquake in about 1900 BCE
robbed it of its two tributaries, the
Satluj and the Yamuna, which
were captured by the Sindh and
the Ganga rivers. Since this river
is praised as the greatest river of
the Rigvedic times, it is clear that
the Rigveda predates 1900 BCE in
the least. There are scholars who
say that 1900 BCE marks the final
drying up of the Sarasvati, and it
had ceased to flow to the sea
around 3000 BCE. If that were to
be the case, the traditional
chronology which dates the end of
the Rigvedic period to about 3000
BCE is correct. Max Mueller’s
chronology of the Vedas was
absolutely wrong. What is the
impact of the new dates? It gives
a centrality to India in ancient
world history and shifts the dates
by a huge margin.
Then, what happened to Sarasvati
civilization? It never vanished.
There was a shift of population
after the economy around the
Sarasvati river collapsed due to
the drying up of the river. People
moved to the east and to the
northwest and to the south. There
was no break in the cultural
tradition. The same ceramic styles
continued. Only the level of
prosperity went down. The Vedic
books also speak of a period when
the Rishis went to forests; the age
of the Aranyakas. The Puranic
books speak of a catastrophe in
1924 BCE.
Was there an Aryan invasion on
India? Is there an Aryan-
Dravidian divide?
Excavations suggest that there is
absolutely no evidence of a break
in Indic tradition, going back to
10,000 years; ceramic styles,
artistic expression, skeletal
remains, and so on. This apart, all
the recent iconographic findings
confirm that key elements of what
is generally called Classical
Hinduism were present in the
Indus-Sarasvati civilization before
2500 BCE. Examples are: ritual
bathing, vermilion, bangles,
conch-shells in religious ritual, a
buffalo-killing goddess, abstract
symbolism, the centrality of cattle
in the economy. Hence, Aryan
invasion might just have been a
convenient theory. Further, the
concept of an Aryan-Dravidian
divide is a by-product of the racist
discourse of the 19th century that
postulated a single language from
which all modern languages were
derived. The word Aryan in
Samskrita simply means
''cultured'' and has nothing to do
with race or language. The
concept of Aryan being a
Western/Middle Eastern race that
emigrated to India is another
creation of the “authentic” west to
demean prior achievements of the
east and underscore their later
achievements as indigenous.
Or was it an Indic intellectual
invasion on Europe that led to
enlightenment and renaissance?
On the other hand, there is whole
host of evidence that proves that
Indian ideas, if not people,
travelled from India to Europe.
Indic people were apparently
present in Palestine, Turkey,
Babylon in the 2nd millennium
BCE. The names of the ruling
dynasties of these places and some
Sanskrit inscriptions tell us this.
The father of the beautiful
Nefertiti, Queen of Egypt, was a
king of the Near East named
Tusharatha or Dasharatha. The
Puranas also say an Indian tribe
called the Druhyus emigrated
west. What is likely to have
happened is that an Indic element
became the political and religious
aristocracy in many countries, all
the way up to Europe. This
explains the parallels between
Indian and European mythology.
We have these parallels at many
levels: in names and in the
grammar of the myths. There are
two Rigvedic skygods, Varuna
and Dyaus; the corresponding
Greek skygods are Ouranos and
Zeus. Similar to Agni and Bhaga
there are the Slavic Ogun and
Bogu; for Aryaman and Indra
there are the Celtic Eremon and
Andrasta; for Ribhu and Ushas
there are Greek Orpheus and Eos;
similar to Shiva and Krishna there
are Dionysius and Herakles. The
list goes on but the Vedic list is
comprehensive and we see parts
of it remembered in different parts
of Europe suggesting that the
Vedic is the original.
Georges Dumézil examines still
deeper connections. In Rome, the
raj-brahman dichotomy of India
was paralleled by the rex-flamen
division. The injunctions to the
flamen - the keeper of the flame -
are very similar to those to the
brahman. The gandharvas in India
had a shadowy role related to
music and fecundity; in Rome this
was assigned to centaurs.
36
After the Old Religion of Europe
was extinguished, Indian myths
continued to influence Europe.
From the lives of Krishna and
Buddha, a nascent Christianity
adopted the stories of miraculous
conception and birth, the star over
the birthplace, the twelve disciples
and various miracles. Parables
such as that of the pious disciple
whose faith makes it possible to
walk on water, or the story where
the master feeds his numerous
disciples with a single cake or
bread were borrowed. Medieval
Christianity took some Indian
Jataka tales and transformed them
into accounts of Christian saints.
An instance is how a Buddha
legend from the Lalitavistara
became the story of Barlaam and
Josaphat!
Are Indian scripts superstitious
and inexact? Or are they
scientific treasures?
Vedic Indians were scientific and
believed in laws of nature. They
represented their astronomy in
terms of the altar constructions.
One problem they considered was
that of the synchronization of the
lunar and the solar years: the lunar
year is about 11 days shorter than
the solar year and if we add a
round number of days every few
years to make up for the
discrepancy, we cannot do it
elegantly unless we have a
correction cycle of 95 years or its
multiples. This 95-year cycle is
described in the earliest Vedic
prose books.
The altars were to be built to
slightly larger dimensions each
year of the cycle to represent the
corrections. There were other
symbolic constructions such as
building a square altar
(representing the sky) with the
same area as a circular altar
(representing the earth), which is
the problem of squaring the circle.
This led to the discovery of the
earliest geometry. They were
aware that the sun and the moon
were at 108 times their own
diameters from the earth and these
were paralleled by the 108 beads
of the sacred rosary for a symbolic
spiritual journey from the normal
state to one of illumination.
A central Vedic belief was that
there are connections between the
outer and the inner often
represented by symbols such as
the beads of rosary. One dramatic
aspect of these connections is the
biological cycle, which runs the
same periods as various
astronomical cycles. For
example, the Purusha Hymn of the
Rigveda says that the mind is born
of the moon. Just recently, by
research on volunteers, who
stayed in underground caves for
months without any watches or
other cues about time, it was
found that the natural cycle for the
mind is 24 hours and 50 minutes.
The period of the moon is also 24
hours and 50 minutes. Our clock
is reset every day by daylight!
The binary number system,
hashing, codes, mathematical
logic (Navya Nyaya), or a formal
framework that is equivalent to
programming all arose in ancient
India. The most advanced
calculus, math and astronomy
arose in Kerala centuries before
Newton. There is evidence that
Sayana, circa 1300 CE, who was
the prime minister at the court of
the Vijayanagara Emperor Bukka
I of Hampe, calculated the speed
of light to be 2,202 yojanas in half
a nimisha, which does come to
186,536 miles per second. This
was first measured in the West
only in the late 17th century! It is
also well-known that the Vedic or
Puranic idea of the age of the
universe is some 8 billion years,
which is of the order of magnitude
of what has been estimated by
modern astrophysicists. It is also
suggested that the modern
computer science term for
context-free languages, the
Backus-Naur Form, should more
accurately be called the Panini-
Backus Form, since Samskrita
grammarian Panini invented the
notion of completely & books written by Subhash Kak,
unambiguously defined grammars
(devised one such for Samskrita)
as early as about 500 BCE. The
Indian texts also speak about
things that no other civilization
thought of until this century: air
and space travel, embryo
transplantation, multiple births
from the same embryo, weapons
of mass destruction (all in the
Mahabharata), travel through
domains where time is slowed,
other galaxies and universes,
potentials very much like quantum
potential (Puranas).
Where do we stand?
We are letting treasures of our
culture and civilization die right
before our eyes. We must
preserve and celebrate this
heritage. Vital Indian ideas will
transform world culture in the
coming decades, and if you
choose to be the interpreters of
these ideas to the modern world
you would have participated in the
most wondrous drama of our
times!
Edited from an interview of Dr.
Subhash C. Kak
References can be found in the
David Frawley, Georg Feuereste
Ref.:www.rediff.com/news/1999/n
ov/18inter.htm

Message from Past Utsav’s Executive Committee Members

Utsav has been a great experience for us in many ways. Not only is it a platform for Indian students
to share their heritage with others, but it also gives us the opportunity to develop our leadership
skills. As Cultural Secretaries we had a lot of fun organizing cultural events that brought people
together through music and dance. Each year the committee works hard to put together events like
Mefhil and it is rewarding to see so many community members actively participating to make them
as successful as they are!

Kanita & Pooja

37
Economic Integration between India and China: Shifting of
power from West to East by Amit Kedia
India and China, by contrast, possess the weight and dynamism to transform accounting for as much as 7%
the 21st-century global economy. India's rising economic power, coupled of the world demand at 5.46
with China's growth, will shift the geographic distribution of global power million barrels a day. India, on
to Asia. the other hand, imports as much
as two-thirds of its oil needs,
China's economy is growing at more consuming about 2 million
than nine percent annually, India’s at barrels a day. The
eight percent. According to experts overpowering need for energy
China's economy is expected to be security has to be tackled
double the size of Germany's by 2010 together in unison and the
and to overtake Japan's, currently the Indian petroleum companies
world's second largest, by 2020. If needs to join hands with their
India sustains a six percent growth Chinese counterparts in their
rate for 50 years, as some experts hunt for oil and gas globally.
think possible, it will equal or overtake China. India's economic growth is
based on drawing on its huge pool of skilled, English-speaking labour while Other areas that could be
the low-cost manufacturing has fuelled China's growth. An accelerating strengthened by their co-
trend is that technical and managerial skills in both China and India are operation are in terms of
becoming more important than cheap assembly labor. China will stay Intellectual Property Rights
dominant in mass manufacturing, and is one of the few nations building (IPR) and the protection of
multibillion-dollar electronics and heavy industrial plants. India is a rising local brands. For example,
power in software, design, services, and precision industry. China and India both have
many local products, such as
There are number of experts who say that by moving toward a strategic traditional herbal medicines and
partnership, India and China can indeed pave the path together for a broader teas that are welcome on the
economic integration not only within Asia but also globally. The international market. Both India
combination would create a trading region in which trade between the and China has to come forward
countries would be larger than each country's trade with the United States. for the recognition of their local
India and China have other reasons for collaborating on the international brands globally. Other areas
stage. Both countries would like to give a more prominent voice to with potential for collaboration
developing countries; and despite the benefits that they have gained from identified by the experts include
globalization, believe that the rules of the international economic and nano-technology, polar science
financial system are still skewed in favor of the western hemisphere. There and research on marine
are many sectors in which the two countries have to word in cohesion in resources.
order to come out as global giants.
It can be concluded that closer
China and India should work together to dominate the world's tech industry, China-Indian economic co-
bringing together Chinese hardware with Indian software. Efforts by China operation would impact greatly
and India to cooperate in developing their computer industries could greatly on both the developed and
enhance Asia's influence on IT products and standards throughout the developing worlds and would
world. This could be facilitated by joint ventures among their enterprises, lead to the reversal of history
extending product-ion net-works to each other. when India and China together
contributed towards 60% of the
The other important benefit of joint cooperation lies in the area of energy. word GDP.
The booming demand for energy and high dependence on oil and gas have
pushed India and China to secure oil equity abroad, where very often the The above article has been
two have to compete for stakes in overseas oil fields. According to compiled referring to various
PetrolWorld statistics, Beijing imports one-third of its oil supplies, online news

38
 Something to write about by Hemanth K. Srinivas
Few years back I quizzed myself what is the purpose of my life. Has this question ever
occurred to you? I tried seeking answers in nature, myself, books, in words of people and
everywhere possible. Yet I did not get an answer. One day it struck to me, it is my foolishness
to seek answer for this question or probably I was bored that I did not get an answer. So I
reframed my question and asked myself what I have got from my life and what can I get? Yes
this was the right question.

This made me to look behind, and there were so many things, which evoked mixed reactions
within me. I wish I could have slipped back into my childhood to play again, to cry, to fight,
to laugh, to wonder, to question, to talk, to kiss loved ones and to do all those things which I
feel I did not do. Just to rediscover myself again. It has been wonderful to know good and bad
things about me, searching for my identity, trying to be close to myself, not to get carried
away, constantly reinventing myself and looking for balance every passing moment. When I
wonder myself closely, a world reveals in front of me which revolves around love, hatred,
possessiveness, loneliness and all feelings a human being could identify with or probably
even more. To learn something new or to give a new meaning for mundane routine, learning
has been part of me like with every one. Lately I learnt that we are mostly expected to be
ourselves when we are grown up rather than fulfilling the expectations. Sounds simple isn’t
it; I never gave a thought about it before.

Have you ever daydreamed? I do always. All my dreams come true in my daydreaming. It is
wonderful to know that I am there at this moment. I read somewhere; it is an awesome
phenomenon that we see daylight everyday and it’s a miracle that we are living this moment.
It has been devastating few times, confused most of the times, felt miserable when left out
alone, but yet time had a cure for all these things. I hated myself when I felt shallow the last
time; I got frustrated when I did the same mistake for the nth time. I like being stupid
sometimes, sounds crazy? Yeah, I confess, I like to do crazy things. Ever tried affirming your
love by screaming in a jam-packed roof top restaurant? I did, I screamed, “I love you J…” so
hard that my ears were shrilling. It’s a different issue that hundreds of eyes were on me after
that, and manager had to come to speak to me.

I find it incredibly easy to laugh on myself. Other day one of my friend asked me, if I have
been struck by lightening. I gave her this look which was confused, surprised and smiling
(Now imagine how my face was!). Obviously she was referring to my long grown hair, which
was flying in all direction. But she was quick enough to add, that I look cute though!! So
sweet of her… and I laughed heartily. I bet you couldn’t agree more than her, if you have
seen my hairs. To make a choice is the hardest thing I can ever do. To agree upon something
sometimes seems to be easy. Last time I agreed upon something was in a chat session, where
my friends and I concluded, “If you are practical, you can’t fall in love. If you are in love,
you can’t be practical”

Life is full of life, from the moment I was born to the last sip of morning coffee I had.
Keeping secrets of my own to the times when I enjoyed myself, I feel blessed to be loved and
to love…..

“Life is like driving through a rainstorm; blurring, looking straight ahead. But if
you look into the rearview mirror, it's always clearer."
-Anonymous

39
Medium (Space) around us and Our Existence
by Alankar Chaudhary

40
English translation:
The meaning of “space” or “medium” is often very obvious. This is not merely a word but is the origin of our entire
strength. Medium is a means to transfer from one entity to the other by establishing connectivity between the two entities
so it is something that can establish connectivity between two entities.

Medium is indeed a device for existence. Is that force also (too confusing)? It is a bit difficult to state that at this moment. I
am connected to you by meanss of this newsletter. This is an influence of a medium. This is like a connection between the
reader and this newsletter, a connection between the newsletter and the pen and the connection of this same pen with
myself. This connectivity provides a means for my existence. That means, connectivity that is established by means of
medium, is influential. So let us better say that medium is powerful in the sense that it provides an essence to my existence.

The medium around us and our existence is deeply connected. We breathe in this world by means of air so air is a medium.
In this world air is something which confirms our existence in this world. As soon as the medium vanishes, we loose our
existence. The five elements, “Panchtatvas” (Air, Space, Water, Fire and Earth) are the prime means of creation of this
world. The day these elements seize to exist, there will be no such world.

One primary conclusion is clear, that medium is a priori for existence. By means of a pen our relationship of a writer and
reader exists. So if you want to have your existence last longer, it becomes necessary that your relations be strong. That
means the medium that you are using for establishing your relationships must be strong.

Your relationships are your strengths. Indirectly the medium becomes your strength. This university is a medium between
you and a high-tech scientific world. In distant space where there is no medium, there is no existence.

It is necessary to save your medium to save your existence. To save all the living creatures in this world it is necessary to
save the entire medium in this world. To save your friendship, your relationships must be saved.

As we are delving through the scientific world, we are improving our means of living, are establishing new relationships
and our existence in this world is getting stronger. But we are probably forgetting that we have some natural connectivity
with this planet, Earth also. Our natural connectivity with this planet is weakening. Medium is getting worse. I do not mean
to say that we should not develop, as development is inevitable. To save Earth we need to conserve air, one of the natural
connectivity between the earth and the living creatures.

Medium and connectivity can mutually conserve each other. But for conservation of existence, it is necessary to conserve
medium and connectivity together.

41
 “AANSU” by Alankar Chaudhary

English translation:
This poem summarizes some forms of tears. It says that tears lessen your grief. Tears are associated with grief and with
happiness as well. They may look small but they mean a lot. Children’s tears sometimes are a call to their mothers and
other times they bring tears in mother’s eyes. Tears are sometimes so gloomy that they have their own tears. I have
compared those self-tearing tears with those of poor. These tears have a general habit of crying. They tear every time. First
they roam around the dry cheeks of poor, then strangle in the bad beard and finally drip on the earth. And then blame the
poor for their deprived state. They blame that since the poor took birth, has neither eaten bread everyday nor have
celebrated any festival but essentially has dripped at least one tear on the earth. This poem summarizes the dejected state of
the poor in a few words.

42
 “Bharat Setu “ by Alankar Chaudhary

English translation:
This poem is an appeal to some self-centered Indian “people” to rise beyond egotism and to serve their country. People
have become restless and they are searching for peace. They are so self-interested that they have even forgotten their
relations with their families and their nation, India. All this is affecting the development of the nation. India, a nation where
people like Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi were born, is being assaulted by its own
blood. People who are divided by some corrupted leaders of masses, should understand that they are all siblings and are
taught the same lessons of enlightenment. They should pray mother India which gives them name “Indian”. If this
disruptive stance of people continues, something very unexpected and bad is waiting for people of India. Seeing the
disrespectful behavior of people of India for the nation, it seems, even the sky is crying. It is hard to know why generations
of brave antecedents have become so dejected and impotent. At the end I make people realize that they form the body of
this world, the life and strength of universe and the existence of stars. So they should rise and develop an India bridge
which connects the whole world. I pray to the whole nation to work for betterment of the nation and this world.

43
 Marathi Poem
-Anonymous

Contributed by Kailash Jondhale

English translation:
The poet mainly expresses, through small incidents of life, the way his dear ones love him. In first stanza, the author pens
down the feelings about a friend. In second one stanza, he writes about his love. In third stanza, about his grandmother. In
forth and the fifth stanza the author tells about his mother and father respectively. In the last stanza, he says, all his loved
ones have given him so much that he does not expect anything else from life.

44
 Calendar
Indian and Canadian Holidays and Festivals Utsav’s Events Schedule (Tentative)
2005 2005
Labour Day Monday, September 5 Club Day September
Thanksgiving Day Monday, September 10 Deepmala (organized by GSS in Friday, November 18
Wednesday, October 12 collaboration with Utsav) (Confirmed)
Dussehra (Vijaya Dasami)
2006
Day light saving time ends Sunday, October 30
Annual General Meeting of February
Halloween Monday, October 31
Utsav
Diwali (Deepavali) Wednesday, November 2 Holi function March
Remembrance Day Friday, November 11 Festiva March
Christmas Day Sunday, December 25 Summer Bar-b-Q July
Boxing Day Monday, December 26 Mehfil Septemeber
2006
Basant Panchami Thursday, Feb 2
Holi Tuesday, March 14
Day Light saving time begins Monday, April 3
Ram Navami Friday, April 7
Good Friday Friday, April 14
Easter Monday Monday, April 17
Canada Day Saturday, July 1
Rakshabandhan Wednesday, August 9
Indian Independence Day Tuesday, August 15
Janmastami Tuesday, August 15

Solution to the Discovery India crossword on page 22.

45
 Author’s Information
Alankar Chaudhary: MASc Student, Dept. of
Materials Engineering, UBC;
email:alankar@cmpe.ubc.ca
Amit Kedia: MASc Student, Dept. of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, UBC;
email:amitk@ece.ubc.ca
Ankit Bhargava: MASc Student, Dept. of Civil
Engineering, UBC; email:ankit@civil.ubc.ca
Hemanth K. Srinivas: MASc Student, Dept. of
Civil Engineering, UBC;
email:hemanthks@gmail.com
Hemanth Satish: Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Materials
Engineering Department, UBC;
email: hemanth.satish@gmail.com
Kailash Jondhale: MASc Student, Dept. of
Materials Engineering, UBC;
email: kailasjondhale@yahoo.com
Lino Coria Mendoza: PhD Candidate, Department
of Engineering, Electrical and Computer
Engineering, UBC; email: lino@ece.ubc.ca
Mary Wells: Associate Professor, Dept. of Materials
Engineering, UBC; email: mary@cmpe.ubc.ca
Mohua Podder: Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Statistics,
UBC; email: mpodder@stat.ubc.ca
Mukesh Eswaran: Professor of Economics, UBC;
email: eswaran@econ.ubc.ca
Contact us:
Utsav
Box27
6138 Student Union Buliding
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6T1Z1
www.ams.ubc.ca/clubs/utsav
46
Nitin Gupta: B.Tech. Student, Indian Institute of
Technology Bombay, India. He was at UBC for
internship in the Dept. of Computer Science in
summer-2005; email: xnitingupta@yahoo.com
Palash Bera: PhD Student, Sauder School of
Business, UBC; email: palash@interchange.ubc.ca
Praveen Kaligineedi: MASc, Dept. of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, UBC;
email: praveenk@ece.ubc.ca
Raghavendra D.: MASc, Dept. of Chemical and
Biological Engineering, UBC;
email: raghu@chml.ubc.ca
Rajnish Kumar: PhD Student, Dept. of Chemical
and Biological Engineering, UBC;
email: rkumar@chml.ubc.ca
Rose Mary Chako: MASc, Dept. of Civil
Engineering, UBC, PhD Student, Dept. of Civil
Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, USA;
email: rosemaryhere@yahoo.com
Sharmista Subrata Deb:
email: kum_23may@yahoo.co.in
Subrata Deb: PhD Student, Dept. of Pharmaceutical
Sciences, UBC; email:subratod@interchange.ubc.ca
Subhadip Ghosh: Post Doctoral Fellow, Strategy
and Business Economics Division, Sauder School of
Business, UBC;
email: subhadip.ghosh@sauder.ubc.ca
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