Milestone of India - Flowers for Tirumala Temple.

TIRUPATI: The temple of Lord Venkateswara is all set to dazzle with flowers of varied hues. Ahead of the nine-day ‘Salakatla Brahmotsavams' scheduled to begin from September 11, devotees across the country have come forward to donate flowers worth Rs.40 lakh to richly spruce up the inner precincts befitting the annual festival.

It is estimated that a whopping 2.5 to 3 metric tonnes of flowers, including the traditional as well as the modern ones, will go everyday into the decoration process. The conventional flowers grown by the TTD at Tirumala go exclusively into the garlands to adorn the presiding deity and the processional deities, besides for decorating the sanctum sanctorum and the sub-temples inside the complex.

However, the practice of using modern flowers like oriental lilium, Asiatic lilium, orchids, anthurium, bird of paradise, carnation and jerbera for decorating the temple precincts started a decade ago. The idea of involving devotees in the decoration process caught up well and led to a deluge of flowers in the form of voluntary contributions.

The ‘Garden City' of Bangalore sends a lion's share of flowers to Tirumala. “Apart from procuring flowers from Ooty, Kodaikanal, Bangalore and Coorg, we also import exotic varieties from Thailand and New Zealand for decorating the Tirumala temple,” says B. Srikanth of Om Sri Sai Flowers, a Bangalore-based wholesaler.

Besides executing orders from devotees, Mr. Srikanth personally donates flowers worth Rs.4 lakh every year.

According to the TTD's Deputy Director (Gardens), S. Srinivasulu, the services of 250 workers from Kolkata (reputed for their artistic nuances), Bangalore and Hyderabad will be utilised to decorate the inner walls, ‘Dhwaja Sthambam', ‘Bangaru Vakili' and other points in the temple.
The flowers are replaced every third day to give a refreshing look and pep up the festive mood throughout the nine-day fete.

Milestone of India - Awarded Doctor plans Free Surgeries. (Tamilnadu - India.)

TIRUNELVELI: Orthopaedic surgeon S. Ramaguru, who received the Best Doctor Award from Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi during the Independence Day celebrations in Chennai last Sunday, is all set to conduct the second round of surgeries to improve the living conditions of cerebral palsy children.

When Dr. Ramaguru brought country's leading neurosurgeon Aniruddh K. Purohit to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on October 8, 2007 to perform free surgeries after a screening camp conducted by him to identify the real beneficiaries, 100 children with spastic paralysis got new lease of life.

Motivating

Encouraged by the results and motivated by the recent award given by the State Government, he has started the spadework for conducting yet another camp for the benefit of children affected by cerebral palsy.

“We've already started the exercise to identify a major sponsor so that the screening camp as well as the surgeries can be conducted without any problem. After the screening camp to be organised before December-end, we've planned to conduct corrective surgeries during February 2011,” Dr. Ramaguru told ‘The Hindu' on Wednesday.

The orthopaedic surgeon, who used to perform free surgeries every year to save lepers from possible amputation of limbs, is on the look out for the probable patients so that those surgeries can be conducted before November this year.

“On behalf of ‘Kudisai' (an NGO floated by him), we are organising a free medical camp and a blood donation camp at Sankarankovil on August 21, in which a good number of specialists are participating,” Dr. Ramaguru said.

The other side of this orthopaedic surgeon is so interesting as he, through ‘Kudisai,' is conducting anti-plastic campaign by releasing informative pamphlets detailing the threat being posed by this highly hazardous material to the environment.

“We've chalked out plans to intensify this campaign,” Dr. Ramaguru noted

Milestone of India - Best Employer Award. (Tamilnadu - India.)

In recognition: T.K. Chandiran , Managing Director of SCM Garments Pvt Limited, receiving the Best Employer of Differently Abled People Award from

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at the Independence Day function in Chennai.

Milestone of India - Devotees walking on a prayer. (Orissa - India.)

BERHAMPUR: The Kawar is a test of one's devotion and physical endurance. This year, in an amazing show of devotion, a 45-year-old kawariya reached here after a 700-km-long journey that he undertook barefoot. L Sriramulu Dora of Hatibandh Street in Berhampur carried holy water from the Hooghly at Howrah all the way to the famous Gokarneswar Temple here. He poured the holy water on the Shivae Linga here on the fourth Monday of Shravan. The saffron-clad Shiva devotee also poured the holy water at Sakaleswara Temple at Sukunda on the outskirts of the town before reaching Gokarneswar.

Towards the end of his journey, Dora's legs were swollen and his feet were bleeding, but his unflinching devotion for Lord Shiva made him strong enough to endure the physical pain. He walked barefoot for 19 days, carrying the holy water and made it to his destination on Sunday, in time to pour the water the next day.

The fifth month of the Hindu calender, Sawan, is very auspicious for the people of this faith. Thousands of Shiva devotees fast throughout the month, eating only falahar' avoiding anaj' or cereals. In 2010, Shravan month begins on July 26 and ends on August 24 in North Indian Hindi calendars.

Every year in the month of Sawan which falls during the monsoon, you can see groups of kawariyas' walking alongside streets and highways, some barefoot, chanting Bam Bam Bhole' or Bol Bum'. Clad in garishly orange clothes these people carry kawars' or pots of holy water from rivers to be poured on shivalings at temples across the country.

Although he has been carrying holy water to the shiva linga for the last four years, this was the first time he covered such a long distance, and that too all alone. "I did not face any trouble in my journey, rather I got support from people I met along the way," he added.

Some people advised me not to venture on the journey because I would have to pass through the red corridor. "I am a devotee of Lord Shiva and I kept chanting his name all along the way to arrive safely at my destination," said Dora, a shopkeeper by profession. "I have a firm belief that my wishes will be fulfilled by this pilgrimage," he said.

In the last four years, he has carried holy water from the rivers Rushikulya and Mahanadi from different places including Purushottampur, Ganjam town and Cuttack. "This year I wanted to cover a long distance and start my journey to Howrah after performing all the rituals here," he said.

Dora began his journey on July 26. He travelled along national highways and rested at village temples at night. Not only did he walk barefoot, he only had seven proper meals in the 19 days of his journey. At other times he survived on fruits and chivda'. "The only thing that gave me strength to endure such physical hardship was chanting the name of the lord," he said.

MAY LORD SHIVA AND AMBIGAI ALONGWITH

GANESHA AND LORD MURUGA BLESS THIS UNIVERSE.

Milestone of India - New Delhi, Mumbai spots in List of Global cities.

WASHINGTON: New Delhi and Mumbai occupies 45th and 46th position while Kolkata is placed at 63rd spot in list of rankings of 65 global cities; which is topped by New York, and Tokyo, a survey has said.

Karachi, the only Pakistani metropolis was ranked 60, Dhaka was placed at 64 while Beijing - which suddenly caught the imagination of the world by successfully hostin g the olympics - has been ranked 15th.

"The 21st century will not be dominated by America or China, or India, but by the city," said the report released by the prestigious Foreign magazine in collaboration with A T and The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

" Asia now boasts half the top 10 most global cities (thoug New York and London still rule). But many of the fastest-growing places are far down on the list, proving the point that it's a lot easier to grow big than it is to grow smart," the magazine said.

Paris and Hong have been ranked fourth and fifth respectively, while Chicago has been placed at sixth spot, followed by Los (7), Singapore, (8), Sydney (9), Seoul (10), Brussels (11), Sanfransisco (12), Washington (13) and (14).

"So what makes a Global City? Not size alone, that's for sure; many of the world's largest megalopolises, such as Karachi (60), (59), and Kolkata (63), barely make the list. Instead, the index aims to measure how much sway a city has over what happens beyond its own borders -- its influence on and integration with global markets, culture, and innovation," the report said.

The seats of traditional political power aren't necessarily the most global. Only four of the top 10 cities are national capitals. Washington comes in at No 13. Beijing (15) edges t Berlin (16), which trounces Moscow (25), it said.

"Two of the top 10 global cities are laws unto themselves, operating outside the jurisdiction of a separate national government (Hong Kong and Singapore). The sun set a half-century ago on the British Empire, and yet London continues to shine at No 2 for now,"

Milestone of India - Indonesian Troupe Performs Dance Ballet at Tirumala. (Andhrapradesh - India.)

TIRUMALA: A dance troupe from Indonesia on Sunday evening presented a mythological dance ballet on ‘The Ramayana' at the sprawling site in front of the main temple complex of Lord Venkateswara commemorating the successful completion of one year of the much acclaimed TTDs ‘Nada Neerajanam' programme.

The exemplary skill with which the dance troupe presented the ballet was watched by thousands of devotees with rapt attention.

The ‘Wayang Wong' troupe which was led by Budoartha Inymon presented the famous ‘epic' in nine parts.

In all 30 artistes, including five women, took part in the dance programme.

Meticulously planned

Participating as the chief guest, Tirupati Member of Parliament Chinta Mohan said that he had never experienced such a qualitative programme being meticulously executed. Addressing the gathering, TTD Executive Officer IYR Krishna Rao said that the novel programme in course of its journey during the past one year has transcendent the boundaries of the country if the mails are any indication.

OM NAMO VENKATESAYA !

Milestone of India - St. George's Church Re-dedicated. (Andhrapradesh - India.)

Hyderabad: A re-dedication ceremony was held for the historic St. George's Church at Abids on the occasion of completion of its 143 years on Monday.

The church, which is under the Church of South India Trust Association, was under renovation since last year. Though no major changes have been made to the structure, members of the church have seen to it that it has not lost its original charm.

Renovation

“We have not made any changes to the structure, but only renovated it with the traditional amalgam of lime and other materials which were used in its construction over 100 years ago. Moreover, a part of the stone flooring of the church was removed to install granite as well as during the renovation works,” said Rev. Zaccheaus Katta Presbyter in charge.

The re-dedication ceremony was presided by Bishop Rt. Rev. T.S. Kanaka Prasad and was attended by M. Mukesh Goud, B.C. Welfare Minster, who offered to help the church in anyway possible in future.