My India, My Pride: 10 Interesting facts about India

1. India is the 6th largest country in the world, the largest democracy and one of the oldest civilization.

2. India has the largest number of Post Offices in the world.

3. India was one of the richest countries in the world before the British invasion in 17th century.

4. India is one of the largest exporter of computer software products. It exports software's to over 90 countries.

5. The origination of Yoga was done 5,000 years ago in India.

6. India has the world's largest pilgrimage destination called the Vishnu Temple the city of Tirupati. About an average of 30,000 people visit this temple donating about $6 million US dollars, everyday.

7. India has the most number of mosques. It has 300,000 mosques which is much more than the Muslim world.

8. Christians and Jews have been living in India since 52 A.D. and 200 B.C. respectively.

9. The famous board game called "Chess" was invented in India.

10. The value of "pi" used in mathematics was first calculated by the Indian mathematician Budhayana in 6th century.

Earth Day 2011 Celebrate!!!

What is Earth Day?

Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment.

Now, Earth Day is becoming one of the most important hallmarks in the world of conservation and recycling. It carries with it powerful connotations of ecological responsibility and taking ownership of our planet; after all, it is the only Earth that we have, and taking steps to lessen the impact that you and your fellow man have on it is nothing short of revolutionary.

Earth Day gives those people who have not taken part in recycling the opportunity to make changes to their lives and their community that they will cherish for a lifetime.  Many organized groups have adopted a pay as you throw program in their local communities.

Use Clear Recycling Bins at Earth Day Events

You can help celebrate earth day this year by attending a national or community-recycling event. This will help support all of the volunteers and organizers to show them that you really care. If you don’t have an event scheduled in your community this earth day April 22nd, then you can organize one yourself. Be sure to have the correct recycling containers and recycling bins ordered and on hand ahead of time.  You’ll need different containers for different materials. You can learn more about different types of Event Recycling Containers here.

Attend an Earth Day Event

With Earth Day 2011 and Earth Day 2012, there are a great number of amazing events planned all around the world – communities’ band together to help each other and make some positive strides toward protecting the environment. There are recycling drives, teach-ins, and rallies that are set to go throughout the United States, and you have the opportunity to be a part of that.

For example, World Fest 2011 is a California based festival that takes the principle of stretching Earth Day out into an essential part of your lifestyle to a whole new level. Celebrities and musicians work together with volunteers and sponsors to create an event that will help inform others about what to take back to their communities to help them conserve and recycle. New technologies and legislation are discussed and announced, and many keynote speakers take the stage to let you know how you can be a part of this amazing movement.

Earth Day – Brief History

On April 22, 1970, Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator, founded the first Earth Day in an attempt to bring about a better understanding of the affect we have on our planet, and calling us to take action to make positive environmental changes in our community. The first Earth Day was attended by 20 million Americans nationwide, from college campuses to town halls, and giant teach-ins were organized in New York City and Philadelphia, the latter event turning into a seven-day event known as Earth Week.
This small attempt to start something of this scale on the national level brought millions of people to band together in their neighborhoods, starting grassroots campaigns to help revolutionize the way we handled waste, recycling, power consumption, and conservation in general. That event set a powerful precedent for the rest of the world, eventually inspiring more than 140 nations all around the globe to have their own Earth Days.
By the year 1990, over 200 million people on Earth were participating in the event, making it one of the most-attended organizational activities ever created, even being called “the largest secular holiday in the world” by the Earth Day Network, the nonprofit organization that is in charge of the event on an annual basis since its inception in 1990.
  

The Real Hero - Saves 150 Lives in Burning Rajdhani

I Saluting You Mr. Pawan Kumar (The Real Hero)

 

Pantry car incharge Pawan Kumar of New Delhi-Mumbai-Rajdhani Express

who saved 150 passengers life of burning train at New Delhi Railway Station.

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI/BHOPAL: Thanks to an unlikely hero, not a single passenger was injured as three bogies of the Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani were reduced to cinders in a fire that started early Monday morning when passengers were fast asleep and the train speeding through western Madhya Pradesh.

Passengers said pantry car in-charge Pawan Kumar`s quick response in stopping the train around 2.10am and urging sleepy passengers to get off, not only saved the lives of about 150 people in the affected 3-tier AC coaches but also helped contain the fire.

"Please help the reporters congratulate the most important man," senior citizen Bahadur Mistri was heard telling co-travellers as they hugged and kissed their relatives when the train reached New Delhi station at 3.20pm. "He is the pantry car in-charge who knew quite a bit about the train AC system. His name is Pawan Kumar."

Kumar was sleeping in the pantry car from where the fire started. "I got up and found smoke everywhere. The first thing I did was to pull the chain. I shouted to my boys to get going and wake up the passengers. We asked everyone to file out. I was screaming — bahar niklo, sab chhod ke bahar niklo (run out, leave everything and run out)," said Kumar, an employee of RaiIway caterers, IRCTC.

Kumar said after stopping the train, he ran towards coach B7 as the wind was moving in that direction before collecting a fire extinguishers and running back into the pantry to fight the blaze. "Everyone pitched in,`` he added.

Said Satyendra Singh, who was travelling in coach B7, "The shouting worked. I still do not know how we managed it, but by 2.20am all passengers in the coach were outside. The pantry car and the B7 coach were gutted within the next half hour, the B6 coach followed suit before the fire brigade arrived."

"Pawan Kumar took me out and helped me get down. Everything my group was carrying — mobiles, digital cameras and even currency notes — were all burnded,`` said Dinoo Dalal, part of the 35-member group heading to Himachal Pradesh.

The fire started when the train was between Vikramgarh Alot and Thuriya stations located in the Kota-Ratlam section of the West Central Railway. The train left Mumbai Central at 4.40pm on Sunday and was scheduled to reach Delhi at 8.45am. There were around 1,061 people on board.

"The fire started from the pantry car which was totally ravaged,'' said Anil Saxena, Northern Railways spokesman. "Three coaches of the train were detached and passengers of the affected bogies shifted out. There was no injury, all passengers are safe."

Railways said passengers of the coaches B6 and B7 will get Rs 5,000 as ex-gratia relief.

The Railways arranged for breakfast for the passengers at Kota and lunch was picked up from Mathura. "Upon arriving at Delhi, we offered an ex-gratia help of Rs 5,000 to the passengers of all the three bogies —B5, B6 and B7. A couple of our own men burnt their hands trying to decouple the coaches,`` said spokesman Saxena.

Passenger Satyendra Singh said railway engineers and gangmen from Thuriya helped in decoupling the three coaches but B5 was partially damaged too. "Coach B5 too was finally decoupled by two diesel engines arriving from both sides. By 4am, the fire was under control. The villagers gave us water, fed us and looked after us till the train left for Kota at 8.21am,`` he said.

"The railways did everything they could do. There might have been some mistake on their part that led to the fire in the first place and loss of my entire luggage. But I am happy to be with my mother. Had it not been for Kumar and the other railway staffers, I would not be hugging her now,`` said Nidhi Bajaj, a mass communication student living in Uttam Nagar, west Delhi.

Big Thanks to Mr. Pawan Kumar