Success story of India’s First Visually Impaired Chartered Accountant

Rajni Gopal is India’s first visually impaired woman to become a Chartered Accountant. Currently working with India’s leading software companies, it has taken Rajani immense grit, perseverance and patience to reach where she stands.

Rajani Gopal has come a long way after losing her eye sight. She treads on paths that make even sighted people think twice before taking up. Behind this chartered accountant, Veena player and social worker, lies a determined woman who has defied all logic when it comes to success. Let’s talk to Rajani Gopal and find out more about her.

You work with a reputed IT company. Tell us about your job profile.

I work in the Finance Department. My profile is to work on Indian & U.S.A. Generally Accepted Accounting Practices.

Where were you working before your current assignment? How did you get this break?

I was working for Indian Group of Hotels as Community co-ordinator. I had sent my bio-data to the placement cell of I.C.A.I. and that is how I got this break.

How have you adjusted to your work environment and how have your colleagues responded.

It has been comfortable to adjust to work environment as I am quite versatile on computers. Moreover my work to a large extent is on those applications that extensively support screen reading software.

My colleagues respond very sensibly. There is no discrimination of any sort. Now they know when I need assistance and come forward to give the same. The work atmosphere is very comfortable and friendly.

blind-ca1Becoming a C.A. is a tough task even for sighted people. As a blind person what motivated you to take up this subject and how did you manage?

That is what many told me when I thought of taking up C.A. as a career. But let me tell you, determination and commitment can help you achieve those milestones which seem difficult otherwise.

I lost vision in my right eye by the time I completed my graduation. I faced few interviews where my candidature was not considered because of my vision problem. I realised that I should have a better education to get a decent and dignified job. At this juncture I came to know about Chartered Accountancy. By this time I had learnt to pursue my studies on my own. I thought if I can pursue B.Com on my own then why not C.A.?

Of course, pursuing the course was not easy. It would be difficult for me to read for long time. I had to read keeping the book close to my eyes. Commuting was also quite difficult. For a moment my spirits would be shattered. But I would realise that this is not the way to tackle a problem. I will have to find out ways and means of solving this. I would read for sometime and then close my eyes and try to recollect whatever I would have studied. This way I was not wasting my time and was also giving rest to my eyes, which I needed the most. As far as commuting was concerned, I would prefer to walk short distances, as catching the public transport was difficult. For long distances, invariably I would take the public transport. It was quite risky but I had to take the calculated risk.

After I lost vision in my left eye too, I had to look for means to continue my studies and clear my examinations. But the important hurdle was to accept that I am visually challenged. This did take some time as I would relate myself with my friends who either had a good job or were happily married. I realised that I should come out of this trauma. Sahaja Yoga meditation came to my rescue. The meditation gave the overall balance which I needed the most. I realised that I should accept the situation and go ahead, instead of brooding. I came to know about the screen reading software and learnt how to use computers. My urge to pursue the course was rekindled. I got all the materials converted to soft copy and started studying. For few subjects I took the assistance of volunteers. I also had to learn how to communicate with the scribe, as I was availing scribe facility for the first time.

What are the special assistive tools you use for help at work? Especially when tackling numbers.

As I have already mentioned, I extensively use computers with screen reading software. My assignment does not include going through any written documents. By using Excel and other M.S. Office applications, I am able to manage my job quite comfortably.

How did you develop your eye problem?

I was prescribed penicillin tablets for common cold. This was given without test dosage and resulted in an allergic reaction which in medical terminology is known as “Steven Johnson Syndrome”. My vision started deteriorating gradually. This was coupled with growth of eye lashes inside the eyes which would constantly itch. I had to visit the doctor almost twice a week to get the lashes plucked. But the damage to the cornea was done and doctors were helpless.

Tell us a bit about your school and college days.

Early school days were as any other normal child. After the allergy, things changed. Because of redness in the eyes, quite a few classmates would avoid me. I had to hear to lot of sympathies from relatives and friends. It would be very difficult to listen. I would try to be all alone by myself. I developed the habit of reading to overcome my loneliness. Initially I would cry and weep. As I grew up I didn’t feel like doing that, for I knew that my parents would be disturbed. I learnt to keep all my emotions to myself. I had very few friends.

At my college things were little different. I was matured enough to handle the situation. I did have friends who were sensible enough. In fact in the final year of my graduation, my friends would write the notes for me, get the books from library, for I couldn’t attend the college due to surgery on my right eye.

What kind of support did you get from family and friends?

There was complete support from my immediate family members. Neither my parents nor my brothers made me to feel at any point of time that I had vision problem. My parents would encourage me in all my ventures as they would encourage my brothers. Even after I lost my vision completely, they would behave as if nothing had happened and gave me all the emotional support.

Though I had very few friends, they were quite sensible and helped me whenever I needed them most. Moreover they would boost my confidence and behave as they would with other “normal” friends.

What are your interests and hobbies?

As already mentioned, I practice meditation-Sahaja Yoga. I enjoy cooking. I play chess. I have learnt to play Veena. I listen to lot of music. I volunteer my services to physically, visually and economically challenged students by providing assistance in their studies.

Tell us any interesting experience you’d like to share.

There have been quite a lot of experiences which have moulded my personality.

As my vision deteriorated gradually, I could see the helplessness of doctors and my parents. At such heart breaking moments, each mile stone in my education would motivate me to go further.

But if you want to know of any particular incident that changes the course of my life, I feel this is it.

Around the time when I lost vision in both my eyes, my father was diagnosed with Leukaemia. It was the prime age of my life and with all confusion I was totally lost and mentally upset. One evening when I just couldn‘t control my emotions, my brother recommended me meditation. He advised that I should do it with open mind and take as hypothesis. I could see within a week that my overall personality was in complete balance and I obtained the necessary confidence and inner strength which I needed the most and which any amount of external counselling wouldn’t have done.

Now I feel, everything that happened was with some purpose and has helped me become a better person move ahead in life with greater strength and confidence

http://www.eyeway.org/inspire/int-rajni.htm

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Indra Nooyi’s mantra for success

Indra Nooyi’s career at Pepsico began in 1994 as senior vice-president of Corporate Strategy and Development and she has been credited with shaping Pepsico’s current focus on the convenient foods and beverages business, influencing the company’s $ 3.3 billion acquisition of Tropicana, the juice company, in 1998, among other achievements.

indira-sariFrom her roots in Chennai, where she grew up, Indra Nooyi hitched her career aspirations to a star and has emerged as one of the most recognised icons of corporate success to originate from India, being cited among rankings of global corporate achievers for the past few years.

At the banquet hosted by the Indian organisation, Indra Nooyi was invited to impart her formula for success, where she elucidated five principals that she has adhered to. Sounding neither pompous nor platitudinous, she expounded her ‘panch sheel’ before a rapt and admiring audience, illustrating her counsel with recollections from her life, often mixed with wit and humour, at times self-deprecating, yet delivered with aplomb.

She began her discourse with the exhortation that “there are no limits to what you can do”, but cautioned the audience not to let others define the concept of success for them, adding, “not even me.” In Indra Nooyi’s regard, success “ isn’t money, prestige, or power because net worth can never define self worth. True success is being happy with yourself, is being fulfilled. And that comes from devoting your time, your life, to doing what you love the most”.

The core of the concept of success lies in knowing “what you want to do in life” and those who have triumphed at “figuring out” that issue should consider themselves “tremendously blessed”, she explained. Such advice does not seem simplistic, coming from a business leader with verve, like Indra Nooyi, who reportedly balances and blends her corporate role with her other talents that include playing the guitar and singing, skills that she presumably developed as part of an all-girl rock band while attending college in India.

Indra Nooyi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry from Madras Christian College in 1976, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, in 1978, and a master’s degree from Yale University in Public and Private Management in 1980.

Her corporate experiences include positions at Motorola that began in 1986 and led to her becoming vice-president of Corporate Strategy and Planning in that company between 1988-90 and at Asea Brown Boveri, as senior vice-pPresident and director of Corporate Strategy and Strategic Marketing between 1990-94.

In elucidating the attributes of success, Indra Nooyi commenced with the advice, “Aim high and put your heart into it,” recalling that while growing up with her sister, her mother who is one of her “greatest role models”, would have them deliver a post prandial speech every night, on what they wanted to be, “whether it was the president of India, prime minister … or chief minister of a state,” following which, she would cast her vote for the winner, the reward being a small piece of chocolate. On hindsight, Indra Nooyi believed it was formative in instilling confidence and ambition in them. “What’s important is trying to be the best and working to get there. And that’s how you fulfil your potential,” she averred.

The next rule of success, according to Indra Nooyi, is to “never stop learning” regardless of one’s age, and such learning should not be restricted to academic knowledge, but be supplemented with “street smarts” and being aware of matters and issues in the real world.Keep that natural curiosity,” she advised, as she described her practice, in her present job, of going on “market tours and walking the grocery stores, for at least half-a-day, a week,” to understand the competition.

Another corollary to success, is to “keep an open mind,” said Indra Nooyi, in addressing the Indian-American community. “It’s a multi cultural world out there and we all have to interact with people who are different…Success comes with reaching out and integrating with the community…and giving back to the communities and neighbourhoods, more than what you took out of them,” she implored.

An important attribute of success is to “be yourself,” according to the Pepsico president. In illustrating the rule, she humourously recounted a learning experience when she was a graduate student at Yale University, seeking her first summer job, because she had “no money to live on.” She purchased a $ 50 business suit from the local budget store and attended a job interview looking like “the ultimate country bumpkin” in her ill-fitting clothes and shod in garish orange snow boots, that her appearance elicited “a collective gasp(of horror) from people there.” When she tearfully consulted her Career Development Counselor about her sartorial snafu, the latter advised her to wear a sari for her next interview, assuring Indra Nooyi that, “if they can’t accept you in a sari, it’s their loss, not yours.” She recalled that she not only wore a sari for her next interview with a very prestigious management consulting firm and clinched the job, but continued to wear them to work all summer and “did just fine”. She insists, “Never hide what makes you.”

The central pillar of success rests on three important factors, which Indra Nooyi cites as, “family, friends and faith”. Prosperity and comforts notwithstanding, “when things look bleak and uncertain, it’s your family, friends and faith that pull you through….And when I’m wrestling with change in my life, good or bad, the first place I turn to, is my religion. I tell you, it really helps,” she averred.

Invoking the image of the “kalpa taru”, or the wish-fulfilling tree in Hindu mythology, Indra Nooyi expressed the opinion that the Indian-American community is already living that dream and that “now it’s up to us to make the best of what we’ve been given.”

Pepsico’s president summed up success with simple ideals, perspicacity and conviction.

http://archives.chennaionline.com/Columns/BigAppleBite/article08.asp

Inspiring Video about Indira Nooyi’s Life

Click the following link to view a five minute video about Inspiriing Life of Indira Nooyi.

 

 

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=S6kys5-5VAY

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Success Story of shooting star, Abhinav Bindra

Some toil for a place under the sun and some are born great. In his case the crown was thrust upon him, for he never aspired for one in the first place. “I hated sports,” confesses Abhinav Bindra, who lifted a gun, shot and became an Olympic champion – the first in the country’s history.

Yet, Bindra did not even exult when the moment arrived. For him, it seemed a ritual. But it was an unprecedented happening in a country where champions are a rare product; virtually non-existent when it comes to Olympic glory. India’s cricket icon Rahul Dravid lavishly acknowledged Bindra’s cool demeanour. “Phenomenal,” Dravid gushed even as Bindra blushed!

bindraShooting was not Bindra’s first choice. He attempted golf and then tennis. Having failed at both, he pursued shooting, and progressed at a rapid pace to reach the pinnacle of every sportsman’s dream. He has carried the sport of shooting from the realm of the rich to the masses. He has given sporting hope and dignity a new meaning by ‘shooting’ his way to stardom and greatness at mere 26.

Hated sports

Any fond memories of childhood? “The first 11 years of my life I just hated sports. I never watched and never played sports in schools. My parents always encouraged me to play sports though.” At the boarding school, Bindra received a letter from his affluent father every second day. “Never mind if you don’t study but play sports,” was one sentence that was common.

Shooting now is a “way of life” for the suave Bindra. He agrees, “For the common man, it is a sport hard to understand.” Even the world body is struggling to make it spectator friendly but the finals, it must be admitted, are always exciting because of the intense competition.

Bindra smiles when you ask him if sport is only about winning? “You can’t win all the time. For me personally what is important is how I perform. The pressure is maximum but I test myself and see how far I can stretch myself. One has to keep challenging oneself. There is always room for bettering yourself and your performances. Your goal has to be result-oriented and that’s why winning a medal is very important.”

What separates a champion from the rest? “I think it is the ability to keep testing yourself and hang in there a bit more.” That is what separates. It depends on the individual’s ability to try harder and to “survive those critical moments to face the pressure.” The nervousness, Bindra stresses, is not a comforting feeling and everyone wants to get rid of that feeling as early as possible. “I prepare very hard mentally and physically.”

For Bindra, an Olympic gold was always a dream. “We would come close and miss. The expectations were different.” True, there was a certain mystique attached to an Olympic gold medal in India. But he changed it. “When I started any colour mattered. Now it’s happened and with that I think the outlook has also changed. Now everyone wants a gold medal. It is not elusive anymore.”

High expectations

Expectations in India have always remained high. Bindra notes, “A sportsman has his own expectations. The external expectations don’t matter to a sportsman. He knows what to expect from himself. To me, values and perspective make a huge impact. Winning to me is not important but I hate losing.

A toast of the nation, Bindra is very “proud” to be an Indian. “We are an emerging super power and a peace-loving community. Everybody likes us, our values, and our development in all spheres of life.”

Bindra loves the company of sportspersons. “They give me a lot of joy. I believe Indian sportspersons are an extremely talented group. They have extremely good work ethics.” But what concerns him is the lack of proper planning. “To compete against the best in the world we need to have a clear plan in place, a clear objective, clear goal. Other nations are developing at a fast pace and are far ahead of us in every aspect.”

Having travelled far and wide, Bindra has a few suggestions to offer to improve the state of sports in India. “Infrastructure is the key. Commonwealth Games is a fine opportunity to build a sports culture in the country and generate interest in sports outside cricket but I don’t necessarily believe in hosting these major events. I would rather spend the money and build infrastructure in smaller places all across India. More and more people should have access to facilities,” concludes Bindra, an epitome of humility.

VIJAY LOKAPALLY

 

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/12/06/stories/2008120651841300.htm

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Story of Dr.P.C.Ray, Pionner in manufacture of medicines in India

Prafulla Chandra was born on 2nd August 1861 in Raruli-Katipara, a village in the District of Khulna (now in Bangla Desh). His father – Harish Chandra Ray – a landlord with liberal views, belonged to a wealthy cultured family.

 

Interruptions in Education

Prafulla Chandra’s early education started in his father’s village school. But he often stayed away from school. His teacher, while making a search for the truant in almost every house in the village, would find the culprit resting comfortably on the branch of a tree, hidden under its leaves!

In 1870 Harish Chandra moved his family to Calcutta so that his sons could have higher education. Here, Prafulla Chandra was admitted to the Hare School. He took a great interest in books and read a vast number of them. But a severe attack of dysentery forced him to leave the school. The disease was slowly overcome, but it permanently injured his health; he became a life-long sufferer from chronic indigestion and sleeplessness. In his later days he sometimes thought of this as a blessing in disguise. For the rest of his life he was very strict about his food; and he had regular exercises.

Prafulla was now free from the tyranny of the dreary school routine; so he found time to satisfy his passion for the study of English and Bengali literatures. When barely ten years old, he learnt Latin and Greek (Languages of ancient Europe). He also studied the histories of Ehgland, Rome and Spain.

Two years later, Prafulla chandra resumed his studies and in 1874 joined the Albert School. He liked the attitude of the teachers of this school and their method of teaching. The teachers in their turn were very much impressed by his knowledge of English literature and other subjects. They were hopeful of his brilliant success in the
examinations. But Prafulla Chandra suddenly left for his village, without sitting for the examinations. He still had a secret desire to return to the Hare School. But if he sat for the examinations. He was sure to win prizes. Then it would be unfair to leave the Albert School. So he left that school before the examinations.

Prafulla Chandra, however, returned to Calcutta in 1876 and resumed his studies at the Albert School. His affectionate teachers made him agree not to leave the school to go back to the Hare School. This time Prafulla Chandra worked hard and got the first place in the examinations. He won a number of prizes. In 1879 he passed the Entrance Examination and joined the Metropolitan Institute (now called Vidyasagar College).

Harish Chandra’s financial position was bad. It grew worse and worse. He was forced to sell the ancestral property, to pay his creditors. To save money, he shifted his family back to Raruli. The sons lived in rooms in Calcutta

The Gilchrist Prize

While pursuing his studies in the Metropolitan Institute, Prafulla Chandra used to attend lectures by Alexander Pedlar on Chemistry, in the Presidency College. Pedlar was an inspiring teacher and a skilful experimentalist. His lectures influenced Prafulla Chandra to take up Chemistry for his higher studies in B.A.


The London University used to conduct competitive examinations in those days for the ‘Gilchrist Prize Scholarship’. The successful candidate could go abroad for higher studies.

What a chance-if only he could get the scholarship!

Prafulla Chandra started preparing for the examination secretly. He was born in a very rich family, but now all the wealth had disappeared. This was only chance to go abroad. His knowledge of languages was very helpful in this, since one of the requirements was knowledge of Greek, Latin, Sanskrit and French or German. But he had to compete with thousands of others.

Only his brother and a cousin knew about this at first. By and by the secret was leaked out by a classmate, who stood high in the University examinations, He taunted Prafulla Chandra saying “Oh, this very intelligent man’s name will soon appear in the special edition of the London University Calendar!”

A few months after the examinations the results were published in the ‘Stateman’.Prafulla Chandra and a Parsee of Bombay by name Bahadurji had won the scholarship. The Principal was overjoyed and showered praises on Prafulla Chandra.

Prafulla Chandra now decided to go abroad. His father readily gave his consent, but Prafulla Chandra was worried about his mother’s feelings.. He consoled his mother saying, “When I return from England, I will get a high position. My first duty will be to repay the debts and to repair our ancestral home.”

 

In England

In 1882 Prafulla Chandra left for Britain. The long journey on the seas was quite tiresome. Because of seasickness he could not eat enough food and felt very weak.

After a voyage, which lasted thirty-three days, he reached London. The Indian students there helped him in several ways. They equipped him with sufficient woolen clothes to endure the bitter cold of Edinburgh, to which place he had to go.

Edinburgh was four hundred miles from London. Prafulla Chandra joined the B.Sc. Class in the University there. He was very much influenced by the Professor of Chemistry, Mr. Crum Brown, at the University. Chemistry became his first love.

Prafulla Chandra took the B.Sc. degree in 1885. After this he did research in Chemistry for the D.Sc. degree of the University. In 1887 he was awarded this degree on the basis of a thesis on the results of his original work. He was only 27 years old at the time

 

The Professor – Scientist

In 1888 Prafulla Chandra returned to India. He had obtained letters of introduction from his Principal and Professors. It was his hope that with their aid he would be able to get a good position in the education department. But in those days all the high places in this department were reserved for Englishmen. Though Prafulla Chandra had a Doctorate in Science, it became difficult for him to receive recognition in his own country. For about a year he spent his time working with his famous friend Jagadish Chandra Bose in his laboratory.

In 1889 Prafulla Chandra was appointed as Assistant Professor of 4 Chemistry in the Presidency College at Calcutta. His salary was only Rs.250 a month. But he was quite satisfied with his work. He started teaching very enthusiastically. He soon earned a great reputation as a successful and inspiring teacher.

Prafulla Chandra was never tired of saying that the progress of India could be achieved only by industrialization.

He advocated the use of the mother – tongue as the medium of instruction in schools. For this, he began to write science texts-books in Bengali.

Why Should Our Patients Depend On Other Countries?

Eighty-five years ago Prafulla Chandra came to realize that the progress of India was linked with industrialization. Without this there could be no salvation. Even drugs for Indian patients had to come from foreign countries at that time. This put money into the pockets of the merchants of those countries. This had to be stopped. Drugs had to be manufactured in India. Prafulla Chandra wanted a beginning to be made at once. But who was to do it?

Prafulla Chandra was not rich. The family estates had been sold to pay his father’s debts. Prafulla Chandra’s salary was also meager. Still he ventured upon this pioneering attempt. He prepared some chemicals at home. His work grew so fast that a separate company had to be formed.

But he needed capital – a capital of only eight hundred rupees. But it became difficult to raise even this small amount.

In spite of all these difficulties he founded ‘The Bengal Chemical and Pharmaceutical Works’. In 1894 his father died. This was a great blow to Prafulla Chandra. The father was still in debts and thousands of rupees were needed. Only a small part of the property remained. Even this was sold, so that the debts could be repaid.

Prafulla Chandra bravely continued to run the new factory. At first it was difficult to sell the chemicals made there. They could not compete with the imported materials. But some friends, chiefly Dr. Amulya Charan Bose, supported his venture. Dr. Bose was a leading medical practitioner and he enlisted the support of many other doctors. Bengal Chemical became a famous factory. But Dr. Bose died suddenly in 1898 owing to an attack of Plague. His brother-in-law Satish Chandra Sinha, who was an enthusiastic chemist in the firm, died of accidental poisoning in the- laboratory. Thus one blow followed another and Prafulla Chandra was very unhappy. The entire responsibility of the factory fell on his shoulders. Still he faced everything with courage.

This achievement itself was admirable, but. Prafulla Chandra’s contribution to Indian industry was even greater. Directly or indirectly he helped to start many other factories. Textile mills, soap factories, sugar factories, chemical industries, ceramic factories and publishing houses were set up at the time with his active co-operation. He was the driving force behind the industrialization of the country, which began at that time.

 

Scientist – Author

During all these years, he was also actively engaged in research in his laboratory at Presidency College. His publications on Mercurous Nitrite and its derivatives brought him recognition from all over the world. He guided many students in their research in his laboratory. Even famous scientific journals abroad began to publish their scientific papers..

 

A ‘Doctor of Floods’

In 1901 Prafulla Chandra met Mahatma Gandhi for the first time in the house of a mutual friend, Gopala Krishna Gokhale. Gandhiji had just then returned from South Africa. Prafulla Chandra developed great reverence for Gandhiji at this very first meeting. Gandhiji’s simplicity, patriotism and devotion to duty appealed to him very much. He learnt that it was easy to talk about truth but that it is far nobler to practice it in one’s life. Gandhiji also had great regard for Prafulla Chandra. He knew how hard he worked to help the poor and the needy. When floods caused great suffering and destruction, Prafulla Chandra worked very hard to bring relief to the victims. This made Gandhiji call him a ‘Doctor of Floods’!

For The Sake Of Science

Prafulla Chandra said on one occasion that when the people of Europe did not know how to make clothes, and were still wearing animal skins and wandering in forests, Indian scientists were manufacturing wonderful chemicals. This is something we should be proud of.

But Prafulla Chandra also knew that it is not enough to be proud of our past. We should follow the example of our ancestors and seek knowledge and progress in science.

Prafulla Chandra did not rest content with giving such advice. He worked hard to practice it. In 1916 he retired from the Presidency College. Sir Asuthosh Mukherjee, the vice-chancellor of Calcutta University, appointed him as professor of Chemistry at the University Science College. Here Prafulla Chandra trained many talented students and with them made famous discoveries.

Prafulla Chandra worked in this college for twenty years. He remained a bachelor all his life. All these twenty years he lived in a simple room on the first floor of the college. Some of his students who were poor and could not live anywhere else shared his room. In 1936, when he was 75 years old, he retired from the Professorship.

In 1921 when Prafulla Chandra reached 60 years he donated, in advance, all his salary for the rest of his service in the University to the development of the Department of Chemistry and to the creation of two research fellowships. The value of this endowment was about two lake rupees

In recognition of Prafulla Chandra’s great work he was elected President of Indian Science Congress and Indian Chemical Society more than once. Many Indian and Western Universities conferred honorary doctorates on him.

 

http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/greatscientists/drpcray/page10.htm

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Inspiring Life of Alfred Nobel, inventor of Dynamite

 ORIGINS

It was Petrus Olavi Nobelius, abound with talent in music and other fields, who met Olof Rudbeck, an intellectual leader at the University of Uppsala, founder of musical life at the university and around the place in general. On coming of age, he ended up marrying Rudbeck’s daughter and from this couple descended the family of Nobel. It was one of his grandsons who as a youth in military service, adopted the name Nobel. And now,  that seems to go for eternity due to one man down the lineage, called Alfred.

 

 

The reference to Rudbeck is of exceptional importance. The Nobel progenies inherited his inventiveness, love for arts and music, and last but not the least, his scientific temper. All this was evident in the Immanuel Nobel, his illustrious son Alfred and his siblings. A practical man all his life, with no formal education nor any knowledge of languages, he was a powerhouse of ideas. All that displayed his uncanny ability and exceptional intelligence – a genius.

 

 

 

Immanuel Nobel was a self-taught inventor and building contractor in Stockholm. He grew up in a poor family without formal education. His father taught him how to read and write. At 14, he became a cabin boy and went on a three year tour to the Mediterranean from Galve, a port city in Northern Sweden. On his return , he was first apprenticed to a Builder there only to shift to Stockholm to join school of architecture of the Academy of Art – or Mechanical School. Practicing as an Architect at 24 or 25, he dived headlong in to the profession, only to go bankrupt. The cause being a building he bought burned down in 1833. 

 

 

 His mother Caroline Nobel (maiden name Andrietta Ahlsell), was a gifted woman and the daughter of an accountant. Earlier, in 1827, she married Immanuel Nobel. The third and the youngest was our hero Alfred, born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. After the Nobels went bankrupt in 1833, the family moved to a simpler living quarter at Normansgatan, where Alfred spent the first nine years of his life.

 

 

 CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION

Since Alfred suffered from chronic gastric ailments, he was confined to his house most of the time. His mother was his friend, nurse, teacher and his window to the world. Since he could not go to school, his mother read to him from his brother’s textbooks until he learned to read himself and became a avid reader. Alfred’s intelligence astounded his mother and she hoped that he would turn out to be a genius. When Alfred was eight, he joined school and was thrilled by the change. He was an eager learner and his health also improved. Soon the family rejoined Immanuel in Petersburg. The climate of Petersburg did not suit Alfred’s health. A spinal ailment and chronic cold added to his list of existing ailments.

 

 

Immanuel decided to provide first class private tutions to his sons. He employed a Swedish tutor, who taught them Russian. Alfred turned his bedroom into a classroom. He also helped his brothers, Robert and Ludwig in their lessons. Alfred became fluent in English, French, German, Spanish, besides Russian. Under the tutor’s guidance, he became acquainted with the Philosophes of the Enlightenment and discovered Shelley’s poetry. The English romantic’s rebellious spirit, his flaming protests against brutal authority, ignorance and base passions, became his lifelong inspiration.

 

 YOUTH

 

At school, Alfred had picked up interest in chemistry. As he grew older, he found the family business more interesting and thought of promoting, it effectively. Alfred was sent abroad to study and to take care of business interests like buying tools, machinery, raw materials and supplying it with up-to-date technical and financial information. Immanuel then sent Alfred to America in 1850, for further education. There, he met John Erickson who had first designed the screw-propelled steamship in New York. He learnt mechanical techniques at the research room of John Erickson. He placed an order with him for some sketches on behalf of his father. He also spent a year in Paris with Jules Pelouse, a chemist, and it was here that he came to know about nitroglycerine that was found by an Italian scientist Ascanio Sobrero..

 

 

 RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

nobel4Immanuel wanted his sons to get involved in his business. On his return to Russia, Alfred joined Robert and Ludwig in research and development in their father’s factory. In 1853, the Crimean War broke out. As a result, the Nobel Steel and Machinery Manufacturing Company benefited by mass-production of military supplies for the Russian army. But in 1856 when the war was over and Tsar Nicolas I died, the new government unilaterally abolished the on-going contract with the Nobels and they once again faced bankruptcy. This crisis later turned into an opportunity. During the Crimean War, the Nobels had obtained a bottle of liquid explosive – nitroglycerine, which was very powerful but whose attributes were still unknown.

 

 However, they had to shelve the research on nitroglycerine and instead concentrated on the production of military supplies. Now that the business was over, Alfred Nobel could once again focus on conducting research on this new material. Alfred quickly saw that the advantages of nitroglycerin over gun powder were numerous and its uses could be exploited for commercial and technical purposes. His first achievement was the invention of the blasting cap (the explosion case), in 1863.

 

 BERTHA VON SUTTNER

His hectic work schedule and travel did not leave him with much time for a private life. At 43, he felt exhausted too. It was at this time that he placed an advertisement in the newspapers, which read. “Wealthy, highly educated, elderly gentleman seeks lady of mature age, versed in languages, as secretary and supervisor of household.” The most qualified applicant, an Austrian, Countess Bertha Kinsky was hired. After working for a short time with Nobel she quit to return to Austria and get married to Count Arthur von Suttner. Nobel and Bertha remained friends and corresponded with each other.

 

 According to Bertha, Nobel had expressed a wish to produce material for a machine that would have such a devastating effect that war from then on, would be impossible. In 1891, he commented on his dynamite factories to Bertha saying, “Perhaps my factories will put an end to war sooner than your Congresses : on the day that two army corps can mutually annihilate each other in a second, all civilized nations will surely recoil with horror and disband their troops.” Nobel did not live long enough to see the deterring effect of his invention and how wrong his conception was.

 

 Over the years, Bertha became increasingly critical of the arms race. She eventually became a prominent figure in the Peace Movement. This influenced Alfred Nobel a great deal and in his final will, included a prize for “persons or organizations that promoted peace”. Years after Nobel’s death, the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) decided to award the 1905 Nobel Peace Prize to Bertha von Suttner.

 

After his father went bankrupt the second time, Alfred and his parents returned to Sweden. Alfred began experimenting with explosives in a small laboratory on his father’s estate. In spite of his invention of the blasting cap, he was not able to find a safer way to handle nitroglycerine. It was so volatile that once in 1864 while he was experimenting, it blew up Nobel’s factory killing his younger brother, Emil and many other people. This accident did not discourage him. In fact after his accident, Nobel built several factories to produce nitroglycerine with blasting caps, and among them the plants of Krummel, Germany and Vinterviken, Sweden were major.

 

THE BLASTING CAP

 

 At that time the only dependable explosive used in the mines was black powder, a form of gunpowder. Nitroglycerine, a liquid compound that was recently discovered by Ascanio Sobrero was a much more powerful explosive. It could not be handled with any degree of safety, as it was extremely volatile. Alfred began manufacturing nitroglycerine in a small workshop at Helenberg and also concentrated in finding a safe way to handle it. During the research, he invented a detonator consisting of a wooden plug inserted into a larger charge of nitroglycerine held in a metal container. The explosion of the plug’s small charge of black powder aided in detonating the much more powerful charge of liquid nitroglycerine. This invention made Alfred a wealthy man and over a period of time, he gained recognition as an inventor of explosives. On further research on the detonator, he made a new improved detonator called ‘a blasting cap’. The blasting cap consisted of a small metal cap containing a charge of mercury fulminate that exploded either by shock or moderate heat. This invention of the blasting cap launched the use of high explosives in the modern world.

 

 

 DYNAMITE

 

This was Nobel’s second most important invention. He observed that a mixture of nitroglycerine and Kieselguhr, a porous siliceous earth, formed a product, which was easy to use and safe to handle. He later named this product dynamite (from the Greek dynamics meaning “Power”). This particular invention gave him worldwide fame and prosperity. Soon after he gained patents from Great Britain in 1867 and from the US in 1868, the general composition of Dynamite No. 1 was 75 per cent nitroglycerine and 25 percent guhr. He saw that guhr was an inert gaseous substance and did not contribute much to the explosive power, but detected heat from the power, which would have otherwise improved the blasting action. Thus, he turned to active ingredients like wood pulp and sodium nitrate to improve efficiency in blasting and to vary its strength. Nobel patented the use of active ingredients of dynamite in 1869.

 

 Nobel next contributed by inventing gelatinous dynamites in 1875. There is a legend that he hurt a finger and used ‘collodion’, a solution of relatively low nitrogen content, nitrocellulose, in a mixture of ether and alcohol, to cover the wound. He was unable to sleep because of pain. On next day he went to the laboratory to check the effect of collodion and nitroglycerine. He was surprised to see that after evaporation of the solvent, there remained a tough, plastic material.

 

 He discovered that he could duplicate this by the direct addition of 7 to 8 per cent of collodion type nitro-cotton to nitroglycerine and that lesser quantities of nitro-cotton decreased the viscosity and enabled him to add other active ingredients. He called the original material – blasting gelatin and the dope mixture – gelatin dynamites. The principal advantages of these products were their high water resistance and greater blasting action power than the other comparable dynamites. This added power resulted from the combination of higher density and a degree of plasticity that allowed complete filling of the borehole (the hole that was bored in the wall seam or elsewhere for implantation of the explosive).

 

Alfred Nobel went on to be a successful businessman in the developing market of dynamite and detonating caps. In a very short period, he built factories and laboratories in 20 different countries. His factory in Krummel near Hamburg, Germany started exporting nitroglycerine explosive to countries in Europe, America and Australia. He also concentrated on other inventions such as synthetic rubber and leather, artificial silk, chemical and explosive technologies. He was granted patents for 355 items before his death.

 

 http://www.worldofbiography.com/Industrialist-biographies.asp

 

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How Sri Aurobindo, a revolutionary became a Spiritual leader?

Sri Aurobindo Ghosh was born on 15th August 1872, to an anglicised father Dr Krishnan Ghosh. He wanted his children to be schooled in English, therefore at the age of 7 Aurobindo was sent to study in England. Aurobindo studied first at St Paul’s, London and then at Kings College Cambridge.

Life in England was often tough for Aurobindo; resources were meagre and for many years he had to often survive on a frugal diet. However he proved to be a scholar of great intellect and capacity. He mastered the classics and English poetry (later he wrote extensively on the English poets). The famous don Oscar Browning declared Aurobindo one of the greatest scholars he had seen.

It was at Cambridge university that Aurobindo first became aware of the plight of his country, at the time under the rule of the British Empire. Aurobindo became inspired to join a society committed to overthrowing British rule. This period was an important landmark in Aurobindo’s life. With his new political perspective he turned down an opportunity to join the British civil service. He had passed all his exams but failed to turn up for the obligatory horse riding test. Therefore at the age of 21 he returned to India increasingly committed to working for Indian independence.

Sri Aurobindo the Revolutionary

On his return to Indian soil Sri Aurobindo was overwhelmed with a feeling of intense inner peace. This experience came unsought and was an indication of his future spiritual capacity. However at the time Sri Aurobindo’s main concern and main passion was political independence of his beloved motherland. Sri Aurobindo threw himself into revolutionary politics, associating with the great figures of Bengal such as Bipin Pal, B.C Chatterji. He was dismayed with the weakness of Congress and argued for direct action aiming for complete independence. Through his journal Bande Mataram, Sri Aurobindo was the first leader to call for the full independence for India.

For several years Sri Aurobindo was a pivotal figure in the movement for independence. He had the qualities of a natural leader but was always happy to work in the background as much as possible. It was during this period that Sri Aurobindo also became increasingly interested in Yoga and meditation. Whilst engaged in spiritual disciplines Sri Aurobindo came across a teacher of meditation, Lele Maharaj. He taught Sri Aurobindo how to control thoughts and not let them enter into his mind. Sri Aurobindo followed his instructions to the letter and within 3 days he succeeded in completely emptying the mind and entered into a state of nirvana. This same experience had taken Lele Maharaj over 6 years to attain. Lele Maharaj was amazed at the progress of the young Aurobindo.

However it was the political struggle which held the greatest sway on Aurobindo, the freedom of India was his primary concern.

After a fatal incident involving revolutionaries, Aurobindo became a marked man. In 1908 he was arrested for the possession of weapons and was held in jail for a year before his case came to court. His trial became a major event with much attention placed on the incident. The evidence against Aurobindo was quite weighty and he feared he would be convicted. However Aurobindo was fortunate to have C.R.Das as his defence lawyer. C.R.Das threw himself heart and soul in to Aurobindo’s defence. His commitment and capacity meant Sri Aurobindo felt completely assured and did not have to even concern himself with his own defence.


The Spiritual Mission of Sri Aurobindo

By a curious stroke of fate it was in a British jail that Sri Aurobindo began to be seriously awakened to the inner life. Confined to his own prison cell Sri Aurobindo was able to practice meditation and read about the ancient principles of yoga, undisturbed by outer commitments. Sri Aurobindo began to have profound meditations. Entering into higher realms of consciousness he became aware of the omnipresence of God.

It was also in prison that Sri Aurobindo was visited by the soul of Swami Vivekananda, who instructed Sri Aurobindo about the workings of the super consciousness which was above the mind. Sri Aurobindo also became aware of a divine inner guidance, that was never to leave him. From this divine source he was given an Adesh “inner command” that henceforth he should not worry about politics. India would gain her independence in due course but this would be achieved by others. The task for Sri Aurobindo was the renewal of “sanatana dharma, the eternal religion.” To pursue this spiritual task it was necessary for Sri Aurobindo to leave the political arena. In his own words Sri Aurobindo said of his mission. We must return and seek the sources of life and strength within ourselves… It is the spiritual revolution we foresee and the material is only its shadow and reflex.”

After gaining a dramatic acquittal Sri Aurobindo was released, but was still pursued by the British, who considered him “the most dangerous man we have to reckon with…” It was around this time that he again came into contact with Sister Nivedita, a disciple of Swami Vivekananda and fellow revolutionary. She warned Sri Aurobindo of the dangers he was in. After a while Sri Aurobindo followed another “Adesh” to move to the French province of Pondicherry. At Pondicherry Sri Aurobindo was able to dedicate himself fully to his spiritual disciplines. Despite frequent requests to return to politics, Sri Aurobindo spent much of his time in meditation becoming more aware of the supra mental consciousness. Through his practise of Yoga Sri Aurobindo also gained the capacity to be a prolific writer producing many articles, writings and poetry.

Gradually spiritual seekers began to be attracted to Pondicherry and so an informal ashram began to be set up. A significant moment in the life of Sri Aurobindo and the fledgling ashram was the arrival of a French women, Mira Richards, who would later be affectionately known as the Mother of the Sri Aurobindo ashram. The Mother instantly recognised Sri Aurobindo as the one who had been guiding her sadhana (spiritual practices). In turn Sri Aurobindo entrusted the organisation of the ashram to the Mother and under her guidance, which continued for nearly fifty years, the Ashram grew into a dynamic spiritual community. The Sri Aurobindo Ashram still flourishes today and has a unique character in the sense that it does not involve retreating from the world.

Sri Aurobindo was a rare combination of poet, philosopher, writer and spiritual leader.

After a short illness Sri Aurobindo entered his mahasamadhi on 5th December 1950. During his last illness Sri Aurobindo refused any major surgery or even to heal himself. He said by leaving his body he would most effective in continuing his spiritual mission.

http://www.writespirit.net/authors/sri_aurobindo/biography-sri-aurobindo/

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Success story of Sunil Bharati Mittal

Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharti Group can be labelled as the most ambitious telecom entrepreneur in India. Sunil a former student of Harvard Business School, graduated from Punjab University. The son of a parliamentarian, Sunil did not want to follow his father’s footsteps. He had shown an interest in business even from his teenage days. So after graduation, Sunil got together with his friend and formed a small bicycle business with borrowed capital in the1970s. But by 1979, he realized that this business would remain small. So he moved out of Ludhiana, spent a few years in Mumbai and in 1981, was running an import and distribution operation out of New Delhi and Mumbai.

By 1982, Mittal had started a full-fledged business selling portable generators imported from Japan and that gave him the chance to involve himself in activities like marketing and advertising. Things went smoothly until the government banned the import of generators as two Indian companies were awarded licenses to manufacture generators locally.

Sunil Mittal got interested in push button phones while on a trip to Taiwan, and in 1982, introduced the phones to India, replacing the old fashioned, bulky rotary phones that were in use in the country then. Bharti Telecom Limited (BTL) was incorporated and entered into a technical tie up with Siemens AG of Germany for manufacture of electronic push button phones. By the early 1990s, Mittal was making fax machines, cordless phones and other telecom gear.

The turning point came in 1992 when the Indian government was awarding licenses for mobile phone services for the first time. One of the conditions for the Delhi cellular license was that the bidder have some experience as a telecom operator. Mittal clinched a deal with the French telecom group Vivendi. Two years later, Sunil secured rights to serve New Delhi. In 1995, Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL) was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel. Within a few years Bharti became the first telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark. The company is also instrumental in bringing down the high STD/ISD, cellular rates in the country by rolling the countries first private national as well as international long-distance service under the brand name IndiaOne. In 2001, the company entered into a joint venture with Singapore Telecom International for a $650-million submarine cable project, the countries first ever undersea cable link connecting Chennai in India and Singapore.

Always on the move and making an impact and excelling in whatever he did, this clear thinking risk taker has changed the face of the Indian ICT space. For his contributions he has been honoured with several awards. He was chosen as one of the top entrepreneurs in the world for the year 2000 and amongst ‘Stars Of Asia’, by ‘Business Week’, he received IT Man of the Year Award 2002 from Dataquest and CEO Of the Year, 2002 Award (World HRD Congress). He is the member of National Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Chairman, Indo-US Joint Business Council, Member, Advisory Committee constituted by Ministry of IT. Mittal has to his credit the breaking up of the 100 year old monopoly of state run companies to operate telecom services in India. Now he heads a successful empire focused on different areas of business through independent Joint Venture companies with a market capitalization of approximately $ 2 billion, employing over 5,000 people and still growing. Bharti Foundation has funded over 50 schools in Madhya Pradesh and also donated Rs 200 million to IIT Delhi for building a Bharti School of Technology and Management.

In spite of his deep involvement in work, Mittal the man, is calm, seldom ruffled and very down to earth. He says he achieves a sense of detachment and peace with regular practice of yoga. He is thankful for a supportive family including a daughter and twin sons, with whom understandably he doesn’t get much time to spend. His brothers Rakesh and Rajan are with him in the business.

 

He is a pioneer, a dreamer, an achiever. Ranked 125th in the Forbes list, Sunil Bharti Mittal is not a man to rest on his laurels. Whenever the next big revolution is happening, he is there busy being a part of it. What inspires and drives this trailblazer? We hear it in his own words.

Practice is the real thing, rest is all theory. I didn’t go to a B-school, instead learnt lessons on the streets and at every opportunity, tried to assimilate, gather and absorb some of the practices that were required to create an enterprise.

I dream BIG. Everything beings with a small step, but you have to dream big to take a leap. I graduated from Punjab University. After graduation, I along with my friend formed a small bicycle business with borrowed capital in the 1970s. But by 1979, I realized that this business would remain small. I moved out of Ludhiana, and tried other things so that I would be noticed.

Trust your reflexes. In 1982, I had a full-fledged business selling portable generators imported from Japan. This gave me a chance to be involved in activities like marketing and advertising. Things were smoothly until the government banned the import of generators as two other Indian companies were awarded licenses to manufacture generators locally. Then I made it a point that whenever the opportunity knocks on the door next time, I will be ready for it. The turning point came in 1992 when the government was awarding licenses for mobile phone services for the first time. I took that up immediately.

Recognition is momentary. You have to move on to achieve more, take more risks and be mentally alert. Being featured in the Forbes, or receiving the IT Man of the Year Award did make me feel great. It was a momentary high. Right now I just have competition here in India, but I have to work hard to that I am the competition from India for the world.

Everything comes at a price, even a smile. A boy of 8 or 9 years selling roses at the signals can make anybody feel worthless. How could I sit back in my chair and just run my business when the next generation of this country still hasn’t made its foundation? You can dream of a beautiful India, but you have to wake up from your dream to make it beautiful.

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Video of Small boy inspiring People

Dear Friends,

View this interesting 2 minute video which shows how a small boy can inspire every one.

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=OaihBi6tvns&NR=1

 

Pl post your comments about this video.

 

A.Hari

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Get inspired from Great Scientist Dr.Homi Bhabha

The Boy-Scientist

Homi Jehangir Bhabha was born in Bombay on October 30, 1909. In his childhood Bhabha used to sleep very little. The worried parents took him to several qualified doctors. But for sometime the reason for his sleeplessness could not be found out. At last doctors assured the parents that Bhabha was in excellent health. He did not sleep as long as other children of his age, because of his super- active brain and the continuous, rapid flow of thoughts.

His parents took interest in shaping Bhabha’s love of science. He was also provided with a small library. The library contained many science books.

 

Education and Research

Bhabha was educated at the Cathedral and John Cannon High School. He was a merit student. He won many prizes at school.

At the age of 15, Bhabha passed the Senior Cambridge Examination.

Later he entered Elphinstone College and the Royal Institute of Science, Bombay. He continued his studies here for two years.

Bhabha loved Physics. Mathematics was also his favorite subject. But his father wanted him to become an engineer. Bhabha respected the wishes of his father. He left India for Cambridge to study Engineering. Bhabha passed the Mechanical Engineering Tripos in the first class in 1930. He then pursued his studies in Theoretical Physics as a Research Scholar.

 

Research Pursued

homi1Bhabha was fortunate to come into close contact with famous scientists like Rutherford, Dirac, Niels Bohr and Heitler. This association greatly influenced his research and way of life.

 

The Study of Cosmic Rays

Bhabha presented, with Heitler, the ‘Cascade Theory of Electron Showers’, in 1937. It is called the ‘Bhabha-Heitler Cascade Theory’. It is a unique contribution to the world of Physics. This research brought fame to Bhabha. This theory explains the process of electron showers in cosmic rays.

Bhabha’s orginal contributions to Physics lie in the fields of cosmic radiation, theory of elementary particles and quantum theory.

Bhabha returned to India for a holiday in 1939. That was the time of the Second World War. Bhabha did not return to England and this was indeed fortunate for India.

 

In Bangalore

Bhabha could have got lucrative posts in any developed country. But he did not think of them. The material pleasures of foreign countries did not attract him. Bhabha decided to devote his life to the service of his motherland.

In 1940 Bhabha joined the Indian Institute of Science as Reader in Theoretical Physics. He shouldered the responsibility of building a new department to undertake research on cosmic rays. In 1941 he was elected a member of the Royal Society. When this great distinction was conferred on Bhabha, he was just 31 years old. Not many have been so honored at such a young age by the Royal Society.

Far-sighted

In those days the equipment and facilities needed for research in Atomic Physics were not available in India. Realizing this, Bhabha formulated a plan to meet this need.

Bhabha was invited to join the staff of Oxford University. But he did not accept the invitation. He expressed his desire to build an excellent institution of research in India.

Bhabha wrote a letter to the Dorabji Tata Trust on March 13, 1944. In the course of the letter he said:

‘When nuclear energy has been success- fully applied to power production in, say, a couple of decades from now, India will not have to look abroad for its experts, but will find them ready at hand.’

Bhabha wrote this letter almost a year before the atom bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki! This letter clearly illustrates his far-sightedness and patriotism. Bhabha’s plan was an embryo from which a school of physics was born.

 

New Climate Created

The Tata Trust founded the – ‘Tata Institute of Fundamental Research’ in 1945. The establishment of the Institute was mainly due to the initiative of Bhabha


The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is an outcome of the discussion that Bhabha had with the industrialist J. R. D. Tata, and the far-sighted decision of the Tata Trust to support Bhabha’s Project.

 

 

Reactors

Bhabha was participating in a conference at Geneva in 1955. Canada came forward to build a Reactor in India. On August 29,1955, Bhabha sent a cable from Geneva to Nehru and requested him to approve the, acceptance of this offer. Within three days, Bhabha received the consent of the Prime Minister. The Canada-India Reactor ‘Cirus’ was born.

‘Apsara’, ‘Cirus’ and ‘Zerlina’ are the three reactors built by the Trombay scientists and engineers, with foreign assistance. The credit for establishing these reactors goes to Bhabha.

Having acquired these reactors, Bhabha planned to take up the actual construction of atomic power plants. The atomic power plant of Tarapur in Maharashtra is now producing electricity. The other two plants are situated at Rana Pratap Sagar in Rajasthan and Kalpakam in Tamil Nadu. These power plants will appreciably contribute to the production of electricity in India. These achievements are the living symbols of Bhabha’s imagination and dynamism.

 

Building Up A Team of Scientists


The early atomic age of India was a period of transition. At that time Bhabha gave a clarion call to all young scientists who were staying abroad; “Return to Trombay; return to the motherland.” Many young scientists listened to his call and came to Trombay. They are today among the reputed scientists in the country. Bhabha took personal care to provide necessary amenities to them.

Bhabha selected scientists with care. He placed them in positions of responsibility. He thus succeeded in building up a team of excellent workers around him. He created a suitable scientific atmosphere for his colleagues. Necessary materials and equipment were provided. He inspired the staff and gave them the freedom they needed to pursue their work. He gave them every opportunity to grow. Spotting scientific talent was his passion.

Discipline in all walks of life and a challenging attitude to accomplish the targets were his special characteristics. He instilled a sense of confidence in his fellow-workers so that project could be successfully completed.

 

His Contribution

On May 18, 1974, India conducted its first nuclear explosion for peaceful purposes, at Pokran in, Rajasthan and joined the galaxy of nations with atomic energy. The success of this achievement is due mainly to Bhabha who put India on the world map of nuclear science.

 

When Bhabha was invited to become the Minister of Atomic Energy in the Union Cabinet, he declined. Science was dearer to Bhabha than the charm of ministership.

Bhabha’s ambitions were sky-high but he also worked tirelessly to realize them. He was not a scientist who sat in an ivory tower. He was a man of action. He was a rare blending of idealism and realism.

 

Life is for Living

Bhabha was a bachelor. When once asked about his marriage, he said: “I am married to creativity.”

In 1938 Bhabha wrote in one of his letters: ‘You can give a new direction to everything in life-except death.’ These words show clearly the degree of his self-confidence.

Scientist-Artist- Leader

Bhabha often said: “A scientist does not belong to a particular nation. He belongs to the whole world. The doors of science should be kept open to all those who work for the welfare of humanity.”

Bhabha foresaw that a time might come when production of power may suffer because of the shortage of coal and oil. He firmly believed that the standard of living of our people could be improved only through fuller utilization of nuclear energy.

Bhabha opened up new vistas of atomic glory. Nuclear Physics attained a new dignity and a new status on account of his personality. India stepped right out of the bullock-cart age into the Atomic age. This ‘Atom Man’ diverted the atom from the path of destruction to that of construction.

 

Bridging two Cultures

Bhabha was proud but charming; thoughtful but gay. He was soft-spoken and well dressed. He believed in gracious living and loved things, which were beautiful and aesthetic. His interest spread beyond science to culture and art. He had an eye for detail; nothing escaped his penetrating eyes.

Bhabha did not want any friction between scientific culture and artistic Culture. He always tried to bridge the gap between these two cultures. He believed that both science and art should enrich human life. These thoughts made Bhabha a great humanist of his age.

Bhabha could have become a great musician or expert artist or a renowned writer, but he served the nation as a scientist. What is science for if not for research, truth and beauty?

Bhabha was a great patron of art and music. He once dreamt of a career as a composer. He gave encouragement to modern painters, purchased their works and displayed them on the walls of the buildings of Trombay Establishment. He was a lover of South Indian music and never missed any good performance of leading artists. A man of many talents, he had a wonderful collection of paintings. He was also a great collector of works of art. He could talk with authority on painting and music and on trees and plants and flowers, which he loved. He was a versatile genius.

He had a great love for trees and flowers. At his instance a number of trees were transplanted to the new premises of the Tata Institute. He saved many a tree from the clutches of death. He was indeed a ‘Friend of Trees.’

When the construction work at Trombay was in progress, Bhabha spent many sleepless nights and finalized the layout for the campus. Today it is a home of loveliness, with vast lawns, shady trees and multi-colored flowers. The Trombay Center faces the sea on one side and a tall hill on the other. Nature is at her loveliest at Trombay. Trombay is undoubtedly a living example of Bhabha’s taste for good things and love of the beauty of Nature.

 

The Tragic End

Bhabha was going to attend an international conference. He was on a mission of peace. The Air India Boeing 707 ‘Kanchenjunga’ in which Bhabha was travelling, crashed in a snowstorm on January 24, 1966 at Mout Blanc. Bhabha thus met with a tragic end. He died comparatively young and at the height of his fame. It was a loss too deep for tears. In the death of Dr. Bhabha India lost an eminent scientist and one of her great sons.

Bhabha had disliked the, practice of stopping work when some one passed away. He considered that the best homage was hard work. When the members of the staff at Trombay heard the news of Dr. Bhabha’s death, they worked as usual and thus paid their respect to their departed leader.

As a tribute to Dr. Bhabha, the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay, was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Center, on January 12, 1967.

 

http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/greatscientists/homibhabha/index.htm

 

 

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The rickshawallah’s son who cracked the IAS

Tears ran down Govind Jaiswal’s face and refused to stop. Staring him in the face was the only thing he had ever wanted, and now that he had achieved it, he couldn’t even reach out for the keys on his cellphone.

He waited till the tears dried up, till the news sunk in and made that one phone call on which depended the hopes of his entire family.

Govind, 24, the son of an uneducated rickshaw vendor in Varanasi, had grown up with cruel taunts like ‘However much you study, you will still be a rickshaw puller.’ He had studied with cotton stuffed in his ears to drown the noise of printing machines and generators below his window in a poor neighbourhood where small workshops existed cheek by jowl with tiny residential quarters.

 

He had given Math tuitions to supplement the paltry sum his father could afford to send him each month. His ailing father had sold a small plot of land to give Govind about Rs 40,000 so that he could move to Delhi which would provide him a better place to study.

Throughout his life, he had lived with only one dream — to become an officer of the Indian Administrative Service. For him that was the only way. And when he broke the news to his family, that he was ranked 48 among 474 successful candidates in his first attempt at the exam — it was the turn of his three sisters and father to weep with unbridled joy.

“You must understand that my circumstances were such that besides the Civil Services, I had no option. I didn’t have much of a chance with lower government jobs because they are mostly fixed, neither could I start a business because I had no money. The only thing I could do was work hard at my studies.”

It was almost impossible for him to study in the one room he shared with his family. To add to his woes was the power cut that extended between 10 and 14 hours every day. The moment the lights went out, he had to shut the window to block out the deafening noise of generators in the many workshops around his home.

richshawSo in search for a quiet place to study, he briefly shared a friend’s room at the Banaras Hindu University. Since that did not help him much, he did what many civil services aspirants in northern India do — he moved to New Delhi

For his son to make a fresh start in a city Govind had never visited before, Narayan Jaiswal, Govind’s father, sold the only remaining plot of land he had saved after getting his three daughters married.

Working for ten years at the government ration shop, Narayan earned a living by weighing goods at the store. One day when the shop shut down, he bought one rickshaw and hired it out. He added three more and at one time was prosperous enough to own about 36 rickshaws.

 

That was a period of financial security and Narayan was prudent enough to buy three small plots of land. With three daughters to marry off, he knew he would need it in times to come. But bad times soon befell the family. His wife passed away when Govind was in school. For 10 years there was acute hardship. The rickshaws dwindled.

On his meager earnings, the uneducated rickshaw vendor with a hearing disability continued the education of his children. The girls were married after their graduation — Narayan sold two pieces of land for the weddings, the last plot was sold to achieve his Govinda’s dream.

Narayan gave his son Rs 40,000 to prepare for his Civil Services exam in New Delhi and pursue his childhood dream of becoming an IAS officer. For the next three years, he sent his son between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 every month, sometimes foregoing the expense of treating the septic wound in his foot that continues to nag him till today.

Outside his narrow lane, opposite the Varanasi City railway station, where Narayan Jaiswal parks his rickshaws and spends most of his waking hours, he still walks barefooted with a bandage, one end hanging loose and scraping the dirty road.

“Beyond this year, my father could not have afforded to send Govind any more money. It was getting very tough for him. Govind was earning Rs 1,500 from tuitions, I don’t know what he would have done if he didn’t make it to the IAS this year. My father could not sleep for 10 days before the results came,” says Govind’s eldest sister Nirmala, whose son is almost the same age as her brother.

Now that he will earn Rs 8,000 as his starting salary during his two-year training period in Mussoorie, Govind says his first priority is getting good treatment for his father’s wound.

“I want to look after him, I don’t know if he will leave Varanasi but I will definitely move him out of this rented room that we have lived for 35 years.”

If his son’s new job dramatically changes things for the better, Narayan Jaiswal is quite unaffected by it. He is surprised by the scores of journalists and well wishers flocking to his house.

Until now, courier delivery boys found his house with great difficulty but now even the fruit cart-wallah, one-and-a-half kilometres away, will tell you where the ‘IAS’ house is.

“I like my work. I haven’t decided about the future — what could be a better place than Kashi? As long as my son looks after me, what else can one want?” he says, visibly uncomfortable with the media spotlight.

The IAS stamp has catapulted Govind to the premier league in the wedding bazaar.

There has been a flurry of wedding proposals since his selection for the IAS — around 15 till late last week, “including one from a high court judge,” says sister Mamta.

“All this will have to wait another 2-3 years, I am in no hurry,” laughs Govind.

http://specials.rediff.com/getahead/2007/jun/07sld1.htm

 

 

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