Opening of the Ka'aba Door

While on Umrah, I was blessed with the opportunity to see the opening and internal cleaning of the Ka'aba.On the morning of the 2nd of August, after Fajr Prayer we decided to do Twaf (Circumambulation of the Ka'aba) and on our last circuit we saw a carriage of wooden steps approach the Ka'aba door. The crowds started to push and it felt worser than Hajj! I reached for my camera and began to record an witness one of the most Rarest and gifted events in the Islamic world.The video explains the rest.Time of video: 06:40Date: 2nd August 2008

The government has in the past six years initiated ambitious projects that can take India’s development to the next level in various spheres of life. Most of all, the projects have the potential to transform the lives of the poor and the young. Here are six such projects  

Fight for corruption-free India

Right to Information
The spark that flickered in villages two decades ago has spread like a wildfire across the country today, ushering in an era of transparency and accountability. The revolution reached its crescendo parliament passed the Right to Information (RTI) Act when six years ago.
Often termed the biggest gift to Indians since Independence, the RTI Act transformed millions of people from merely being tax payers to true rulers of the country. The law opened the close doors, behind which government authorities worked, as people realised they could question the government's decisions.
Raising slogans like 'Hamara Paisa, Hamara Hisab' (Our money, our accounts), people started demanding accountability on the part of the government.
Words like 'transparency and accountability' touched nation's chord and the people's demand also forced our ministers, government officials and judges of the Supreme Court to declare their assets.
The fight for an independent and strong Lokpal, which has currently grabbed the country's attention, is only an extension of the transparency revolution that started with the RTI Act.  

 

Educating India's future

Right to Education
Padhega India tho badhega India (India can only grow if it is educated)! With this catchy slogan, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) was passed by Parliament in August 2009. The aim is to encourage more children between the ages of 6 and 14 to go to school.
According to reports, at least 1.1 crore out of the 22 crore such children in this age group are out of school. But with education being made a fundamental right of children now, every child can go to school uninterrupted till class VIII.
No school can deny admission to children, particularly to the underprivileged ones. Not can any school suspend or rusticate them. Corporal punishment has been banned. Parents have a better say in their child's education and have a right to monitor functioning of schools and teaching.

A job for all

NREGA
Politicians' old habit of promising jobs before elections and later forgetting them changed six years ago when the National Rural Employment guarantee Act (NREGA) was enacted — making the government legally accountable for providing employment to those who demand it.
The law guarantees 100 days of employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult members are ready to do unskilled manual work.
The main purpose of the Act has been to provide employment to the vulnerable groups. Last year alone over 5.5 crore rural households were provided employment through NREGA — now renamed Mahatma Gandhi NREGA (MGNREGA).
Several studies have showed the domino effect the NREGA has had among rural masses. It has led to social and economic empowerment of people and encouraged women to come out and work. There have been instances of corruption in works awarded under the NREGA. But that can be plugged if authorities desires to, experts say.

Exploring the Moon

Chandrayaan-1
Can human beings live on the Moon? The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is looking for an answer to this through its Moon mission. In 2008, Isro successfully launched India's maiden unmanned Moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, which helped the country join an elite league of nations that have explored the Moon.
Chandrayaan-1 detected water on the Moon and discovered large caves below the lunar surface and a tunnel near the lunar equator assumed to be an empty volcanic tube. Scientists said this could be a potential site for human settlement.
In its 10-month orbit around the Moon, Chandrayaan also detected titanium and confirmed presence of calcium on the lunar surface.
Under its Chandrayaan II project, India plans to land a motorised rover on the Moon in 2013. The rover will be designed to move on wheels on the lunar surface, pick up samples from Moon's surface, conduct chemical analysis and send the data to the mother-spacecraft Chandrayaan II, which will be orbiting above.

Boost to business

Mumbai-Delhi corridor
The 1,483km Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor (DMIC) is slated to change the way logistics is approached in the country. A cluster of manufacturing industries will come on both sides of the freight corridor of the Indian railways, leading to quick movement of goods produced. The project entails an investment of over $90 billion.
A band of 150 km to 200 km has been chosen on the sides of the freight corridor to be developed as DMIC. The influence region of the DMIC includes parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The three principal goals of the project are doubling employment potential in seven years, tripling industrial output in nine years, quadrupling exports from the region in eight to nine years.
Going forward, the government has identified seven regions to be developed as invested regions as part of the projects. The region would be a specifically delineated industrial region with a minimum area of over 200 sqkm (20,000 hectares).
Besides, six industrial areas — developed with a minimum area of over 100 square kilometres (10,000 hectares) — will also come up in the first phase of the development.

One number solution

Unique ID
In future people will be known more by their ID numbers than their names. The Unique Identification (UID) number — later named as Aadhaar number — is an initiative by the government to create a unique identity number for every Indian resident.
It is one of the major projects that will bring a drastic change to the nation as a whole.
The UID number will obviate the need for a person to produce multiple documentary proofs of his identity for availing of government services or private services like opening a bank account. It will also help in better execution of several government works, such as identifying people for development schemes, taxation and licensing (regulatory works) and security.
Backed by intensive use of technology, it would greatly facilitate easy verification of a person's identity and enable a single communication to trigger address changes in all relevant agencies records.
The project is being executed by the unique identification authority of India, headed by Nandan Nilekani.

Have money, will go on a luxe drive

India isn't all small cars and price-sensitive buyers. Luxury car makers seem to be having no less a good time catering to the growing number of millionaires here.
For the record, brands like Mercedes, BMW and Audi clocked an average 40% growth in 2010, as rising affluence and propensity to spend push more people to reach for expensive models.
"The new age buyer is no longer restricted to purchasing only on special occasions. They also yearn for luxury in mundane day-to-day activities. They demand the newest, latest, the most modern technologies and the most personalised service," said Debashis Mitra, director sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz India.
"Government policies over the six years have become even more compliant toward the luxury car manufacturers," said Mitra.
The size of the luxury car segment —- with price tags starting around `25 lakh —- was around 15,000 units in 2010.
BMW sold 7,079 units last fiscal, compared with 6,753 units of Mercedes Benz and 3,982 units sold by Volkswagen Audi.

All this demand has started drawing in manufacturers of super premium cars, too. Over the past year or so, brands like Maserati, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bugatti have introduced their most expensive and most premium models here. And despite high duty structure, these models have managed to sell decent numbers.
In 2010, Rolls-Royce sold more than 70 cars in India. Bentley, another British carmaker, sold around 55-60 units, while Lamborghini sold 50. Porsche, the German automaker, sold 131 cars.
The segment grew 35% in 2010 and is estimated to clock 40% this year.

"In the past few years, the high-end market has moved up dramatically. Companies like BMW and Audi have taken the market to a differentlevel. The mindset is also changing, earlier people did not want to flaunt in terms of luxury cars. Today luxury cars are not just limited to top2-3 cities, it has moved to semi-urban and small cities, too," said V G Ramakrishnan, director with Frost and Sullivan.

Intellectual vacation

Beauty of Our Kerala..

 

!!....Beauty of Our Kerala....!!

CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK OHIO, USA

 

CUYAHOGA VALLEY NATIONAL PARK
OHIO, USA

DINESH VORA

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is situated between
Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, and
it is the only national park in Ohio.
With a total surface of 130 km2, it preserves and
reclaims all the areas along the Cuyahoga River, with its beautiful rural landscape that includes colorful forests, waterfalls, rolling hills, caves and steep narrow ravines.
From its deciduous mixed-mesophytic forests to wetland habitats, from currently cultivated agricultural lands
to older field habitats in various stages of succession,
Cuyahoga Valley is a perfect environment for
plants and animals to flourish.

__._,_.___

Going where the Atlantic and Indian Ocean meet

Do you know the world is going to end on May 21? That's what this preacher says," said Joel who was taking us from the OR Tambo international airport, Johannesburg, to Sun City. "That's the day we will be on the return flight! So will we be saved because we are in the air or the first ones to be raptured being closer to the heavens?" the others joked, killing time on the two-hour drive to Sun City.
Being my first international trip, I had arrived with many do's and don'ts from different people.
"Stick to your group, don't wander off on your own."
"Don't go out after dark."
"If someone tries to mug you, just give them what they want!" etc etc.
Scared to no small degree, an idea had formed in my mind about where I was going. But after we hit the road, the first thing that struck me was "Man! Look at the size of those oranges!"
Having pinched myself to be able to believe that I really was on a different continent, I started clicking pictures from the first car ride itself — road-signs, churches with black roofs (which seemed like large fur coats draped over cement structures), sunflower fields, windmills — everything that I could find.
High on the (winter) sun
Sun City was teeming with tourists. Tree-lined wide, smooth roads, round-the-clock transport for residents to go anywhere within the massive resort, the colours, the pleasant temperature, the greenery, the cleanliness — it was soothing. Our stay at the Palace of the Lost City hotel was like a Hogwarts trip for me — arched entrances, life-size animal sculptures, stone-walled corridors with orange lamps burning, domed ceiling etc.

It was a packed couple of days at the resort. We began with the safari at the Pilanesberg Game Reserve. The area is fringed by three concentric ridges or rings of hills, of which the formation rises from the surrounding plains, this is the park's primary geological feature, the Pilanesberg Alkaline Ring Complex. Our guide Gift took us around the reserve in a closed-top jeep. The zebras seemed camera shy because, at first, all I managed to click was their behind. We had to steal up on a bunch to get pictures from the front. Gift said leopards can be spotted if one has the nerve to stay after dusk, but we called it a day.
The next day, a 22-year-old Zulu, Shadow, taught us about African tribes, and told us about his marriage plans when he turns 27. "Are you dating anyone?" we asked. Scandalised, he replied, "No dating! Only proposing when ready."

The Cape of good times
"Jaldi chalo," shouted our guide in Cape Town as we trudged with our luggage to the car. Grinning, he said, "That's the only Hindi I know. My name is Brahm, Brahma to my Indian customers. But I would prefer Brahm. It's taken from Abraham."
Our itinerary had called Cape Point the union of the two oceans, Atlantic and Indian. When we asked Brahm about it, he got a little charged up. He said many people believed it to be so but it was not true. "If you stay under water for 30 minutes and are alive, it is the Indian ocean. The water is warmer. But if you stay under water for 30 minutes and die, then it's the Atlantic. And if anyone tried this experiment at Cape Point, I don't think they are going to live to tell the tale! It's all Atlantic! There is no union!" he said vehemently.
Our second day was dedicated to the colonies of seals and African penguins. From Hout Bay harbour we took a 15-minute ferry ride to a mini rock island called Seal Island. Some were having a lazy swim in the water, while others sprawled lazily on the rocks — they exemplified the I-give-a-damn attitude. They didn't even look up as our boat neared their habitat or at the collective noise of about 50 cameras clicking.
The penguins at the Boulders beach were the same — in their own world, enjoying their own time, least concerned about the people flocking to see them.
The three days in Cape Town were over before I knew it. As a parting gift to Brahm, we enhanced his knowledge of Hindi. We taught him "Kamino, jaldi chalo!" along with the meaning, of course! He seemed thrilled and said he couldn't wait to use it with his next Indian group.

A brush with Italia Mia

Traipsing along the western coast of Italy, playing fly-on-the-wall as a bunch of artists explore their promised land

Tripping on road movies — that's what the entertainment world is doing currently. B-Town's flavour of the season deals with slice-of-life journeys and bonding and perhaps some epiphanies gathered along the way. Colourful locales and even more colourful personas complete the picture. Was it coincidence or part of a grander design therefore, that my recent experience mirrored the reel, and I found myself, like some modern day Alice in Wonderland, walking through the looking glass right into an 'on the road' scenario, of all places in history-steeped Italy? It is not often that one gets to be a fly-on-the-wall amidst the art fraternity, that too in a land best known for its art and architecture. But by some twist of fortune I found myself accompanying two Mumbai based artistes — the skirt-wearing Julius Macwan and photo artist Binaifer Bharucha — and three Delhi based artists — Remen Chopra, Manisha Parekh and Samit Das — on a road jaunt through L'Italia. Hollywood locale Starting from fashion capital Milan, the group traipsed along Lake Como — shooting spot for blockbuster movies, including a Star Wars sequel, the 007 film Casino Royale and Ocean's 12, but more importantly, also the locale for Hollywood actor-activist George Clooney's property, the place where Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt reportedly spent their final holiday together as a couple before their marriage broke up. Our intrepid travelers sought to draw inspiration from the tableau around them. Sunshine, sparkling water, the medieval landscape winking in the distance — enthralling, certainly, but this was just the beginning, pointed out the supra efficient Italian guide Scilla, her blond attractiveness not unlike Jenny Aniston herself. Spending the night in a castle converted into a hotel may be old hat for Indians used to royal palace fare in Rajputana, but the Italians considered it a special treat. And Castello di Casiglio's rooms on the first day had an upstairs-downstairs division and heritage feel intact. Meanwhile, a packed travel itinerary awaited — the bus route wound from the Northern regions right down to the beaches of Tropea, called Coast of the Gods in Southern Calabria, covering the isles of Sardinia and Sicily by air for good measure. The days flew along. If one day was spent touring the breathtaking peaks around Mount Blanco — the Western Alps' highest peak — accessed by dizzying cable car stretches, the next involved skimming the seas to sun-toasted playground of the famous, Portofino on a yacht or delighting in the splendour of the rolling green fields and hills of Chianti, Tuscany. The Punta Helbronner peak was interesting in that you saw the Franco-Italian border demarcated by a line — pre-Schengen treaty, guards from both sides — Italian carabinieri and French gendarmes — patrolled the dividing line; now it remains unmanned. Life in a bus Rome had Julius Macwan mulling over on his own 2008 work of art, a provocative take on Michelangelo's famed Pieta, now residing in the collection of a well known art patron Harsh Goenka. "It drew a lot of attention," Macwan reminisced. Meanwhile, the medieval streets of Sienna reconnected Remen Chopra to her past; she had studied in this quaint city for six months. After a few days together, almost living in the bus over long distances, a certain casualness crept in — practicality overcame modesty as wet bikinis hung out to dry on seats, evidence of cavorts on pebbled beaches from Margherita to Sorrento, near the Amalfi coast. This year marks the 150th year of the unification of Italy under Garibaldi and in many places flags fluttered over castles and coastlines. The flag was not the only echo of deja vu over distances. Humourous analogies were put out after chancing upon a Via Roma in almost every city we covered: "Like our MG roads back home — we have one in almost every city!" someone remarked. At the royal palace of Caserta, challenging Versailles in its grandeur, the artists discovered a special surprise — an exhibition of contemporary artists was on in the palace itself, juxtaposing the traditional and the modern. In the detailing of these travels, I have not elaborated on Italian cuisine, but its story runs parallel to any piece on the land — Italians consider food second only to God and four course meals were our fare on most days — in Italy food is not a meal, it's an experience. And finally a word on the motley group of travelers themselves — it is rare at the most opportune of times to find a group so united in its spiritual outlook, especially if coincidentally travelling through a land so steeped in religious and spiritual imagery. A lot of discussions on God, on fortune telling and the esoteric, on the mystical and divine foresight accompanied this voyage. These artists knew each other only in a cursory way, some not at all before this journey. But on those long days in the company of only each other and nature, they discovered facets in each other and themselves that they actually responded to. At journey's end, like strangers do, they carried with them each other's deepest confidences as they went their separate ways.

Party abhi Baaki hai !

It's not shopping or sight seeing that's taking people across the globe anymore…all they want to do is to party

Here's to the delight of all party animals — the travel partying trend, wherein one not only gets to globe trot but also gets to indulge in the most thrilling parties in the best places across the globe. Akhilesh Lakhotia, a Mumbai based entrepreneur, along with his friend Chirag Khandelwal came up with the travel group 'Trips Gone Crazy' . It was two years back that the duo, both avid party lovers, came up with the idea of offering people a chance to travel and party together. "We started with making a list of the best party destinations in the world and then got in talks with the clubs there as to how much discounts they could offer if we promise to bring in a pack of 15 to 20 people," says Akhilesh. "We are focusing on special interest travel. Our first trip is to Ibiza as it is the party capital of the world and already a lot of people have registered — mostly in the age group of late 20s to 30s," he adds, revealing that the second trip would be to Rio de Janeiro, followed by a trip to Munich, Germany at the time of the Oktober fest. In most of these trips, the travel, stay and club expenses are at discounted rates within the package and beyond that one only needs to spend on food and drinks — which in a way makes it more affordable and appealing. Pritha Raghunathan, a 27-year-old media professional, recently jaunted off to Singapore with a group of party lovers. "It was so random and fun. Tired of the regular humdrum of life, partying with a set of 20 new people was really refreshing. It was wild, crazy and totally rejuvenating," she says. Evidently, party tourism is on the rise and is attracting a great number of people from all age groups. Heena Munshaw of Beacon Holidays agrees. "Young travellers are no more into sight seeing business, they travel to eat, drink and party. This also applies for the pre-wedding bashes, bachelor parties, hen parties..etc. Some even enjoy the spa and party (sparty) combination," says Heena, asserting that the popular party destinations include Ibiza (Spain), Sydney (Australia), or even the lesser known places like Mombasa (Kenya), etc. So if you too happen to be a party freak, and have nothing new left to explore in the city, pack your bags and get set to travel and party simultaneously!