TREASURE TURMOIL – TRICK OR TREAT?
Halloween
is fast approaching. Kids are excited-shopping for costumes, planning party
themes and coming up with creative ideas. Parents or grown-ups are looking for
deals on candies and goodies which they can hand out to the young ones.
Of this
time, that place. The country which is ‘home’ or ‘country of origin’ for most
of our readers – India. The grown-ups there are busy looking for bigger
treasures, which is a very big deal for several. Gold.
A
quiet, remote hamlet of Daundia Khera in Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh is
amused, apprehensive, excited and elated - all at the same time! The reason
being, a team of the Archaeological Survey of India have begun excavations at
an Unnao fort to search for a hidden treasure of gold. A local seer, Sant
Shobhan Sarkar, said he had dreamt of a hidden gold treasure at the site. The
Geological Survey of India later confirmed there were strong indications of
metal at the site.
Even as
digging to unearth 1,000 tonnes of gold, continued for the third day on Sunday,
the seer who dreamt of the buried treasure was reportedly upset by the slow
pace of work being done. As per reports, the seer, left the 19th century fort
upset at how the ASI team was carrying on the digging. He also supposedly said
that the slow digging by ASI men may make the treasure vanish.
Meanwhile,
there was no indication of the treasure yet and the digging was being carried
out amidst heavy security.
BJP
prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi ridiculed the Govt. of India for
deciding to hunt for the gold saying India would stand to gain several thousand
crores of rupees if it got back the black money stashed in Swiss banks.
“The whole world is mocking us (over the
hunt). Somebody dreamt and the government has started an excavation... the
money hidden by thieves and looters of India in foreign banks in Switzerland is
much more than 1,000 tonnes of gold,” he said at a rally in Chennai. “If you
(government) bring back that (black) money from Swiss banks, you won't have to
dig for gold.”
Sant
Shobhan Sarkar had claimed earlier this month that the 19th century local king
Rao Ram Baksh Singh had appeared in his dream and told him about 1,000 tonnes
of gold lying buried near the temple. The king was hanged to death by the British
during the 1857 Uprising and his palace, situated near the temple, was
destroyed.
Villagers, excited at the prospect of 1,000 tonnes of gold(claimed
to be worth nearly $50 billion) being unearthed, have now demanded that 20 per
cent of the same should be spent on local development. "The gold belongs
to our king and rightfully a share of the treasure should be spent on our
development,” said Umanath Singh, a local farmer.
Even as
the digging work at the 19th century fort is ongoing, the seer has made claim
of dreaming of another 2,500 tonnes of hidden gold in Adampur village in
Fatehpur district. He even went to the extent of writing to the DM about it.
The
government denied that the excavation work is taking place on the basis on
seer's dream. The ASI said that the work started on the basis of a report by
Geological Survey of India (GSI) and not merely a seer's dream.
Very
often, when there is good news beyond our expectations, we say it is ‘Dream Come True’. In this
ridiculous situation, the seer who has gained a lot of publicity is bound to
have a good number of devotees, because of his ‘supernatural powers’. Would it
do wonders to his bank balance? Undoubtedly. The villagers believe that the
wandering sould of the king who was a martyr keeps a vigil on the hidden
treasure. So their faith in the words of the seer has multiplied. His ‘dreams’
have come true, indeed!
Is it
amusing when the government goes digging the earth to find gold because a saint
had a vision? If this gold hunt ends in
finding even a few grams of gold, then an
already superstitious country will rush to self-declared saints and shower them
with gold.
One
baba's vision has driven us to this show of mind-numbing stupidity. It is
funny..or is it really?
On the one-hand, we have scientists prepare for sending a
mission 360,000,000 km away from Earth, and on the otherhand, our
archaeologists are digging the earth to realize the dream of a
unheard-till-last-week monk.
In a world filled with cruelty and madness, wars and chaos we will probably be better off sleeping for
longer hours and having more dreams! Trick our minds to find treats!
Interior Décor: Colour,
Glamour, Splendour!
Add vibrance to your
home. Or office. Style and panache, on a low budget. A makeover to go the
ethnic way can actually give your place a trendy appearance. Without costing a
fortune.
When it comes to
decorating a residence, ethnic home decor is preferred by the majority of the homeowners.
There are several different cultural
choices, and maong these, one of the most preferred one is Indian decor. It is
a sought-after and popular theme. The rich color schemes and vibrant designs
offer plenty of options. India has a rich cultural heritage and different parts
of the country have their own uniqueness when it comes to arts and crafts. The northern
and southern regions are very different from the eastern and western parts.
Depending on your preference, you can choose the desired option.
Color and texture to
your surroundings can be creatively done, with a variety of fabrics – silk, cashmere, and other lush
materials. The Indian tapestry often includes heavy embroidery works with
intricate designs and bright colours. extensive mirrors, shells, beads, pearls and
silver and gold strings. These represent warmth and love towards the guests,
making them feel special. These beautiful tapestries can be hung on the wall,
framed or unframed. Or if desired, they can also be used as curtains,
tablecloths or a window decor. These products are rich in texture and add
glamour, liveliness and vibrance to the ambience.
Most of the designs
feature traditional and exotic ideas.
The furniture which is made from woods like teak and rosewood is solid and is
intricately carved. Top it with
colourful accent throws and pillows, which has embroidery, blended with vibrant
colours to create an inviting space to enjoy with family and friends.
The bedrooms too can
be transformed with antique bedspreads
and patchwork pillows handmade from old textiles. Quilts can be made of beaded saris. Block printing, in which
intricately carved wooden blocks are used to print patterns on fabrics, is one
of India's oldest textile arts, as is tie-dye.
We can often find cottonsheets and pillow cases made in this fashion.
Kitchens are the most
important part of every household, and when going the ethnic route even the
kitchen can be re-vamped the Indian style. You will not only add beauty and
elegeance, but will be very eco-friendly too. Wood is heavily used in Indian
kitchens. Eco-friendly platters and
spoons made out of wood look pretty and cool. Coasters are even better, because
you can either get it in wood or get a batik painted cotton coaster set. Go for
all these and wash your hands off the plastic world!
All homes look
prettier when there’s greenery! Plants unleash their glamor and make your home
a relaxing, healthy and more beautiful place. So go for the potted plants,
because even the traditional art of home design in India (Vastu) considers
planting of trees inside the house to be good for health and peace of mind.
Having tulsi plant in the center of the house is an ancient practice.
There is no end to
it, but if you start with these ideas and thoughts, you can give your home a
makeover. I am no expert in interior decoration, but these are a few
observations, after being raised in India and visiting many Indian households
from different parts of the country!
Even in contemporary
homes, ethnic décor can look fashionable. The traditional designs add an
aesthetic touch. Not only are they decorative, but are also functional too. Trendy
and classic!
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End
Food Shortage, Limit Food Wastage!
October
16th commemorates annual World Food Day, which began in 1981. It is
now recognized in 150 countries as a day for raising public awareness
concerning global food issues. The World Food Day
theme for 2013 is "Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and
Nutrition"
Yes, we’re going to shine some light on the
burning issue of hunger on this day. One
of the world’s biggest challenges is our hungry planet. There are approximately
7 billion people in the world out of which13.1 percent, or almost 1 in 7 people
are hungry. According to the United Nations, the number of hungry people has crossed
1.02 billion. This figure has been on the rise for over a decade, and the global
economic crisis is only making matters worse.
The
need of the hour is smarter allocation of resources, and creating awareness at
the grassroots level. With food prices skyrocketing and more people are going hungry,
we need to actively engage and empower everyone to make a difference through
volunteering, donations, reducing food wastage to create a world without
hunger.
This
month is also the time to advocate on behalf of organizations that create a
platform to motivate the community by raising funds or making in-kind donations
to the food-insecure of the world. So let’s act on it now to change the future,
for better.
Today
the issue is so pervasive that trying to promote a broader understanding is urgent
and important. An emergency caused by
floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters is only one side of the truth. The
other stark, horrific and ugly truth is the dirty secret which we ignore,
pretend it does not exist. This type of
hunger impedes growth, development and puts our heads to shame. Ending food shortage is a challenge; limiting
food wastage is a bigger challenge.
With
the world all set to observe October 16, 2013, as World Food Day, Karnataka in
India has joined the Global March Against Monsanto and for food safety and seed
sovereignty.
Drawing
attention to a pressing issue like global hunger is a first step towards public
outreach. Agreed a lot is being done, several initiatives being taken, but it
is not enough.
To make
a difference, my contribution is to join with bloggers, writers and others and get
involved and share a few thoughts. Just $1 can help connect a child to as many
as 10 healthy meals, so even small donations make a big impact. Canned soups,
rice, beans, pasta, bar soap, toothpaste- anything that you share will help
someone, somewhere, somehow. Seize every
giving opportunity and contribute whatever possible. Empower children and see
what ideas they come up with to help fight hunger. Hunger is not an issue in one particular
place, in one city, province or country. So most of our ideas will work
anywhere. Support your local food bank or the agencies in your region that help
fight hunger.
Hopefully, someday soon, we can
think about marking World Food Day with a celebration of our victory in the
fight against hunger.
"Every
week a tsunami rips through poor towns and villages all over the world. It
claims 25,000 lives a day, 175,000 a week. It sweeps children from the arms of
their mothers, robs hundreds of millions of any hope for the future. That
tsunami is hunger. Help us end it now."
-- Colin Farrell
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Celebrity Endorsements – Endear Consumers?
Over
the past years, celebrities endorsing brands has been steadily increasing. Globally, firms have been juxtaposing their
brands and themselves with celebrity endorsers. Beyonce Knowles 50 Million
Pepsi Deal set a new precedent. It also opened a huge debate on celebrity
endorsements, advertising and promotion. The deal was the biggest celebrity
endorsement in recent years, though by no means the only one. Alicia Keys
assumed the mantel at Blackberry, as did Justin Timberlake for beer Bud Light.
Taylor Swift signed a huge deal to be a "brand ambassador" for Diet
Coke.
In
India, too Bollywood superstars like Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and
cricketers often endorse different products and services. When a celebrity endorsement goes right, it
can catapult a brand to the A-list and send products flying off the shelves. It
creates deep and emotional brand connections. But when the image of the
celebrity changes, it can adversely affect the brands they endorse. For
instance, when Tiger Woods’ public image crashed after his infidelity in 2009,
it created a lot of negative impact. General Motors, Gillette, Accenture, and
Gatorade dropped Tiger to avoid negative perception. Nike stuck around and lost
customers.
Often,
celebrities can overshadow brands, because they promote too many products.
Consumers might focus on the celebrity, instead of the product. Do you remember
the brand or do you remember the star?
In India, over 60% of brands use
celebrities to promote products, compared to 25% in the US, says a study by
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). The reason being, In India,
celebrities are idolized as superheroes and marketers capitalize on this
emotional connects of the people with the celebrities. Today, most of the
popular brands are being endorsed by a famous personality either from
entertainment industry or sports arena.
Social
media such as Twitter, have become increasingly popular mediums for celebrities
to endorse brands and influence purchasing behavior. According to Bloomberg,
social-media-ad spending is expected to reach a total of $9.8 billion by 2016.
Advertising and Marketing Companies sponsor celebrities to tweet and influence
thousands (sometimes millions) of their followers to buy brand products. For
example, Ryan Seacrest gets paid to promote Ford products.
Consumers
trust a celebrity attaching his or her name and reputation to a product.
However, time and time again we have observed incredibly low effectiveness in scores
of TV ads starring celebrities. Are celebrities today are really worth the
significant investment that brands are making? A good ad will remain effective
regardless of a celebrity endorsement. Consumers today are smart. A celebrity
endorsement will always get attention fast, but the personality of the
celebrity has to fit with the company and the products it offers to create
magic.
Celebrity
endorsements can work well if the celebrity, the brand and the agency are
willing to go the extra mile. Relevant connections between endorser and product
are essential. Derek Jeter selling Nike and Gatorade. Right on. Joe Girardi and
Mariano Rivera selling Taco Bell. What? We're dealing with a consumer that is
more informed and consequently more skeptical than ever before. If a celebrity
cannot credibly provide any evidence of personal usage/connection to a brand,
the jig is up, advertisers should save their money.
Do
celebrity endoresments endear consumers? Yes, No, Maybe So!
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Avoid
Texting Troubles – Avert Driver Distraction
People
who text someone who then gets into an accident could be held partially
responsible in a landmark New Jersey court decision this week. It's a decision
that's being applauded in Nova Scotia.
Cellphones
kill more drivers than alcohol does, police say. These days, law enforcement
officials struggle to deal with the problem of distracted driving. Almost all
provinces and territories in Canada now have a ban on the use of hand-held
devices while driving. Many U.S. states, including New York and California,
have similar legislation in place.
More
than a quarter of people killed on OPP-patrolled highways so far this year (47
out of 177 road fatalities) have been the result of “inattentiveness” while driving.
The majority of those cases involved texting or talking on the phone while
driving. According to the CAA, drivers who are text messaging are 23 times more
likely to be involved in a crash. Ontario’s ban on talking and texting while driving
was passed in 2009. Ever since, distracted driving has crept up as a cause for
road fatalities- from 19% in 2010 to 25% per cent so far this year.
It’s
time to take a serious look and curb this impulse of hauling out your cellphone
in the middle of traffic. Hands-free communications, such as built-in Bluetooth
connections, do not lower distracted driving risks by any significant amount. Despite
the acknowledgement of the dangers of texting behind the wheel, about half of
drivers 16 to 24 say they have texted while driving, compared with 22 percent
of drivers 35 to 44. Is it that necessary? Make a call; keep your eyes focused
on the road? Isn’t it more sensible?
By texting
in a moving car, people not only endanger themselves, their passengers and the
adjacent car. They endanger an entire stream of traffic. How many times have we come up to a light and
it turns green and we keep on waiting, but the car in front doesn’t move. When we toot our horn, and as we go around
them, we see the person looking down in his or her lap? Studies have shown a
strong addiction correlation to the sounds the phone makes when it goes off.
People feel compelled to pick it up and respond.
It's
like an epidemic. Enforcement alone is not the only key to success with
cell-phone laws. Public perception of enforcement also plays an important role.
Not many of us are pilots or astronauts!
We need to be aware that there's something blindingly obvious about the
risks of texting while driving. A study
found that each text took a driver’s focus away from the road for an average of
4.6 seconds. At 100 kms per hour on the highway, that’s long enough for a car
to travel the length of a football field.
The
key to ending distracted driving is educating youngsters and adults as well. We
need to teach our teens, who are the most vulnerable drivers, that texting and
driving don’t mix. They’re a recipe for disaster and can be deadly.
We
need to stop this addiction ourselves. As responsible, mature adults. It is
simple. Please switch off your phone completely while in the car. We can all do
this. Unless we have someone else riding with us in the car to answer for us –
spouse, kids or friends. Give it a try. Avoid texting troubles. Avert
distraction and danger.
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