By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam: About 600 tribal women from remote villages of Vizag agency areas have got jobs in giant garment manufacturing units in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Andhra Pradesh.
It was the ITDA and Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty which took the initiative to train 3,000 tribal women in tailoring.
Of them, 600 had a lucky break when whey were recruited by Bangalore based Integra and Arvind Mills of Ahmedabad.
They are now earning monthly salaries of Rs 3,000 with free accommodation and subsidised food.
"Their salary may go up further depending upon their work and some women even went up to the supervisory level where they get a salary of Rs 6,000," said ITDA Project officer A. Sarath.
These women were trained at centres set up in Paderu, Chintapalli and Araku by the State government.
"After seeing the success of their sisters, more women are showing interest in joining the training classes," said the project officer. Unemployed tribal youth were also given training in six sectors including masonry and plumbing. And their services are being utilised in the construction of houses in the Agency areas under the Indira Kranthi scheme.
"Income sources for tribal families are very limited," said Mr Sarath. "They need to depend upon farming or selling forest produce. The returns are meagre. These training classes are a boon for them."
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Nudity implies purity
By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam: Nudity is revered and worshipped in the Sri Meru Nilayam temple of Devipuram, which houses the world's largest Srichakra.
The unique temple, which is located 30km from here, has been attracting devotees from all over the world.
Sri Chakra is the most sacred and potent representation of the energy of the mother goddess in Hindu culture.
The three-storied temple is constructed in the exact form of a pyramidal Sri Chakra called Sri Meru. It was built on 108 square feet and soars up to 54 feet.
There are 108 life-sized icons of the goddesses of Khadgamala here. Devotees can sit in front of them and meditate, do archana or perform homan. Most of the deities are nude or "skyclad", implying that they are pure Shaktis. It is believed that the deities want the devotees to worship their nudity.
Sitting on top of the Meru is the thousand-eyed Lalita Devi called Sahasrakshi Rajarajeshwari, who is the presiding deity.
"The temple itself is the body of the mother goddess," says Swami Amritananda Natha Saraswathy, the man behind the magnificent structure. "Here you can learn about the Cosmos and your nature."
Amritananda, who is fondly called Guruji by the devotees, explains that nudity is a sign of having nothing to hide and being pure in nature.
"That is how God made us," he says. "This temple is a symbol of unity between thought, word and deed."
Symbolism is extended further in Kamakhya Peetham on the nearby hill and the Siva temple on top of hill. Kamakhya is the mother of all and has the shape of a female genital. In its centre is the Sri Chakra Meru, a symbol of the universe. A 12-foot Sri Chakra can also be seen on top of the Shiva Temple. This temple also allows devotees to perform puja to the Devi without distinction of caste.
Maha Meru, also called the Sri Chakra, is said to be the mother of all Mandalas. This geometrical form is said to have originated from the Himalayan masters and is revered in all eastern traditions. Amritananda was once a nuclear scientist named Dr Nishtala Prahlada Sastry. He graduated from the Andhra University and received his doctorate from the University of Bombay while working at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
Sastry spent 23 years in research at TIFR. Later, he worked as a teacher in Zambia for two years. But he had a deep spiritual yearning which took him from one temple to another. It was in 1977 that Shastry visited the Balaji temple in Hyderabad. As he prostrated before the lord, he felt a thrill passing through his body. Amritananda terms this an initiation from Balaji. This proved to be the turning point in his life.
After that incident, he immersed himself in spiritual practices. He performed a Devi Yagam in Visakhapatnam in 1983, when he received the hillock where the temple stands as a donation. On the slopes of that hillock, he noticed a formation very similar to that of the Kamakhya Peetham in Assam.
While meditating, he had a vision of himself lying on the Peetham, while four others performed a homam with the flames emanating from his body.
He dug up the very site and unearthed a Sri Chakra Maha Meru made of panchaloha. It was later discovered that a big yagna had been performed there 250 years ago. Later he saw the goddess of creativity, Kamakhya Devi, in a triangular pit formation in a rock boulder nearby. She showed him all the various deities who receive puja in Sri Chakra, and he made sculptures of them.
"The Goddess guided me during every step in the building of the present temple," he says. "It took 11 years to make the Sri Meru Nilayam temple a reality."The fame of the temple has reached far and wide. "Sri Chakra is considered to be the genetic code of the cosmos, mind and the atom," says Asa Dustin, a yoga teacher who is on a visit from New Jersey.
Visakhapatnam: Nudity is revered and worshipped in the Sri Meru Nilayam temple of Devipuram, which houses the world's largest Srichakra.
The unique temple, which is located 30km from here, has been attracting devotees from all over the world.
Sri Chakra is the most sacred and potent representation of the energy of the mother goddess in Hindu culture.
The three-storied temple is constructed in the exact form of a pyramidal Sri Chakra called Sri Meru. It was built on 108 square feet and soars up to 54 feet.
There are 108 life-sized icons of the goddesses of Khadgamala here. Devotees can sit in front of them and meditate, do archana or perform homan. Most of the deities are nude or "skyclad", implying that they are pure Shaktis. It is believed that the deities want the devotees to worship their nudity.
Sitting on top of the Meru is the thousand-eyed Lalita Devi called Sahasrakshi Rajarajeshwari, who is the presiding deity.
"The temple itself is the body of the mother goddess," says Swami Amritananda Natha Saraswathy, the man behind the magnificent structure. "Here you can learn about the Cosmos and your nature."
Amritananda, who is fondly called Guruji by the devotees, explains that nudity is a sign of having nothing to hide and being pure in nature.
"That is how God made us," he says. "This temple is a symbol of unity between thought, word and deed."
Symbolism is extended further in Kamakhya Peetham on the nearby hill and the Siva temple on top of hill. Kamakhya is the mother of all and has the shape of a female genital. In its centre is the Sri Chakra Meru, a symbol of the universe. A 12-foot Sri Chakra can also be seen on top of the Shiva Temple. This temple also allows devotees to perform puja to the Devi without distinction of caste.
Maha Meru, also called the Sri Chakra, is said to be the mother of all Mandalas. This geometrical form is said to have originated from the Himalayan masters and is revered in all eastern traditions. Amritananda was once a nuclear scientist named Dr Nishtala Prahlada Sastry. He graduated from the Andhra University and received his doctorate from the University of Bombay while working at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
Sastry spent 23 years in research at TIFR. Later, he worked as a teacher in Zambia for two years. But he had a deep spiritual yearning which took him from one temple to another. It was in 1977 that Shastry visited the Balaji temple in Hyderabad. As he prostrated before the lord, he felt a thrill passing through his body. Amritananda terms this an initiation from Balaji. This proved to be the turning point in his life.
After that incident, he immersed himself in spiritual practices. He performed a Devi Yagam in Visakhapatnam in 1983, when he received the hillock where the temple stands as a donation. On the slopes of that hillock, he noticed a formation very similar to that of the Kamakhya Peetham in Assam.
While meditating, he had a vision of himself lying on the Peetham, while four others performed a homam with the flames emanating from his body.
He dug up the very site and unearthed a Sri Chakra Maha Meru made of panchaloha. It was later discovered that a big yagna had been performed there 250 years ago. Later he saw the goddess of creativity, Kamakhya Devi, in a triangular pit formation in a rock boulder nearby. She showed him all the various deities who receive puja in Sri Chakra, and he made sculptures of them.
"The Goddess guided me during every step in the building of the present temple," he says. "It took 11 years to make the Sri Meru Nilayam temple a reality."The fame of the temple has reached far and wide. "Sri Chakra is considered to be the genetic code of the cosmos, mind and the atom," says Asa Dustin, a yoga teacher who is on a visit from New Jersey.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
A new star on the chess horizon
By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam, July 21: Chess may not be a popular sport in the country. But Andhra Pradesh has distinction of producing world class chess players. Pratyusha, is all set to join the elite club of Koneru Humpy and P Hari Krishna of AP. But it's an unusual success story of this 11-year-old girl hailing from a remote Agency village in the district making to international arena which any normal kid of a rural background dare to dream about. Hailing from Koyyuru, a remote Agency village in the district, Bodda Pratyusha, 11, is a new chess star in the making. She is just back from Thailand after winning three medals at the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) youth chess championship held recently. And it's not easy for her to achieve big in her life. Pratyusha do not have comforts unlike other kids of her age. Only things she has are will and confidence to tackle any situation. She just notes down the theory given by her master and gets onto the game. And when she gets onto it Pratyusha forgets everything except her moves.
For one's surprise this young chess prodigy equipped with confidence travels alone to take part in chess tournaments abroad as her parents or coach cannot afford to accompany her to the international events due to severe financial crunches. She took part in various international tournaments held at Singapore, Greece, Iran, Georgia and Thailand and won laurels for the country. And she managed on her own except the Georgia trip where her coach R Amarnath accompanied her. "I can manage myself. Wherever I go my only aim, ambition and thoughts would be to win the game. Other than that nothing remains in my mind and nothing distracts me. Their absence never affects me," says Pratyusha with a mild but confident tone.
She also carries storybooks, comics and Telugu poetry books with her to read whenever she gets a little time during the international tournaments. "I don't feel any difference whether it is India or Thailand my focus would be only on the brain game. Of course sometimes I miss my family members when I see my fellow players along with their parents encouraging them. But I need to shun down all such thoughts to achieve something big in life" she adds.
Pratyusha's grandfather, VV Ramana who always accompanies her in the tournaments held within the country says that they cannot afford to go with Pratyusha wherever she goes. "We some how manage by pooling some funds and sometimes by taking hand loans and send her to the international events. We just want to encourage her hidden talents. That's it," said Ramana. Pratyusha's father B S Prasad, a secondary grade teacher at Koyyuru government school recollects how it all started. "Koyyuru is remote place with no recreation or entertainment. When she was at the age of 6 Pratyusha first played with one of our neighbour. That's how it all started. She attracted the attention of local people with her talents by playing chess with senior players at Koyyuru" he says. Prasad further says that recognizing her inner talents his neighbours advised him to get her trained by a professional. R Amarnath, a national chess player took the child prodigy under his wings, since then Pratyusha never looked back. She went on a winning spree. She participated at the state level and international level from December 2003. "Most of her age group kids who practice 8 hours a day with all comforts were no match to her. She is brilliant and has that killer instinct, confidence and attitude to win. It's not an easy thing to go all the way alone to alien lands without family and winning tournaments. One should not feel nervous and should be cool always, which she is," says her coach Amaranath. In recognition of her talent Sri Prakash Educational Institutions in Payakaraopeta, is providing her with free education and hostel facility and also sponsors her to various tournaments in the country. Now Pratyusha has her eye set to become the youngest Indian Grand Master at 11. At present Parimarjan Negi, 13 of Delhi hold the record of being the youngest Indian Grand Master.
Visakhapatnam, July 21: Chess may not be a popular sport in the country. But Andhra Pradesh has distinction of producing world class chess players. Pratyusha, is all set to join the elite club of Koneru Humpy and P Hari Krishna of AP. But it's an unusual success story of this 11-year-old girl hailing from a remote Agency village in the district making to international arena which any normal kid of a rural background dare to dream about. Hailing from Koyyuru, a remote Agency village in the district, Bodda Pratyusha, 11, is a new chess star in the making. She is just back from Thailand after winning three medals at the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) youth chess championship held recently. And it's not easy for her to achieve big in her life. Pratyusha do not have comforts unlike other kids of her age. Only things she has are will and confidence to tackle any situation. She just notes down the theory given by her master and gets onto the game. And when she gets onto it Pratyusha forgets everything except her moves.
For one's surprise this young chess prodigy equipped with confidence travels alone to take part in chess tournaments abroad as her parents or coach cannot afford to accompany her to the international events due to severe financial crunches. She took part in various international tournaments held at Singapore, Greece, Iran, Georgia and Thailand and won laurels for the country. And she managed on her own except the Georgia trip where her coach R Amarnath accompanied her. "I can manage myself. Wherever I go my only aim, ambition and thoughts would be to win the game. Other than that nothing remains in my mind and nothing distracts me. Their absence never affects me," says Pratyusha with a mild but confident tone.
She also carries storybooks, comics and Telugu poetry books with her to read whenever she gets a little time during the international tournaments. "I don't feel any difference whether it is India or Thailand my focus would be only on the brain game. Of course sometimes I miss my family members when I see my fellow players along with their parents encouraging them. But I need to shun down all such thoughts to achieve something big in life" she adds.
Pratyusha's grandfather, VV Ramana who always accompanies her in the tournaments held within the country says that they cannot afford to go with Pratyusha wherever she goes. "We some how manage by pooling some funds and sometimes by taking hand loans and send her to the international events. We just want to encourage her hidden talents. That's it," said Ramana. Pratyusha's father B S Prasad, a secondary grade teacher at Koyyuru government school recollects how it all started. "Koyyuru is remote place with no recreation or entertainment. When she was at the age of 6 Pratyusha first played with one of our neighbour. That's how it all started. She attracted the attention of local people with her talents by playing chess with senior players at Koyyuru" he says. Prasad further says that recognizing her inner talents his neighbours advised him to get her trained by a professional. R Amarnath, a national chess player took the child prodigy under his wings, since then Pratyusha never looked back. She went on a winning spree. She participated at the state level and international level from December 2003. "Most of her age group kids who practice 8 hours a day with all comforts were no match to her. She is brilliant and has that killer instinct, confidence and attitude to win. It's not an easy thing to go all the way alone to alien lands without family and winning tournaments. One should not feel nervous and should be cool always, which she is," says her coach Amaranath. In recognition of her talent Sri Prakash Educational Institutions in Payakaraopeta, is providing her with free education and hostel facility and also sponsors her to various tournaments in the country. Now Pratyusha has her eye set to become the youngest Indian Grand Master at 11. At present Parimarjan Negi, 13 of Delhi hold the record of being the youngest Indian Grand Master.
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