Educational FM Channel by Pondicherry University

Days are gone for the old radio stations by the micro and macro Fm stations around Pondicherry. I can’t escape a day from my mom’s favorite BIG FM yet she would flip through Suryan FM, Rainbow FM, and Nila Fm. Now Pondicherry University is filling the space of educational Fm channel in Puducherry. If you tune into FM 107.8, you will listen to Pondicherry University's educational broadcasts in another two months.

Vice-Chancellor of the university, J.A.K.Tareen told to Newindpress that “Through the channel, the university had plans to provide educational and learning resources to students and public in Puducherry”.

He also added steps were taken to prepare audio based lessons for students, innovative radio programmes for locals regarding health, business, cultural relations and competence, and other interactive fun filled educational programmes with Public.

Intially the station will broadcast programmes in Tamil, English and French for 3 to 4 hours in the forenoon and would repeat them in the afternoon. University faculties, students and other affiliated institutions will take part in the programme. This innovative step taken by Pondicherry university should be appreciated and hopefully the Fm would entertain the scholarly and knowledge crowds.

The Mother and Her Spiritual Guide Sri Aurobindo

Our union territory has got deep roots of spiritualism in its soil. The Aurobindo ashram marks the peak of the spiritualism in the city. The ashram was established by Sri Aurobindo and his most nearest spiritual disciple Mother. This article throws light upon the spiritual relationship between Mother and Sri Aurobindo along with few facts of Mother’s early life.

Mother’s name is Mira Alfassa and she was born in Paris on 21st February 1878. She was a child with a difference. She used to spontaneously meditate while she was very young and was conscious that she had a special mission on the earth. In her vision she used to see a spiritual guide. Herself being a profound genius, she had made a sketch of her spiritual guide. In 1914 when she saw Sri Aurobindo, she at once realized that it is whom she used to see in her vision. Mother spent few years in Algeria, exploring occult truths under the guidance of a couple: Theon, a polish adept and his French wife.

M. Paul Richard, Mother’s husband had visited Pondicherry soon after Sri Aurobindo’s arrival here and had been so deeply moved by him that he spoke to the audience in Japan soon thereafter. In 1914, the Mother, accompanied by her husband, came to Pondicherry and met Sri Aurobindo on 29th march. She at once realized that Sri Aurobindo was her spiritual collaborator. The Mother had to return to France due to exigencies of the First World War, in 1915, on 22 February. For the first time her birthday was celebrated in Pondicherry on the day before her departure i.e on 21 February.

Before she left her body, she launched Arya, a philosophical review. The first issue appeared on Sri Aurobindo’s birthday on 15th August 1914. It had French edition too, which was named as, Revue de la Grande Synthe’se. The French edition could not continue for long due to the First World War. The Arya serialized the major works of Sri Aurobindo and it continued till 1920. Thus, these are the most important facts that mark the start of the spiritual relationship between the Mother and the Aurobindo.

Know The Significant Days Of Aurobindo Ashram

The Aurobindo Ashram is an important milestone in the history of Pondicherry. Do you want to know the important days that are observed in the ashram? In today’s blog post, i would like to share the important dates along with its interesting significance.

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, after 1950, the Mother alone gave Darshan to the inmates of the Ashram as well as to the numerous visitors who came to Pondicherry from all over India and also from the other parts of the world. The following days are known as the Dashan days.
The Mothers birthday falls on 21 February. On this day, collective meditation is held in the morning around the Samadhi. The Ashramites and visitors can pass through the Aurobindo’s room. In the evening, members of the Department of Physical education have march past in the play ground, giving salute to the Mother.

Image Credit: Auroville.org

On 24th April 1920, the Mother came to Pondicherry to stay permanently. Sri Aurobindo’s birthday falls on the 15th August. The meditation and the march past are held on these days also.

The 24th November marks a milestone in Sri Aurobindo’s Yoga, for on this day, in 1926, he achieved victory over what is known his yogic vocabulary as the over mind. The victory prepares the advent of the super mind and this is the goal of his yoga.
The 29th February is marked as the Golden day in the ashram’s history. Because on this day a decent took place in the earth consciousness, as a result of which the Mother said on April 24th of the same year, “The Manifestation of the Supramental upon the Earth is no more a promise but a living fact, a reality”. The Mother further said, “It is at work here, and a day will come when the most blind, the most unconscious, even the most unwilling shall be obliged to recognize it.”

On every New Year’s Day the Mother used to give the message. Some of the other important dates are 4th April 1910 on which Aurobindo came to Pondicherry. On 5th December 1950 Aurobindo left his body and on 17th November 1973 the Mother left her body. Other days observed in the Ashram are Christmas, Saraswathi Puja, Vijayadasami and Deepavalli.

Merit list of JIMPER MBBS Enterance Examination 2008 Announced

Results of JIPMER MBBS Entrance Examination is published by The Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research on June 10. Getting a seat is not that easy task since puplis from all over India will appear for this exam.

The list of merit candidates -- who appeared for the entrance examination on June 8 in various center like Puducherry, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram – would be called for counselling on July 10 and the courses are about to start on July 14.

There is an interesting news for the selected candidates. In this academic year the number of seats are increased from 75 to 100 by the Ministry of Health, Govt. of India.

Very important note: This is only a merit list and not a selection list. The selection list of candidates under the various categories will be notified in due course. (as in press release)

You can see the complete list of merit candidates at http://www.jipmer.edu/

Important Memorial Homes of Patriots and Writers of Pondicherry

Puducherry is as historic as it has given the shelter for so many patriots and writers. Now let us know about the memorial homes of Shree Subramaniya Bharathi, Bharathidasan and Ananda Rangapillai.

Subramanya Bharathi, the Tamil poet-revolutionary whose pen was an important weapon during India's freedom struggle, sought refuge in this French enclave when the British made life impossible for him elsewhere in South India. At No. 20, Easwaran Koil Street, where he lived in Pondicherry, Bharathi composed some of his finest patriotic songs and such immortal works of Tamil literature as the Panchali Sabadham, Kannan Pattu and Kuyil Pattu.

Bharatidasan @ KanagaSuburathinam, another great poet, was inspired by Subramanya Bharathi, whom he regarded as his guru. He won the Sahitya Akademi award for his play "Pisirandayar". He lived at No.95, Perumal Koil Street. The houses of both Bharathi and Bharathidasan are now maintained as memorials and are places of pilgrimage for Tamil-lovers.

Ananda Rangapillai lived at No. 69-C, Rue Rangapillai (Maison Ananda Rangapillai). His palatial house is an excellent piece of 18th century architecture, a unique blend of French and Eastern styles. Ananda Rangapillai is the famous diarist of Dupleix's time. The records he maintained of the events between 1736 and 1760 are an invaluable source of information on the history of Pondicherry and the French India that age.

The Destruction of Ousteri Lake

Motor launch on Ousteri Lake

The boat ride was idyllic - the new motor quiet, the winds calm, the lake beautiful. It would have been a perfect day, unless you knew what I now know.

Ousteri (or Oussudu) Lake is the largest lake in Pondicherry, located approximately 12 miles west of the town. For over a decade, environmentalists have tried to get the lake protected as a sanctuary, to no avail. The Bombay Natural History Society, a member of Birdlife International, has designated Ousteri an Important Bird Area (IBA) of India - over 20,000 birds belonging to over 40 species used to reside or winter at Ousteri. The Asian Wetland Bureau declared Ousteri one of 93 significant wetlands in Asia; and many of the birds recorded at Ousteri, including Spot-billed pelicans, Eurasian Spoonbills, Darters, Painted Storks, and Black-headed (or White) Ibis, are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. This lake was one of the largest breeding sites for the Common Coot in South India, and many of the resident birds, such as the Purple Moorhen and Little Grebe, nested amidst floating vegetation present in the lake.

Paddle boat on Ousteri Lake

When boating was first contemplated by the Pondicherry Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC - a Government undertaking) about 10 years ago, professors and students at the Salim Ali School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, NGOs and concerned citizens protested - nesting birds would be disturbed and may not breed. At that time, the Tourism Department compromised to allow only paddle and row boats in a specified area, cordoned off by buoys. At some point, the buoys were taken out, allowing paddle and row boaters complete access to the lake. And a couple of weeks ago, PTDC began its motorized launch and boat service. For Rs. 50 (approximately US$1.28), you could ride either the launch, which seats 35 passengers and a crew of 5 comfortably, or an eight passenger boat.

The launch takes picnicking passengers (who more often than not, throw their plastic and other wastes into the water) around a small island and skirts the opposite shore for 45 minutes before coming back to dock. Sadly, there were very few birds in sight. A few egrets, a handful of individuals of a couple of species of ducks and some pond herons - all of which scattered at the approach of the launch. Certainly not the thousands of ducks that people who have been coming to the lake for 30 years remember. One resident of the lake, who participates in the two annual surveys of birds (the Salim Ali Bird Count held in November and the waterfowl count for Wetlands International in January), reports that 2 species of waterfowl no longer nest in Ousteri. Large birds are poached, and illegal gill nets cause the deaths of diving birds (particularly Little Grebe or Dabchicks) captured in the nets.

Then there is the pollution: raw sewage runs into the lake, untreated; household and industrial wastes are dumped either near the lake or in the dry lake bed in summer. (Local villagers living near the lake have not used the water in the lake for over a year and a half - they say it is not clean.) And the illegal soil and pebble mining: canyons of red soil have been illegally taken out of the area surrounding the lake to feed the construction of institutions, industries and residential colonies springing up in what was recently agricultural land surrounding the town of Pondicherry.

One of the “weed scrapers”

On top of all this, the lake is shrinking due to siltation, being choked with weeds, and losing its feeder channels due to industrial development in the catchment area. (The launch employs two men to scrape the aquatic weeds off the motor with large sticks, and every once in a while, the boat slowed and motor struggled as weeds overpowered the blades.)

Bird watching tower at Ousteri

Two lone towers that were built for bird watching before the change in tourism policy stand unused on the shore. And the huge sign board that listed the types of birds seen at Ousteri has been taken down.

Post Credit: Yoomilee