Pictures still speak the most universally understood language...

Walt Disney the master mind behind the creation of the great Disney work, right from a mouse who can talk to the last fairy tale Princess with extraordinary long hair, ones made a statement ‘Of all our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language. ’ By this statement he simply meant that the pictures always speak louder and a thousand word than any regular normal language.

One of the best example to support the above statement is ‘The Girl in the Picture.’ It only took a second for Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong to snap the iconic black and white image 40 years ago. Phan  Thi Kim a Vietnamese girl at about nine years of age running naked on the road after being severely burned on her back by a South Vietnamese napalm attack. The Girl in the Picture deals primarily with Vietnamese and American relationships during the Vietnam War, while examining themes of war, racism, immigration, political turmoil, repression, poverty and international relationships through the lens of the family and particularly through the eyes and everyday lives of women. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam war in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history. 

When the image of the naked little girl emerged, everyone feared it would be rejected because of the news agency's strict policy against nudity. It was a chilling photograph that came to symbolize the horrors of the Vietnam War and, ultimately, helped end it. Also this photograph helped Huynh Cong "Nick" to win the Pulitzer Prize.

The second example is an image that captured an epic moment in U.S. history the ‘V-J Day in Times Square’ where a sailor locked in a passionate kiss with a nurse in New York City's Times Square at the end of World War II. The photograph is known under various titles, such as V-J (Victory over Japan) Day in Times Square, V-Day, and The Kiss This couple who won the nations heart was captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt. Kissing was a favourite pose encouraged by media photographers of service personnel during the war, but Eisenstaedt was photographing a spontaneous event that occurred in Times Square as the announcement of the end of the war on Japan was made by U.S.

Culture and Communication

The term “culture” refers to the collection of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and give a common identity to a particular group of people at a specific point in time.

A group also develops a culture which is composed of the collection of rules, rituals, customs, and other characteristics that give an identity to the social unit. Where a group traditionally meets, whether meetings begin on time or not, what topics are discussed, how decisions are made, and how the group socializes are all elements of what, over time, become defining and differentiating elements of its culture.

The most rich and complex cultures are those that are associated with a society or a nation, and the term “culture” is most commonly used to refer to these characteristics, including language and language-usage patterns, rituals, rules, and customs. A societal or national culture also includes such elements as significant historical events and characters, philosophies of government, social customs, family practices, religion, economic philosophies and practices, belief and value systems, and concepts and systems of law.

Communication is the process of conveying ones message through the use of language. Communication can be verbal and non verbal too. Verbal communication includes the use of language of word by talking and non verbal includes the use of sign language, emails, video clippings, etc.

The relationship between communication and culture is a very complex. First, cultures are created through communication; that is, communication is the means of human interaction through which cultural descriptions; whether customs, roles, rules, rituals, laws, or other patterns are created and shared. It is not so much that individuals set out to create a culture when they interact in relationships, groups, organizations, or societies, but rather that cultures are a natural by-product of social interaction. In a sense, cultures are the “residue” of social communication. Without communication and communication media, it would be impossible to preserve and pass along cultural characteristics from one place and time to another. One can say, therefore, that culture is created, shaped, transmitted, and learned through communication. The reverse is also the case; that is; communication practices are largely created, shaped, and transmitted by culture.

To understand the implications of this communication-culture relationship, it is necessary to think in terms of ongoing communication processes rather than a single communication event. For example, when a three-person group first meets, the members bring with them individual thought and behavioural patterns from previous communication experiences and from other cultures of which they are, or have been, a part. As individuals start to engage in communication with the other members of this new group, they begin to create a set of shared experiences and ways of talking about them. If the group continues to interact, a set of distinguishing history, patterns, customs, and rituals will evolve. Some of these cultural characteristics would be quite obvious and tangible, such that a new person joining the group would encounter ongoing cultural “rules” to which they would learn to conform through communication. 

New members would in turn influence the group culture in small, and sometimes large, ways as they become a part of it. In a reciprocal fashion, this reshaped culture shapes the communication practices of current and future group members. This is true with any culture; communication shapes culture, and culture shapes communication. Effective communication with people of different cultures is especially challenging.

Cultures provide people with ways of thinking with ways of seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world. But no culture is complete without communication. It is only through communication that there is spread and recognition of cultures.

FREEDOM NEEDS GAURDIAN

You may have so many things which are yours. Your books, clothes, toys, etc. And most important of all is your home. It belongs to you forever. But do you belong to anybody or anything? You will immediately say, yes. I belong to my parents, siblings, and friends and so on. And yes you also belong to your country; to India.

          Since childhood everyone tells you this and you accept it without even thinking over it. We Indians, usually take such things for granted. We feel at home in our own country. But this feeling has come to us a gift and we accept this fact blindly without even knowing the importance of it. We fail to realise that the fight for independence brought out the best and noblest qualities of mankind. We fail to realise that it attracted men and women who believed that no price was too big to pay for freedom. We fail to realise that we fought without hatred and bloodshed and the only weapon we used were courage and determination to see India free.

          Today as a citizen of free India we celebrate the 66^th year of The Indian Independence by not paying respect to our mother land. While the national anthem is played we walk around chit chatting with our friends, we find our national tricolour fallen on the ground and yet we don’t even make an attempt to pick it up.

          We do not cherish the democracy or the secularism our country has offered. All we talk about is how corrupted the society is, how unclean is our nation, how crowded we are.

          No system of government is perfect; you got to make it perfect. The freedom which we have got is not a gift but is an achievement. An achievement of our ancestors. It needs to be safeguarded. There is no guarantee that tomorrow also we may remain free. The threat to freedom not always comes from outside, more often it comes from within. Freedom needs guardians. Today we are its guardians, tomorrow our children. Every generation needs to do its job well so that you can pass on the torch of freedom to those coming after you. 

Newspapers Dumbing Down The News. They’re Digging Their Own Graves

Adam Joy a reporter from London said that- This is getting seriously out of hand: newspapers are filling their pages with celebrity gossip and endless articles about programmes on the box, pretending that this constitutes news.

Joy even mentioned that when newspapers start covering trashy TV shows, competitions and sit-coms on the box, in all their inglorious detail, it means that they’ve gotten so lazy and incompetent that they don’t even bother to send their reporters out in search of proper stories. Yes, truly no one needs this sort of coverage. It’s only suitable for people who wouldn’t be able to distinguish what news is.

Adam believes that there are these certain kinds of columnists who pick up the stories from their own newspapers and give readers their take on them. Who needs so many columnists anyway? Most of them are hopeless and peddle their nasty agendas. They just sit at home and throw their opinions at us. What do they actually know about politics, economics, art or life generally? It’s a just a cosy arrangement for scribblers.

With that sort of attitude no wonder serious events in the world get coverage worthy of school newspapers. Look at the events in the Middle East and Africa. The things that appears in so-called ‘serious papers’ resembles some make belief drivel. No one can even explain what’s going on and just bang about democracy and people power and freedom and that other entire thing that has nothing to do with what is actually taking place.

Intervention in Libya, the coverage of it is a disgrace in the Western press. Biased. That’s what happens when dumb down the information flow. They lose a sense of reality, not to mention that they can no longer write properly.

Newspapers owners and editors complain that their readership numbers are falling, supposedly undercut by the web. But the main reason is not that. It’s because newspapers are digging their own graves, providing news that isn’t really news. And if it doesn’t stop, they’ll simply disappear. 

Media must face the mirror

An article ran on the internet saying that it is time that the media must face the mirror.

This article is synopsis of what the internet article said or rather conveyed along with the consideration of Katju’s interview. As media logic goes, the more the eyeballs, the more the revenue. The more the revenue, the stronger the organisation, the stronger the organisation, the better paid are the journalists.

But how does one get there? Discard all facades of intellect and appeal to the lowest common denominator. Dumb down enough to attract attention, swim with the tide and never upset the audience. After all, it is eyeballs that matter. But how far can one really go?

The current outrage against the media is not entirely unjustified. Yes, the media has taken up an activist role, raising the issues of people and exposing corruption in high places. But clearly that has not been enough to bring enough credibility to the profession.

Politicians and people who are constantly under the media scanner have their own axe to grind against the media, but what is worrisome is the shrinking respect for journalists among the lay viewer.

The sharp reaction in the media to Justice Markandey Katju’s caustic remarks on journalists reveals their inability to introspect and take criticism with dignity. Katju was too sweeping in his observation and too condescending, but, the media which feels it has unfettered rights to criticise everybody was not doing any justice to them by refusing to take some criticism. The sad part is Katju’s impression on the low intellect of journalists is shared by a good number of intelligent people.

Possibly, the process of dumbing down has gone too far. By focussing too much on the lowest common denominator, journalists have come to be viewed as part of the imagined or actual audience they cater to, of the same intellectual wave length. The simple truth that the audience, viewer, reader is intelligent and needs better in form of news and analysis is conveniently forgotten.

A big share of the blame rests with television media which has come to be identified as ‘the media’. With television, ‘over-the-top’ is the standard expression used in the context of certain programmes. It was at its worst during the anti-corruption movement of Anna Hazare.

Anchors of some channels became extensions of the crowd at Ramlila Maidan. There was no sense of balance, objectivity and whatever acceptable journalism stands for. The anchors were clearly taking sides, stifling all contrarian views and bulldozing critics of the movement. In some studios there was a clear absence of reasoned discussion. The viewer at large was forced not to be critical and swallow the views of anchors.

The media was doing no great service to journalism by going out of control. In the panel discussions, the anchor did not ask questions, he/she interrogated; took a pre-decided line on issues and forced others in the panel to fall in line. There was a lot of arrogance going around. It was not difficult for the viewer to realise that he was being taken for a ride, made to look stupid.

In this particular case, a large section of the media was going with the public mood, too timid to raise questions. In the process, it was not fighting a public cause, it was looking after its own interests.

Finally, it’s about eyeballs. Interestingly, the media’s credibility has not gone up after theAnna episode. The feeling around is they are not doing what they are supposed to do.

Raising public temperature was never their core activity.

Why must anchors be showmen, entertainers and rabble-rousers, all rolled into one? It is not a role they are supposed to play. They would be doing a great service to the country by being dispassionate observers encouraging intelligent debate and genuine discussions. It may not get viewers in droves but it will certainly give respectability to the profession. The message: respect the intelligence of the viewer, he will respect yours.

But it also has to be admitted that it is a situation many editors all very competent journalists —are forced into. Competition is a difficult beast to handle. And it’s a matter of eyeballs in the end.

The Hindu takes on “dumbing down” with new campaign

The Hindu, after a long silence has decided to take competitors heads on with its new campaign 'stay ahead with the Hindu.' Featuring responses from readers of competitors newspapers, the campaign use its brand's heritage and credibility to highlight the present state of Indian journalism. Interestingly, this is the first time that the publication has embareked on a large 360 degree campaign spread across TV, radio, print, outdoor, digital, and on ground activities.

The point is that it is observed that newspapers and the broadcast channels often dumb down hardcore stories replacing it by the soft news stories. But The Hindu, an English daily broadsheet came up with this extraordinary act of campaign. It placed unusual ads stating that ‘Also has 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, pages’ and ‘For Current Affairs that go beyond Bollywood Affairs.’

          The responses from general people for questions ranging from politics to sports and music, and while they seem to be getting all the answers wrong, all of them give the right answers for questions related to Bollywood. The last question posed to all the respondents is about the newspaper they read. However, the responses for this question are beeped out. The film ends with the line ‘Stay ahead of the times’.

          The Hindu believed that in a more than ever globalising knowledge-driven economy, it is vital that readers are well informed about the world at large. And yet, over the last few years, news from the media industry in India has increasingly focused on serving up a steady diet of trivia and shied away from the national and international issues that matter. It is the kind of news that equates to junk food. In the long term, it is a steady dumbing down of readers who end up knowing about a celebrity’s kid than about serious stuff that truly matters. 

          This campaign not helped The Hindu in promoting more in order to beat against its competitors but also it helped in giving a clear cut idea that the time has come to hold up a mirror to the new trend in Indian journalism, which is really dumbing down the society at large. Here The Hindu acted as the only media institution that has the heritage and credibility to raise this issue.

          The thing that has happened is that most of the people are steeped into the ‘Page 3’ culture and in this knowledge driven economy it is important that people are well versed with relevant current affairs and world events rather than just gossip  

IS DUMBING DOWN GOOD OR BAD?

Is the news we are provided not prioritized properly? 

This is a debate that has not ended up with any conclusions so far. What decides or rather who decides what the general public should know and what the general public need not know?

On Sunday, following the Pantaloons Femina Miss India contest that had taken place in Mumbai on Saturday night, the Times of India carried a news report filling almost half a page in the main paper about the event.

Right below the report of the Miss India event was a small 3 column report of a very tragic incident - a small boy of about 9 years of age was beaten up brutally by police officers. His crime was that he had stolen 500 rupees. He stole the money to get to his grandmother after his mother had abandoned him while he was asleep.

The boy was roughed up so much that his face was extremely bruised, his arm was broken, and he almost crawled into court holding his stomach in pain. The judge has called for strict action against the policemen and has asked for medical treatment to be given to the boy immediately.

Reality programme bytes, who is dating whom, who is getting married, who has celebrated his 60^th -70^th birthday, etc is telecasted by news channels. Who is interested in such stories? And if there are some people interested, then for such news we do have entertainment channels. The question is why news channels broadcasting theses stories? Why are they dumbing down hardcore news of greater importance?

There is a diminishing appetite for serious news.

Tell me... what is more important for the general public to know? 

We are all aware that the size and positioning of a story speaks volumes about the importance the newspaper gives it.

Is it more important for people to know in detail what happened at a glamorous event, or is it more important for them to be made aware of such dehumanizing acts vetted out to poor kids?

It appears as if newspapers and broadcast channels today are prioritizing glam and celebrity gossip over things that are of more importance to the lay man. 

It is however, a vicious cycle.

We cannot blame newspapers or broadcast news channels alone.

They run on money. They need their revenue and so they cater to what their audience wants to see.

Is it not true that a majority of the people look forward to the glam-quotient of their news than its relevance? 

So who's to blame?

Is it the public because what we want is what we see? Or the channels or the newspapers?

The debate continues....

PISA- An Eye Opener...

PISA (Program for International Students Assessment) is an international study that was launched by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in 1997. It aims to evaluate education systems worldwide every 3 years by assessing 15 year old students in the key subjects of science, mathematics and reading.

The PISA results were recently out and it was shocking to see India landing on the 2^nd last position among 73 countries that participated. However, it wasn’t shocking to those whose children go to the Indian schools. It was told that the results are not a reflection of Indian’s poor state of schooling. Instead the failure has been certified to a cultural disconnect between the questions and Indian students.

This shows the quality of education that is provided to the students in India. Schools are strictly controlled in such a way that the students score high marks in examinations. In fact they study for only exams and not to develop themselves, to think or to analyse. The fact is that the quality and quantity of education in India is pathetic. Never ever is there any focus on practical learning. Whereas, science is all about learning theories, with there being no facility to visit science centres to see the theories work in practise. Not only this but the evaluation of marks for certain subjects and the quantity of syllabus included for certain marks are not proportional.

This incident should be considered as an eye opener. Our Indian Constitution talks of the fundamental Right of Education to every Indian. The government should look into improvising the educational standards. If merely being able to write one’s own name makes one literate, then that’s not going to be enough in this rising world. 

Justice Delayed Is Better Than Justice Denied...

After 10 long years, the India judiciary has woken up from its sleep. Out of the 2 important and right verdicts, namely Kasab’s death sentence and secondly the Naroda Pati massacre, were passed by the apex court of India. The Naroda victims will finally be at peace as justice will be awarded to them.

            Maya Kodnani along with 32 other convicts was accused for the 2002 Godhra train slaughter. This verdict is regarded as landmark one. It is for the first time that an Indian court has ever convicted a sitting MLA — Maya Kodnani who was also a minister in Narendra Modi’s government 2007- 2009. She was accused for mob aggression against members of a religious community. All the 32 convicts should be punished, particularly, Maya Kodnani who despite being a woman had lead to such a bloodshed which included more of women and children. Not only has this but also, later, case of gang rape and sexual harassment were observed.  If Kasab is guilty of killing innocent Indians as are the Godhra case convicts. They should be punished for their heinous crime and then and only then justice will be served. These convicts do not deserve a place in the society.

                        Sadly, this ‘stunning verdict’ took 10 years to punish the accused. Our judicial system is a long way road to be entirely justfull at the right moment. But the brighter side is that justice still prevails in India. Justice delayed is at least better than justice denied.

Is Capital Punishment valid for terrorists?

There are many kinds of crime and sins that a human being commits on every day basis, calling it the ‘human nature’. Every holy book talks of Karma as to what you sow you reap but not encouraging killing of human beings, in particular. Unlike the holy books, one of the measures of the government is to punish the sinners (terrorists) by imposing Capital Punishments. Indian law follows the traditional way of hanging by the neck until death.

            In simple and understandable words, Capital Punishment is the act of killing or executing a person who is found guilty of a very serious crime in the eyes if the law. Application of this kind of punishment is quite a debatable topic considering it brutal and justful at the same time. In most of the cases, punishment for terrorist actions with capital punishment is necessary. If once a Capital Punishment is awarded to criminal a threat will be incepted in the minds of others who wouldn’t dare to disrupt the peace and harmony in the society. This way people involved in criminal activities will feel the power and strength of the existing law.

            However, if Capital Punishment has to be imposed on any criminal, on what background has he committed the crime and how badly has it affected the society should be taken into consideration and then and only then, the punishment should be given. Like when a student commits a school felony he should be educated rightly by elders.

            It is the basic math that the punishment should equal to the rate of crime. Some crimes are so horrifying that people consider revenge is the only option to satisfy their sorrow through seeing the terrorist receiving capital punishment.  This reasoning is not based on logic but on emotions, like an eye for an eye ideology. But here people fail to realise that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

             In conclusion, Capital Punishment is one effective method to prevent and curb crime but at the same time one must consider the reasons of crimes and think for, if, any additional better way to resolve the problem.

Father of India's White Revolution passes away

A true visionary who made India the world’s largest milk producer, Verghese Kurien, 90, passed away on September 16, 2012. India’s best known milkman, Kurien had his last breath in a hospital in Nadiad town. His death was due to the complication arising out of the kidney ailments. The body of Dr. Varghese Kruien was shifted to Amul Dairy’s Sardar Patel Hall where it was kept in a glass casket for visitors before it was cremated as per his wishes.

Verghese Kurien was born on Nov 26, 1921 in Calicut to a Syrian Christian family. His father was a civil surgeon and, mother an accomplished pianist. He graduated in physics from Loyola College. Immediately after graduation he joined TISCO technical institute as graduate apprentice. Later in the years, he completed his masters in engineering from Michigan State University, U. S.

This Syrian Christian who could not speak Gujarati found it difficult to find a paying guest accommodation when he first reached the city of his destiny, Anand to serve out bond period for scholarship which he had taken for his studies. Kurien being not happy with the bond failed to realise the turning of small Gujarat town into the heart of India’s white revolution.  Kurien was about to leave Anand, the Chairman of District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd, Tribhuwandas Patel requested Kurien to stay. In the process, Krurien stitched together a cooperative movement of millions of women and farmers into owning a brand which generations of Indian would be unable to forget- Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited).

At that time, the cooperative he joined managed just a few 100 litres of milk a day. By the time Kurien was ready to hand over the baton in 2006, the Amul brand was selling over 90 lakh litres a day. Awarded the Padma Vibhushan, Magsaysay award beside numerous others accolades, Kurien gained respect and the space to run the cooperative movement as he knew best.

His model of cooperative dairy development today links over 10 million farmers at 200 dairy across India producing over 20 million litres of milk every day. India’s milk procurement has increased from 20 million metric tons per year in 1960 to 122 MMT in 2011. Ad agency ASP created iconic Amul girl as a response to rival Polson’s butter- girl.

This extraordinary agent of social transformation as Chairman of the National Dairy Development Board began ‘Operation Flood’ that spanned 26 years and eventually ushered in the white revolution. He began it all by turning buffalo milk into milk powder: a feat that experts worldwide at that time was not possible.

His model of cooperatives spun networks of farmers that first brought milk from Gujarat to Mumbai and then hooked up farmers across several states. The business multiplied in areas beyond milk- bringing a sense of ownership and control to farmers.

Dr. Varghses Kurien did not like drinking milk, but as the father of White Revolution, he turned India into a nation of milk drinkers. In the 6 decades he spend in Anand he insured India’s transformation from a milk- deficient country into one of the world’s biggest milk producers. 

Delayed Flyover Construction at Ghodbunder Road

State Highway 42 commonly referred as ‘Ghodbundar Road’ started the construction of three flyovers at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada under the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) on 21^st September, 2010 and halted for a while as the forest department had put brakes on the ongoing infrastructure projects in Thane.

          

The forest department claimed that the construction of the three flyovers was violating the Private Forest Act. The private contractors hired by MSRDC were Valecha Engineering Ltd. The contractors had been directed to stop the work till they get the approval from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

         

The three flyovers being built by the MSRDC at Manpada, Waghbil and Patlipada junctions is to ease the heavy vehicular traffic driving in and out of Thane. The work on the flyovers began one year back and was scheduled to be completed by January 2011. However, the project has been extremely delayed and till date just about 10- 20 per cent of the work has been completed.

          

The Ghodbunder Road is one of the major roads leading out of Thane city and that connects the Eastern Express Highway which becomes National Highway 3 at Thane and the Western Express Highway becomes the National Highway 8 leading to Gujarat and also the growth of Thane city due to the rapid industrialization, infrastructure development, real estate and property demand, increase in population, change in lifestyle and recreations like Suraj Water Park and other resorts resulted in a phenomenal increase in road traffic on this link and so the MSRDC took the step of widening the road. In 2002, they completed building footpaths along with the widening of the Chenna Bridge. The notification for collecting the toll was issued by the Government of Maharashtra from 1^st December, 2002.

          

The ‘stop work’ notice further delayed the work on the flyovers which turned to be a nightmare for the residents going up and down for jobs as the areas where work had been going on with cement boulders, cranes and dug up patches was at a standstill leading to a very rough time for the residents travelling in the heavy traffics.

         

 A working resident in Waghbil said, “the delay in these constructions of flyovers makes me delayed to my work daily especially now in the rainy season. However early I leave home for work I end up getting stuck in the heavy traffic caused because of this incomplete construction.”

         

Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik took up this issue and questioned the Government making it a major controversy. He told the Times of India "The realization that these projects are going on over private forest land dawned on the forest department only recently. Why did they remain silent for two years?" He added that “if these flyovers are in violation of the law, then the entire Ghodbunder road is illegal and if that be the case, then the toll collection centre on this road is equally bad in law."

          

 A forest official told that there was a doubt about this entire construction coming under the private forest area for a very long time but the Supreme Court resolved this issue in 2007 only. And afterwards the ownership of these plots was given to the forest department. He added saying “the forest department has been asking the MSRDC and the MMRDA and the private contractors to obtain the approval for the flyover from the centre but none of them is bothered to do so. A public infrastructure project can come up on private forest land only if they are provided with an approval by the forest department authorities.’

         

The Times of India carried an article saying that the District Guardian Minister Ganesh Naik directed the forest officials to give an approval for the ongoing flyover construction at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada. "Lakhs of motorist use this road every day and stopping work on an ongoing project will needlessly delay it. With all responsibility I direct the forest officials to issue orders to resume the work on the flyovers. If there is any administrative or legal issue I am prepared to face it but a public project cannot be suspended for so long,' Naik told the officials at the meeting of the District Planning and Development Committee (DPDC) meeting.

         

One of the MSRDC engineer said that the work order for the project has been issued and the field work is expected to commence soon. The work for constructing the four-lane 1,300 metres flyover has been awarded to Valecha Engineering Ltd. at an estimated cost of Rs 131Crore. The construction of the three flyovers at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada would be wrapped up by the end of 31^st December, 2012.

        

  The flyover at Manpada will be 434 m long with approaches of 63 m long and 21 m using fish belly shaped box girder superstructure on architecturally shaped RCC piers over piles or open foundation.

         

The flyover at Patlipada will be 395 m long with approaches of 122 m long and 153 m using fish belly shaped box girder superstructure on architecturally shaped RCC piers over piles or open foundation.

          

The flyover at Waghbil will be 455 m long with approaches of 195 m long and 110 m using fish belly shaped box girder superstructure on architecturally shaped RCC piers over piles or open foundation.

         

A resident at Patlipada said “the flyovers will not only ease the traffic at Ghodbunder Road but will also give a big boost to the real estate prospects of these areas. Thanks to the improving connectivity.”

          

A resident of Hiranandani at Patlipada said “when it comes to the residential projects on Ghodbunder Road, today the biggest limit for home buyers is the long distance from Thane station. Whether you are taking a bus to the railway station or driving up to Mumbai, the Kapurbawadi and Manpada junction are always a nightmare to negotiate. With the new flyovers the traffic will zoom over the bottlenecks and the travelling time will hopefully be reduced.”

          

Initially a trial bore was dug up to check the nature of the soil and rocks below the road. Depending on the nature of soil and rock, the depth of the foundation for the piers to support the flyover will be decided.

          

The Kapurbawadi area holding major traffic in Thane will have another flyover divided into three other routes one joining the flyover at Cinewonder, second will be to the Bhiwandi Road and the last one will be joining the Mumbai Nasik Highway intersecting the Ghodbunder Road leading to Surat through the Manpada flyover.

         

 Besides these three flyover projects, earlier an announcement was made that other than these three flyovers at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada, the MSRDC would also fund for the construction of another three flyovers at Meenathai Thackeray Chowk, Hariniwas area and the Telephone Exchange area.

          

The MSRDC said that they had even planned to construct 10 foot over bridges on the Ghodbunder Road stretch as people have problem crossing the busy street at Ghodbunder Road. The FOBs (Foot Over Bridge) will be constructed at a 6-metre height while its width will be 3 m. The FOB will hence ensure the safety of the people. Residents have been demanding for FOBs in the area since quite some time now and their demands have finally been met. The tenders have also been invited. The areas where the FOBs will come are The Tatvagyan Vidyapeeth, R-Mall, Brahmand chowk, Muchala Polytechnic College, Kasarwadavli, Ovala, Bhaynderpada, Gaimukh Junction, Waghbil and The Fountain Hotel. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) had also invited tenders for seven FOBs in the city, including the existing two FOBs, one at Dnyansadhana College and the other at Louiswadi on the Eastern Express Highway. So in all, the city will have a total of 17 FOBs. The budget for the FOBs will be around Rs11 Crore. The FOBs will have escalators and lifts which will be able to cater to around 10-12 people at a time. It will also be very useful for the physically challenged and senior citizens.

          

The official at MSRDC said that the project of FOB would delay a bit because of the delay in the construction of the three flyovers at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada. Most of the lanes are shut down due to the ongoing flyover construction work. And the construction of the FOBs will not coincide with the ongoing flyover work.

 A resident at Waghbil said that it is very difficult to cross the road, which is actually a highway, and especially for young children, but now it will be much easier and safer once the FOBs are constructed.

Finally the construction of the flyovers at Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada has resumed and is estimated to be completed on the eve of New Years after which the construction of FOB’s will start. Seems, the residents of Waghbil, Patlipada and Manpada are going to have a great New Year ahead. The residents expect nothing but to reduce the congestion on the busy Thane Ghodbunder Road. 

St. James Church Turns 185!

The mass of St. James church was celebrated by Joseph Alameda, the bishop, on its 185^th anniversary wherein the bishop highlighted the power of love and said that it is the most powerful force in the world. He pointed out that a number of songs, poems, stories and novels have been written on love. He emphasized the fact that Mother Theresa is known throughout the world because of her love to Jesus Christ and the love that she shared with the poor and homeless.

          

St James Church was built in 1825. And certainly the church has gone through lots of trouble in the years and yet it stood firmly, may it be in the hashed sun or in the gustiest winds or even in the flooding rains. It lies near the jail reservoir and the Thane Head Post Office in Thane.

          

The church has significance in its rich Gothic architecture and tall pillars. The church which was managed by the Government until the dawn of Independence is now under the administration of the Bombay Diocesan Trust Association. The naming of St. James Church was made in the memory of James a disciple of Jesus Christ.

          

St. James church celebrated its 185^th anniversary on the 25^th July, 2011, with lunch. The ceremony of communion coincided with the anniversary of the church. The annual parish feast of St. James Church was celebrated with great devotion, joy and merriment by the parishioners at 9.30 am. Prior to the morning mass priest John Fernandez distributed candles to honour the founders, donors, members of the parish, pastoral council and to the Bishop.

          

The church was filled to the capacity with the parishioners and the neighbouring parishioners that they had to set up a pandal in the church compound. The choir’s melodious singing enhanced the spiritual atmosphere of the mass. The choir was coordinated by Mrs. Julie Philips and the organ was played by Alan Abraham.

          

The white marble alter in front of the church’s entrance was surrounded with ruby red roses along with the glittering candles around it. The chandeliers on the wooden ceiling right in the centre couldn’t stop sparkling upon us even in the early morning bright sun. The main entrance of the church has 6 pillars measuring 15 feet were all covered with ribbons and balloons. The church was newly painted in red and yellow colour making it look like all new over and again.

          

People were dressed in their best Sunday clothes. Right from the young girl wearing a pink frock with a ribbon on her head to her grandfather in his black and white tux.

         

At the end of the mass, Father John thanked the bishop and the priest guests for being a part of the celebration of the annual parish feast. He also expressed gratitude to all those who helped in making the celebration a grand success. A four tier scrumptious chocolate cake was brought in and was later cut by the bishop and was distributed to the parishioners along with a glass of wine.

          

The feast was organized in a newly levelled ground. According to the parishioners it was for the first time that such an arrangement was being made as on previous occasions the feast used to be at some other place due to lack of space inside the church premises. The buffet consisted of Indian and Chinese cuisine. There was a fair selling religious article which was filled with people who made purchases and the amount collected would go to the needy.

         

Thus, St. James church had its 185^th birthday.

                                     

Phool Galli

If you leave Mumbai without at least visiting the Dadar Flower Market, which is the largest wholesale market of Mumbai, popularly known as the 'Dadar Phool Galli ', your experience will be incomplete. If you are up even before dawn in Mumbai, you may want to do something different for a change, skip the jog for one morning in the sparse green belts & head out to the Flower Market. If you pay a visit to Mumbai's Flower Market in Dadar, you will soon realize besides the riots of colours & freshness of petals & the dew how much money you land up paying for a nicely packaged bouquet of flowers brought straight off the road & creatively packed for yourself.

The market comes alive at 4 am in the early dawn & is wrapped up before the sun starts to heat up say about 9 am. The time is short but apparently enough for the retailers & decorators to stock up their stores. This is where you will find Mumbai's best florists shops. For the traveler, Dadar Phool Galli offers unique photo opportunities of colors, people & the regular Mumbai life. Dadar station is chaotic & in front of it is a huge flower market having amazingly display of colours & scents. The vendors out there sell such eye catching & sweet smelling flowers.

For those who prefer local trains one has to head towards Dadar station, exit from the western side & ask anyone where is Dadar Phool Galli. It won't take more than a minute before you land right in the middle of the Dadar Phool Galli. & for those who hate locals, well it depends on the highway you take. All I can assure you is that Bandra- Worli Sea Link is quite near Dadar Phool Galli which is worth giving it a shot. 

Formally opened by Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, this is the first market to be built by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) exclusively for the flower sellers. Dismissing allegations that a number of reluctant flower sellers were forced to shift to the new site which was next to the Kamgar Maidan on Senapati Bapat road. The chief of Dadar Navin Phool Vyapari Mandal & fomer MSEB director, Sudam Mandalik said, all hawkers union had, for the very first time united under the banner of the Feriwala Kruti Samiti & unanimously decided to move to the new plot. The shift was necessary if Dadar had to be decongested.

Everyday, the street turns into a colourful carnival of flower sellers, snack stalls & sadhus who do business with devotees coming to visit the temple. Over 1500 regular workers control this wholesale flower market & selling flowers happens to be the only source of income for them. Pune & Nashik is the only source of all flowers from where loaded trucks arrive in Dadar Phool Galli before dawn.

There are flowers everywhere. Marigolds heaped on tarpaulins on the ground & sold by weight, Champa in tiny baskets & sold by the number & delicately wrapped in broad leaves, the dazzling Orchids & the coloue co-ordinated Gajras of mesmerizing blooms, the cacophony of the sellers & buyers screaming & jostling all contributes to a spectacular audio visual symphony. It is indeed a delightful experience.

The accompanying smiles on the flower sellers faces early morning lingers in the mind. From the woman sitting cross legged on the ground weaving busily, to the young men weighing the flowers, the older man convincing you to buy garlands, to the young lady with matted hair selling fragrant Lotuses, they all have beaming smiles on their faces. But sometimes the Municipality officials arriving with those ugly grey vans & the street vendors fleeing with their wares & flowers.

They probably wake up very early in the morning to be here to sell the flowers. Their sales probably determined what they ate for dinner or if they went hungry. Many a times it appeared, that their whole life belongings were right there in that little jhola by their feet yet their grace & joy with the world, came through loud & clear. Indeed this market is a lovely experience..

Happy Birthday Emoticons :*

To some, an email or text message is incomplete without the use of J orL. Whereas, to others the very idea of using ‘emoticons’ or the so called ‘communication graphics’ makes the blood boil representing all that has gone wrong with the English language.

          

However, these emoticons celebrated their 30^th anniversary last month. Sorry emoticon haters, regardless of your views and opinions on it, it’s 30^th anniversary clearly indicated that it is accepted that the emoticons are here to stay with us for a long time, for now.

          

The inception of the emoticons was way back in 1982, to be more précised, September 19, 1982. On that particular day, Prof. Scott Fahlman of Carnegre Mellon University in Pittsburgh sent an email on an online electronic bulletin board that included the first use of the sideways smiley face. Fahlman had seen how simple jokes were often misunderstood. He attempted to find a way around this issue, ergo.

           

The aim was simple; to allow those who posted on the university bulletin board to differentiate between those attempting to write humorous emails and those who weren’t.

          

Fahlman considers his this act of inserting emoticons in his email silly. He expected his note might amuse a few of his friends and that would be the end of it. But once his initial email had been sent, it wasn’t long before it spread to other universities and research labs via the primitive computer networks of those days. But within months, it had gone international.

         

Now, dozens of variations are available, mainly as little yellow computer graphics. But Fahlman is not a fan of his creation. He finds them ugly and unnecessary. According to him they ruin the challenge of trying to come up with a clever way of expressing emotions using the standard keyboard characters.

          

Whatever the emoticon haters or its creator has to say, emoticons still have many of its admirers for whom their day is incomplete without an emoticon in their texts or emails.