Śūnyatā - The Emptyness

Vanity and Vacuum crept into my life,
like a harrowing hollow ending in strife.
Perished are the instigating asseverations
holding the intended consecrations.

Here I am entrapped in an imbroglio,
like a maelstrom that caught my brio.
Eternal attempts to flee
haven't resulted in victory.

Afresh and again, I venture into the pain
albeit the consciousness of impending slain,
Only contempt for me to culminate!
O God! How profound can I deprecate!

Perplexed, I am, in the existent stalemate.
God! You solely can succour me, my mate!

Please Participate - STOP TB (Strategy/Action/Partnership)

Hi! I would like to introduce you to a priceless and chaste act of doing something practical. If you have been bored by the ceaseless posts of mine regarding all kinds of altruistic behaviors here is a practical thing anyone of us can contribute to.

Each Picture is a link. Click them and Read along...

Click on this image for the video on STOP TB PARTNERSHIP.

I am a proud to be a member of Stop TB Partnership. Why don't you be?

About the Stop TB Partnership

The Stop TB Partnership was established in 2000 to realize the goal of eliminating TB as a public health problem and, ultimately, to obtain a world free of TB. It comprises a network of international organizations, countries, donors from the public and private sectors, governmental and nongovernmental organizations and individuals that have expressed an interest in working together to achieve this goal.

Click on the pic for a video
Caption: A young TB patient is brought by her mother to see Dr Praveen at the MCD Chest Clinic in Patparganj in East Delhi.

In order to achieve our mission and make our vision a reality, the Stop TB Partnership has set the following goals:

• Promote wider and wiser use of existing strategies to interrupt TB transmission by:
  • increasing access to accurate diagnosis and effective treatments by accelerating DOTS implementation to achieve the global targets for TB control; and
  • increasing the availability, affordability and quality of anti-TB drugs.
• Derive strategies to address the challenges posed by emerging threats by:
  • adapting DOTS to prevent and manage MDR-TB, and to reduce the impact of HIV-related TB.
• Accelerate elimination of TB, by:
  • promoting research and development for new TB drugs, diagnostics and vaccines; and
  • promoting adoption of new and improved tools by ensuring appropriate use, access and affordability.

I take this opportunity to present few other international organizations helping out in this process. I cannot enumerate numerous local organizations striving hard for a healthy India and which are mostly ignored. I repeat a thyagaraja's saying here which is very much contextual.

endarO mahAnubhavulu |

andarIki vandanamulu ||

Click on the Banner for the website

Description:	Dr Siddiqui (centre), DOTS provider and General Physician outside his clinic in Sahaspur Village.
Credits:	� August 2004 Gary Hampton / The Global Fund

Click on the Title for the full article.

This is for people who are familiar with the health field and especially with MMWR in USA. Did you ever expect an article like this in MMWR? Please go through it by clicking on the picture above and know some facts. Your contribution would be invaluable.

We, as medical students used to go to the remotest areas of tribal visakhapatnam and vizianagaram for distribution of medicines we collected from physcians for charity. The patients are sickest of all with no education and access. - under National Service Scheme

Ever wondered how I got in touch with this organization?? I saw this video first.

Again Rehman was the inspiration. Someone can evoke lots of potential in us making our slumbering souls to erupt.

Be Indian.- रहो भारतीय

We have come to another country in search of education, job, money leaving behind our own people whom we are grown up with. We all have different backgrounds, families and experiences.

I agree we all have different ideas of our mother land. Some of us are proud of our nation’s rich and varied heritage. Some of us are proud of our raising GDP and recent changes of rates of developments and growing international importance. Some of us are proud of raising comfort levels among the middle class as felt by us at our home places.

But... we also have a large chunk of ourselves who are discontented with what is rampant there. Like Corruption, politics, caste system, poverty, illiteracy, violence, governments' inactivity and fraud. Yes, we are here for money, comfort and good job. Where ever we go, whatever we do, we are Indians. We accept it or not, we are Indians. Don't we have a responsibility?

In the context of deteriorating value systems in the contemporary world, I would like to tell you, we used to have a great respect towards our parents. I said "we used to" because there are a lot of instances after the so called westernization has occurred in India that parents are left to their plight. Even westerners don’t do that so often. I don’t know how that crept into our culture.

Coming back to the point, this value of respecting parents begets another great responsibility of respecting your country. You may not respect it but protect it. Help it to grow in the right way. After all that is where you grew up the whole life, even if you are not grown up there that is where you belong to. World recognizes you by that name. Your culture even after being a lot westernized has its roots in there. You can't be an American or a British even if you cultivate a whole lot of their habits. You are still called an Indian.

This is written as a response to a small debate I had with my friend about India. I think this kind of discussions are much common. But what is important is how helpful are we to our country after all said and done?

"The world is changing. But we will always be proud of what we are."

Indian Coins

India won its independence on 15 th August, 1947. During the period of transition India retained the monetary system and the currency and coinage of the earlier period. While Pakistan introduced a new series of coins in 1948 and notes in 1949, India brought out its distinctive coins on 15 th August, 1950.

Chronologically, the main considerations influencing the coinage policy of Republic India over time have been:

* The incorporation of symbols of sovereignty and indigenous motifs on independence;
* Coinage Reforms with the introduction of the metric system;
* The need felt from time to time to obviate the possibility of the metallic value of coins rising beyond the face value;
* The cost-benefit of coinisation of currency notes

Independent India Issues could broadly be categorized as

The Frozen Series 1947-1950 :

This represented the currency arrangements during the transition period upto the establishment of the Indian Republic. The Monetary System remained unchanged at One Rupee consisting of 192 pies..

1 Rupee = 16 Annas
1 Anna = 4 Pice
1 Pice = 3 Pies

The Anna Series :

This series was introduced on 15th August, 1950 and represented the first coinage of Republic India. The King's Portrait was replaced by the Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar. A corn sheaf replaced the Tiger on the one Rupee coin. In some ways this symbolised a shift in focus to progress and prosperity. Indian motifs were incorporated on other coins. The monetary system was largely retained unchanged with one Rupee consisting of 16 Annas.

Nomination	Metal	Obverse	Reverse
Rupee One	Nickel
Half Rupee	Nickel
Quarter Rupee	Nickel
Two Anna	Cupro-Nickel
One Anna	Cupro-Nickel
Half Anna	Cupro-Nickel
One Pice	Bronze

The Decimal Series :

The move towards decimalisation was afoot for over a century. However, it was in September, 1955 that the Indian Coinage Act was amended for the country to adopt a metric system for coinage. The Act came into force with effect from 1 st April, 1957. The rupee remained unchanged in value and nomenclature. It, however, was now divided into 100 'Paisa' instead of 16 Annas or 64 Pice. For public recognition, the new decimal Paisa was termed 'Naya Paisa' till 1 st June, 1964 when the term 'Naya' was dropped.

Naya Paisa Series 1957-1964 :

Enomination	Metal Weight Shape Size	Coin
Rupee One	Nickel 10 gms Circular 28 mm
Fifty Naye Paise	Nickel 5 gms Circular 24 mm
Twenty Five Naye Paise	Nickel 2.5 gms Circular 19 mm
Ten Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel 5 gms Eight Scalloped 23 mm (across scallops)
Five Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel 4 gms Square 22 mm (across corners)
Two Naye Paise	Cupro-Nickel 3 gms Eight Scalloped 18 mm (across scallops)
One Naya Paisa	Bronze 1.5 gms Circular 16 mm

With commodity prices rising in the sixties, small denomination coins which were made of bronze, nickel-brass, cupro-nickel, and Aluminium-Bronze were gradually minted in Aluminium. This change commenced with the introduction of the new hexagonal 3 paise coin. A twenty paise coin was introduced in 1968 but did not gain much popularity.

Aluminium Series 1964 onwards :

Enomination	Metal Weight Shape Size	Coin
One Paisa	Aluminium-Magnesium 0.75 gms Square 17 mm (Daigonal)
Two Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 1 gm Scalloped 20 mm (across scallops)
Three Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 1.25 gms Hexagonal 21 mm (Diagonal)
Five Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 1.5 gms Square 22 mm (Diagonal)
Ten Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 2.3 gms Scalloped 26 mm (across scallops)
Twenty Paise	Aluminium-Magnesium 2.2 gms Hexagonal 26 mm (diagonal) 24.5 mm (across flats)

Over a period of time, cost benefit considerations led to the gradual discontinuance of 1, 2 and 3 paise coins in the seventies; Stainless steel coinage of 10, 25 and 50 paise, was introduced in 1988 and of one rupee in 1992. The very considerable costs of managing note issues of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 5 led to the gradual coinisation of these denominations in the 1990s.

Contemporary Coins :

Enomination	Metal	Weight	Diameter	Shape
	Cupro-Nickel	9..00 gms	23 mm	Circular
	Cupro-Nickel	6..00 gms	26 mm	Eleven Sided
	Ferratic Stainless Steel	4..85 gms	25 mm	Circular
	Ferratic Stainless Steel	3..79 gms	22 mm	Circular
	Ferratic Stainless Steel	2..83 gms	19 mm	Circular
	Ferratic Stainless Steel	2..00 gms	16 mm	Circular