Stray from 3

beaten track
L et us talk about creativi-
ty. In a knowledge soci-
ety, we have to make inno-
vations continuously.
Innovations come through
creativity.
Creativity comes from
beautiful minds. It can be
anywhere and from any
part of the world. It may
start from a fisherman ham-
let or a farmer's household
or a dairy farm or it may
emanate from classrooms or
labs or industries or R&D
centres.
The creative mind has the
ability to imagine or invent
something new by combin-
ing, changing or reapplying
existing ideas.
The creative person has an
attitude to accept change
and newness, a willingness
to play with ideas and pos-
sibilities, a flexibility of out-
look, the habit of enjoying
the good, while looking for
ways to improve it.
The important aspect of
creativity is: seeing the same
thing as everybody else, but
thinking of something dif-
ferent. Let me quote a beau-
tiful thought from
Alexander Graham Bell.
"Don't keep forever on the
public road, going only
where others have gone.
Leave the beaten track occa-
sionally and dive into the
woods. You will be certain
to find something you have
never seen before. It will be
a little thing, but do not
ignore it. Follow it up,
explore all around it; one
discovery will lead to
another, and before you
know it, you will have
something worth thinking
about."
w w w . a b d u l k a l a m . c o m
DECEMBER 26, 2007 T H E P
When you wish upon a star, it makes
no difference who you are. Anything
your heart desires will come true.
He runs after a dream
By Vinaya Hegde
Nagpur, Dec 12: Only he who can see the invisi-
ble can do the impossible.
- Frank L. Gaines
Sharad Bhagwatkar has probably not heard
of this quote. But that doesn't matter. He
lives it anyway.
This 66-year-old retired accountant
from the Police Commissioner's office,
Nagpur has been running marathons for a
cause. For four years now. All for a project that
was firmly imprinted on his mind's eye.
No big deal? Read on. Bhagwatkar was
bedridden for four years from 1993 to the mid-
dle of 1997 after a horrible accident, which left
him with broken bones in his right leg and
hip. He had to undergo seven surgeries, and
still has 40 % deformity in the right leg.
It took him a whole year to learn to walk again.
And most of this while, his family suffered with
him, there being no income to speak of.
The trauma he had gone through, seems to
have fired Bhagwatkar's zeal rather than plunge
him into self-pity. He set his heart on renovat-
ing an ancient, but significant Jain shrine in the
tiny village of Pusla, about 90 km from
Nagpur, and almost on the Madhya Pradesh
border. The temple, built in 1878, houses an idol of
Parshavanath Bhagwan dating back to 1545 AD.
Bhagwatkar didn't see just a renovated temple there.
He envisioned a much bigger picture: initiatives to bet-
ter the life of youth in Pusla and neighbouring villages.
Schools, arts and crafts centres, and scholarships to the
needy were part of the big picture. In all, the larger
plan was to help at least 100 village communities.
U L S E O F I N D I A
IT’S POSSIBLE
When he got an architect to work out the costing, he
discovered that the temple work alone would require
at least Rs 20 lakh. He began to collect donations for
his project. And vowed to give up one meal a day
till his dream came true. But the trickle of
funds seemed too thin. At this point someone
suggested, why not run a marathon to publi-
cise the project.
Bhagwatkar tightened his shoe laces and
began to run. He was 62 then. And he ran
and he ran. Seven international marathons, in
Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. And
abroad, the Chicago Distance Classic
Marathon. Every time he ran, he wore a small
notice pinned to his chest, saying that he was
running for the Pusla Jain temple. People soon
began noticing this thin, earnest man, who com-
pleted almost every run in record time.
Publicity for the project grew, and funds
began coming in. Now, though some more
money is still needed for the temple proj-
ect, a good part of the work has been com-
pleted. And the Panchkalyanak and Viswa
Shanti Yagna at the renovated temple are planned
from Jan 19 to 24, 2008. Around 30,000 people are
expected to attend the event. There are plans to tele-
cast the event live and arrange for video streaming
too, so that people who have donated money can
actually see how their funds have been spent for the
betterment of the community.
There are plans to invite heads of 25 neighbouring
villages to the event and start annual community
programmes in these villages. The idea is to set off a
chain reaction which will sustain itself. "I want to
uplift Jain children in rural areas and develop a
strong base for their education," says Bhagwatkar.

He is Kutty, the Santa in Karnataka forests

By Joseph Hoover tates. Since we trust him, we don't
even maintain an account. But we
K unja Mohammad Kutty. The
name may not ring a bell. But
ensure that we pay him as soon as
DIFFERENT PEOPLE

we receive our salary," said

to forest staff of the Nagarhole
National Park, his name means
succour, hope, love, trust. For
seven years, this small-time gro-
cer has sustained 25 families of
these guards and watchers, who
get their salaries once in six
months, or even later.
Reason: The Karnataka Forest
Department is perennially short of
money as the government fails to
release funds on time. And being
attached with the forest depart-
ment as temporary staff for 12-15
years, they hang on with the hope
that they would one day be
absorbed by the department.
Intriguingly, this has been the case
for over 15 years now. And
nobody seems to have addressed
their woes. Their only solace is that
their daily wages has been
increased from Rs 75 to Rs 121.73
since April, 2007.
SAVIOUR: Kunja Mohammad Kutty at his grocery shop in Nagarhole National Park.
“We rever him. He means more
to us than the DCF (deputy con-
servator of forests). For, it is he
who keeps us going. Without him,
some of us would have perhaps
died or been on the streets," is the
refrain of the PCP (petty cash pay-
ment) and MR (muster roll) staff.
And their trust is mutual.
"Though we don't pay him for
months, he doesn't make a fuss.
And even if were to send a slip
with someone asking for rice, dal
or sugar, he delivers it. Sometimes
when we are in need of money,
we turn to him. He never hesi-
Kushalappa.
But why does Kutty do a Santa
Claus? "I have also struggled in
life. So I understand their plight.
Moreover, I want the forest and
wildlife to be protected. If they
don't eat and worry about their
families who will guard the for-
est? Somebody needs to help
them," said the 50 year old, who
did wholesale business in orange
and pepper before setting up his
shop at Kutta, on the fringe of the
pristine wildlife habitat.
"I believe that those who borrow
to eat will never cheat. Nobody
has done this to me so far. Though
they pay six months later, I never
charge them extra. It would be
against my belief to do so," said
Kutty, who has two young sons. "I
will continue to help them as long
as I live," signed off Kutty.
(Courtesy: The Times of India, Bangalore)

MISSION POSSIBLE
t was a nail biting, but also an
Iscientists
exciting moment for our space
who had their eyes glued
to their computers in January 2007
in a hi-tech control room at the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre in
Sriharikota, and Isro's telemetry,
tracking and command network at
Bangalore. Minutes were ticking
away. The mood was one of nervous
anticipation, and some of them had
their hands clasped in a silent
prayer. If this particular mission suc-
ceeds, the country would rocket into
the Big League of space faring
nations like the US, China, Japan
and Russia. India's highly successful
space programme would cross an
important milestone and zoom into
history.
The fate of the mission will be
known in just a few minutes and
the scientists who had gathered in
the control rooms that morning
were anxiously waiting for the
important moment. Then following
a signal flashed from the telemetry,
tracking and command centre, a
550-kg India-made space capsule
started descending towards the
earth while it was orbiting over
South America at a whopping
hypersonic speed of 29,000 kmph. It
started zooming towards India and
a few minutes later--after 46 min-
utes--splashed into the Bay of
Bengal, 140 kms off the coast of
Sriharikota. Scientists who were wit-
nessing the dramatic re-entry of the
capsule on their computers, broke
into an instant applause. They
embraced each other and exchanged
congratulatory handshakes.
After touchdown the mission
director A. Subramoniam
remarked: ``The mission was
extremely successful and operated
as per the design specifications,''
Director of Isro's telemetry,tracking
and command centre, Srirangapatna
Shivak-umar, reacted to the success
by saying: ``What was a plan yester-
day is a reality today.'' India's first
spaceman, Rakesh Sharma, stated:
``The successful touchdown is an
affirmation of Isro's potential. We

I am a retired Prof of English, Jamal
Mohamed College, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu.
I was touched by N. Priyanka's 'I want a disci-
plined nation'. A hit on the nail - a repeat, in
her own words, of what Dr S Radhakrishnan
was alleged to have said, "India, a nation of
dishonest people." Ethics has really taken a
back seat. Instead of fixing responsibility for
this sordid affair, let's pledge to rebuild the
nation. Let's resolve to answer three questions
before embarking on saying or doing any-
thing: Is it fair? Will it be balanced? How will
it make me feel about myself? Any con-
science-conscious person would think twice if
he/she gets a negative answer.
- R. Panchanadhan

I'm a 3rd B.Tech student of Karim Nagar. I
attended the ceremony of Dr Kalam at Karim
Nagar. U have started a good programme. I
assure u that all the youth of the country will
surely give their full hearted co-operation to u.
- A. Mahesh

Congratulations Dr. Kalam! A billion of our
heart beats go for you. You can install a news-
feed system to enable users to get to your site
whenever it changes. Please create a fund col-
lection system including an Abdul Kalam
Foundation which can:
1. Set up a think-tank of eminent people on
various issues affecting all of us, including
the world as whole;
billion beats is designed and uplinked to www.abdulkalam.com from Bangalore every fortnight. Chief Editor Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, National Affairs Editor Anantha Krishnan M,
Content Editor V. Ponraj, Copy Curator Vinaya Hegde, Data Coordinator Neelima V, Creative DesignV. Jayaprakash, Stills Robert, INSPIRATION The Bold Billion
S U C C E S S U
BY SRINIVAS LAXMAN
Space Talk will be a regular feature capturing
success stories from the skies. Aimed at creating
awareness on our space programmes amongst
youngsters, you can make this column interactive and
update yourselves on the latest happenings out there.
always knew they could do it,'' he
added.
The complicated mission was suc-
cessful and history had just been
made. At that moment an important
international economic conference
was in progress at Davos, and the
foreign participants told the Indian
delegates that there could not have
been a better brand image for India
than the success of this mission. The
capsule was recovered by the coast
guard, taken to Sriharikota for analy-
sis and was subsequently shifted to a
museum at Thiruvanathanapuram.
It was on display at the International
Astronautical Congress at
Hyderabad in September.
What was the significance of this
flight which had attracted global
attention? For the first time, India
had got back a satellite after placing
it in orbit. It was carried on by the
highly-proven Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on January
10,2007 and recovered on January
22,2007. The space capsule was
placed in orbit along with three
other satellites, including the
Cartosat-2 satellite.
With the successful recovery of the
satellite, designated as the space
capsule recovery experiment (SRE-
1), India had moved a step closer in
realising its plan of designing and
operating what is known as a
``reusable launch vehicle (RLV),''
which will take off like a rocket,
complete its mission and land like
an aircraft. It will be something like
Nasa's space shuttle, but with
enhanced safety standards. Also, the
data obtained from this SRE mission
will help in planning future manned
missions. India is working on plans
And, India reacts...
2. Offer avenues like an online B2B platform
where success stories you publish in bil-
lion beats can be picked up by influential
people to be extrapolated on a national,
perhaps an international scale;
3. Conduct periodic conferences wherein emi-
nent Indian / international personalities can
put forth ideas;
4. Undertake activities to further the ideals
that you and many others wish all of us
should practice collectively practice.
- Sanjay Mathur

Thanks for such a positive effort. The only
problem which I could find was the paper is
very congested. This might keep people from
going thru it. Could u do something about it?
- Yashowardhan Chaturvedi

Thanks to N. Priyanka for a great write-up:
'I want a disciplined nation'. I promise to
actively participate in making her dream come
true.
- Girish S. Darak

We want a disciplined nation. It's in our
hands to achieve it. Let us follow the idea of
self-discipline. Let us start following rules/reg-
ulations before we start blaming/advising oth-
ers. We must stop complaining about others. If
N L I M I T E D
S PA C E TA L K
for embarking on a human space
flight to the low earth orbit in 2014
and possibly even a manned mis-
sion to the moon in 2020. When the
capsule was in orbit, two experi-
ments were conducted under micro
gravity conditions.
The present series of Indian rock-
ets, the PSLV and the Geo-
Synchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle are known as expendable
rockets because they cannot be
reused once they are launched. A
reusable launch vehicle on the other
hand can be flown a number of
times. The basic advantage of this is
that it will go a long way in cutting
down the launch costs and also the
number of flights can be increased.
Dr A.P.J.Abdul Kalam has always
expressed the need for developing
resusable launch vehicles. He has
been quoted as saying: ``There is
definitely a need for space faring
nations to work together to develop
RLVs which can bring down the cost
of payloads in orbit from the present
$ 20,000 per kg to $ 2000 and eventu-
ally to $ 200.''
As more such flights have been
planned in the near future, scientists
and engineers at the Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre in
Thiruvanathanapuram are working
on the design of a regular RLV
which is slated to make its maiden
flight around 2010. Let us wait for
that big day.
The writer is a Special Correspondent
with The Times of India, Mumbai
and is the author of the book Dr
Abdul Kalam: Dreams to Reality.
You can reach him at:
moonmission.srinivas@gmail.com
every individual does this and works towards
the country's development without bothering
about what the other person is doing, then,
even if your fellow beings don't emulate you,
young children will definitely get influenced by
your good deeds.
- Gowtham Pitchuka
(Class 12, Modern Senior Sec School, Chennai)

billion beats would indeed help all those
people who are working hard to make India a
better place, but whose efforts go unnoticed.
This paper would help them to get the credit
they truly deserve.
- Sapna Kale

It is really commendable that you are
associated with such a noble mission. May
God give you strength to achieve higher goals
in life. billion beats will get billions of wishes
from billions of people who really appreciate
such noble gestures.
- Vijay

I am sure billion beats will become the
heat beat of every Indian. As a Kenyan proverb
urges, "May you rise as the sun each day". As
I write this note from USA, my heart beats for
the billions in India.
- Tom Thakady
DECEMBER 14, 2007
INDIA OF MY DREAMS
I want a
literate India
T o regard India's
105th rank in the
fight against illitera-
cy as a tragic aberra-
tion is to forget that
UNESCO's just released Global
Monitoring report, evaluating
127 countries, crowned India
with the 112th position with a
dismal 'Education for All'
development index. No one
denies the fact that India's edu-
cation crisis needs thorough
reform and huge public expen-
diture, but money can buy
books, not knowledge. We
already have a lot of ongoing
programmes such as 'Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan', mid-day
meals, etc., but of hardly any
consequence. What is needed
more is their implementation,
which can't be achieved till the
whole system is redefined and
overhauled.
The thing to be understood is
that the crux of insoluble prob-
lems like corruption, violence,
moral bankruptcy and poverty
is illiteracy. If the whole India
is literate, the masses them-
selves would be concerned
about their problems and fight
back. India, then, would never
be swayed by communal
forces. The India of my dreams
would be fully literate and so,
free from all trifling problems.
The enlightened group of edu-
cated people can take India to
the peak of glory and success.
Though it is easier said than
done, remember that where
there's a will there's a way.
Amit Ranjan, Class 11, Delhi Public
School, RK Puram, New Delhi
India of My Dreams is open
to schoolchildren. Shoot off
your thoughts along with a
passport-size photograph to:
billionbeats@gmail.com

I am really glad we have youngster like
Priyanka who dreams of a disciplined nation. I
feel ashamed when I see even well educated
middle-aged people behaving in a very
uncouth manner and showing complete lack of
respect for everything, even simple traffic
rules. Is policing the only solution?
- Nagendra Kumar.M

billion beats is a great opportunity to mil-
lions of Indians to share their concerns and
experience with others without any inhibition.
It also brings unsung heroes to the fore. It is
the time for India to reduce the disparity
between haves and have-nots by ensuring the
percolation of the fruits of development to the
bottom of the society.
- Ramesh.Y
Proverb
Pocket
Fall seven times,
stand up eight.
— From Japan