5

Lead,
kindly
teacher
I
w w w . a b d u l k a l a m . c o m ndia today has a mission
of transforming itself
into a developed nation
FEBRUARY 9, 2008 T H E P U L S E O F I N D I A with a value system. This is
a great challenge. This can
Teachers are beacons in a student's life. be achieved through our
youth power.
Great teachers are no less than Youth has the power of
ideas, ambition, enthusiasm
a gift to us from God. and ability. This resource of
IT’S POSSIBLE
the youth is an important
building block for trans-
HI-FLYING GLOBE-TROTTER CAREER WOMAN JUNKS BUSINESS forming India into a devel-
oped nation.

She puts smiles on slum kids

By Catherine Latis But her first turning point had
come when she was barely 16
in the age-group of 2 to 6. What
If you have an aim in life,
do realize that spent time
cannot be recovered, and
hence precious time has to
started off as a shelter for out-of-

W
hen women of her age
were busy shaping their
careers, this Bangalore
girl gave up her globe-trotting
career to shape the lives of under-
privileged children, back home.
It was in the summer of 2002,
that Krupalatha Martin Dass, who
was on a four-week vacation to
India, decided to throw away her
high-flying business and teach
slum children in the city she grew
up: "It was impulsive. I did not
even go back to pick up the
rest of my belongings in the
US. I decided to stay back,
because I realised there
was much more to do in
life than travelling across
the world finding business.''
And her inspiration was
her own home. “My mother
who could not become a teacher,
began to get children at home dur-
ing weekends. My home was filled
with children, who sought my
mother's assistance in their les-
sons. We even had lepers at home
who would be given food. As a
child, I woke up to this scene,
everyday. So I grew up to be a
socially conscious human being.''
“At 21, I got into business, which
took me all over the world. I lived
in the US for five years. Travelled
across Europe, Brazil, Japan and
many other countries. I was happy.
I learnt Spanish, Italian, German,
French.''
Lead India 2020: The sutra is student power
Dr N. B. Sudershan Acharya
years old and saw a classmate of
hers lying on the road, after he got
into bad company. ``I realised that
any child, rich or poor, can go
astray, if they are not guided
properly. It was then that it stuck
me that there were so many chil-
dren around me, who could meet
the same fate as this,'' she says.
FRIEND, MENTOR:
Krupa with her happy brood.
And so began Sukrupa, the
organisation that she floated,
which picks children from three
slums at Anandnagar,
Kuntigrama and Chamundinagar
to bring them into the fold of edu-
cation.
Krupalatha personally visited
the slums and brought children
home. On the first day, there were
40 children. But the end of the
week, there were 100 children, all
Join our mission
school children has become a full-
fledged community development
programme for not just the chil-
dren but their parents too. There
is an embroidery unit, candle-
making unit, driver's licence train-
ing for youth. There are volun-
teers from the Overseas Womens'
Club (with expat women) who
teach children at Sukrupa.
Her model is unique because it
targets each child's talent and
encourages him or her to pursue
it. Her boys train at the Dhanraj
Ballal Hockey academy run
by Hockey Olympian Ashish
Ballal. This again, because
Krupa personally goes to the
slums every morning to bring
the boys for training. ``I drop
them back by 8 am to ensure
that they do not miss school. The
idea of exposing them to various
activities is to ensure that they
have something to fall back on to
lead their lives,'' she says.
Social service perhaps runs in the
family. Her brother Sathya Martin,
a software professional-turned-
artist too chips in by designing
sarees at their embroidery unit.
And at the four-storeyed building
in the narrow lanes of
Cholanayakanahalli near RT
Nagar, 200 children and more than
1,000 families are secure about
their future. And so is Krupa.
(sukrupa@gmail.com)
people literate in AP by imple-
menting Dr Kalam's oath that
be used for achieving the
goal.
Have confidence to win,
have confidence to defeat
the problems and succeed
and have a righteous heart.
You will definitely succeed
in all your missions.
Teachers are beacons in a
student's life. What they can
give? In an integrated way
it can be said, that enlight-
ened human beings can be
created by the teacher by
inculcating two unique
characteristics.
One is by building capaci-
ties among the students to
inquire, to innovate and be
creative, and by encourag-
ing entrepreneurship and
moral leadership.
The second is by develop-
ing the moral value system.
The noble life practised by
the teacher indeed becomes
a beacon light to the stu-
dents.
Let us hear the tribute
given by the great teacher
Albert Einstein to the
teacher: "The ideals which
have lighted my way, time
after time, have given new
course to face life cheerfully
have been kindness, beauty
and truth."
This is the mission of a
teacher. It is a God-given
gift to the student to have
great teachers who can give
the learning module and the
way of beautiful life.

L
ead India 2020, a movement
born out of reverence for Dr The Lead India 2020 2nd National Movement is each one teach ten.
A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is work- working to integrate like-minded organizations at This module will be replicat-
ing to fulfil the vision, mission and the national level for exchange of views and ed in all other states. Already,
aspirations of Dr Kalam. 2,50,000 students have been
mutual co-operation in the areas where Lead trained in two districts of
Lead India activities aim to ignite India 2020 is working. These include illiteracy,
the hidden potential of youth, who discrimination vis-a-vis girl child / women, Medak and Karimnagar.
comprise 54 % of the population of greener environment, and eliminating the mis- About 1,000 youth have been
India, to help India to lead the match between industries and unemployed trained in West Godavari and
world by 2020. Ranga Reddy districts.
youth by imparting vocational training at the vil - Training programmes are
The Lead India 2020 2nd lage level. Proverb
National Movement 'Aap Badho, being conducted in
Desh Ko Badhao' (progress and We invite like-minded organizations to email Ananthpur and Khammam Pocket
make the country progress) pro- their details to us at li20202nm@gmail.com districts also.
gramme launched by Dr Kalam on with 'IMTP' in the subject line. For more informa- We invite every reader of bil-
15-08-07 at Medak is scheduled to tion, please visit us at www.leadindia2020.org lionbeats to contribute the The man being carried
patriotic beats of your heart to
train one lakh students per district.
It aims to cover 23 districts of AP, involving 23 lakh join Dr Kalam in leading youth to lead India to lead does not realize how far
the world by 2020.
high school students from government schools in AP away the town really is.
by the end of December 2008. (The writer is National Coordinator & Founder Trustee of — Nigerian proverb
In turn, these 23 lakh students will make 2.30 crore the National Council)

Mailbag

When we can make the best telephones,
the best radars, the best rockets, the best
satellites, the best helicopters, the best small
cars, the best motor cycles, the best buses,
the best software, the best newspapers, the
best medicines, the best railway transporta-
tion, the best education, the best movies, the
best communication systems, the best food
products, then why can't we have the best
democracy without corruption, crimes, acci-
dents, child labour, malnutrition, etc?
The answer is, we are not united in removing
the evil spirit of India - Politicians. Wipe them
off and help India to become the best nation
by 2020. Let’s join together and work for the
Best Nation — India.
— Sree Kumar

I am a 24-year-old software engineer. Here
is a idea through which we can perhaps
implement many pending activities for which
we look to the government. When I go out on
weekends I find friends loafing around, want-
ing to do something creative, adventurous or
funny. Trekking, rafting, mountaineering, etc
are on their list. How about starting a club
which clubs such adventures with different
activities? A weekend can be spent setting up
footpaths for our roads; on another weekend,
we can cycle to a village, visit schools there
and provide amenities. Another weekend can
be spent planting seedlings on the highways.
Takers, anyone?
— Maithra R. Jadhav

The simplicity of your paper is what catch-
es the eye. Thank you, Kalam Sir and all oth-
ers involved in bringing this e-paper out.
— Suddha Satwa Laik

Ironically, Indians, when they go abroad,
don't spit or throw rubbish anywhere — unlike
in India! I feel a system of imposing fines will
help us keep our country clean. It can be
innovative: 1. Everybody (irrespective of sta-
tus / designation) should pay the fine, what-
ever area of the city (better to start with major
cities first) he / she is found guilty of throwing
rubbish in. 2. The fine amount should be suf-
ficiently big enough to discourage offenders
(eg: Rs 50 on spitting, Rs 100 on throwing
garbage, Rs 200 on urinating in public
places). 3. The constable who catches a per-
son red-handed should be given 80% of the
collected revenue. Why? Firstly because this
will encourage cops to be loyal towards their
duty and secondly, this will definitely be an
extra source of income and will increase the
socio-economic level of lower grade police-
men. 4) Lastly, there should be a dustbin near
every bus stop.
But there are difficulties in achieving this: the
main hurdle is that a large number of police-
men will be required to achieve the desired
result (although we can use other bodies also)
and secondly, there will be the problem of
rotation of duty, so that they won't be reluctant
to work on the same routine again and again.
These ideas might be not sound practical
enough to achieve results at once, but in the
long run we can improve the condition of our
villages, cities, states and our country within
5-10 years of time.
— Sumit Sharma

While I am sure billionbeats will help the
youth to share thoughts and lead the country
in the right direction, I would like to put for-
ward an important point: I agree, youth play
an important role in developing the nation, but
it's not possible to achieve this development
without roping in the rest of the population.
Along with youth, the general public should
be made to come forward, to learn, and made
aware of means of achieving our goal of hav-
ing a wonderful and bright nation.
— Naveen Hiregoudad
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, Creative DesignV. Jayaprakash, Stills Robert, INSPIRATION The Bold Billion
S U C C E S S U N L I M I T E D FEBRUARY 9, 2008
Mars on India's horizon transmitted to a tracking station in
I
t will be a red-letter day for
India's space programme. S PA C E TA L K India.
Sometime between 2012 and Former ISRO chief
2015, if all goes well, India will By Srinivas Laxman
Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan,
make its presence on Mars. And who initiated the moon mission,
with this, one of the major space has stated that an Indian mission
dreams of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
to Mars has to be a natural follow-
would be fulfilled. up to the lunar flight.
This complex project has Significantly, Indians have
already been included in the played a key role in NASA's mis-
Indian Space Research sion to Mars. Take the case of the
Organisation's (ISRO) 11th five- 40-year-old Gujarat-born aero-
year plan. It will kick off when space scientist, Prasun Desai, who
ISRO invites some of India's top works for NASA. Prasun was
scientists to participate in a brain- The cost? Rs three billion. With
among the Indians who had an
storming session later this year such a huge price tag, the most
obvious question which some crit- active role in NASA's mission to
about the feasibility of launching Mars in January 2004 when the
an unmanned mission to Mars. ics may ask is whether a poor
country like India can really two rovers, 'Spirit' and
If this project receives the go- afford to spend a whopping Rs 'Opportunity', landed on the sur-
face of the planet. Prasun was
ahead from the scientific commu- three billion on this mission?
responsible for their entry,
nity and of course, the govern- These nay-sayers do not realise
ment, the much-awaited flight descent and landing. Now, he is
that such missions will be intellec-
will lift off from the Satish tually very rewarding and give a involved with the 'Phoenix' mis-
Dhawan Space Centre, tremendous boost to scientific sion to Mars which is slated for
Sriharikota, around 2015. In fact, research in India. They will go a touchdown on May 25, 2008.
Dr Kalam wants the unmanned long way in reinforcing India's Indians will again have a key
mission to eventually lead to a reputation as a global space role in NASA's next mission to
manned flight with the first power after the moon mission. Mars, called 'Mars Science
Indian landing on Mars by 2030. Laboratory', which is scheduled to
Why this interest in Mars? The
ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Indian mission is expected to blast off in September 2009 and
Nair has been quoted as saying examine the attributes of the land on Mars in July 2010.
that: ``Mars is definitely on India's Martian atmosphere and the plan- So, like the race to the moon, get
horizon.'' He has even said that et's sub-soil and terrain. It will ready for an international race to
the rocket which will be used for hunt for water and find clues Mars with space-faring countries
the flight will be the three-stage whether there is life on Mars. like Japan and China joining in.
Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Nations are vying with each other
Director of the Ahmedabad-
Vehicle (GSLV). That the Indian to land on Mars. Can India lag
based Physical Research
space community is serious about behind in this competition? No,
Laboratory, Dr J.N.Goswami,
the Mars mission is clear from a certainly not.
who is the principal scientific
statement made by Dr Nair at a investigator of the Indian moon
conference in Washington on Jan
mission, 'Chandrayaan-1', said The writer is a Special
31, 2008, that this mission will lift that the Mars project will be an
off in 2012. Correspondent with The Times of
orbiting flight, which means that India, Mumbai and is the author of
After launch it will take any- the spacecraft will not land on the the book Dr Abdul Kalam: Dreams
thing between six and nine surface of Mars. It will fly around to Reality. You can reach him at:
months for the Indian spacecraft the planet and take pictures of the moonmission.srinivas@gmail.com
to reach the Red Planet. surface of Mars which will be
INDIA: AN OCEAN Finally, a
Born 60 years ago, I'm filled with opportunity, positive note
Attaining my youth, I shall now reveal my Identity,
When we talk about our country,
I am Proud, Capable, Reliable & Gritty,
the first line that comes out is full
Through each of my mighty drops, I will maintain my dignity, of complaints. Complaints about
Don't call me a mere Country, simply heading Indian Ocean, politicians, complaints about the
I am Deep India, India — an Ocean. system, and about every other
My son Army is world's second largest one, thing. We complain about the fail-
ures of the country in every
My son Air Force, 4th largest being run, aspect, whether science or sports.
& Daughter Navy, like aerial brother, has still something to be done,
But for first time ever in my life I
Even then, Discipline, Calm & Peace — From me one should learn, have come across someone talk-
What if I have never taught my children aggressive motion, ing about the positive India, and
that makes me feel great. All
I am the yet powerful India: an ocean.
thanks to billionbeats.
I am no more a delicate mother of wisdom,
I would like to share some of the
I am also the father to calculus, trigonometry & number system, positive points about the country I
I am the largest Democracy & the most diverse kingdom, have felt in my small life. I
A site of deep & vivid cultures & still welcoming western, remember the post-Kargil scene in
My sources are My People's emotion & devotion, the country. Every Indian con-
tributed whatever he could. The
Call me India, India: an ocean. common man and the celebrity,
Under the tricolour, my economy is growing, everybody chipped in with his
A better & just future, to everyone I am bestowing, /her effort to uplift the nation.
My progress in science & technology, everyone is knowing, That's not all. I remember the time
What I must achieve in future, my past & present are showing, of the earthquake in Bhuj and the
tsunami in South India. People
Not just moving, moving ahead with rampant motion, were filled with passion to help
I am the happy India: an ocean. the nation fight these calamities.
I challenge the world in every stream, From all this, I can clearly see that
I am rising as the best — to regain my esteem, everybody wants to help the
nation to grow, but it's just the
This is not my dream, but belief & deem,
guidance that is lacking. I think
The hour is not far when I'll be Dominant — I'll be supreme,
this paper can give that by chang-
I will prove my very right notion, ing our perspective. It can help us
For I am Courageous India: an ocean. to shed our feeling of inferiority
— By Devwrat Dube
and to have respect for the nation.
INDIA OF MY DREAMS — Saurabh Maheshwari