Auto driver’s son leaves IT job for army

MUMBAI: Graduating out of a top college and then landing a lucrative job with the Larsen and Toubro seem a dream career graph for many. But Abhay Kadam (21), son of an auto rickshaw driver, felt there was more to life than taking up the offer and climbing up the corporate ladder.

Today, Kadam is among the chosen few selected for commission in the Indian Army, a career path seldom trodden by youngsters from the financial capital. Of the 1.49 lakh candidates who took the Combined Defence Services exam, 239 were picked after a round of an examination and medical test conducted by the UPSC. And Abhay is beside himself with excitement at the opportunity he has got to watch life on the line, to be present there to tell the real cost of a war and the price of peace. "How do I explain the thrill I feel to be able to serve the country, without sounding dramatic or fake ?" he said. It is probably only natural that Abhay made the choice. "My grandfather and great-grandfather were both jawaans in the Maratha infantry," he said.

But taking the final decision was not easy for Abhay, who kept dreaming of a "bright future". Every evening, as his father walked home, after dropping off his rented auto at the owner's place with the day's earnings, Abhay pondered on how to make it big in life, how to free his family from the cycle of the Rs-9,000-a-month income.

"Abhay initially wanted to join the merchant navy, which pays handsomely. But when he joined the NCC and interacted with officers, he was attracted to the uniform," said his trainer, Rtd Lt Col Pradeep Brahmankar. Abhay is a Naval wing NCC cadet and has done his NCC 'C' certificate in 'B' grade. His only possession from those days is a bronze medal he won in the 1,200-m race in college. Abhay is now filled with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction as he looks at his selection letter and remembers his life so far—his schooldays, the time he spent at B N Bandodkar College in Thane, his small tenement with paints peeling off its walls. "A chapter is over. Another one will begin. I am ready for it."

Boy, 13, cracks IIT-JEE

Patna: A Bihar farmer’s 13-yearold son has become India’s youngest student to crack the IIT-JEE for the second consecutive year as he was unhappy with his rank last year.

Satyam Kumar, from Bakhorapur village in Bhojpur district, had secured an all-India rank of 8,137 in 2012 at the age of 12 and cleared the IIT-JEE (Advanced) this year with an all-India rank of 679.

In 2012, Satyam had sat for the IIT entrance tests even before passing his Class XII examinations, in which he had appeared with a special permission from the CBSE. For the IIT entrance, he received coaching in Kota.

“He has shown extraordinary academic skills since his early childhood and always worked hard with a regular timetable,” said his proud father Sidhnath Singh.

With his two successive achievements in the IIT entrance tests, Satyam has broken the record set by Sahal Kaushik of Delhi, who cleared the IIT-JEE at the age of 14 in 2010.

Deeply interested in the wonders and possibilities in information technology, he is keen on setting up a more innovative social networking company like Facebook getting a computer engineering degree from the IIT in Mumbai or Kanpur.

Meanwhile, the underprivileged students of “Super 30” here have yet again made it big at the IIT entrance examination with 28 out of the total 30 students qualifying.

Narendra Modi lands in Uttarakhand, flies out with 15,000 Gujaratis

DEHRADUN: In the two days that NarendraModi has been in Uttarakhand, he has managed to completely rile not just the Congress government of Vijay Bahuguna but also the administrative staff involved in rescue operations at Kedarnath, Badrinath and Uttarkashi. But above all, he has also managed to bring home some 15,000 stranded Gujarati pilgrims.

The Gujarat CM, who flew in on Friday evening, held a meeting till 1am with his crack rescue team of five IAS, one IPS, one IFS and two GAS (Gujarat Administrative Service) officers. Two DSPs and five police inspectors were also part of his delegation. They sat again with the nitty-gritty of evacuation in a huddle that a senior BJP leader said lasted till 1am on Sunday.

Around 80 Toyota Innovas have been requisitioned to ferry Gujaratis to safer places in Dehradun as have four Boeings. On Saturday, 25 luxury buses transported a bunch of grateful people to Delhi. The efforts are being coordinated by two of the senior-most IAS officers of Gujarat, one currently stationed in Delhi and another in Uttarakhand.

As if that was not enough to thumb his nose at a government accused of large-scale mismanagement in handling the crisis, Modi later in the day even offered to "completely rebuild" the temple at Kedarnath using "the latest technology available" in such a way that no natural calamity would ever shake it again. The Uttarakhand CM is believed to have dismissed the statement.

What cannot be dismissed, though, is Modi's now trademark style of micro-management, something his supporters say is the need of the hour for India. "It's amazing what he has done here," said Anil Baluni, a BJP leader. "If someone doesn't like it, what can we do?'

Modi's men have not only para-dropped a complete medical team in Hardwar, they have also set up camps across th flood-hit regions. Prominent BJP workers in villages across the state are dealing directly with members of the rescue committee, telling them where food is to be sent, people given shelter and medicines administered. That seems to have helped. When a car owned by a Gujarati was stuck in a road-block by angry residents demanding aid in Badkot, Uttarkashi, an urgent message was immediately sent out by an IAS officer and the vehicle taken to safety.

Asked about the "new model" of rescue and relief operation by Modi that has helped 15,000 Gujaratis get out of Uttarakhand, an angry Congress legislator said, "See, that's what we mean. His model works only for Gujaratis."

Six Rajasthan hill forts on Unesco heritage list

JAIPUR: Six of Rajasthan's hill forts have made it to Unesco's World Heritage List: Chittorgarh Fort, Kumbhalgarh Fort (Rajsamand), Ranthambore Fort (Sawai Madhopur), Jaisalmer Fort, Amber Fort (Jaipur) and Gagron Fort (Jhalawar).

"The selection of these forts is a reflection of our past work," said tourism, art and culture minister Bina Kak. The listing of the forts was approved at the 37th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Friday.

Kak said the selection of these forts, located in different cities, as a serial cultural property, was the first of its kind ever by Unesco. She said with this selection the six forts would receive enhanced international recognition — the way Jantar Mantar in Jaipur did after being selected in the World Heritage List in 2010.

Five of the forts had been nominated last year too, but Unesco had rejected them. This year the government added Jaisalmer Fort, reworked the documents and re-nominated the other five. Four of the forts are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and two by the Rajasthan State Archaeological Survey.

The state government had sent the nomination dossier of the forts to the World Heritage Site centre in January 2011. A two-member team from the advisory body of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) had met state government and ASI officials in Jaipur in November 2012. Following this, the ICOMOS recommended that the hill forts be made part of the World Heritage Site list.

All the forts represent Rajput military architecture. The structural remains or ruins range from the eighth to the 19th Century and comprise multi-gated approaches through massive and high fortification walls, palaces, temples, memorials and water reservoirs.

Scholarship for girls taking up ITI courses

AURANGABAD: An NGO has come forward to promote technical education among girls from villages in Gansavangi taluka in Jalna district by offering Rs 5,000 to each one of them taking admission in the Industrial Training Institute (ITI).

Somanth Khade, joint convenor of Swamy Vivekanand Shadh Shati Samoroh Samiti, confirmed the development and said the scheme would be available for girls from this year.

Mukund Kulkarni, principal of the institute, said, "The aim is to encourage girl students to take up ITI courses and create awareness about its benefits. Since the institute is located in the rural area, the response from the girls is not very encouraging. Hence, the scheme has been launched from this year to increase inclination of girls."

"Since the last two years, no girl has taken admission in the institute. Earlier too, the response was poor with only 7-8 girls taking ITI courses. People from rural areas believe that ITI courses are suitable for boys only," he said.

"To clear this misconception, the institute is spreading awareness among the students by conducting workshops and by distributing pamphlets in villages in Gansavangi taluka. The college is contacting every school principal and have put up posters in schools," Kulkarni said.

"The institute runs one-year and two-year courses. Girls enrolling themselves for any course would be eligible for the scholarship. The online admission process will begin from June 24. We have received at least 20 inquiries from girl students. We hope to admit all of them this year," Kulkarni added. 

Four from Andhra Pradesh make it to top 10 in IIT-JEE Advanced

HYDERABAD: Two students from Hyderabad secured the top two ranks in the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced), which guarantees admission in the IITs across the country. Two others from the state, including a girl student, made it to the top 10 out of the 1.15 lakh candidates who sat for the exam on June 2.

Seventeen-year-old P Sai Sandeep Reddy, a resident of Prakasam district who studied in a school in Madhapur, secured the first rank with 332 marks out of 360, officials said. He was followed closely by A Ravi Chandra, a resident of Hyderabad, who got 330 marks, securing him the second rank.

"I am a big fan of Harry Potter and I love to read story books whenever I get time," said an overjoyed Sai Sandeep Reddy. Son of a school teacher, Sandeep prepared hard for the exam by devoting 12-14 hours per day in the three months leading up to the JEE exam. "I am still dazed. I never thought I would top the exam," Sandeep said. The tall lanky boy, who dreams of carrying out research in robotics in IIT Mumbai, said he was immediately heading to the Shirdi Sai Baba temple with his parents to offer thanksgiving prayers.

Ravi Chandra, son of a central government employee, said he wants to carry out research in computer sciences. "I expected to be among the toppers but never did I think that I would be able to secure the second rank," said Chandra, who studied in the same Madhapur institute as Sandeep. Asked what he did to blow off steam, he said he loved to watch films and added that his inspiration was his brother who is studying in IIT Madras.

Out of the 1,15,971 candidates who took the exams, around 21,110 qualified. Two female candidates, including S Leena Madhuri from Tirupati, made it to the top 10 ranks for the first time. Leena, who stood eight with 314 marks said she studied for 15-16 hours leading up to the examination. "I also love playing chess and watch television," she said.

Meanwhile, M Viswa Virinchi, a resident of Kukatpally, who secured the first rank with in the JEE (Mains) with 345 marks, had to be contended with seventh rank in the advanced exam. Virinchi, who secured 315 marks, said he used to spend his free time taking piano lessons and wants to be an engineer.

The JEE Advanced results were declared two days in advance, but officials said the admissions would be done only from June 24 as planned. The examination had two objective papers comprising physics, chemistry and mathematics. Candidates have to qualify the exam to get admission into any of the 15 IITs in the country including IIT-Hyderabad.

The JEE (main) scores were an eligibility test for the advanced exam.

Modi rocks, even in the Himalayas!

During a visit to China's countryside outside Beijing last week, one found many places on the highway which had warning signboards which said 'Rockfall site'. The most fragile hill slopes were, however, properly treated with a plaster binding and tightly covered with a steel mesh which would have checked a landslide. Also met during the trip, two Nepalese journalists who were all praise for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and had heard some of his inspiring speeches on YouTube. A devout Hindu and chief editor of a leading Nepalese daily, one of them had felt blessed when he came to India some years back for the 'Char Dham' yatra, the route of which now lies devastated in the Uttarakhand flash floods.

Had met Modi for the first time in Ahmedabad sometime in mid-1999 at the official bungalow of the then mayor of Ahmedabad. Was struck by the number of rings this persona non grata for the Keshubhai Patel regime was wearing on his fingers. The meeting with Modi was arranged by Anil Balooni, officer on special duty to the governor, late Sundar Singh Bhandari. The conversation was off the record. What came out amply clear was Modi's frustration at the state of affairs in Gujarat and his inability to do anything about it. Except, vent his exasperation before the media and give them leads about what was going wrong in the Keshubhai regime, in the hope that they would write something against a non-performing chief minister.

Have been more in touch with Balooni, now a BJP leader in Uttarakhand, than with Modi. Called him up to inquire about his well-being after the devastation. He had by then spoken to some trapped Gujarati pilgrims and said: "Pilgrims are saying they won't be in this sorry state if Modi was the chief minister of Uttarakhand." Indeed, nature has been kind to Gujarat during the last 12 years or so that he has been in power. Quite unlike the three years of acute drought, two strong cyclones and an earth-shattering earthquake that Keshubhai had to face, which eventually cost him his job. During the decade of good rains in Gujarat, the only time his disaster management was seriously tested was in the 2006 Surat floods when the city was submerged for three days and he was roundly booed by marooned Surtis as he waved out from a speed boat. Even in 2012, a few months before the last assembly elections in December, his opponents were hoping that an impending drought would mar his chances of becoming CM for the fourth time - till the heavens showered a late monsoon and handed him his third successive political landslide win. People in Gujarat have come to believe that nature's recent kindness is because of what they see as an illusionary halo behind their chief minister.

Was reading about L K Advani loyalist Sudheendra Kulkarni calling Modi an 'autocrat' and BJP chief Rajnath Singh as someone 'foxy' and under "astrologically induced delusions" (of becoming PM). Actually, Modi's popularity among people is because of his autocracy. And no prizes for guessing who is the fox and who are the rabbits in this Modi-Rajnath-Advani triangle. As for astrology, the stars seem more on Modi's side. To make sure his Himalayan ambitions do not crumble, some say he constantly performs some tantrik rituals to neutralize his adversaries. And, of course, the rocks on his fingers are still there.
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