November 17, 2008
1. Yale University announces $ 75 m India initiative
NEW DELHI, INDIA, November 17,2008: The renowned Yale University launched an India initiative with a corpus of $ 75 million to increase its academic ties with the country.
"The initiative will create new faculty positions on India; specific
courses and new curricula across arts, culture, religion and science," Yale University President Richard C Levin said. Yale plans to triple the number of Indian professors to about 30.
A summary from Yale's President follows:
"As many of you already know, Yale University's historical connections to India are among the oldest of any Western university, dating back more than three centuries. It was at Yale in the late 1840s that Sanskrit was first taught in the Western hemisphere and that we have been continuously teaching Indian languages ever since. Today, a student at Yale can study not only Sanskrit, but also Hindi and Tamil.
"The earliest known Indian alumnus of Yale graduated in 1892 with a bachelor's degree and returned to India where he worked in Bombay. Since then, the number of Indians to graduate from Yale has grown substantially and include such notable figures as Indra Nooyi, Yale School of Management Class of 1980, Chairman of the Board and CEO, PepsiCo; T.N. Srinivasan, Ph.D. Class of 1962, the Samuel C. Park, Jr. Professor of Economics, Yale University; Fareed Zakaria, Yale College Class of 1986, Editor of Newsweek International, and Rakesh Mohan, Yale College Class of 1971, the Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
"The rise of India since the 1990s into a nation of global economic and geo-political consequence compels Yale to provide a deep and rich curriculum covering all aspects of Indian civilization - its languages and literatures, religions, and history, as well as its politics, economics, and society. We also need to engage with the problems that confront contemporary India: equitable and sustainable economic development and public health.
"Today, Yale commits itself to the goal that India will have a permanent and prominent place in the teaching, scholarship, and the life of the institution, strengthening the relationship between the world's two largest democracies."
2. Sri Jagannath Chained in Orissa Temple
KAKATPUR, ORISSA, November 4, 2008: In an extreme of devotional zeal, residents of this remote village keep God in chains. Legend has it that the Lord Jagannath Deity walked here three centuries back, disgusted with the local ruler of His previous village. "But fear persists that Jagannath may choose to leave our hamlet. Fearful people here hold the God captive", said temple priest Satruyghan Dash.
Lord Jagannath is tied with iron chains to the rear of the citadel. The God's clothing covers the chains, affording a dignified appearance. The temple trustee, priests and locals are unanimous in their determination to keep the Deity in chains, doing whatever it takes to keep their temple running.
3. India Becomes The Fourth Country to Land Its Flag On The Moon
INDIA, November 15, 2008: At 8:34 p.m. Indian time Friday night, India became the fourth country to land its flag on the Moon. The unmanned lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 ejected its Moon Impact Probe, which hurtled across the surface of the Moon at 1.5 kilometers per second (3,000 miles per hour), and successfully crash landed near the Moon's south pole.
Chandrayaan-1 (meaning "moon craft" in Sanskrit) reached its target lunar orbit on Wednesday. The orbiter will remain in a circular orbit 102 kilometres above the Moon's surface for two years. Its instruments will be gradually commissioned over the next few days. With this landing, India became both the fourth country to place a flag on the Moon and the fifth group to send a spacecraft to the Moon.
4. Daily Inspiration
In the midst of great joy do not promise anyone anything. In the midst of great anger do not answer anyone's letter.
Chinese Proverb
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