Thursday, November 29, 2007

Have a Wonderful Day


Dear All, Good Morning.

Thank you all for your regular e-mails.

At -40 centigrade, a person loses about 14.4 calories per hour just by breathing.

We are doing fine, here. Getting ready for the great Thursday, the November 29, 2007. It is 5.30 am now. I would like to take the 6:42 ride, which goes to the Downtown directly. Your dear Mom had kept the lunch box ready for me already in the last night. I shall just have my breakfast and go, after I get ready for the day.

More in my next e-mail, dear all.
With Love, Naana

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Our Visit to Our Dr's Office

Akkayya & Dad with Dad's gentle Doctor, Dr. Nizam.

India's Surging Economy Lifts Hopes and Ambitions


Socialism and Castes
Begin to Give Way;
Lessons of 'Dumbo'

By PAUL BECKETT and KRISHNA POKHAREL in New Delhi and ERIC BELLMAN in Mumbai
November 28, 2007; Page A1

Since it gained independence, India has been defined by socialism, poverty and a Hindu caste system that determined a person's place in society from birth. Now, amid an explosion of economic growth, millions of Indians are embracing long-unthinkable ambitions: to lead a better life than their parents and create a better life for their children.

"My son would have followed in my footsteps 10 years ago," says Sanjaya Sharma, 39 years old. He works, as his father did, at a crematorium on the banks of the Yamuna River in New Delhi, where open funeral pyres sit on about 100 concrete slabs. Mr. Sharma's job is to ensure bodies are fully cremated and, if the children of the deceased aren't available, to pierce skulls with a stick in a sacred Hindu rite. Working one of Indian society's humblest jobs earns Mr. Sharma 200 rupees, or about $5, a day.

Now, the father of five says, "I don't want my children to do what I am doing. I want them to go into business, get educated, get a respected profession, learn computers and earn for themselves." Mr. Sharma and his wife push their eldest, a 14-year-old girl named Khushboo, to get good grades. Khushboo says she wants to get a "good private-sector job in Bombay or in America," using the old name for Mumbai.

The new sense of possibility felt by Indians, many of them from the lower classes, is one of the most profound social consequences of the great economic reawakening of this nation of 1.1 billion.

Economic growth has averaged about 8.6% a year for the past four years, a rate that, if sustained, would double average incomes in a decade. Indian companies are snapping up Western rivals. Droves of Indian professionals, meanwhile, are returning home from abroad, seeing a greater chance here of entrepreneurial success. Poorer Indians are flocking from villages to the cities in search of new jobs and a better lot in life.

"There has been a psychological breakthrough," says André Béteille, chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research. The 73-year-old has studied Indian society since shortly after India won independence from Britain in 1947. "Substantial sections of the Indian population believe that they are as good as anybody."

There's demographic evidence to suggest that India's economic boom will continue. About one-third of India's population is under the age of 15. Over the next five years, India will be responsible for nearly 25% of the increase in the world's working-age population, according to an October World Bank report. China's population, in contrast, is rapidly aging; its working-age population is expected to fall to 57% of the total in 2050 from 67% in 2000, according to a separate World Bank report issued in September.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently claimed India in 2006 became the world's third-largest economy after the U.S. and China based on purchasing-power parity, which adjusts exchange rates to equalize the cost of goods in different countries.

India's newfound ebullience contrasts sharply with the tragic aspects of this ancient land. Many of its rural residents, representing roughly 70% of India's population, still live in brutal poverty. Malnutrition, infant mortality and other childhood diseases are commonplace, especially in the countryside, because successive Indian governments have underinvested in health care and many public and aid-agency funds destined for the poor are siphoned off by corruption.

And it isn't the first time India has felt this kind of optimism. When it won independence, India's leaders believed the nation could secure a new and unique perch as a tolerant, secular democracy, especially if the steady hand of the state was on the economic tiller. Since then, India's stability has stood out against the turmoil that frequently roils neighboring Pakistan, which won independence the same year. But India's economic performance in the few decades after independence was so poor that it came to be referred to derisively as the "Hindu rate of growth."

India also has seen short spurts of rapid economic growth before. It experienced three such years in the mid-1990s, but the boom fell apart with the advent of the Asian financial crisis.

Still, there is little to compare with what is happening in large parts of the country today -- changes that are altering how people live and what they aspire to. Domestic tourism companies are booking record numbers of sightseers. An advertisement for IFB Industries Ltd., a maker of washing machines, dryers and microwave ovens, features a smiling young woman looking at a spreadsheet on her laptop. "Housework on your mind?" it asks. "Set yourself free with IFB."

The opportunities open to young Indians are now vast compared with just a few years ago, and they go well beyond information technology and call centers. Whole new industries, free from the shackles of state ownership, offer a new generation a far wider range of choices.

"In my community, you should do only engineering or medicine," says 22-year-old Sunil Ji Bhat, referring to the two traditionally respectable professions for the upper classes. Under the ancient but still-influential caste system, Brahmins like Mr. Bhat are at the top. "Now, new things are coming up: Insurance, journalism, hotel management, and youth are very much attracted to these new fields."

A Kashmiri Pandit from predominantly Muslim Kashmir, Mr. Bhat's family was part of a mass exodus from Kashmir in 1990 amid widespread violence, much of it aimed at Hindus. They settled in a refugee camp in Jammu, the southern part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. His family, once well-to-do, has lived there since, much of the time all in one tent.

Since he was 10 years old, Mr. Bhat wanted to be a news anchor. At the time, the family could see only one state-run television channel. "My parents were very apprehensive," he says. "They thought the man reading the news must have got his job through contacts."

Mr. Bhat is enrolled in a master's degree program at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi and his parents have gradually accepted that he may have a future in television: Today, there are more than 200 television channels in India and more than 70 still waiting for government permission. Mr. Bhat frequently reminds his parents that one anchor on a popular cable news channel is a Kashmiri Pandit, too.

The changes can be even more dramatic at the bottom of the caste hierarchy. V.P. Gomathi, 21, grew up in a small village in the southern state of Tamil Nadu in a family of Dalits. Dalits, the former "untouchables," are at the bottom of the Hindu caste ladder, so low as to be outside of the system altogether.

Ms. Gomathi's father was an alcoholic. Her mother married at 14 and was never educated. But her mother realized the importance of schooling, so she and the rest of the family sacrificed to get Ms. Gomathi a good education.

"She thought, 'My daughter should not have to face all this,'" says Ms. Gomathi, who went to a private missionary high school and then to college. Now, she is working towards a master's degree in social services at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai.

Ms. Gomathi says she faces criticism at home for her success, with villagers saying, "If she goes for a higher education, we cannot find a groom for her." But her achievements have encouraged others in her village to take education more seriously.

As Ms. Gomathi's exodus from her village demonstrates, much of the newfound advancement is happening in India's cities. In contrast, much of rural India is in danger not just of being bypassed by economic growth but of going into reverse, with the ranks of the worst-off swelling.

In 2004, 83% of rural Indian wage earners aged 18-59 were in the lowest-earning section of society, making less than 61,125 rupees a year, roughly $1,540, according to a new study by IIMS Dataworks, a New Delhi-based market-research firm. By mid-2007, that number had increased to 86.4%, the survey found. In contrast, the ranks of the lowest-paid workers in India's urban areas fell to 73.2% of the working population from 79.5% three years earlier.

Agricultural reform has been so lethargic that India's farming economy has grown at a much slower rate than the overall economy in recent years.

The last government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, lost in 2004 in part because its campaign slogan "India Shining" rang hollow with many Indians, especially in rural India. The current Congress Party-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reliant on a fragile coalition of political parties, has been hobbled in its ability to deliver reforms that might spread the benefits of economic growth more widely.

One of the most critical reforms needed to ensure India's continued economic growth is fixing a public-education system riddled with problems. Many teachers regularly fail to show up to class because it is difficult to fire them and they can earn more in private tutoring. Only 17% of Indians in their mid-20s and older have a secondary education, according to the World Bank.

Education reform is crucial if the government wants to gain the benefit from its youthful population and not simply end up with more uneducated workers to find jobs for. Reform also is needed to meet the rising demands and aspirations of India's own citizens, even the poorest of whom now view education as the ticket out of the slums or impoverished hamlets.

The Indian government, economists and business leaders all have identified the need for better education, especially at the elementary and high-school levels. But many are disillusioned with government efforts. That has prompted calls for the private sector to take a more active role in promoting private schools even in remote and poor parts of the nation.

The federal government, meanwhile, is planning to greatly expand the number of higher educational establishments, including those that are part of the elite Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management networks -- the country's equivalent of the Ivy League.

India's ability to give more of its citizens the prospect of material and social advancement will largely determine whether today's progress is viewed by history as a transformative period akin to the mass migration of U.S. blue-collar workers in the 1940s and 1950s into the middle class. It also will help narrow the many fault lines that crisscross this fractious and fragmented nation -- divisions between religions, between caste layers, between north and south, between urban and rural, between development and subsistence living.

Some say the stability and cohesion this transformation can bring may help a newly powerful India set an example on the world stage by marrying democracy with prosperity in a volatile region short on both.

"Our perception is the world is a much safer place if a nation of 1.1 billion people is prosperous and doing well," says Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, a government agency that plays a big role in setting India's economic course. "I don't think democracy has much of a future if it doesn't work in India."

The pursuit of a life-changing personal dream is sufficiently new in India that it can be a difficult concept to grasp even for people in their 20s. One recent Monday, 25 employees of the Home Town furniture chain -- average age about 22 and most without higher education -- were gathered in a training facility north of New Delhi.

The program, called Gurukool, was designed by the company to encourage workers to aspire to a better life so that they are more self-confident in their jobs and see the value of building a career.

In one round of exercises on the first day, the recruits were given big sheets of paper and magic markers and told to draw or write something that represented their dreams. For the next 30 minutes, the participants struggled. A table of young men copied each other, drawing crude renderings of pretty scenery.

Over the five-day course, they watched Disney's Dumbo -- a parable of how to translate limitations into opportunities. They also performed self-esteem-building exercises that aim to help them conceptualize what they want in life and how they might achieve it. "Suddenly they realize the potential they are not using," says Azhar Sohail, general manager of learning and development at Home Solutions Retail Ltd., owner of Home Town. "At the end of five days, people go out confident."

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

The Microsoft Canada Development Centre (MCDC) : By Laurie Rowell




The Microsoft Canada Development Centre captures the energy and camaraderie of tech startups. Its workforce captures the diversity of the world.

While honeymooning in the Scottish Highlands, Gabhan Berry got an e-mail inviting him to work for Microsoft Canada. "In six weeks we sold our house and cars, quit our jobs, and relocated ourselves to Vancouver," said Berry.

Such is the speed at which the Microsoft Canada Development Centre (MCDC) is staffing up. Open since September 10, the site – located in Richmond, just outside of Vancouver, British Columbia – was set up as an alternative location for those challenged by U.S. immigration policy. U.S. law allows only 65,000 highly skilled immigrants to enter the country on H1B visas each year, a number which has frustrated talent-hungry technology companies.

The MCDC, just two and a half hours by car from Seattle, allows employees from other countries to live in Canada and work closely with teams in Redmond and the rest of North America.

One of 90 employees at the MCDC, Berry comes to Microsoft after founding a startup. Likewise, Par Singh, director of MCDC, is also a veteran of a startup. "I didn't see this as that much different," said Singh of the new facility.

Gathered from around the World Would-be employees from overseas can easily wind up in limbo waiting for their immigration status to be resolved. One such worker is Elizabeth Samuel, SDET with Office Live, who was caught in a holding pattern in Washington, D.C. as her funds dwindled. She had to decide: "Should I return home to Trinidad and Tobago?" Encouraged by supportive friends, she decided to hang on and hope something would change to allow her to work for Microsoft.

"May to August of the same year, it doesn't seem that long," she said. "Not even four months. But the uncertainty, that's what was hard to handle.

"Once the Vancouver option became a reality for me at the end of July, the team was able to complete the entire process in a month," Samuel said. "I was in Canada by the beginning of September."

As staffing evolves, the MCDC is putting together an international community. "I have a map … on my wall at the MCDC," Singh said. "I ask people to put pins where their birthplace is."

So far, 21 different countries are represented. "They sit by one another, and the conversations and the incubation of ideas that come out of that … I think it's going to set a new standard for Microsoft," Singh said.

That diversity adds to the richness of the experience, according to George El Khoury, SDET in the Windows Metadata & Internet Services team. Born in Lebanon, he earned a master's degree from the University of Florida and epitomizes the variety of personal backgrounds among MCDC employees.

"We have a true sense of friendship and camaraderie down here," he said. "Everybody knows everybody's teams, specs, and bugs."

World-Class City for World-Class Employees. A city that tops several best places to live lists, Vancouver offers world class amenities.

"We will be able to offer top talent from everywhere choices about where they work, and, in some cases, [it's] going to mean that Redmond is not the primary or feasible choice," said Collene Burns, the project manager for the MCDC.

For those already in North America wishing to work in Vancouver, Singh suggests they convince their business groups to send them. "We will dedicate a percentage of our space capacity to permanent projects," he added.

Leads from other Microsoft installations, including Redmond, with five to seven years project-management and development experience, probably have the best shot. Space is limited, and competition is tight.

"We want high quality. We have the opportunity to make the decisions on getting the choice projects, and the choice candidates that come there. They are the ones most sought-after by Microsoft," said Singh.

But working at the MCDC would be worth the effort, Singh asserted. "There is so much energy out of these guys. I am having much fun working with such a diverse group. I can't believe they pay me to work here."

Welcome to the Stock Market !!!

Once upon a time, in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for Rs10. The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at Rs10 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort.

He further announced that he would now buy the monkeys at Rs20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms.

The offer rate increased to Rs25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it! The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at Rs50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers. Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at Rs35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell it to him for Rs50." The villagers squeezed up all their savings and bought all the monkeys. Then they never saw the man nor his assistant, only monkeys everywhere!!!

Welcome to the "Stock" Market!!!!!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Good better best - Never let them rest !

Good better best
Never let them rest
Till the good gets better
And better gets best.

Dear Children,

Good Evening. How are you? How is our sweet Pragathi? We are all fine here. It is not snowing now, but the days are gradually getting cold day by day. But we can always enjoy the winter picture of the bright light and the blue sky here in our pretty city Edmonton.

More in my next e-mail.
With Love, Amma.

Quotes

-Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight, and height.

-Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches! Pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches!)

-Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's!

-Enjoy the simple things. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with him or her!

-The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is you.

-LIVE while you are alive. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it's family, pets, music, plants, and hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

-Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

-Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Murray...

Hi Somaiah,

Thanks for the email. Of course I remember you. Speaking with you on the bus really was a great way to help start the day.

As discussed, the community league that serves Magrath is the Terwillegar Community League, and the website is as follows: www.terwillegar.org. I used to be the President, but I remain as Community Advocate.

The league may be of interest to you and your family. Perhaps you or your daughter have ideas to share or would like to get involved in some way to help make our community a more vibrant place to live.

I would be happy to show you around MacEwan's City Centre Campus and the Centre for Sport and Wellness. I look forward to setting up a time that works for both of us.

In Health and Happiness. Murray

Murray Chrusch, MSc, BSc.PE, CSEP-CEP
Manager, Wellness Consulting & Disease Prevention
MacEwan Centre for Sport & Wellness
Rm 8-121, 10700-104 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5J 4S2
Tel: (780) 497-5134, Fax: (780) 497-5290
Email: chruschm@macewan.ca
Website: www.MacEwanCentre.ca


Dear Murray , Good Morning. How are you?

Do you remember, a couple of days back we were riding the same bus downtown, to our workplace, sitting side by side? You were reading the book, titled “Leadership+ Self-deception”.

And you told me that you are working in Grant MacEwan College, as a manager at Centre for Sport and Wellness. ..

I would like to visit once your college and your centre, sometime in the first week of December, 2007. I haven't seen it yet. I shall give you a call or I shall write an e-mail before I come there.

Please convey my best regards to your wife.

Yours Friendly, Somayya Kasani

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Thought For The Day

Dear Children,

Let us do it, and do it often, what brings us pleasure. For it will give lightness to our heart and do wonders for our soul. The meaning of life is different for every individual. Each person has his own purpose and distinct path, unique from anyone else's.

When we woke up this morning, we saw a beautiful, winter picture through our window. It was snowing outside. Sparkling white snowflakes were falling gently from the sky.

Chinna joined us today and we felt very happy with her arrival. Happy to know that Sweet Pragathi is growing well.

Have a Nice Day.

With Love, Amma

Monday, November 19, 2007

Only a person who takes risks is free.


To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk rejection.

To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.

He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.

Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave.

He has forfeited his freedom.

Only a person who takes risks is free.

Do Less... Pay More...

Dear Children,

Do less thinking,
And pay more attention to your heart.

Do less acquiring,
And pay more attention to what you already have.

Do less complaining,
And pay more attention to giving.

Do less controlling,
And pay more attention to letting go.

Do less criticizing,
And pay more attention to complementing.

Do less arguing,
And pay more attention to forgiveness.

Do less running around,
And pay more attention to stillness.

Do less talking,
And pay more attention to silence.

With Love,Amma-Naana

Metro College...

Dear all our Sweet people,

Happy to receive regular e-mails from you all. I am doing good. We are relaxing and learning at Metro College. We are getting more and more confidence in learning the new things. We are really happy about it. And we do enjoy our rides on our ETS buses. They always keep them clean, tidy and warm.

* Teamwork divides the effort and multiplies the results

* Healthy families require healthy communication.

* If you don't have hope in future, you have no power in the present.

More in my next e-mail.
With Love, Nana

Adavi Mallampalli School, Warangal



Congratulations on Vikram's Chess Wins‏

Dear Kamalesh Bava & Akkaiah

Hearty Congratulations on Vikram nana winning 5 chess games and Silver Medal for his School. We are proud of him and wish him all the very best.

Have a nice Monday !!

Affectionately
Ajay

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Man! Don’t Become Thankless Under Ego...

Dear Children,

Good Evening. How are you? How is our sweet Pragathi? We are all fine here. It is nice to know that our dear Bujji reached Seattle safely and enjoying the sweet company of Pragathi.

“Man! Don’t become thankless under ego. After all, we are all sisters and brothers, here. Sit down together in peace and think again and again.” is a poem written by Santokh Singh Sandhu on November 26, 2006 at Mill Wood’s senior centre. And he shared his poem to Nana at the time. After one year they met each other at the same place. They could exchange their greetings. Santokh recognized Nana first. Then Nana could remember him and the context. And both of them felt very happy with their reunion, after one year.

More in my next letter.
With love, Amma.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

వార్తల్లో





My trip to Millwoods Senior Centre


Dear Ajay Naana, Good Afternoon.

Thank for your e-mail. I came back from Millwoods Senior Centre, attending Consular for ' Life Certificate'.

I and Gurudial Mundi went there together taking a ride on Bus 35 near our home. After the submission of our applications, we went to Gurdwar. Couple of our associates from Gurdwar invited us for a visit. And we had a nice lunch there. They dropped us back at Millwoods Transit Centre after the lunch. We had a very nice trip, this morning to Millwoods. We enjoyed it.

In the evening we participate in our ACA Deepavali Celebrations at Ganapathi Temple.

More in my next e-mail,
With Love, Naana

Greetings from AmmaNaana

Dear Our Sweet Three, Good Evening.

Thank you all for your regular e-mails. We are fine here. Amma is associating our sweet Vind, Vikram and akkaiah this weekend. I shall also join them tomorrow, in the afternoon.

We all will participate in Deepavali Celebrations at Mahaganapathy Temple, tomorrow in the evening.

Mr. Gurudial Mundi and I are going to Millwoods Senior Centre to get our " life Certificates". We leave at 9: 35 am taking a ride on Bus No 35 from 23rd Avenue, near our home. We shall come back our home after getting the work done, together.

More in my naxt E-mail. Have a great weekend, dear all.
With Love, Naana

Thursday, November 15, 2007

కాలోజి బతుకమ్మ పాట....



ACA Member Directory 2007-2008 Came Out Well

Dear Children,

Good Evening. How are you? We are you all fine here. Our dear Kamalesh reached Atlanta safely. Mr Raghu Ram received him at the airport. We are happy to know that our sweet Pragathi is growing well. Our dear Vikram and Vinod are doing well. Today Vikram has his Kumon class. He is doing is homework well regularly with the guidance of his dear Mom.

The member directory 2007-2008 came well. Today Mr. Vivek came to our home and collected the books from our home. We are very happy that our dear Bujji is coming to Edmonton to associate with us for a week. “Welcome Bujji to our Sweet Home, Edmonton. We are eagerly waiting for your arrival.”

Dear all, skin and lips get dry in the winter. Use skin cream or lotion and lip balm. Protect your skin from the sun too. Use sunscreen when you go outside.

More in my next e-mail.
With love, Amma.

Mom Gets Refreshed With Your Calls


Dear all, Good Morning.

Thank you for your e-mails. Happy to know about you all. Please greet mom in between couple of times during the day, as she will be refreshed, if you could greet her and tell about your great day.

With Love, Nana

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Laddus on the occasion of ACA Deepavali celebrations

Dear Children,

Good evening. How are you? How is our sweet Pragathi? We are all fine here. Tomorrow Damayanthi’s mother Savitri and Neeraja’s mother Vijaya are coming to our home. And we will make some Laddus on the occasion of ACA Deepavali celebrations.

Our dear Kamalesh Babu is getting ready for his journey to Atlanta, USA. Akkaiah is taking half day leave to help him to pack is luggage. We also wish him a happy journey and a bright career. There is nothing as strong as will power. It is the biggest asset of human being. Take care all of you, our dear children.

More in my next e-mail.
With love, Amma.


Dear Amma, Nana,

Good Morning. Nice to read e-mails from Amma,Nana. Pragathi is doing well here. We are all fine. Very Nice to know that Amma and other friends are preparing Laddus for Deepavali occasion for the Telugu people in Edmonton.

Nana, Nice to see your reply to Geetha. Nice to know that Basith sir called and spoke with you to share his affection for you and his happiness in his progress.

Nana, I will ensure that Adithya’s name is in the ACA Directory and will put all files in one e-mail.

Loving Son,
Ajay

Monday, November 12, 2007

ACA Member Directory Creation In Progress...

Dear Children,

Good Evening.How are you? How is our sweet Prgathi? We are all fine here.


Mr. Vivek, Mr. Ramprakash, and Mr. Mahipal came to our home yesterday evening to discuss about making a member Directory of Andhra Cultural Association for the year 2007 - 2008. Now the directory is almost ready for printing. However they decided to get it done by November 14. In India, people celebrate children's day on November 14, every year. That is the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India.

More in my next e-mail.
With Love, Amma

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Gurajada's Words...

మతం వేరైతేను యేమోయి
మనసు వొకటై మనుషులుంటే

అన్నదమ్ముల వలెను జాతులు
మతములన్నీ మెలగవలె నోయి !

వట్టి మాటలు కట్టిపెట్టోయ్
గట్టి మేల్ తలపెట్టవోయ్ !


పాడిపంటలుపొంగి పొర్లే
దారిలో నువు పాటు పడవోయ్

నరుల చెమటను తడిసి మూలం
ధనం పంటలు పండవలె నోయి

మందగించక ముందు అడుగేయ్
వెనుక పడితే వెనుకేనోయ్ !

ఒరుల మేలుకు సంతసిస్తూ
ఐకమత్యం నేర్చవోయ్

Edmonton - 2007 Cultural Capital of Canada - Building Connections to Arts and Culture for all Edmontonians


Dear Children,

The Government of Canada announced on May 31, 2002 the creation of Cultural Capitals of Canada. This national program recognizes and supports municipalities that already demonstrate support for arts, culture and heritage as integral to community life. The designation " Cultural Capital" is awarded to cities demonstrating ability to celebrate and build a legacy for arts and culture, and also demonstrating a good track record of past achievements.

Edmonton is honored and excited to receive this prestigious award and be designated the 2007 Cultural Capital of Canada. Cities previously awarded the cultural capital of Canada designation are: 2003 Vancouver, 2004 Regina, 2005 Toronto, 2006 Saskatoon.

Currently, the maximum amount that can be awarded to a city designated as Cultural Capital is $2, 000, 000. In addition to this amount, the city of Edmonton is contributing $667, 000 for the celebration.

With Love, Amma-Naana

Arts..

Dear Children,

Good Evening. How are you? How is our sweet Pragathy? We are all fine here.

What is Art? If asked “Is art necessary?” most of us would probably say “Yes,” meaning that man does not live by bread alone. After all, it is widely observed that most people in other societies as well as our own find pleasure and refreshment in participating in dancing, singing, and instrumental music. If these are art, then it would seem to be necessary. We are glad that our dear Vikram’s parents are taking good care in introducing him to these arts.

More in my next e-mail
With Love, Amma.

Exploring Where Art And Science Converge‏ - Notes from the Symposium that I Attended Today


Dear Children,
Long ago, art and science were linked in the human imagination. It was perfectly natural for thinking people to study what we now call science and what we now call art.

It was an essential part of a liberal education, and if one wanted to be a citizen or a "gentleman," both were required. Now, if we discover an artist with scientific interests or a scientist with artistic talent, we treat them like sideshow freaks. Or we refer to them as "renaissance" men and women, to put them in a quaint, old-fashioned, conceptual box. Leonardo da Vinci, a man who worked as a scientist and an artist, is now regarded as both marvelously intelligent and profoundly weird.

Today, for the most part, someone is either a scientist or an artist. Students taking a BFA in art and design at the University of Alberta are obliged to take one or two classes in each of their four years, as faculty of arts options or faculty of science options. Very few of them choose physics over art history or philosophy. Why would they? The same is true of similar artistic programs, in music and creative writing and film production, in universities across Canada.

Those in science can graduate with as few as six faculty of arts classes. Honours science students can take even fewer "options." Classes in the faculty of fine arts, or in disciplines such as creative writing, are scant and selective, and therefore difficult to take. So science students generally stay away from art, in all its incarnations, and vice versa. It isn't just institutional. We all reinforce these separations. I have a friend doing postgraduate work in immunology who also reads literature voraciously and attends the Venice Biennal; I have caught myself bragging about him, my friend, as though he were an odd trophy I have acquired.

In recent years, scientific research has been the engine of academic growth, especially in Alberta. Art, and related critical disciplines such as the humanities and social science, have suffered economically and in terms of social status.

So the Art and Science Symposium, at Bernard Snell Hall in the U of A Hospital this Friday and Saturday, is a uniquely thrilling event. The symposium, part of the Edmonton Cultural Capital program, is exploring "the places where art and science converge." A number of fascinating speakers, artists and scientists who cross disciplines like Alan Bleakley, Jim Ruxton, Camille Turner and Jeffrey Burns, will join local art-and-science collaborators in a number of panels. The keynote speaker, Friday at 10 a.m., is best selling American novelist and physicist Alan Lightman.

Peter Hackett, president and CEO of Alberta Ingenuity, a billion-dollar fund to help transform the province into a global scientific and engineering centre of excellence, thinks the connection between art and science is obvious.

"At the core of both are creativity and struggling at the frontiers of things," says Hackett, who has a PhD in petrochemistry from the University of Southampton and has published hundreds of papers and patents. "Scientists and artists are engaged with the big transcendental issues, truth and beauty, trying to change the world, to explain, to translate. And in both disciplines, the best people are often not supported by the status quo."
With Love, Amma-Naana

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Nana attended Art & Science Symposium : http://www.edmontonculturalcapital.com/


Dear Children,

Good Evening. How are you? How is our sweet Pragathi? We are all fine here.

Nana attended Art & Science Symposium today the November 9, 2007 at Bernard Snell Hall, University of Alberta Hospital Edmonton. Nana told that this Symposium brought together the outstanding group of scholars, innovators, scientists, artists and community builders.

Art, Science, culture, technology, media and community are all powerful and complex topics. This symposium, Nana said, explored the relationship and inter-relatedness of these areas.

He also said that the physicist and novelist Alan Lightman discussed the differences and similarities between the scientific and artistic endeavors, drawing upon his own unique experience as a member of both communities.

More in my next e-mail.
With Love, Amma

Friday, November 09, 2007

Happy Deepavali & Thought For The Day


Dear Children,

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY DEEPAVALI.

Deepavali celebrations for this year on behalf of Andhra Cultural Association, Edmonton, will be held on Saturday the November 17, 2007 at Ganapathy temple. The program commences at 4:30 PM, which includes cultural activities, food and fun. Naana already sent greetings to ACA members and reminded them of the upcoming event.

Nana is NOT going to School today. He is attending a symposium - “Exploring where art and Science converge” at the University of Alberta.

Journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.


Every big event is the result of carefully planned, carefully prepared and confidently implemented set of small events. It is the minor choices and decisions that make the major difference in our lives.

Decisions that continuously affect our lives are the small decisions we make on daily basis. Each day we make many minor decisions that have a major impact on the direction of our lives.

More in my next e- mail. Take care.
With Love, Amma-Nana.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

The Thoughtful Twenty One


Dear children, Good Evening. How are you? How is our sweet Pragathi? We are all fine here. In this email, I would like to write about the thoughtful twenty one items.

1. Give encouragement
2. Express thanks
3. Acknowledge
4. Extend Greetings
5. Give a compliment
6. Congratulate someone
7. Offer words of comfort
8. Inspire others
9. Celebrate and cheer
10. Inquire, Express interest
11. Mend relations ships
12. Share good news
13. Express caring
14. Give approval
15. Show courtesy and respect
16. Give advice and counsel
17. Apologize
18. Forgive
19. Point out the good
20. Provide valuable information
21. Communicate love

Take Care, Dear All.
Love, Amma.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Garlic...


Dear Children,

Good Evening. How are you? How is our sweet Pragathi? We are all fine here. I would like to write about GARLIC in this e-mail.

Garlic, a member of the lily family with its distinctive odor and taste, has been used throughout recorded history because it was considered to have beneficial properties. The earliest known records are from 3,000 B.C.

It was used as a medicine in Ancient Egypt, where it was used to cure 22 different ailments. It was also fed to the slaves who were building the pyramids because the Egyptians believed that, in addition to keeping the slaves healthy so that they could continue to work, garlic would make the slaves stronger so that they could work harder.

The ancient Greeks and Romans found even more uses for garlic then the Egyptians had. In addition to using garlic to cure illnesses, as the Egyptians had, the Greeks and Romans believed that garlic had magical powers that it could ward off evil spells and curses. Garlic was also fed to soldiers because it was believed to make men more courageous.

Quite a few seafaring cultures have also used garlic because they believed that it was beneficial in helping sailors to endure long voyages. Homer used it on his odysseys, the Vikings always carried garlic on their long voyages in the northern seas, and Marco polo left records showing that garlic was carried on his voyages to the Orient.

Finally, even as late as early in the twentieth century, it was believed that garlic could fight infections. Because of this belief, garlic juice was applied to soldiers’ wounds in World War 1 to keep infection at bay and to prevent gangrene.

Usage Tips
The distinctive flavor of garlic is released in varying intensities depending on how it is prepared and used in recipes. The more the cloves are chopped or crushed, the more juices and essential oils they release. For the mildest flavor, use garlic in whole cloves or large slices. For medium to full flavor, chop or mince even smaller. And for full-on garlic intensity, smash, purée or press the cloves with a garlic press to release a profusion of juices and oils.

Also:

• To quickly peel garlic, place the flat side of a chef's knife on top of the clove and whack it with your fist to loosen the skin.

• For a little garlic flavor in your salad, cut a clove in half and rub the cut eges along the inside of your bowl.

• For the best flavor, add garlic to dishes during the last few minutes of cooking (over-browning turns it bitter).

• If a recipe turns out too garlicky, a touch of honey will balance the flavor.

• To remove garlic odor from your hands, rub them on a stainless steel spoon or faucet, then wash with soap and water


More in my e-mail tomorrow
With love, Amma-Nana

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Pragathi's 2 Month Immunizations done‏

Dear Amma,Nana,

Today Pragathi completed 2-month immunizations. She took the 4 injections well. She cried while taking the injections, but recovered soon and enjoyed her milk. She is now at 9lb and Doctor said she is making excellent growth in height, weight and head circumference uniformly. He found all the 2-month activities well and asked us to keep up the good work. I am back to work and everything is fine.

Loving Son, Ajay

Monday, November 05, 2007

MICROSOFT INDIA RATED #1 in the Best Companies to Work For in India Study, 2007‏


Dear Amma, Naana,

‘Microsoft India’ has emerged as #1 in the Business Today – Mercer – TNS “Best Companies to Work For in India” survey. This survey is considered to be the most respected and comprehensive study of workplace satisfaction in the country.

Loving Son,
Ajay.

Edmonton is a vibrant city, but only in pockets," says Iveson.‏


"Edmonton is a vibrant city, but only in pockets," says Iveson. "There are great swaths of the city that are really quite pedestrian. And I don't mean walkable." Iveson, 28, is the youngest city councilor by more than a decade.

Iveson argues that anyone can bring wisdom to a conversation. Experience, he says, is hard earned. But a new, fresh or inexperienced perspective can still be wise. At the same time, he rejects the idea that he speaks for a generation. His generation, he says, needs to speak for itself.


Don Iveson, Young, new councillor won't let labels restrict his politics.

Don Iveson has a long history of volunteerism and has worked in the non-profit sector since 1998. For the last two years, he worked as the director of the advocacy department for the University of Alberta Students’ Union, where he recently led negotiations with the city to implement a Universal Bus Pass for all students at the U of A.

In the course of his work, Don met regularly with municipal leaders from Edmonton as well as provincial MLAs, and advised student leaders in all areas of advocacy, including government relations and policy analysis.

Don grew up in Ward 5 and now owns a home near Southgate with his wife, Sarah Chan, a music teacher and writer. While living in downtown Edmonton from 2003 to 2005, he served as a director of the Fifth Street Lofts Condominium Association, worked with the coalition opposing the Baccarat Casino expansion, and advocated for better urban design in the warehouse district.

Don graduated from the University of Alberta in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in political science. He spent the last year of his degree on exchange at the University of Toronto. He spent a further year in Toronto serving as president of Canadian University Press, a national news and professional development organization comprised of more than 70 university newspapers.

In 2002, Don returned to Edmonton to become business manager of the Gateway, the official student newspaper at the University of Alberta, where under his care the paper’s revenues increased by almost 50 per cent.

Don remains linked to the U of A by serving as president of the Gateway Alumni Association. He has also volunteered for Public Interest Alberta, Canada25, the Alberta Debate and Speech Association, and the Alberta Sailing Association

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Social Customs in Alberta, Canada


Dear all, Good Evening. How are you?

Social customs change over time and depend on the situation. Following is a list of some Canadian customs that may not be familiar to you, our dear people. We discussed these in our LINC3 class today.

With Love, Amma - Nana


Social Customs in Alberta!

Following is a list of some Canadian customs.

1. When you are introduced to someone, it is customary to say, “Hello, how are you?” Some people put out their right hand, expecting you to shake it with your right hand. Some Canadians consider it impolite to refuse to shake hands.

2. When you are talking to someone, stand 60 to 100 cm away. Many Canadians feel uncomfortable if they do not know very well touches them or stands closer than 60 cm away.

3. Be on time for appointments. If you have any appointment (for example, to see a doctor, teacher, or a friend) try to be there at the agreed time. If you will be late or unable to keep an appointment, telephone a head of time and let the person know.

4. Smoking is not permitted in public places (for example stores, theatres, office buildings and many restaurants) except in specified areas. Look for signs indicating where smoking is acceptable.

5. It is generally acceptable for young children and parents or a man and woman to hold hands or walk arm in arm in public. However, some other physical displays are not acceptable. It is not common for two men or two women to hold hands.

6. It is unacceptable in most circumstances to be loud, aggressive or violent. This includes carrying on a loud conversation in a public place, calling people names and spanking a child in a store. Hitting or threatening another person is against the law.

7. Unless you know a person very well, it is considered impolite to ask certain types of personal questions. For example, it is generally not acceptable to ask the following. a) How much money do you have? b) How much did you pay for your house or car? c) Why aren’t you married? d) How old are you? e) How much do you weigh? f) Why don’t you have any children?

8. Most Albertans do not approve of littering (discarding garbage on the floor or ground in public place). Some communities have laws where a person can be fined for littering. Garbage cans are generally available in public places such as malls and parks.

What People Say About ANKUR - Edmonton

Multiculturalism is an integral part of our province and of our communities. We are fortunate to live in a place with a heritage built by people of many nations and cultural backgrounds. It is our legacy and our strength, and we celebrate it in everything that we do. Enthusiasm, willingness, every step in the direction of promoting and encouraging multicultural environment should be recognized and acknowledged. As a multicultural performing arts group, ANKUR is committed to maintaining and enriching the diverse culture of our communities and is making a significant and positive impact on bringing together people of varying backgrounds. Their efforts bring understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity to our communities and ignite our lives with vibrancy. I commend their contribution to Edmonton's cultural mosaic and to the cultural heritage of Albertans.
- Krishan C. Joshee, CM., Chairman, Wild Rose Foundation


Edmonton is indebted to ANKUR for taking the banner of the Edmonton Heritage Festival and extending it to other times of the year. Standing for excellence in the Performing Arts, it attempts to bring to Edmontonians a unique blend of multiculturalism for the ages. For what does multiculturalism stand for? For everything and more that ANKUR attempts to do. This is a group that is dedicated to bringing pride in Canada to all groups through the arts and thus bridge the differences and misunderstandings which unfortunately exist between groups. The dynamism which exits among its members is incredible and admirable to behold. On behalf of our association, we wish its members success and progress in it's ambitious program.
- Nicholas Spillios, Vice-President, Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation


ANKUR brings our cultural diversity to every citizen of Edmonton and will over time remove any mystery and showcase the true fabric of our larger society. Ethnocentricity can emerge from a better understanding and appreciation of the variety that exists and is so proudly ours! If our great institutions like the U of A and U of C are indeed the gateways to the world, and these institutions are already leading the way to a greater understanding through a cohesion of people, ideas and culture, then we must emulate this at a broader level to include every citizen in our communities. ANKUR hold this promise for Edmonton.
- Ahamed Hussain, Sales & Marketing Manager, Rose Scientific Ltd., Canadian-Gyuanese


Attempts have been made by all levels of government, organizations and individuals to encourage and promote relationships among the various ethnic and cultural communities that constitute the multicultural fabric of Canada. Unlike the other initiatives taken by other bodies so far, Ankur seeks to establish cross-cultural respect, understanding and unity starting at the individual and group level within each community, by focusing on their common interests in the arts. This is a long-awaited initiative deserving the support of all.
- Samuel Amedjo, Ghana Friendship Association of Edmonton


It is an excellent chance to bring our diverse cultural heritages from all ethnic communities in Edmonton. ANKUR will bring respect and understanding through sincere dedication from each group and will be a precious melting pot of all the cultures that we have in our tradition. ANKUR is the momentum to initiate dynamic activities.
- Myung Whan Chung, President, Edmonton Korean Community Center Foundation

Understanding that diversity strengthens the society, it is a great pleasure to find dedicated, optimistic and committed multicultural performing arts group "ANKUR" in Canada building a world that includes a multiplicity of cultures, perspectives, and needs. It is imperative that we "immigrants" demonstrate a commitment to multiculturalism by approaching each other with intention, inclusion, and integrity. As a member of the Egyptian association, it is a pleasure to join ANKUR and invite our members to enjoy and positively participate in the event.
- Sameh Moharram and Samar Hamdy, Egyptian Student Association


In relatively short time "ANKUR" has demonstrated its effectiveness in promoting multiculturalism through performing arts and various other cultural activities. There was always a need for an organization which consolidates various ethnic and cultural communities in Edmonton and mobilizes them to participate in enriching their cultural expression. The essence of inclusiveness demonstrated by "ANKUR" by embracing diverse ethnic groups is extremely encouraging. I am very enthusiastic about the objectives of this organization and proud to be a part of it.
- Rajendra Subedi, Nepalese Canadian Society of Edmonton (NECASE)

Ankur - A Spectacular Multicultural Night : www.ankurcanada.org

Dear all the members of ankur_canada@yahoogroups.com, Good Morning.

I am very proud to be a part of A Spectacular Multicultural Night organized by Ankur Multicultural Association for performing Arts' on November 03, 2007 at Grant MacEvan College. The performance was excellent and worthy. And I would like to be a part of ankur_canada@yahoogroups.com. Presently I am the Literary Secretary of Andhra Cultural Association, Edmonton, Canada.

Our Association website is
http://www.aca-edmonton.org/. Thank You.

Yours, Somayya Kasani
http://www.kasani.org/



Saturday, November 03, 2007

Ankur Multicultural Association : www.ankurcanada.org


Ankur Multicultural Association

http://www.ankurcanada.org/

For performing Arts

Proudly Presents

A Spectacular Multicultural Night

On November 3, 2007 at 7 PM
at Centre For Arts Grant Mac Evan College
10045 156 th Street
Edmonton, AB

Dear all, we are attending it. Have a great weekend. With Love, Amma - Naana

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Moving To A New Country Takes Courage


Dear children, Good evening. How are you? how is our sweet Pragathi? We are all fine her.

Moving to a new country takes courage. It also creates exciting opportunities and new beginnings. Taking the time to learn what to expect-and what is expected of you -Will help you succeed. Your first year will be emotional and full of change. You will probably make many new friends.

Regardless of your situation, being a newcomer may mean giving up some familiar things for a new way of life. As a result, you may feel anxious or afraid, especially during the first few days and Weeks. Almost all newcomers experience these emotions as they settle in. Feeling at home in a new country takes time.

The best way to adjust to your community is to become involved. In the weeks, months and years ahead, you will have many opportunities to participate. You and your family can grow together, side by side with other people and make a better life. Take care.

With Love, Amma
.