The Japan Earthquake March 11, 2011- Part 3

On 11 March  2011, Japan was severely rocked by earthquake of magnitude of 9 Mw It is also called "Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster" (東日本大震災 Higashi Nihon Daishinsai).  It is already 5 months. The latest casualty figures include

• 23,000 deaths (if included   4,666 missing people)
•  5,715 injured 

There have been more than 1200 after shocks after the event and many include earthquakes of magnitude over 6. It is to be noted that most of the casualty in the event was primarily due to the tsunami rather that the building damage caused by the shaking. 

According to Japanese government, estimated loss is 16.9 trillion yen and this does not account  loss  caused by the Fukushima nuclear plant accident. Since the earthquake caused tsunami and subsequent affect on the nuclear power plant it is more complex to investigate the true situation. It is the first ever kind of accident in human history.

In this tragedy all the international communities stood behind Japan and help in all ways they can. Many countries have offered help and support. and even international celebrities come forward like Lady Gaga supported by making "We Pray for Japan bracelet" and raised more than 1 million dollar for relief works. As per the data released by Japan Red cross (as of 5th August 2011) 489 million US dollar has been donated (38.6 billion Japanese yen)  through National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies around the world. 

In the ray of hope for which man is always craving is that there have been continuous countermeasure against the debacle. Japanese government has formulated the reconstruction plan under the title of  Towards Reconstruction “Hope beyond the Disaster. World is eagerly watching Japan with all the great belief and hope that Japan can overcome the all the odds as it has shown the endurance after 1923 Kanto earthquake, after World War II as well as aftermath the 1995 Kobe earthquake. 

World Heritage Sites and Nepal

There are some gifted items either man-made or naturally endowed which are so beautiful/important not only to some particular people or nation but to the world. The legacy of  our forefathers are both culture and natural heritage. These global entities are designated as the World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO. Till date there are 936 in the list. Followings are the breakdown:  

Cultural World Heritage Sites-725 

Natural World Heritage Sites-183

Mixed World Heritage Sites-28.

These world heritage sites are indicators of  global importance of site so it is a matter of pride for each country to have as many sites as possible in the list. Protecting and nurturing of designated site is duty of each country and person in the world so it is good for the developing nations to be enlisted as this will enhance their chance to get international support for the cultural and natural heritage conservation.

Regarding Nepal, there are 10 world heritage sites. 7 sites are located in the Kathmandu valley (in hilly region), 1 in Himalayan region and 2 in plain region. Details is as follows:

1. Kathmandu Valley (7 heritage sites)
2. Sagarmatha National Park
3. Royal Chitwan National Park
4. Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha

Sites in Kathmandu valley are Durbar Squares of Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu), Patan and Bhaktapur, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan. Sagarmatha (Nepali name of Mt. Everest) houses the highest peak in the world and is rich in flora and fauna. Royal Chitwan National Park is famous for one horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal tiger and crocodile. Lumbini, being the   Birthplace of the Lord Buddha, is sacred not only to Buddhist but also to all peace loving people.

Red Sun and Moon (Rato Chandra Ra Surya)

Government of Nepal has decided to honour the creators of very popular national song Rato ra chhandra surya (Red Sun and Moon). Writer late Gopal Prasad Rimal and musician/singer Amber Gurung  will be honored with  Mahasenani post (Colonel) of Nepal Army along with cash reward while  side singer Fatehman will be honored with cash reward.

The song is like this 

Rato ra chhandra surya jungi nishan hamro 
Jiundo ragat sari yo baldo yo shaan hamro
Rato ra chhandra surya jungi nishan hamro 
Jiundo ragat sari yo baldo yo shaan hamro
Rato ra chhandra surya jungi nishan hamro 
Jiundo ragat sari yo baldo yo shaan hamro
Rato ra chhandra surya
 
Himal jhain aatal yo, jhukena ko kahile
Latrana yo kahile, jungi nishan hamro
Yo janmadai jagat ma kayoun prahara aaye
Samrajya dubi hare, harena shaan hamro
Rato ra chhandra surya jungi nishan hamro 
Jiundo ragat sari yo baldo yo shaan hamro
Rato ra chhandra surya 


Jaba samma chhandra surya aakash ma rahanchha
Taba samma hunchha aafnai rato ragar yo hamro
Gai sari chhan sankhu jo jo yahan jagat ma
Sabako saran baljhiyo jungi nishan hamro
Rato ra chhandra surya jungi nishan hamro 
Jiundo ragat sari yo baldo yo shaan hamro
Rato ra chhandra surya jungi nishan hamro 
Jiundo ragat sari yo baldo yo shaan hamro
Rato ra chhandra surya

It is to be noted that this song is used as Nepal Army as the army song.

Broadcasting Service in Nepal

Information is fundamental rights of citizen. In the olden days information to public was given in the public places using like plaza, temples  to name a few. But after the scientific innovation of different pioneers like Tesla, Marconi and so on it has been a different story.

                  When we take case of Nepal it was only after 1951 that Nepal has Radio service. Previously, it was used by revolutionary group during the armed struggle against autocratic Rana regime. After the successful revolution of 1950 the same radio service was used for the national purpose and called Radio Nepal. Formal date of establishment is  on 1st April 1951. Initially, the transmission covered duration of 4 hours and 30 minutes (through a 250 Watt SW transmitter). Now it operates from 5 am to 11 pm daily using different bandwidths (am, shortwave). It was only in 1995 that FM radio service started in Nepal. 

              Regarding Television service, only in 1985 that Nepal operated its own television (Nepal Television) service and its credit basically goes to noted personality Nir Shah. 

               With the liberalization of communication services country has witnessed a dramatic increase in media. Radio Nepal and Nepal Television are the state owned radio and TV services and others are privately or community operated services. Private TV channels include Kantipur Television, Image Channel, Channel Nepal, Avenues TV, Nepal 1 Television and Sagarmatha Television. Sagarmatha Television is the first news television in Nepal. Nepal 1 Television is broadcasted from India. 
                  As of 2011 followings are the official details regarding electronic services obtained from Government of Nepal (2011). 

Cable TV operators: 701

FM Radio: 380  licensed(319 operating)

Down link approval:91 foreign TV(including NHK of Japan)

TV service: 28 approved and more than dozen operating.

Nepal : Good things to Share-1

According to International Campaign to Ban Landmine definition landmine is an ammunition  placed under or on the ground, antipersonnel mines explode from the contact or presence of a person. When triggered, they kill or cause injuries like blindness, burns, destroyed limbs and shrapnel wounds.

Nepal has become the second country in Asia (First is China) to be land mine free nation. The United Nations declared Nepal free of land mine fields on Tuesday 14 June 2011. It was declared in the presence of Prime Minister Jhalananth Khanal  and other  dignitaries.   Land mines were extensively used in the time of insurgency 1996-2006 during which more than 473 landmine casualties occurred taking lives of  78. It is to be noted that during insurgency more than 15,000 people lost their lives and estimated 300,000 people were forced to left their home to avoid the casualty. 

Worst thing of land mine is that once the armed conflicts are over, if the  land mines are not cleared it will cause more casualty than in the conflict time as more people return to their left places. More than 300 people lost their lives after the post conflict period (2006 -2010 A.D) which is about 5 times  than in the 10 years conflict.  Horrible stories of land mine victims in Cambodia and Afghanistan are frequently appeared in media . Many people have lost their lives and their livelihood due to landmines explosion.

Nepal has not yet approve the  Ottawa Convention which urge the ban of landmine legally. With the improve of security situation, the days are near when it is possible for Nepal government  to accept it formally.More than 140 countries including Japan, Canada  have already ratified the convention 

International Students in Japan

Japan has become the one of the leading destinations for international students due to the strong economic background as well as the highly sophisticated educational system. Number of students have increased each year  and government is also supporting this trend to foster the people to people contact as well as to promote the  better understanding of Japanese culture. There were just 10,482 foreign students in 1983 and within the next 27 years it rose to 141,774 in 2010 (Source: JASSO 2010). This is about the 14 times than the early one. 

Figure 1: International  students in Japan as of 2010

           Figure 1 shows the number of foreign students in Japan by origin. Chinese students are overwhelmingly high (60.80%) followed by  Koreans (South Koreans) and Taiwanese. This may due to the long  cultural and historical affinities between these counties. Another advantage for three above mentioned students is the ease of understanding the Japanese language compared to other international students as Khanjis are basically originated in China and Japanese language uses lots of Khanji in study and day to day life. Though Koreans use Hangul script now, it  is also derived from Khanji like Hiragana and Katakana scripts in Japanese. Life is  easier who understands the Japanese language. By number of students Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, USA, Indonesia, Nepal and Bangladesh ranks 4th to 10th respectively. These 10 countries account the 90% volume of all international students. It is interesting to note that Nepal ranks 9th in this rank. As of 2010 A.D. 1829 Nepali students are currently studying in Japan in different language school, universities and technical institutes. The number has increased from 1628 in 2009 (0.1% increase). This positive change may be  increasing  number of students enrolling in the language school as Japanese language and culture  has become a popular in Nepal.
             Formally Japan was the first overseas country where Nepali government sent its 8 students for higher studies 100 years ago. When they returned home they not only brought new wealth of knowledge but also the new species to Nepal like persimmon.  With the diplomatic  relation in 1950's, Japan Nepal relationship have crossed a very high niche in the last 50 years. It can be hoped that with more people to people contact the relationship is expected to foster in new height. Nepali students studying in Japan will be the best ambassadors of Japan in this regard.

The Japan Earthquake March 11, 2011- Part 2

It is already more than 2 months after the great Earthquake of March 11, 2011 that severely hit the Japan. More than 15,000 people lost their lives and more than 15000 are still missing. It is the worst type of natural disaster after the 1923 Kanto Earthquake in which more than 100,000 people were killed. The major cause of the casualties was Tsunami rather than the building damage by the earthquake shaking.The most affected areas include the Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima prefectures all in the Northern part of Japan. Properties worth of billions of dollars have been destroyed. It has been said that it will take more than 2 years to clear the debris and make the area fit for the rehabilitation.

Drive of the Support

1. Rt. Hon. Prime Minister of Nepal Jhal Nath Khanal visited the Japanese Embassy in Nepal on 14th March 2011 (just after 2 days after event) and had meeting with Ambassador Mizuno. He expressed his deep condolences to the victims of the enormously powerful earthquake and tsunami.
2. Many people have shown their generosity towards the Japanese people in this difficult times. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Many countries including Nepal have offered their help. As a gesture of support Government of Nepal provided 5,000 blankets for the evacuees suffering from severe cold.
3. People pray in memory of Japan earthquake victims back in Nepal. People lit the butter lamps in the memory of the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in different religious places including Bouddhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal.
4. Nepalese people residing in Japan have contributed in cash as per their capacity to different organization to support the victims.

These are only the small part of the news related with the help and support.

This blog wishes the deep condolences to the bereaved families and shows the solidarity in this difficult time. May God bless you all to overcome this tragedy.

The Japan Earthquake March 11, 2011

Gigantic earthquake of Mw 8.8 has hit east Japan on Friday March 11 2011 causing widespread damage. It is the 5th largest earthquake event in the world and biggest in last hundred year of Japan. Many cities have been devastated most affected being Sendai. More than 400 people have confirmed dead and hundreds have been missing.

We have been feeling this earthquake and continuous after shocks till date. Because of strict building codes, the devastation has been limited. Most of the damages have been due to the tsunami nearby the sea shores area like in Sendai city. Hundred of thousands of building have been left without electricity and water. Many hospitals have been stretched to the maximum limit. But because of high disciplined people and well preparedness there is not much panic situation.

What would happen if same event happened in Nepal?

Nepal lies between Indian and Eurasian plate and each year Indian plate moves 2 cm per year towards Eurasian plate thereby causing the stress. Seismologist are predicting gigantic earthquake as pressure has built for last 300 years and it has to be released. Normally Nepal experiences big earthquake in 80-100 years. Hundred of thousands people will be killed because of the building collapse because in Nepal

• there is no strict building codes,
• there is poor implementation of codes,
• there are weak building materials.

Besides these reasons, most of the buildings in villages are non-engineered which are more vulnerable to the quakes. Even in cities many buildings are old and built before the builing code implementation. Last earthquake in Nepal was in 1934 that took more than 10,000 people. The population has increased a lot and so are the buildings. Government has little preparedness to cope up the situation. Most of the time is spent in the political things and there is no time to come for the disaster management. Even political leaers have failed to make constitution in stipulated time of 2 years. Proposed Disaster Management Act has not been acted through the parliament though it was given for approval in 2007. Since 2007, Nepal has seen sea change in politics. County has become Republic from Kingdom, 3 governments have changed. But alas! there is no time for government and political leaders to pass the act and set up the systematic mechanism for the disaster management. SriLanka has set up even disaster management ministry after 2004 tsunami event. May be Nepal is waiting event similar to the 2010 Haiti earthquake to become eye opener. By that time it will be too late as even the lazy current leaders of Nepal will not be able to see the day after that possible doom's day.

Secret of Western Civilization

Western Civilization has dominated for last 500 years and it was the colonial powers of most of the countries in the world. Only after second world war (1939-1945) many countries have broke the shackles of colonism.

Many countries have developed their countries combining the western values with their own values in a unique way. The rise of Japan to World economy was their adoption of Western methods since Meiji Restoration in 1850. Now many countries have followed Japan and become rising super power like China, India, Singapore Vietnam to name a few.

Noted Harvard historian Niall Ferguson has noted 6 points of western secrets for success. They are:

1. competition,


2. modern science,


3. the rule of law and private property rights,


4. modern medicine,


5. consumer society and


6. work ethic.

Nepal lacks many of the above pointed secrets. Most importantly it lacks work ethics and the rule of law. Until all the above steps are adopted in our lives it is difficult for Nepal to compete internationally with dignity.

DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION-2

Last blog was about the modern education in Nepal. It is true that education pays not only people but also to the nation. Access to education is important in this aspect. This is because Nepal has to do a lot of works to go ahead in improving lifestyle and way of thinking that the modern world deserves. It is high time that our people should be at par to the international level.

Knowledge is POWER.

Regarding the education system around Nepal neighboring countries a lot of lessons can be drawn. Education system of Sri Lanka is good in the sense that it has managed to have high literacy rate ( 92%) and large population having Secondary Education (83% of the total) making it one of the most literate populations amongst developing nations. Sri Lanka has an education system of 9 years of compulsory schooling same as in Japan. Another system it has been catering is free education system since 1945. Many people have credited this to the visionary personality Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara.

Benefits of Free education are;

1. Remedy of social evils
2. Greater competitiveness
3. Improved quality of life
4. Better governance and
5. Equal opportunities

Comparing to Nepal, education was a limited to certain class and rich only. Idea of free education emerges only during the time of King Birendra's Coronation in 1975 (2031 B.S). King Birendra (1945-2001) said once that no one should be deprived of the bright light of education. He proclaimed the primary (5 years ) education free. This was only the case in the government supported educational institutions. After the 1990s democracy time education was claimed to be free up to the secondary level (10 years of education) but due to the lack of financial support this has not been the case. Actually classes up to 8 is free in the government schools. In the coming days Nepal needs to introduce the compulsory education of 9 years and made higher education more accessible to all strata of life. It should be part of life rather than a luxury item for some.

DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION

Education is key to success as it enables to search the ways for prosperity and development. It also makes people responsive. Considering the trend of development in true sense, it can be found that those countries which have strong sense of education have prospered a lot. Japan, Singapore, Isreal are some examples. That mean to say that the human capital is important intangible assets of a nation.

Regarding the modern education in Nepal, it started only after the establishment of Durbar High school on 1892 (1910 Ashwin 27 Bikram era ). However, only the elite and ruling Rana could send their children for education. Rana dictatorship ruled Nepal from 1846-1950. It was one family ruling and country was closed to outside.

It is tragic thing that the education for common people was seen as menance to their system. They believe that educated people will not tolerate their regime so they deny their education rights. It was indeed bad luck of Nepal that we had rulers with such mentality and they ruled the nation for 104 years. During Rana regime only one college, (Tri- Chandra College) was established and it  was affiliated with Patna University of India. It is said that Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shamaser wept while inaugurating the college. He was saying that he was digging the downfall of Rana regime. What could be expected from such shrewd politician ? Had the Rana ruled that 100 years properly in utilization for the modernization as done by Japanese after Meiji restoration (after 1850) Nepal could be the power house of Asia both financially and academically.

Only after the 1950 revolution the country got the liberation from the aristocrats. This year we are observing the 61st Democracy Day and our forefathers fought for it. It is special for us as it was the time that common people could join the schools. In spite of all odds Nepal has progressed a lot in education in this last 60 years. Each year thousands of students go abroad (USA, Japan , Australia etc). They have excelled in many different fields. Many people have worked in academic and research institutions. Even one guy (Kul Chandra Gautam) became the Vice secretary of United Nations, the highest and most respected organization in the world. Many Nepali scholars have contributed to the knowledge and wisdom thereby not only serving Nepal but also to the whole world. This could not be even dreamt in the Rana regime.

Glimpse of education in Nepal (2010)

Number of schools- 32,130

Colleges-More than 700

Universities- 6 in operation (other 3 in pipelines)

Literacy rates (above 6 years)- About 60%

Now Nepal has 6 universities and more than 700 colleges imparting education from humanities to commerce, medicine to engineering and so on. Even students from other countries come to study in Nepal. There is high charm of education among people and in the coming days we are sure to progress if we do hard work and invest heavily in education sectors.

It is therefore pertinent to remember the martyrs who have sacrificed their time and lives for the betterment of people. Your sacrificed has created the new paradigm in the Nepalese history.

Deep gratitude and remembrances to all the freedom fighters.

The Noble Eightfold Path of Buddha

1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right concentration

The first two are related to the WISDOM.

Next three are related to the ETHICAL CONDUCT.

And final three are related to the MENTAL DEVELOPMENT.

If we follow the noble path of Buddha even this day we will sure to make this World a better place to live on.

I am following. Do you ?

Single Rudraskha sold for 1.85 Million Rupees

Rudraksha is one of the sacred tree in the Hindu religion. The word is derived from the Sanskrit language which means eyes of Rudra (Shiv, one of the trinity of Hinduism) as it is believed that it originated from the tears of Lord Shiva.

Rudraksha tree is found mostly in the Himalayan region and that from the Nepal is very famous. India, Indonesia and New Guinea are also producing Rudraksha. As the seed of the Rudraksha is covered by blue color shell when fully ripe, it is often called Blue berry beads. There are several variety Elaeocarpus however the most common variety is the Elaecarpus ganitrus.

Rudraksha beads (as seen in the picture above) are used for preparing rosary(garland) to be used for counting the mantra/religious chanting. Not only Hindus but also Sikhs and Buddhist are using Rudraksha for rosary. The fruit are blue and changed to black color. The central hard uniseed has 1 to 108 faces. 1 faced is called eekmukhe (one mouthed) and very rare and hence valuable. This one mukhe rudraskhya is kept in the Pashupatinath temple Nepal. Most common seed has 2 to 21 faces and 22 to 108 faces are also rare. It is common that rare things are valuable.

There is one recent report from Nepal through Nagariknews dot com that businessman from Bhojpur bought a 27 mouthed Rudrakhsa in 1.85 million Nepali rupees from German Rai who has Rudraksha garden. Rai said that it was his first big sale in his whole life. This may the single largest amount to be paid for single Rudraska bead in recent times. With the increased Hindu population and the interest of international community in Hinduism, Nepal can tap more resources by expanding its cultivation in the Himalayan region and exporting in the international markets. Our development lies in exploiting our resources in the most conducive ways.

Relaxing Music

Positive thinking are the keys to the success. Only with the attitude of the positive behaviour can lead us to happy life. Life is what you make it. Though it certainly helps you to feel happy in luxurious environment, more than this is needed. That is -positive thinking and it comes from your inner heart. Music is certain to help in this matter. When you are feeling bored, listening to good music can be boon.

I have found one instrumental music which is the composition of different instruments from East and West. It is really heart touching. You will not satisfied with one time listening. More is needed. Would you also like to listen ? Here it goes-

We Are the People

The world has not only bad people but also good and kind hearted people. People with compassion and action. Otherwise world would already have been a hell. Michael Jackson was also kind hearted guy who with his friends try to address the plight of starving people from Ethiopia due to severe famine and subsequent hunger. In 1985 Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the charity song called We Are the world (Also the album of same title). The song was honored numerous times — including three Grammy Awards, one American Music Award and a People’s Choice Award — The song was promoted with music video, a home video, a special edition magazine, a simulcast, and several books, posters and shirts.


More than 7 million units of the album, single and cassettes, plus nearly 2 million digital sales and related merchandise has contributed revenue more than $63 million. About half of the income was spent on emergency relief (food, medicine, and refugee services) and supporting more than 500 different relief, rehabilitation and development projects in 18 different countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The group now tries to address big disaster following Haiti earthquake in which more than 230,000 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands people homeless. People and institutions around the world are feeling sorry for Haitian people and showing solidarity through different means. One way to support them is giving donation through reputed organization like Redcross, Doctors without borders and of course world 25.

The charity group is primarily focused for African development but seeing the devastation of Haiti they now have formed The World 25 for Haiti (exactly 25 years after Ethiopian famine) and remake the song and music video in support to the plight of the Haitian People. More than 80 artists and performers gather together to sing a charity song. The charity group expects to draw donation after seeing video from viewers or downloading into itunes. The donation will go for the relief and reconstruction works of Haiti.

If you have credit card you too can donate after watching the video ;

Prince Pranjal Playing !!!

Baby Prince Pranjal is trying to cope with new challenges and craving to go ahead. With blessings from Almighty and love from all relatives and well wishers , he is sure achieve victory.
Here goes the video of him .

May this new Year 2010 brings you a lot of

progress and prosperity in all walks of life!!!

Our best wishes are always with you....

With love
Papa and Mama