Padmanabhaswamy Temple will be richest temple in the world

Padmanabhaswamy temple, also known as Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to god Vishnu located inside East Fort in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala state, South India. Now it became the world’s richest Hindu temple and is one of the 108 Divya Desams, Vishnu temples that are mentioned in the works of the Tamil poet saints called Alvars. The principal deity, Padmanabhaswamy, is a form of Vishnu in “Anananta-sayanam” posture. Padmanabhaswamy Temple is a very ancient temple and the city of Thiruvananthapuram derives its name from the name of Ananta, the presiding deity enshrined in the temple.

Recently there are a lot of secret cellars found at the underground of the temple and are loaded with wealth, and so far, ornaments worth over Rs.1 lakh crore have been found. With such wealth and more to come, it seems the temple may well be the richest in the entire country. Lighting and oxygen supply have been arranged in these cellars, found about 20 feet deep under the temple, for facilitating scrutiny by the team. These cellars had been provided with ordinary security till recently.

After it became public that the worth of items found in the cellars is unimaginable, added security has been provided in and around the temple. Local police commissioner, Manoj Abraham, said that 80 personnel of the special armed force have been additionally deployed for temple security.

The Supreme Court had ordered for opening of these cellars, while hearing a petition filed by T.P.Sundararajan, an advocate by profession. Sundararajan had suspected foul play by the temple governing council, and had sought opening of the secret rooms and listing out the royal wealth stored in them. A seven member committee including retired judges has been overseeing this work now.

Retired judge of Kerala High Court, M.N.Krishnan, who heads the committee appointed by the Supreme Court, had expressed confidence of completing the task within a few days, before beginning the work. However, during the last six days, the committee has been able to list out items found in only five of the six rooms. The cellar, marked as ‘B’ is yet to be opened, and it is felt that this cellar may contain valuables worth thousands of crores.

Huge golden idols, precious jewels, diamonds, emeralds, huge golden ornaments and other items have so been unearthed from the cellars. A four foot high idol of Lord Mahavishnu, recovered, is stated to be captivating. Utradam Tirunal Martandaverma, who belongs to the lineage of Travancore dynasty, and heads the temple trust, when approached by journalists about his reaction to the findings, refused to react. He said it would be improper to pass comments till the work of enlisting the contents of all the cellars is completed.

The temple, the main entrance to which was built in 1566 AD, has a 100 feet high tower having seven stories. The architecture of the temple is also hailed to be one of the finest. At present, Lord Venkateshwara Temple in Tirupati and Saibaba Temple in Shiridi have been occupying the top two spots among the richest temples of the country. Lord Ananta Padmanabhaswamy Temple, which was not being counted among the very rich temples till last week, now has the potential to become No.1 in the country.

Save Tigers

TIGERS are sad because people have killed many of their friends & relatives. Tigers are now an endangered species; Today there are only about 5,000 to 7,400 tigers left in the world. These tigers would soon die if people do not stop hunting them. It is estimated that 100 years ago, there were 50,000 to 80,000 tigers in India alone. Three types of tigers, The Bali, Javan, and Caspian tigers have become extinct (not even one of them is left in this world.) in the past 70 years.

“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” — Mohandas Gandhi”

The tiger is the world’s favorite animal. The world must decide, collectively, whether we care enough about the tiger to keep it in the wild.  We care about the tiger but only to the point that we keep it in captivity and on our strict terms. The tiger is the world’s favorite animal but it competes with us for space and we are the world’s top predator, we control the destiny of the tiger. We are also frightened of the tiger

Now, merely 3,500 big cats are left in the wild of which 1,411 are in India. Little wonder that the whole world is crying itself hoarse over the sharp drop in the population of this endangered species from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deciding to step in to save the big cats and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh making a wakeup call by blaming mafia supported by politicians for its extinction.

“If we use tiger numbers as a performance indicator, then we must admit that we have failed miserably and that we are continuing to fail,” says Willem Wijnstekers, secretary general, CITES at the meeting where the illegal trade in Asian big cat products was a key discussion issue.

The Tiger is often described as a particularly dangerous, sly, and invincible predator. Tigers are one of the biggest among the 37 species’ of cats in the world today. They have powerful bodies, large paws, and very sharp claws. The head of the Tiger is rounded and has a convex profile.   The ears are black with white in the middle. The Tiger’s eyes are a yellowish-orange color, but at night they almost look green.

There are two reasons why tigers are endangered:

1) Habitat loss:

People cut forests where tigers live, to do farming, build houses & buildings. This leads to tiger becoming homeless and foodless. Animals which the tiger eats also die when forests are cut. This leads to tigers becoming weak and ultimately they die.

2) Illegal Killing:

Tigers are killed to make rugs and coats out of their skins, and also because in many Asian cultures medicines made from tiger parts are believed to cure diseases. Tigers and many other endangered species are killed illegally for their skins and body parts. Products made from rare wild animals such as spotted cats, tigers, rhinos, and elephants are still sold illegally.

Since 1972, there has been a massive wildlife conservation project, known as Project Tiger, to protect the Bengal tiger. Despite increased efforts by Indian officials, poaching remains rampant and at least one Tiger Reserve (Sariska Tiger Reserve) has lost its entire tiger population to poaching. The passing of the Forest Rights Act by the Indian government in 2006 has worsened the situation as evidence has shown that human habitats and tigers cannot co-exist and has pushed the Indian tiger on the brink of extinction.

Saving the tiger means saving mankind:

Not only is tiger a beautiful animal but it is also the indicator of the forest’s health. Saving the tiger means we save the forest since tiger cannot live in places where trees have vanished and in turn secure food and water for all. The tiger thus becomes the symbol for the protection of all species on our earth since it is at the top of the food chain. This is why we sometimes call the tiger, an apex predator, an indicator of our ecosystem’s health.

Current Status of Tiger in India:

India holds over half the world’s tiger population. According to the latest tiger census report released on February 12, 2008 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the current tiger population stands at 1,411 (i.e. ranging between a minimum of 1,165 to a maximum of 1,657). The results include figures from 16 tiger states and are exclusive of Jharkhand and Sunderbans. The state of West Bengal was covered only partially (i.e. North Bengal) during the census.

Tiger records:

A heavy male Bengal tiger weighing 258.6 kg (570 lbs) was shot in Northern India in 1938. In 1980 and 1984, scientists captured and tagged two male tigers in Nepal that weighed more than 270 kg (600 lb). The largest known Bengal tiger was a male with a head and body length of 221 cm measured between pegs, 150 cm of chest girth, a shoulder height of 109 cm and a tail of just 81 cm, perhaps bitten off by a rival male. This specimen could not be weighed, but it was calculated to weigh no less than 272 kg. Finally, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the heaviest tiger known was a huge male hunted in 1967 that measured 322 cm in total length between pegs, 338 cm over curves and weighed 388.7 kg (857 lb). This specimen was hunted in northern India by David Hasinger and is on exhibition in the Mammals Hall of the Smithsonian Institution.

Srikrishna committee on Telangana

Srikrishna Committee was being set up on pursuant to the “statements made on December 9, 2009 and December 23, 2009 and the meeting with the eight recognized political parties of Andhra Pradesh on January 5, 2010.”

Government of India after holding consultations with eight recognized political parties on the telangana issue has set up the Srikrishna Committee to study the current situation in Andhra Pradesh on February 3.  Srikrishna Committee was formed to study the political and social issues that are plaguing the state of Andhra Pradesh. The main purpose of Sri Krishna committee is to give suggestions and recommendations on the demand for separate state of telangana.

Srikrishna Committee started taking opinions from all quarters of public on the topics of United Andhra, Telangana and Hyderabad.

Committee has requested to send public opinion to Srikrishna committee at vkduggal.ccsap@mha.gov.in .  Committee also suggested public to send there opinions through post and phone (011-21022330) Fax (011-23022444).  But the committee informed public that the suggestions are accepted till April 2010.

Mails are requested from the general public to the following address

Member Secretary

Room No. 248, Vignan Bhavan Annexe,

Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi

Sri Krishna Committee is headed by the former Supreme Court judge of India, Justice B.N. Sri Krishna.

The other members of Sri Krishna committee are (Professor Dr. Ranbir Singh, Vice-Chancellor, National Law University) (Dr. Ms Ravinder Kaur, Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT, Delhi), (Dr. Abusaleh Shariff, Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute, Delhi) (Vinod K. Duggal, former Home Secretary, who will also function as its Member-Secretary. Mr. Duggal is also a member of the Justice Punchhi Commission on Centre-State relations.

The following are the seven-point Terms of Reference of the Sri Krishna Committee:

(1) To examine the situation in the State of Andhra Pradesh with reference to the demand for a separate State of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh.

(2) To review the developments in the State since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of the different regions of the State.

(3) To examine the impact of the recent developments in the State on the different sections of the people such as women, children, students, minorities, other backward classes, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

(4) To identify the key issues that must be addressed while considering the matters mentioned in items (1), (2) and (3) above.

(5) To consult all sections of the people, especially the political parties, on the aforesaid matters and elicit their views; to seek from the political parties and other organizations a range of solutions that would resolve the present difficult situation and promote the welfare of all sections of the people; to identify the optimal solutions for this purpose; and to recommend a plan of action and a road map.

(6) To consult other organizations of civil society such as industry, trade, trade unions, farmers’ organisations, women’s organisations and students’ organisations on the aforesaid matters and elicit their views with specific reference to the all round development of the different regions of the State.

(7) To make any other suggestion or recommendation that the Committee may deem appropriate.

Survey Says Age 33 is the busiest time of our lives

News Source:  Yahoo News

A survey has suggested that 33 is the age when we are the busiest in our lives, with hardly any time to balance our busy work, family and social activities.

So much so, a third of 33-year-olds say they get an average of only five hours sleep a night, reports The Daily Mail.

66percent people claim that they spend more than 38 hours a week in the office and 60 per cent are forced to double bookwork and social appointments to try to squeeze everything in.

Fifty-six per cent regularly need to take work home to complete it, according to the study conducted by Hotmail.

Ninety per cent of 33-year-old women in the survey said they thought they were busier than men of the same age.

But there’s some good news – once we hit 55 the pressures on our lives get easier, largely because our careers have peaked by then and our children have left home. At that age we have an average of one hour and 23 minutes to ourselves each day.

“We also must organise ourselves during particularly busy periods in our lives to ensure we can enjoy life and get the balance right. Too much work and no play should not be an option,” said TV presenter and actress Lisa Rogers.