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Saturday, November 30, 2013

15 Self Defense Tips for a Woman Alone

Most men will never understand what it is like being a woman alone on the street. Where men walk with confidence, certain they can deal with most physical threats, a woman doesn't have that sense of confidence. Many women are scared every day, because they know that if a man decides to attack them, they won't stand a chance against his enhanced strength.

That is why women carry pepper spray and rape whistles, but even those only work part of the time, and that's if the woman had time to get to them. It's just as important to be aware of a few simple tips and techniques that can help you escape or survive your attack unmolested.

Here are 15 tips and tricks to help you out if the worst happens:

1. Show that you're aware: Show the environment that you are aware of what's happening around you. Potential assailants prefer women that seem distracted or preoccupied. If you look assertive and aware, they might never initiate the assult.

2. Prepare your body: If you sense danger, immediately go to a starting fighting position. Move your hands close to your chest, place your right foot a bit ahead of the left and tilt your body forward. Your body is now ready for a physical confrontation.

3. Don't let the hair get in the way: Many attackers will choose the hair as an easy target to grab. It's better to let your hair out and tuck it into your collar.

4. Have a weapon to reach for: An umbrella, a set of keys or a pen can make all the difference in a moment of crisis. Remember where they are and be prepared to draw them if you feel threatened.

5. Call for help: Calling for help may not provide it but it may scare the attacker enough to allow you to escape. Many women get confused and don't know what to scream. Shouting 'fire' for instance, can be better and more attention grabbing than simply yelling 'help'.

6. Know the weak spots in the body: If you do find yourselves in a physical confrontation, you can scratch, pull, hit or grab, as you aim directly to one of the five weak spots: Eyes, nose, neck, knees and groin!
self defense

7. Don't be scared to fight: Many women are scared to strike back because they are scared of their assailant's anger, or are afraid to hurt themselves. The punch you give may hurt you, but the pain is minor and if it's enough to allow you to escape - it's well worth it.
8. Take and oppurtunity to run: If you've identified a good time to run away from the confrontation, do it. Escaping is always better than confronting, and these oppurtunities will not present themselves a second time.

9. Keep your ears open: Don't listen to music while walking through a bad neighborhood, and don't play things on your cellphone. You should be aware of your surroundings and be able to hear your attackers coming.

10. Use things around you: Look for stuff that might scare him away, break a window, turn on a car alarm or let some trash cans fly.

11. Remain calm: The worst thing is to panic. This is of course a very stressful situation, but keeping your cool will do much more to save you.

How to escape various holds:

1. Chocked from the back: Use your heel to scratch the attacker's lower leg, inflicting sharp pain he can't ignore.

2. Held from the back: Hit your head backwards or kick your heel in the direction of the crotch.
self defense

3. Head squeeze: Take hold of his leg to get him to lose his grip and fall.
4. Escaping a choke hold: Bend down and lean forward. Give him a good head butt on the chin so he bites his tongue, and finish with a stronng kick to the groin.
self defense

Thursday, November 21, 2013

A Tribute to Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (Listeni/ˌsəɪn tɛnˈdlkər/; born 24 April 1973) is a former Indian cricketer widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of his generation.
 He took up cricket at the age of eleven, made his Test debut against Pakistan at the age of sixteen, and went on to represent Mumbai domestically and India internationally for close to twenty-four years. He is the only player to have scored one hundred international centuries, the first batsman to score a double century in a One Day International, and the only player to complete more than 30,000 runs in international cricket.
 In October 2013, he became the 16th player and first Indian to aggregate 50,000 runs in all recognized cricket (first-classList A and Twenty20 combined.]
In 2002, Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Don Bradman, and the second greatest ODI batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards.
 Later in his career, Tendulkar was a part of the Indian team that won the 2011 World Cup, his first win in six World Cup appearances for India. He had previously been named "Player of the Tournament" at the 2003 edition of the tournament, held in South Africa. In 2013, he was the only Indian cricketer included in an all-time Test World XI named to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.
Awards Received by him:
Tendulkar received the Arjuna Award in 1994 for outstanding sporting achievement, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 1997, India's highest sporting honour, and the Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan awards in 1999 and 2008, respectively,
 India's fourth and second highest civilian awards and within a few hours of ending of his final match on 16 November 2013, the Prime Minister's Office announced the decision to award Tendulkar with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, making him the youngest recipient to date and the first ever sportsperson to receive the award.
He also won the 2010 Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for cricketer of the year at the ICC awards.
In 2012, Tendulkar was nominated to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India.
He was also the first sportsperson (and the first without an aviation background) to be awarded the honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force. In 2012, he was named an Honorary Member of the Order of Australia.
In December 2012, Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODIs. He retired from Twenty20 cricket in October 2013, and subsequently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, retiring on 16 November 2013 after playing his 200th and final Test match, against the West Indies in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs.

Philanthropy

Tendulkar sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta. 
A request from Sachin on Twitter raised INR1.025 crore(US$160,000) through Sachin's crusade against cancer for the Crusade against Cancer foundation.
 Sachin Tendulkar spent nine hours on the 12-hour Coca-Cola-NDTV Support My School telethon on 18 September 2011 that helped raise INR 7 crore – INR 2 crore more than the target – for from the creation of basic facilities, particularly toilets for girl students, in 140 government schools across the country.[300]

Sachin Tendulkar's farewell speech: 10 best quotes(Source:NDTV.com)


Video of Sachin's farewell speech


HERE IS OUR PICK OF THE 10 BEST QUOTES FROM SACHIN'S SPEECH:
  1. My life has been between 22 yards for 24 years and it's hard to believe my wonderful journey is coming to an end.
  2. I would like to thank the most important person in my life, who I have missed since 1999 when he passed away - my father. Without his guidance I wouldn't be standing in front of you.
  3. My mother started praying for me the day I started playing cricket. I think those prayers and blessings gave me strength.
  4. Anjali, you are the best partnership that I had in my life.
  5. My daughter is 16, my son is 14. Time has flown by. I've missed out on several birthdays, holidays, annual days and sports days. Thanks for understanding, both of you have been so special to me. I've not spent enough time with you but I promise you the next 16 years or even beyond that, everything is for you.
  6. In the last 24 years that I have played for India, I have made new friends, and before that, I have had friends from my childhood. They have all made a terrific contribution.
  7. My cricket career started when I was 11. The turning point of my career was when my brother Ajit took me to Achrekar sir and that is the best thing to have happened to me.
  8. I will be witnessing cricket, and cricket will always stay in my heart, but Achrekar sir have had an immense contribution in my life, so thank you very much.
  9. My team-mates are like my family away from home. I have had some wonderful times with them. It is going to be difficult to not be part of the dressing room, sharing those special moments.
  10. I want to thank my fans from the bottom of my heart. 'Sachin, Sachin' will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, November 17, 2013

KARTHIGAI DEEPAM- Hindu Festival


Today Karthigai Deepam festival is celebrated in Tamil Nadu and Andhra pradesh. The festival is very famous in Tiruvannamalai where the Deepam is lighted in the Arunachaleswarar temple and on the top of the Hill simultaneously around 6 pm on this day every year.

I give below a small write up on the festival:

Karthikai Deepam (Tamilகார்த்திகை தீபம்) or Karthikai vilakkidu (Tamil:கார்த்திகைத் விளக்கீடு) [ also known as Karthika Deepam (కార్తీక దీపం) in Telugu ] is a Hindu specially Hindu Tamils and Hindu Telugu festival. The festival is observed in every home and every temple, and falls in the month of Kārttikai (mid-November to mid-December) as per Tamil calendar. This occurs on the day when the moon is in conjunction with the constellation Karthigai (Pleiades) and purnimai. This constellation appears as a group of six stars in the firmament in the shape of a pendant from the ear.
Many legends and lyrical poetry have grown round this star. The six stars are considered in Indian mythology as the six celestial nymphs who reared the six babies in the saravana tank which later were joined together to form the six faced Muruga. He is therefore called Karthikeya, the one brought up by the Karthigai nymphs. Houses and streets are lit up with rows of oil lamps (Deepam) in the evening of the festival day.

Religious aspects:

Lord Shiva appeared as an endless flame of light before Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma, who each considered himself supreme and said that the matter could be tested if the two could search for Lord Shiva's Head and feet. 

Lord Vishnu took the form of a boar(Sanskrit:Varaha, Tamil:Varahan)       and delved deep into the earth, Lord Brahma that of a swan(Sanskrit:Hamsa, Tamil:Annam) and flew towards the skies. Lord Vishnu failed in his search and returned. But Lord Brahma, chancing upon a piece of Thazhambu, a flower, learnt from it that it had been floating down for thirty thousand years from Lord Shiva's head. He seized upon this and claimed to Lord Shiva that he had seen the other's top. Lord Siva realized the falsehood and pronounced that there would never be a temple for Lord Brahma in this world. He also interdicted the use of the flower Thazhambu in his worship. Lord Shiva appeared as a flame, this day is called Maha Deepam.

Celebrations
Nilavilakku lit up for Karthigai Deepam
Rows of Agal vilakkus (oil lit lamps) are lit in every house. Karthigai is essentially a festival of lamps. The lighted lamp is considered an auspicious symbol. It is believed to ward off evil forces and usher in prosperity and joy. While the lighted lamp is important for all Hindu rituals and festivals, it is indispensable for Karthigai. 


This festival is also celebrated to commemorate the bonding between brothers and sisters in south India(analogous to Bhaiya-Dhuj and Raakhi). Sisters pray for the prosperity and success of their brothers and light lamps to mark the occasion.
In Telugu households, Kaartheeka maasam (month) is considered very auspicious. The Kartheeka month starts on the day of Deepawali. From that day till the end of the month, oil lamps are lit every day. On Kartheeka Pournami (full moon of Kartheeka month) oil lamp with 365 wicks, prepared at home, are lit in Lord Shiva temples. Apart from that, Kaartheeka puranam is read and fasting is observed till sunset, every day for the whole month.

Celebrations at Tiruvannamalai


 
                   Arunachaleswarar temple and Hill in Tiruvannamalai


Karthigai festival in Tiruvannamalai hills is very famous. On Karthigai day, a huge fire lamp is lit up on the hill, visible for several kilometers around the hill. 

The fire (dheepam) is called Mahadeepam, as Hindu devotees visit the place, to pray and offer lord Shiva.