The Sun Appears Disappearing for Just 12 Hours. Wait for His Rays. The Dawn is Near Your Door....

Suicide is a colossal waste of human life and an attempted or failed attempt is further denigrating. 


The causes for such  desperate attempts are many. 

Basic Principles 

• If there are 1000 problems in one's life ,  there are 1001 ways to solve them.
• Words can hurt us but time can and will heal the hurt feeling/wound
• Emotions are like balloons; they inflate and deflate. They are not permanent.
• Anger is just a letter short of 'Danger'. Often it hurts the person who carries.
• Any loss is momentary. There are infinite reasons to live, things and beings to love and no reason to leave or to hate
• There can be no end at the defeat. Defeat is the first step towards victory. 
• Shower everyone with sweet words and never with harsh words
• Disappointments are the appointments given by nature to train us harder
• The so-called 'suffering'  is for all and there is no 'spring' alone in any one's life.
• Hope is the best rope to climb on the ladder of success. 
• Clouds can't  hide the Sun for ever. 
• There are tiny insects which defy darkness with their own torch lights

Myth:

Once someone is suicidal, he or she will always remain suicidal.  

Fact: 

Heightened suicide risk is often short-term and situation-specific. While suicidal thoughts may return, they are not permanent and an individual with previously suicidal thoughts and attempts can go on to live a long life.

Myth:

Talking about suicide is a bad idea and  can be interpreted as encouragement.

Fact:

Given the widespread stigma around suicide, most people who are contemplating suicide do not know who to speak to. Rather  than encouraging suicidal behavior, talking openly can give an individual other options or the time to rethink his/her decision, thereby preventing suicide.

                                                           Myth:

Only people with mental disorders are suicidal

                              Fact:

Suicidal behavior indicates deep unhappiness but not necessarily mental disorder. Many people living with mental disorders are not affected by suicidal behavior, and not all people who take their own lives have a mental disorder.


                               Myth:

Suicide is committed without warning

                              Fact:

There  are always signs of warning, but others are unaware of the significance of warnings and unsure about what to do. The majority of suicides have been preceded by warning signs, whether verbal or behavioural. Of course there are some suicides that occur without warning. But it is important to understand what the warning signs are and look out for them.

                           Myth:

Someone who is suicidal is determined to die

Fact:

On the contrary, suicidal people are often ambivalent about living or dying. Someone may act impulsively by drinking pesticides, for instance, and die a few days later, even though they would have liked to live on.
 Access to emotional support at the right time can prevent suicide.

                               Myth:


People who talk about suicide   do not mean to do it.

Fact:

People who talk about suicide may be reaching out for help or support. A significant number of people contemplating suicide are experiencing anxiety, depression and hopelessness and may feel that there is no other option.

HELP EVER; HURT NEVER

Source: WHO

Pesticides are for Pests Only.Search for ways to Live and not Leave.

"Suicide rates among Indian farmers were a chilling 47 per cent higher than they were for the rest of the population in 2011. In some of the States worst hit by the agrarian crisis, they were well over 100 per cent higher. The new Census 2011 data reveal a shrinking farmer population. And it is on this reduced base that the farm suicides now occur."

First WHO report on suicide prevention

WHO calls for coordinated action to reduce suicides worldwide

News release

4 SEPTEMBER 2014 ¦ GENEVA - More than 800 000 people die by suicide every year – around one person every 40 seconds, according to WHO's first global report on suicide prevention, published today. Some 75% of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Pesticide poisoning, hanging and firearms are among the most common methods of suicide globally. Evidence from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United States and a number of European countries reveals that limiting access to these means can help prevent people dying by suicide. Another key to reducing deaths by suicide is a commitment by national governments to the establishment and implementation of a coordinated plan of action. Currently, only 28 countries are known to have national suicide prevention strategies.

Suicide is a global phenomenon

“This report is a call for action to address a large public health problem which has been shrouded in taboo for far too long”.

Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.

Suicide occurs all over the world and can take place at almost any age. Globally, suicide rates are highest in people aged 70 years and over. In some countries, however, the highest rates are found among the young. Notably, suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15-29 year-olds globally.

“This report is a call for action to address a large public health problem which has been shrouded in taboo for far too long” said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO.

Generally, more men die by suicide than women. In richer countries, three times as many men die by suicide than women. Men aged 50 years and over are particularly vulnerable.

In low- and middle-income countries, young adults and elderly women have higher rates of suicide than their counterparts in high-income countries. Women over 70 years old are more than twice as likely to die by suicide than women aged 15-29 years.

Suicides are preventable

Reducing access to means of suicide is one way to reduce deaths. Other effective measures include responsible reporting of suicide in the media, such as avoiding language that sensationalizes suicide and avoiding explicit description of methods used, and early identification and management of mental and substance use disorders in communities and by health workers in particular.

Follow-up care by health workers through regular contact, including by phone or home visits, for people who have attempted suicide, together with provision of community support, are essential, because people who have already attempted suicide are at the greatest risk of trying again.

“...effective measures can be taken, even just starting at local level and on a small-scale”.

Dr Alexandra Fleischmann, Scientist in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO

“No matter where a country currently stands in suicide prevention”, said Dr Alexandra Fleischmann, Scientist in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO, “effective measures can be taken, even just starting at local level and on a small-scale”.

WHO recommends countries involve a range of government departments in developing a comprehensive coordinated response. High-level commitment is needed not just within the health sector, but also within education, employment, social welfare and judicial departments.

“This report, the first WHO publication of its kind, presents a comprehensive overview of suicide, suicide attempts and successful suicide prevention efforts worldwide. We know what works. Now is the time to act,” said Dr Shekhar Saxena, Director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse at WHO.

The report’s launch comes just a week before World Suicide Prevention Day, observed on 10 September every year. The Day provides an opportunity for joint action to raise awareness about suicide and suicide prevention around the world.

Working towards a global target

In the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, WHO Member States have committed themselves to work towards the global target of reducing the suicide rate in countries by 10% by 2020. WHO’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme, launched in 2008, includes suicide prevention as a priority and provides evidence-based technical guidance to expand service provision in countries.

INDIAN COCO

In a recent post I talked of the ways of utilizing the empty bottles of coke or Pepsi or any other soft drinks’ brands. Today I stumbled upon a tender coconut seller and the current idea. Of course it is not the first time I take a tender coconut in my life.

What a wonderful gift from nature! Original mineral water packaged by nature; untouched by man’s hands for his hearts’ contentment. No need of refrigeration and freezing; no need to suck groundwater and manufacture trillions of trays and bottles and cases of coke which choke the drains of cities and brains of citizens.

After umpteen lab tests we do talk of pesticide’ remnants and we do talk of ‘date of expiry’ and occasional news items on ‘discovery’ of insects inside these ‘harsh drink’ bottles. If we leave the tender coconut in the trees they don’t expire but mature to nurture nature with more coconut plants.

These tender coconuts need no packaging by man as he does for an apple or berry or cherry with carton boxes. Just he has to cut transport to his destinations. No need of announcements and warning outside their skins ‘Handle with care’; you can drop, hit and throw to the delight of the fiber that protects the nature coco. The medicinal benefits are plenty and it is nature’s bounty.

 The only pollutant in the entire affair is the straw we use to suck in.

If we spread across the world this nature’s soft drink we can solve many problems of man and earth. The economics too with lot of ethics as millions of farmers would share the profits and ‘go green and clean’ with their lands protected with nature’s umbrella.  Instead of a few heads like ‘Indira Nooyis’ who reap the benefits of our soft corner towards the soft drinks,  millions of poor heads in India and around the world will share the benefits. The earth will benefit.  

As of now her name remains a competitive exam question for framers of tests. But the change of attitude in people  may encourage more farmers into coconut cultivation. ( Who is the CEO of Pepsi?)

No need of roofing material from firms as our farms would produce enough farms and we can sleep at the lap of nature and can change our roofing’s once in three years. No need of air conditioning of our rooms if the farmers use the leaves as their roofing material and we make wonderful brooms to sweep our floors. 

Happy Teachers' Day

Dr Radhakrishnan is greeted by music director duo of Jaikishan and Shankar at Rang Bhawan in Mumbai on April 1, 1960. (Source: Express archive photo)





Producer-director Guru Dutt receives Dr Radhakrishnan who was the chief guest at the Charity premiere of 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' at Regal in New Delhi on September 25, 1959. (Source: Express archive photo)

Left to right) SV Ramanan (music director and associate director), V Balakrishnana (director), Barnouw - wife of professor Erik Barnouw of the Columbia University, Dr. Radhakrishnan, Pappan (associate director), Director K Subramaniam and Venkat (director of photography). (Source: Express archive photo)




Left to right) Former Maharashtra chief minister YB Chavan, Dr Radhakrishnan and actress Vyjayanthimala are seen together. (Source: Express archive photo)

Convenience or Continuance?

  

Yes, water is life. But aren't we aware that the containers we use to carry water have become the biggest enemies of earth. At home, public places and meeting halls ... these enter before the delegates and wait for the photo opportunity. They were the first one to come into the hall and the last one to last for ever. 

Don't  we have an alternative?

I see in aluminium a future. Why so?

• Aluminium is one of the most important and widely used metals in the transport, construction, packaging and electrical sectors.
• In packaging, aluminium is used in the form of alloy sheet for beverage can bodies and tops, as foil for household and commercial wrap, and in manufactured packaging products such as cartons for fruit juice and packaging for pharmaceuticals.
• An alloy of aluminium called duralumin is often used instead of pure aluminium because of its improved properties.
• Easy shaping and corrosion resistance make aluminium a good material for drink cans and roofing materials.
• Corrosion resistance and low density leads to its use for greenhouses and window frames.

Let us think before we all sink.

The big companies that sell water in one litre or two litre plastic  bottles can encourage the public to go for aluminium cans which can  be made in attractive colors and shapes.

All public places must have vending machines that steam wash the containers the public bring and fill them the mineral water. Here the water companies can reduce their recurring expenditure, and with a single fill they can keep up to 1000 litres or more water dispensers. Since the bottle cost is not there there can be a reduced price for the water. Through this we can very well reduce the use of plastic bottles to a certain extent. 


         

The earth is a dump yard

Where is the dust bin? Beyond our windows. For many of us the world begins and ends at our doors. We would like to keep  our four walls clean and in glittering paint. The rest of the earth is filth. It is common scene in our country the people in the first floor would be throwing the garbage on the sun shades/eves of the ground floor. Shop keepers invariably clean up their shops and push the garbage they generated the day to the front of the neighboring shop. Almost every small and medium shops in the country treat our roads as garbage dump yards. People smoking cigarettes would religiously throw the burning buds on highways and many a times buses with leaky gas tanks go up in smoke too. 

Almost every water way is treated as drainage. I don't want to prolong the mourning. Simply, we in India try in every way to spoil this mother earth. Those who are lucky would run to other nations and be observing  discipline to the core. No law can change us and our attitude. Hope good sense prevails and we start better ways of living. 

ISS on Duty

Image above: The International Space Station's length and width is about the size of a football field. Credit: NASA

The International Space Station marked its 10th anniversary of continuous human occupation on Nov. 2, 2010. Since Expedition 1, which launched Oct. 31, 2000, and docked Nov. 2, the space station has been visited by 214 individuals.

At the time of the anniversary, the station’s odometer read more than 1.5 billion statute miles (the equivalent of eight round trips to the Sun), over the course of 57,361 orbits around the Earth.

The International Space Station is not only an orbiting laboratory, but also a space port for a variety of international spacecraft. As of June 2014, there have been:

• 97 Russian launches
• 37 Space Shuttle launches
• 1 test flight and 3 operational flights by SpaceX’s Dragon
• 1 test flight and 1 operation flight by Orbital Science’s Cygnus
• 4 Japanese HTVs
• 4 European ATVs

A total of 180 spacewalks have been conducted in support of space station assembly totaling over 1,130 hours, or approximately 47 days.

The space station, including its large solar arrays, spans the area of a U.S. football field, including the end zones, and weighs 924,739 pounds. The complex now has more livable room than a conventional six-bedroom house, and has two bathrooms, a gymnasium and a 360-degree bay window.

Additional launches will continue to augment these facts and figures, so check back here for the latest.

International Space Station Size & Mass
 

• Module Length: 167.3 feet (51 meters)
• Truss Length: 357.5 feet (109 meters)
• Solar Array Length: 239.4 feet (73 meters)
• Mass: 924,739 pounds (419,455 kilograms)
• Habitable Volume: 13,696 cubic feet (388 cubic meters)
• Pressurized Volume: 32,333 cubic feet (916 cubic meters)
• Power Generation: 8 solar arrays = 84 kilowatts
• Lines of Computer Code: approximately 2.3 million