विश्वशांती स्मारकची घोषणा करण्यासाठी एमआयटी विश्वराजबाग येथे मोठं-मोठे शास्त्रज्ञ, संत आणि तत्त्वज्ञानी एकत्र आले.

१९५८ च्या सुमारास १५९ रुपये,सवलतीच्या दारात मिळालेली सायकल लहानश्या विश्वनाथांच्या जिव्हाळ्याचा विषय होता. एखाद्या राजपुत्रासारखे त्यावर सवार होऊन त्यावरून फेरफटका मारणे त्यांना खूप सुखावून जाणारे होते. ग्रामीण महाराष्ट्रातील मराठवाडा येथील रुई गावच्या  एका गरीब शेतक-या मुलासाठी ती सायकल एखाद्या मर्सिडीजपेक्षा कधीच कमी नव्हती. त्यांची बालपणातील अस्थायी शाळा म्हणजे गाई-म्हशी रानात चरायला गेल्या की मित्रांसोबत मिळून गोठ्यातील जमीन साफ करून तिथेच त्या गोठ्यात भरत असे. तेव्हापासून ते आतापर्यंत, ते दिवस आठवले की जेष्ठ आणि अनुभवी शिक्षणतज्ञ विश्वनाथ कराड सांगतात की, " मला जी शाळेची घंटा माहिती होती ती म्हणजे फक्त आणि फक्त गोठ्यातून परतणाऱ्या गाईच्या गळ्यात बांधलेली घंटा. गाई रानातून चरून गोठ्याकडे परतताना त्यांच्या गळ्यातील घंटा वाजली की आमची शाळा सुटायची." सध्या शिक्षणतज्ञ विश्वनाथ कराड हे जागतिक शांती केंद्र (आळंदी), एमएईईआरचे एमआयटी या देशातील सर्वात प्रतिष्ठित शैक्षणिक संसंस्थेचे संस्थापक अध्यक्ष आणि डायरेक्टर जनरल म्हणून शैक्षणिक कार्याची धुरा हाती सांभाळत आहेत.

वास्तविक पाहता आज कराड यांच्यासाठी हा एक प्रकारचा अदभुत क्षण आहे. २००५ पासून म्हणजेच जवळ-जवळ १३ वर्षे त्यांनी अत्यंत कल्पनेने आणि अपार कष्टांनी, तत्त्वनिष्ठ संत श्री ज्ञानेश्वर विश्व शांति प्रार्थना कक्ष आणि वाचनालय निर्माण केलेले आहे. ही दोन्ही ६२.५०० चौरस फुटाची भव्य स्मारके एमआयटीच्या विश्वाबाबाग कॅम्पसमध्ये उभारण्यात येणार आहेत. त्याच्या घुमटाचा व्यास हा १६० फूट तर उंची २६३ फूट असणार असून तो जगातील सर्वात मोठ्या १३९.६ फूट व्यास असणाऱ्या व्हॅटिकन डोमपेक्षाही मोठा असणारं आहे. नम्र व्यक्तीमत्त्व असणारे कराड आपल्या यशाचे सर्व श्रेय संत ज्ञानेश्वरांच्या आशीर्वादांना देतात.  ते म्हणतात, "जग एक कुटुंब आहे, ‘वसुधैव कुटुंबकम’. प्राचीन भारतीय संकल्पना आहे.  मी माझ्या मातृभूमीच्या वैभवात भर पडण्याचा एक नम्र प्रयत्न केलेला आहे." 

जगविख्यात अभिनेता राज कपूर यांच्या हेरिटेज फार्म आणि मेमोरियल भूमीवर आता एमआईटी, कराड ही जगातील सर्वोत्तम शैक्षणिक संस्थेअंतर्गत जगातील सर्वात मोठ्या व एकमेवाद्वितीय अशा डोममध्ये साधारणतः १५०० किलो वजनाच्या ५४ महान संत, तत्त्वज्ञ व शास्त्रज्ञांचे भव्यदिव्य व सुंदर असे ब्रॉन्झचे पुतळे स्थापन करण्यात येणार आहेत. हे पुतळे घडविण्याचे कठीण काम ९३ वर्षीय सुप्रसिद्ध मूर्तिकार राम सुतार यांनी केलेले आहे.

“संत स्वामी विवेकानंद यांना आणि त्यांच्या कार्याला जाणून घ्यायची संधी मला तेव्हा मिळाली जेव्हा मी माझं गणिताचं पुस्तक विकत घेण्यासाठी दुकानात गेलो होतो.  आणि तेव्हा अनावधानाने विवेकानंदांचं एक पुस्तक माझ्या हाती लागलं. खरंतर सहजच म्हणून ते पुस्तक वाचण्यास घेतलं परंतु विवेकानंदांच्या त्या शब्दांनी आणि विचारांनी मी प्रभावित झालो. त्यानंतर मी संत ज्ञानेश्वर आणि संत तुकाराम यांच्या लिखाणाचे देखील वाचन केले. तेव्हा जाणवले की ते आपल्याला लाभलेले किती मोठे तत्वज्ञ आहेत. डोम मध्ये प्रस्थपित करण्यात आलेले ५४ पुतळे विज्ञान, तत्त्वज्ञान. अध्यात्मवाद, भारतीय संस्कृतीचे मूलतत्त्व आणि जागतिक शांततेच्या विविध पैलूंच्या एकजुटीचे प्रतीक आहेत." भारतातील व जगभरातील महान संत, ऋषी आणि शास्त्रज्ञ तसेच गॅलिलियो गॅलीली आणि आयझॅक न्यूटनसारख्या तत्वज्ञांचा त्यांच्या मनावर प्रचंड प्रभाव पाडला आहे आणि स्वतःच्या स्वभावाचे खरे रूप जाणण्यास व समजून घेण्यास मदत केली आहे.

भारताच्या स्वातंत्र्यदिनाचे औचित्य साधून, संत, तत्त्वज्ञ व शास्त्रज्ञांच्या भव्य व सुंदर अशा पुतळ्यांची स्थापना जगप्रसिद्ध शास्त्रज्ञ पद्मविभूषण डॉ. आर.ए. माशेलकर, ज्येष्ठ संगणकतज्ञ पद्मभूषण डॉ. विजय भटकर, भारताचे कृषीमंत्री डॉ. राधामोहन सिंगजी, बिहार राज्याचे पर्यटन मंत्री डॉ. प्रमोद कुमार, ज्ञानोबा-तुकोबा पुरस्काराचे यंदाचे मानकरी ह.भ.प.किसन महाराज साखरे, शांतिब्रह्म ह.भ.प. मारूती महाराज कुरेकर, महान तपस्वी व साधक  ह.भ.प. श्री. तुळशीराम दादाराव कराड, संत तुकाराम महाराजांचे वंशज ह.भ.प. बापूसाहेब मोरे, थोर जैन मुनी श्री तरूण सागर, धर्मस्थळाचे मठाधिपती डॉ. विरेंद्र हेगडे, थोर मुस्लीम विचारवंत हजरत शेख बियाबानी, ज्येष्ठ पत्रकार डॉ. वेद प्रताप वैदिक,भारताचे माजी केंद्रीय मंत्री आरिफ मोहम्मद खान, मौलाना अब्दुल कलाम उर्दू विद्यापीठाचे कुलपती डॉ. फिरोज बख्त अहमद आणि ज्येष्ठ संगीतकार पं.हदयनाथ मंगेशकर यांसारख्या आणखीन अनेक प्रतिष्ठीतांच्या हस्ते १५ ऑगस्ट पासून 2 ऑक्टोबर या कालावधीत होणार आहे. 

गांधी जयंतीचे औचित्य साधून संगमरावरी दगडाने निर्माण केलेले जगविख्यात डोम मानवजातीच्या कल्याणासाठी जीवनात विज्ञान, अध्यात्म आणि तत्त्वज्ञानविषयक पैलूंमधील विश्वाचे दर्शन जगासमोर उघडकीस आणेल.

जगप्रसिद्ध शास्त्रज्ञ पद्मविभूषण डॉ. आर.ए. माशेलकर, एफआरएस, एक बुद्धिवंत आणि नम्र व्यक्तिमत्त्व. माशेलकर सांगतात की, "एका अभुतपुर्व व्याक्तिकडून निर्माण होणारी आश्चर्यकारक रचना म्हणजे हा डोम व त्या भोवतालचा परिसर होय. कल्पना अनेक जणांना सुचतात पण त्या सत्यात उतरवून पूर्ण करण्याची जिद्द बाळगून इतक्या कमी वेळेत खरंच पूर्ण करणे तितकेसे सोपे नव्हे. मी विश्वनाथजींकडून नेहमीच 'जागतिक शांतता' हे शब्द ऐकत आलो आहे. आणि आता तर त्यांनी अद्वितीय असं जागतिक शांतता ग्रंथालय आणि डोम निर्माण केलेले आहे जिथे जागतिक शांतता कायम राखली जाईल व त्याबद्दल विचारविनिमय केला जाईल."

पद्मभूषण डॉ. विजय भटकर चेअरमन - आयोजन समितीचे तसेच चांसलर - नालंदा विद्यापीठ, आणि जागतिक स्तरावर प्रसिद्ध संगणकतज्ञ म्हणतात की, "जगभरातील अनेक देशांतील शास्त्रज्ञ, धार्मिक पुढारी आणि तत्त्वज्ञानी यांच्या एकत्रिकरणाची जागतिक संसद साक्षी असणार आहे. जगातील अनेक देशांचा यात सहभाग असून धर्म आणि तत्त्वज्ञानात सुसंवाद साधण्याचा ते प्रयत्न करतील तसेच समकालीन वैज्ञानिक विचारांशी एकत्रीकरणकरून नवीन वास्तविक अन्वेषणातून उदयास येईल."

संत, शास्त्रज्ञ आणि तत्त्वज्ञ यांचे पुतळे १५ ऑगस्टपासून एमआयटीमध्ये उभारण्यात येणार आहेत. शाश्वत विश्वशांती स्मारकाचे दरवाजे २ ऑक्टोबर रोजी उघडले जाण्याची प्रतीक्षा सर्वांनाच लागून राहिलेली आहे. मातृभूमीच्या जागतिक शांतीच्या प्रयत्नासाठी नवी सुरुवात आता होते आहे.

Disabled could be super-abled

Out of 120 million population of our country, 6.3% have hearing difficulties and out of that 60% are kids. Out of that, only 5% of the population is getting correct treatment and eventually become self-dependant.

Audiologist-speech therapist Devangi Dalal feels that Instead of treating the rest of the hearing impaired people as a liability to our country, we should work towards creating awareness and with a dedicated approach we should work towards converting them into useful assets of the society.

Says she, “Anyone can have less hearing because of Wax or middle ear problem, cough & cold, sensory neural loss. Wax i.e. outer ear problems and middle ear problems can be treated with medication and surgeries. However sensory neural losses can only be treated with hearing aids or cochlear implants surgeries. These treatments can be given according to the individual requirements and cannot be done across the counter. It is a process one has to go through. Right diagnosis, right technology and proper rehabilitation - right mix of this entire process one can produce wonderful results.”

Adds Dalal, “Hearing and listening are very important for communication. We must know how to take care of it and prevent any damages to it. We take utmost care and due diligence in investing in technologies for TV, Mobiles and other electronics devices but ignore them while investing in right Hearing aids to overcome our hearing disability, which can actually change our lives !!!”

Dalal along with Dr Jayant Gandhi runs the Josh Foundation where she helps thousands of hearing impaired children across India.

Listen to your heart

Audiologist, Speech therapist and Author Devangi Dalal.

Our attitude can change the future of 63 million hearing impaired people. In most cases, children who struggle to hear can be helped with the correct hearing aid. We need to understand that hearing disability can be a renowned speech impediment resulting in the child being a socially isolated underachiever, something that can be prevented/controlled", says Audiologist, Speech therapist and Author Devangi Dalal, the recipient of Humanitarian Award from the American Academy of Audiology (AAA).

Dalal has dedicated her career to improving the quality of life of hearing impaired children of India for the last two and a half decades, and also provides free hearing services that is new digital hearing aids to hearing impaired children, enabling them to speak and attend normal schools. Dalal believes that "a hearing handicap is no longer a handicap", and is currently working at providing hearing impaired children in India the same privileges as the hearing impaired children in Europe and the United States through her foundation with Dr Jayant Gandhi, Juvenile Organisation of Speech and Hearing (JOSH), whose purpose is to educate and empower hearing impaired children.

Nehru Centre Art Gallery hosts Sanjukta Arun's Thalassa: An Ode To The Spirit Of The Sea

In this hot concrete jungle of a metrop, what gives us some respite is the cool sea, the serene sands and the unbridled waves... These wild wild waves inspire artist Sanjukta Arun who captures their essence in her timeless canvases forever.

A management topper who turned homemaker and chose motherhood over management, Sanjukta never let her choice tame her wild side. Instead, she chose to be the inspiration, spelling artistic freedom for women, bound and shackled by their own thought chains. 

The waves in Sanjukta's canvas lash against the rocks, not caring about anything that comes in their way, a life lesson for each of us who wants to break free and soar.

In a way, her works are also of the love play between two lovers whose meeting lasts few moments of time, but their passion keeps bringing them back together. That is a shade of the eternal, diehard romantic in Sanjukta we see transferring her emotions on the canvas.

Says Sanjukta, "I want to portray the sea that most of us don’t see... The wild animal as someone described... What we all see here in the beaches is the tame, calm sea. I look within..."

Sanjukta effortlessly paints the unbridled, unreined wildness, the unrestrained energy of the electric blue sea, in all its resplendent glory. And with time, the tempestuous sea changes its myriad colours and hues, not losing a bit of its wild side, ever.

The freedom to break shackles and bondsjust lash out and erode even the toughest of obstacles, leaving an indelible mark and the salty fragrance that lingers... Tempestuous above, calm within... The sea could well be a woman's heart at its poetic best.

"The sea inspires me, enthralls me, bewitches me... I have never seen the wild sea... These are my dreams," surprises Sanjukta. In a way, artist Sanjukta Arun is the sea she portrays, complete with the sanity and the serenity, yet the wild child with the tempest within.

Artist Sanjukta Arun's show, Thalassa: An Ode to The Spirit Of The Sea, will be on at Nehru Centre AC Art Gallery, Worli, from 1st may to 7th May, daily 11 am to 7 pm.

Maharashtra Dinman's 1st anniversary celebrations with Smt. Pankaja Munde, Shri Sanjeev Jaiswal, Shri Sandeep Lele, Raaman Khurana, Shailendra Shirke, Archana Malvi & many others

Maharashtra Dinman celebrated its first anniversary with the Maharashtra Dinman Awards at the Ram Ganesh Gadkari Rangayatan, Thane. Smt. Pankaja Munde – Minister of Rural Development and Women & Children Welfare; Shri Sanjeev Jaiswal – Municipal Commissioner; Shri Sandeep Lele – BJP Thane President; Shri Vivek Bhimanwar, CEO - Thane ZP; Shri Sanjay Kelkar – MLA, Thane; Shri Rajan Vichare – MP; Shri Pratap Sarnaik – MLA and Ameet Palve, Raaman Khurana - Co Chairman, Indian Merchant Chamber, Navi Mumbai; Shailendra Shirke - Editor, Maharashtra Dinman; Archana Malvi - Director - Maharashtra Dinman and Geetanjalee Lele - Psychotherapist among others presided over the event, where eminent citizens were awarded for their contribution to society. Archana Malvi, Publisher and Shailendra Shirke, Editor – Maharashtra Dinman said “when we started the publication a year ago, we had to create a reach in a cluttered media market. We took the citizens into confidence, and focused on giving a ear to their issues and solving their problems. A year later, we have truly arrived. But in many ways than one, this is just the beginning and we will grow from strength to strength.”

Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash & Ayaan Ali Bangash perform at the Kommissarzhevskaya Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan performed along with sons, the Sarod Masters, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, to a full house at the Kommissarzhevskaya Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

Amaan Ali Bangash, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Bangash perform at Komissarzhevskaya Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia

Enthused Amaan-Ayaan, "Russia always holds a special place in our hearts. As musicians, what keeps us going is the audiences. And in Russia, it is not just the Indian expats but the local Russians who share the love for Sarod. It is very touching when you realize that the land that embraced Raj Kapoor, the land of great composers like Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, has embraced us as much. We feel blessed."

Ayaan Ali Bangash performs at Komissarzhevskaya Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russi

Amaan Ali Bangash performs at Komissarzhevskaya Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia

A multi-faceted woman of substance, Devangi Dalal, an audiologist by profession, has been instrumental in empowering the less-abled children and adults... her belief to not classify these children as different; her vision to reach the Government and seek its help to eradicate the illegal practices in her trade and to conduct tests for new born babies in the country to help identify hearing impairment problems at early stages. Devangi believes in imparting positivity to hearing-impaired people, that’ll help them in every walk of life.

Excerpts from an interview....

1.     What inspired you to start JOSH foundation along with Dr. Jayant Gandhi? How does your organization empower the hearing-handicapped children?

In the year 2003, my colleague, a trustee of JOSH Foundation and a renowned ENT surgeon Dr. Jayant Gandhi, happened to visit one of the residential special schools for the deaf in Gujarat. It is being managed by a trust with the help of Government grants. To our surprise, 350 children were managed by only 4 teachers and some care takers. There was no stimulation. Throughout the day, we saw all the children singing national anthem with different gestural languages. These children were not having good quality and technology based hearing aids and were not able to develop their speech in the absence of good hearing. This scene literally brought tears in our eyes and really touched our hearts. On returning to Mumbai, we decide to start a movement to create awareness, educate and empower the hearing impaired children and started activities under the banner of JOSH Foundation.

All the hearing impaired people always have some residual hearing, we have not come across any patient who has no hearing at all or has complete deafness. If we detect the same in the children at the early stages of their lives, with the help of right technology and proper rehabilitation programmes, we can make these children near normal in hearing, speaking as well as education. We can really empower them to be independent and live their lives without anyone’s support.

2.     Being an Audiologist and Speech Therapist, what inspired you to dedicate your life and career to the improvement of the hearing impaired in India?

As a professional, I got the opportunity to work with technology and travel to different countries. What I found that, they are much more advanced in terms of technology and overall awareness with the hearing handicapped. In fact, the most important amongst all is the early detection of hearing loss (almost during the first few weeks of the birth). They have set protocols and the Government also supports them very well. These real life experiences inspired me to make use of my knowledge and experiences to put into practice for my own country and for my own people. I feel blessed that I have a profession where I can do my work and serve the society as well.

3.     You have dealt with a lot of cases right from new born infants to grown up teenagers who have hearing problems... How has the exposure and experience of children with the hearing impaired changed you as a person and as a mother?

Looking at their handicap, I always tell myself that in spite of a few personal shortcomings, we are really blessed to live a healthy and normal life. These not only make you humble but make you appreciate the efforts and hardships of the parents of these children. It motivates you to be a better mother and a good human being and I always try to pass on these values to my children too.

This also makes you realize how important the use of hearing and language is, in our day to day lives. Use of good communication skills is very important for one’s overall growth.

4.     Any notable or emotional experience that you have had with children that you would like to share with us?

I would like to narrate a case of a hearing impaired child who was brought to me when he was 13 years old and in his adolescence phase. He had migrated from Bangalore to Mumbai. He was totally depressed and frustrated as he was not able to adjust himself in the new environment, not able to communicate with other students and make new friends. Since he had a problem with his hearing, he was blaming his parents for his present condition. We counselled him and convinced his parents to provide him a technologically good hearing aid, best suited for his hearing loss. After fitting the new hearing aids he started performing well in his studies and made improvement in his overall performance that boosted his confidence. Today, I can say with full satisfaction and pride that he not only completed his graduation but also went abroad for higher studies, obtained his Master’s degree and has settled there now and living a very happy life. We have many such instances and these experiences really boost our confidence and motivate us to work more and more for the upliftment of these special children.

   

5.     This year's World Hearing Day's theme was 'Hear the Future'. What do you have to say about the current situation of the hearing impaired children in India?

Out of the 120 million population of our country, 6.3% have hearing difficulties and out of that, 60% are kids. Out of that, only 5% of the population are getting correct treatment and eventually become independant.

Instead of treating the rest of the hearing impaired people as a liability to our country, we should work towards creating awareness and with a dedicated approach we should work towards converting them into useful assets of the society.

6.     How can one make listening safe? Any tips on how to deal with children who have a hearing problem or have lost their hearing capacity?

Anyone can have less hearing because of wax or middle ear problem, cough & cold, and sensory neural loss. Wax i.e. outer ear problems and middle ear problems can be treated with medication and surgeries. However, sensory neural losses can only be treated with hearing aids or cochlear implant surgeries. These treatments can be given according to individual requirements and cannot be done across the counter. It is a process one has to go through. With right diagnosis, right technology, proper rehabilitation - and a right mix of this entire process, one can produce wonderful results.

Hearing and listening are very important for communication. We must know how to take care of it and prevent any damage to it. We take utmost care and due diligence in investing in technologies for TV, mobiles and other electronic devices but ignore them while investing in right hearing aids to overcome our hearing disabilities, which can actually change our lives !!!

7.     What role does sign language play in the life of hearing impaired children? What were the challenges that you encountered while interacting with children who have impaired hearing?

Unfortunately, there is no standardized sign language in our country as we have so many languages. It is more of a gestural language what we use here to communicate. As I said before, we have not come across anybody having complete hearing loss, so we train all our children for aural rehabilitation so that they learn to talk like us. Principally, we are against anyone using sign language to communicate with deaf children.

Generally. a normal child starts speaking at the age of nine months. Till then they listen to your voice and we try to teach them about emotions, gestures and feelings. So for deaf kids, when we fit them with hearing aids, it’s like their birth and we feel like parents. We need to talk to this child for at least 6 to 9 months and give them inputs so that he listens and understands and expresses himself/herself. We have never had any difficulties as such to communicate with them as we feel it’s our duty to teach them language first.

8.     How do you plan to take your initiative of making ''impaired children an asset to the society'' forward? 

I feel we have the potential and skills and we have generated results, and with the right support and awareness among others, we can change lives of the hearing-impaired in India and abroad. One needs to have a correct vision and mission and works towards it with a pure heart and honesty. Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I m possible'! 

9.     You have adopted a few schools in Mumbai and Gujarat... How has the Government and school organizations supported you in your noble endeavour? 

We have supported many schools in Mumbai and Gujarat. Earlier, they were reluctant to change methods of working with the hearing impaired children but now having seen the results, we are getting a very good support from the school management. We have started sports education in three deaf schools and now after a few years of seeing results, two schools have started on their own to contribute to this program and adopted it as part of their curriculum. Also, earlier they used to take donations for hearing aids as per the donor’s wish, but now they convince and request the donors to donate as per the child's requirement.

Because of good technology and rehabilitation efforts, students have started hearing well and it has made the teacher’s task easier and they are able to do more and more of creative activities along with the children. They are now more willing to participate in science exhibitions, dance competitions and it has also increased the confidence of kids, teachers and parents.

10.  About one in five people in India have hearing loss. Still many do not know about Audiologists. Why should one choose an audiologist over a General Physician?

In society, every individual has their own tasks. We do specialization in audiology, speech therapy and voice therapy. We have been taught and trained in our field in depth, and that too scientifically. Like in any other field, including medicine, there are specialists for every activity. We are those specialists in the field of audiology and speech therapy and we are more focused in this field and get constant updates by way of medical generals, seminars, conferences and on-the-job experiences. Such an access may not be possible with a general physician.

11.  What's next for you and JOSH Foundation?

We wish to create a professional video on the National Anthem being sung by special children (hearing impaired) and for it to be aired on a national network of cinema halls and multiplexes.

We are also working on plans to organise a reality show on TV/social media on a global platform.

We wish to establish a State of the Art Charitable Institute for hearing impaired children, covering all the solutions under one roof (based on the model at present functional at Mainz, Germany), where we want to train hearing impaired children and integrate them in society as normal children.

 

Audiologist Speech Therapist Devangi Dalal