Norway a Heaven on Earth.

Norway a Heaven on Earth.

Norway is the one of the most beautiful must visit Scandinavian country with ice covered mountains with panoramic landscapes, waterfalls, hills and valleys. This country once ruled by Vikings [most feared sea pirates] who have invaded every other nearest country including Europe looted them. Norway was well known for its ship building technology, people from many countries came here to learn the technology. After the discovery of oil in 1960 the Norway has become one of the oil rich country, catapulted the country to very high standard of life. The population of the country is around 5 million out of which 1.5 million migrated labors from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia. The cost of living is highest among European and Scandinavian countries.

However this is one of the most beautiful countries on Earth and should be on the itinerary of anybody who visits Europe.

I my wife Leela, son Dhiraj and daughter in law Tejashree had planned to visit Norway for four days that involved some of the most important places in Norway. We took the evening flight from Helsinki to Oslo, reached Oslo at 10:30 PM. We checked into hotel near the railway station at 11:30 PM. Dhiraj has booked hotels very near to railway station so that commuting time is kept minimum. All Scandinavian countries and also European countries 

have excellent public transport system unlike USA and Canada.

Next day our Journey started from Oslo station to Myrdal. The train left Oslo at 8:00 AM and it was raining heavily outside. Train route to Myrdal a hill station was a feast for eyes for enjoying the natural beauty of Norway. The ice on the mountain has not fully melted although the summer has set in. It was pretty cold outside. The trains are very clean and it is pleasure to travel by train. The train is attached with a dining car that serves very good breakfast. We reached Myrdal at 12:30 PM. Myrdhal to flam is by another train. The train will decent from the hill through steep curves crossing through dense forests, water falls and valleys. This train route that was designed way back in 1940’s, is an engineering marvel. The train stops at one of the famous waterfalls where we can take photographs. All along the route we enjoy the nature’s beauty at its best. Our train reached Flam at 2:05PM. We had quick lunch at Flam. There is railway museum at Flam which gives the historic details of railway from Oslo to Myrdal and Flam.

Our next journey is through the cruise to Gudvangen. Approximately 1 km Wide River flows from Flam to Gudvangen in between steep hills. The hills are covered with thick forests and one can see the water falls at every 100mts.The journey to Gudvangen will give you ample opportunity for taking photographs of Norway’s natural beauty.

We reached Gudvangen at 5:30 PM. A bus was waiting for us to take us to VOSS. The road journey was like the one we see in Himalayas steep curves. Any mistake from the driver would land us thousands of feet below the valley.  The bus provided with a guide who would give explanation on Norwegian life, culture, education, sight seeing, population and other general information. We reached Voss around 6:30 PM. Norway during this time will have only five hours of night and same is the case with all Scandinavian  countries like Sweden, Finland  etc. When we reached Voss we were extremely hungry. Unfortunately, nothing was available for eating in the railway station. Voss is beautiful city of only 7000 people with large magnificent lakes [for them it is a big city].Weather this time of the year will excellent [June, July]. Our train reached Bergen which is the second largest city in Norway at 9:00 PM. After checking into Hotel we started searching for Veg restaurant. In these countries it is curse to be vegetarian. We could find a Chinese restaurant which offers one or two pure vegetarian menu. But while ordering food we should be very careful in telling them, no meat, no beef, and no egg etc .Otherwise you may find some of these ingredients in your food. We were so hungry the food offered by Chinese tasted very good.

Next day morning we got up at 7:30 AM and had a very fine continental breakfast in our hotel. Sightseeing by walk is ideal in these countries to enjoy the beauty of these cities. They are very small places one can walk around the city very easily barring OSLO.Bergan is port city on the western coast of Norway and it was once capital of Norway before Oslo was declared as capital. This place is well known for sea food and other delicacies. As we are vegetarians we could only enjoy the look of it. We took some good photographs of fisherman wharf. Panoramic view of Bergen can be had from the top of Ulrich hill, which can be reached by cable car. Old city has a beautiful century old wooden structure   which is even today esthetically preserved.

In Bergen we wanted to have Indian food. We could locate a Punjabi restaurant in the city .We had some Nans and Pulav. It was a bad decision to have Indian food in these places .Immediately, after having food our stomach started troubling us and we had to take few medicines to restore it back to normal condition. In these countries it is better to follow their food habits than ours.

 In the afternoon at 3:00 PM we took a cruise to Stavanger. In these countries it is pleasure to travel by cruise. Cruise offers everything, good food, entertainment and for wine lovers it is a haven. Duty free shops offer all sorts of articles which is cheaper than outside. A short journey by cruise is really enjoyable. We reached Stavanger at 9:00 PM. As I already told you, day or night there is no problem in these places; we have all the time light. The hotel staff at Stavanger was extremely courteous and rooms were excellent. Breakfast was also good. They will also allow you to eat our own food, if you have carried something. Next day morning after breakfast we left for Tau by cruise for our adventures Journey to Pulpit Rock.

At Tau a bus was waiting for us to take us to base camp of Pulpit Rock. It was raining heavily and we had too little information about the Journey we are undertaking. My wife and daughter in law, purchased rain coat but I and my son had only Jerkin. We decided to brave the way to Pulpit rock top, which is About 3.8 Kms one way and around 700 Mts Tall. One would take around 2 ½ to 3 hrs to reach the top of the rock which is standing vertically over River stream.One can have the Panoramic view of this rock and River below. But there is no easy way to reach there. One has to carry food and water as the journey will be extremely tiresome. The journey is so physically demanding it was not meant for people like us. However after deciding to go by this route there is no looking back. Our Journey was further made difficult by rain and clouds. The path was not visible beyond few yards. If you do a small mistake you are bound to fall and injure yourself. It took us 3 hours to reach the top .By the time we reached we were so physically exhausted we took some energy drinks and cookies to reclaim energy.  We were  so fortunate after reaching there  sun god opened his eyes  ,we could see the awesome view of the rock and surrounding areas which cannot explained in words and can only be experienced. We spent an hour at this place taking photographs. One would find it difficult to leave this place and it is once life time experience.

We spent equal amount of time to reach the base camp. We could realize how difficult it is to climb down than going up. It was more challenging and physically more demanding. After reaching Stavanger we were so much exhausted it was necessary to take a hot shower to restore our energy. Hotel was kind enough to offer this service even though we have vacated the room in the morning. It may normal for all guests to make such requests.

After dinner we had planned to leave by train to OSLO. Train leaves by 10:00 Pm reaches Oslo by in the morning. In Oslo we have decided to go for sightseeing after putting our luggage in clock room. But yesterday’s adventure had serious effect on our ability to walk. Oslo is place where we have to see lot of places. In these countries the local transport is extremely good unlike USA and Canada. Oslo we first visited noble peace prize centre, where we c could see the Nobel peace prize winners photographs. Nobel peace prize is given at OSLO and other Nobel prizes are given at Swedish academy of science located in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. After visiting Nobel centre we went Vigeland stone sculpture Nobel peace prize museum

 Park where we could see world renowned stone sculptures created by renowned sculptor Gustav. Afterwards we visited Viking Museum where old ship used by Viking is kept. There is not much to see there and entry fee was ridiculously high. By this time me and wife so exhausted due to previous days tiresome journey we were no mood   to see anything .We could not visit the opera house which is another magnificent modern monument. We had to be satisfied with what we have seen so far and our visit to Norway was coming to close. We took evening flight back to Helsinki, where we stayed for almost two and half months.

View of Bergen city

Oslo railway sation

  

In between we visited several countries, like Estonia, Sweden, England, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, switzer land and Paris. One thing common I have seen in these countries is excellent infrastructure, like roads, transport system, by sea, land and by air, which we cannot see any other part of the world.

What makes feel sad is that our country perhaps unique in the world and  whatever we saw in those countries are available in our country in abundance. We have history of more the 3000 yrs. We have magnificent structures like Tajmahal, Fatepur sikhri,Sun temple ,Kazuraho ,Belur and Halebeed,Magnificient temples of Madurai and Tanjavur  in Tamilnadu,Ajantha ,Ellora  cave painting ,Historical monuments of Vijayanagara Empire at Hampi, Palaces of  Rajastan and Mysore ,Akshara dhama temple,Kutub Minar,Bahai centre,lal kila at Delhi ,Bulbaiya of Luknow, Gir lion sanctuary,Bengal Tiger sanctuary,innumerable number of zoos where we all animals in the world,Sanchi stoopas,Bodh Gaya , Golden temple  at Amritsar, beautiful Himalayas and  heaven earth Kashmir and Sikkim and longest beach of Goa to mention a few. India is total package of  culture, heritage where monuments created  by  all religions in the world can be found which no other country in the world has and can be proud of.

But unfortunately, we do not know how to showcase natural  treasure we have to outside world. Our infrastructure is awful. We showcase filth and not our national  treasure. When do we realize this? Why we have to travel abroad when we have everything here. Only difference between those countries and ours is we have messed up everything. We have no pride about our heritage and our national monuments. Travel within our country so hazardous, unsafe and unhygienic which will discourage all of us to take tour and  there is no wonder it will discourage outsiders. We do not know how to showcase our rich heritage. It is sad commentary on a country which aspires to become super po

Dhiraj on top of Pulpit rock

Nobel peace centre

Panoramic view of Norway

Pulpit Rock

One of the famous water falls

Cruise to Gudvangen

Nobel peace prize Museum

Hathwar's View: Whether NaMO will be next PM ?

Hathwar's View: Whether NaMO will be next PM ?

Hathwar's View: Whether NaMO will be next PM ?

Hathwar's View: Whether NaMO will be next PM ?: Whether Mr.  Modi will become the Prime Minister of India will the latest topic which is going to be discussed  by all News channels , int...

Whether NaMO will be next PM ?

Whether Mr.  Modi will become the Prime Minister of India will the latest topic which is going to be discussed  by all News channels , intellectuals, his fans ,his haters ,press, political parties till 2014 Loksabha election results are declared. We do not think in independent India,  there is no other person who has been discussed as much as Mr. Modi, now fondly addressed as NaMo.
Modi would have been like another CM of BJP had he not become so much controversial, post Godhra riots. [which  snuffed the life of about 2000 minority community members.] He overnight became famous not only within India even abroad, due to which several western countries refused to issue him VISA, especially USA. He perhaps, is the most hounded politician by all law enforcing agencies of India; including courts for his role in post Godhra riots as the chief Minister of that state. In the normal course he would have lost his JOB, but destiny has decided something else. BJP veteran politician LKA became his savior, who apparently after 10 years has become his opponent for the top JOB of this country.
However, NaMo  is one person who will never say quits; therefore he used all his skills to build his image as one of the top most pro –development CM of this country. He concentrated on meeting the basic needs of common man like, better infrastructure like road, electricity, water supply etc. Next level he called all the top industrialists to his state for opening industries, so that urban Job issues could be addressed. The common people started talking about Gujarat model of development, including so many other state governments run by even his opposing parties, and started slowly  forgetting  effects of riots, even though ,the media and political parties continued their tirade against  him to keep the issue alive.
 Mean while all his opponents who continued to treat him as villain, [media constantly discussed about him hours together, calling the same experts again and again, whose views about him did not change a bit] made his image to change from villain to victim [this is what happens if you over do the propaganda war].  NaMo enjoyed these critiques predicting doom all the time he faced an election, bringing the same issue of Godhra riots again. This gave him additional fodder to come to power with thumping majority every time he faced an election. These people were so much obsessed with Modi hate campaign, that gave him enough popularity, and for the common man it looked as though he is unfairly being hounded and they should help to save him. He is now seen as one of the highly victimized hero who has magic wand to solve the problem of this country. Thanks to so many scandals/scams and mismanagement of  economy by UPA II.Gujarat Model of development is  considered as the ideal model of development for the rest of India and Modi is the person who can do it .BJP  therefore ,quickly decided  to name him for the top JOB, despite his nomination  being opposed by many within the party . If his critiques continue to do the same blunder and there is no doubt he may even occupy the top seat in 2014.
In our country, sadly communal riots pays rich dividends to political parties.1984 Sikh riots [3000 Sikhs perished] resulted in congress coming to power with three fourth majority. Post Babri demolition riots made BJP to come to power. Post Godhra riots made Modi to return to power  thrice with thumping majority. No amount enquiries, cases, convictions could change the common man psyche. Therefore .these armchair critiques sitting television studio making comments, make no sense to either Modi or common man. It only helps to build his image further. He has plan.i.e; he nurtures a clean image of non-corrupt, selfless politician, a messiah of good governance [bachelor like Vajapayee] and a good pro development Administrator. He has become darling of young India and a hope for future generation. His speeches are articulated to attract young India. It is not sure whether this translates into votes in 2014.He has dumped Anna Hazare and refused to appoint lokayukta. Therefore it is not known whether he is a serious ant-corruption crusader. At least BJP is not serious about it. Now Yeddy [former CM of Karnataka] wants to come back to BJP, indicates the lack of seriousness of anti-corruption crusade of BJP.
However, one thing NaMO has to watch is, Gujarat is not India and also he has to promote himself from good Administrator to great leader in this diverse country. Normally, state leaders refuse to outgrow beyond the borders of their state. The one who has not worked in Delhi for a long time would find difficult to develop  larger vision for the whole country. We hope, if he becomes PM he will change
[He is shrewd] himself to fit him to this frame work. We do not need shrewd politician, we need leader with a vision, who can culturally, emotionally unite India and bring in development which can benefit all sections of the society. We must make India safe for living for all section of the society, irrespective, caste, religion and language. India today needs a selfless leader, who is benevolent dictator, yet the same time a great patriot and human being. Can Modi become such leader is a mute point!

COSPAR2012 -Scintific Assembly, Mysore India

Prof.U.R.Rao and Chairman ISRO Dr.Radhakrishan felicitating  Soorya Krishna Murthy's 

cultural troupe

Welcome  Reception

Organizing COSPAR2012-Scientific assembly-our experience


Background:

One day, during October 2011,as usual lazily I was sipping my afternoon coffee, and I got phone call from erstwhile head office. The voice on the other side asked me whether I can take up some small term assignment of organizing a International conference under leadership of Prof .U.R.Rao. Although, I was initially surprised by the offer, I gave my consent without seriously thinking about the outcome of this discussion. I had never in the past worked directly worked under Prof.Rao, although he was the head of the first satellite project namely Indo Soviet Satellite Project[ISSP], and my career started under his overall leadership. Even those days ,he was an iconic figure for all of us who had worked under him , and after a decade he went on  to become the Chairman of ISRO. He was a world known space scientist, and always admired for his dynamic leadership in the development of Space science and space technology, in particular satellite technology. It was a great challenge and an opportunity for anybody  to work under him. The speed at which he works even at this advanced age puts even young people to shame.[ he is currently 80+].

COSPAR [ Committee for space research] is an international organization having head quarter at Paris, and is responsible for promoting space science all over the world. Member countries of COSPAR voted India to organize this biennial event namely COSPAR Scientific Assembly, in the year 2012. This mega event attracts scientists and academicians from all over the world, working in frontier area of space science and related areas to present their latest research work in the field of space science. It was estimated that more than 3000 scientists will participate in this mega event. ISRO was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing this event, under the Chairmanship of Prof.U.R.Rao as the head of the local organizing committee[LOC] of COSPAR2012. The event was scheduled to be held between 14 - 22 July 2012 in sprawling world class campus of Infosys training centre, at historical city of Mysore. Infosys software training centre is world by itself, consisting of a state of art global training centre , with more than hundred lecture halls under one roof, in house accommodation for 10,000 participants at any given time and, all the other additional infrastructures, like rooms ,cafeteria, multipurpose halls, sports and other entertainment facility within the campus that gave a added ambiance to this mega scientific extravaganza . This centre is named after N.Narayana Murthy,[Called Narayana Murthy Center of Excellence]one of the chief founder of Infosys, a world class Indian software company. Mr. Narayana Murthy[fondly known as NRN] a software CZAR, has graciously agreed to host this event almost free of cost, in this world class magnificent facility ideally suited to host such events.

I joined COSPAR-2012, team only nine months was left for the event. The twelve sub-committees set up for organizing this event have done sufficient ground work on all aspect of the conference. Unfortunately, they have not been able to translate these into action pending formal approval for this event from the government. This is where we have faulted, due to which we have to face several embarrassing situation later date. The most of the sub-committees chiefs were my colleagues or friends and I had no difficulty in interacting with them on day to day basis. Infosys team was also assigned to organize this event took it as challenge and provided excellent support from the beginning. LOC use to meet every month and discuss all issues in detail. Prof.Rao never let anyone to take things lightly, however subsequent developments created several anxious moments for him. The key issue was government approval, without which nobody can proceed further.

Unanticipated problems:

We activated LOC website in the month of Jan 2012, which itself was too late. Added to this we could not accept the participation of delegates and also activate payment gateway. The foreign delegates need sufficient time to obtain Visa. Unless they are issued with appropriate letter to obtain VISA; that can be only be issued after obtaining government approvals, everything hinged on the process of getting approvals, which solely remained in the domain of bureaucrats who unfortunately, failed to appreciate the importance of the event ,to acted very slowly. The approval was required from MEA, MHA, ministry of expenditure, cabinet secretary and finally from PM’S office. Stringent austerity measures made the matter worse, and it gave sufficient ammunition for bureaucratic delay. One time we started thinking whether we will be able to hold the event at all.

COSPAR headquarters at Paris started, becoming restless as they were loaded with enquiries from all over the world from the potential delegates. They also started thinking whether we will be able to hold the event at all, which would have caused a major embarrassment for us and also COSPAR headquarters.

Space Agency Round table Chaired by Prof .U.R.Rao

Chairman ISRO, highlighting the ISRO's Achievemnts.

Team LOC- COSPAR 2012

President COSPAR  Dr..Bignami

Ultimately, final approval came on first April 2012. Mean while, we had problem of different kind, which neither we nor Infosys has anticipated. We were supposed to accommodate all delegates in Infosys campus only. As soon as we announced this on our website, the local hoteliers protested strongly, about this move. Infosys hurriedly wanted us withdraw this announcement, which otherwise would have blown in to major controversy. It made the matter worse for us, because in small city like Mysore, it is difficult to find accommodation to 3000 people. As an interim measure we provided all the information about hotels room availability at Mysore with link provided from our website. This however temporarily doused the fire, however our problem was not solved .At the maximum Mysore can only provide accommodation for only 1000 people ,remaining have to stay in Infy campus only. When all hotels were sufficiently filled up we resumed booking accommodation at Infosys. Infosys came up with proposal that, they will provide accommodation facility free of cost, which made our task further complicated. However the people who stayed at campus were ultimately big beneficiaries of Infosys hospitality.

We had some more unforeseen problems. Somebody started announcing parallel y on COSPAR-2012, for attending the cospar2012, giving details of the programme. We had to caution all the delegates on our website, not to fall prey to such tricks. We had a fully sponsored student program, for those who are doing research in the area of space science and related area. One smart fellow approached several institution in the guise of authorized representative of ISRO, started collecting money for sponsoring the candidates. We had to report to cyber crime cell to appropriately deal with this incident. However, some gullible delegates who had already paid the money this person, had to lose the money.

One more area started giving us nightmare was, payment gateway. Many Institutional delegates abroad who wanted to pay through the corporate card ,could not pay through their credit card as the present regulations demands 3D security. This has resulted in the non realization of payments from many delegates. Alternative mode of payment was too costly and , they were not interested to do it. Added to this American express card needs separate payment gateway, operated by them. Due to several security related issues we could not operate the American express gateway. This posed serious problem for those who wanted to pay through American express card, especially coming from USA.

Major problem, we faced was from the visa front. Indian missions in certain European countries and USA were not issuing visas under the pretext of lack sufficient documentation. Although, we have sent several letters to various missions about this International event[110 missions abroad] they were raising one or other doubt and refusing to issue the VISA. In USA, the visa related matters are outsourced to a private agency and they were not understanding the gravity of the event and thereby, blatantly refusing to issue visa. As there was hardly any time left for people [buying air tickets, and booking accommodation ]to come to India, visa problem added further obstacles to the success of the event, as we are expecting more delegates from these countries. Visa committee has to take major brunt of this, and they have to work round the clock to resolve this issue with MEA, as the time was running out. LOC started getting hundreds of very uncomfortable messages from delegates coming from abroad, for which LOC secretariat has to answer on day to day basis, which was nothing but nightmare to all of us.

At some point of time, payment gateway coupled with VISA issue, made the matter worse and LOC has to resign to the fate that this conference in probability is going to a flop show. The ambitious target of achieving 3000 delegates is a dream and reality is that we may end up with 1800 delegates. COSPAR HQ also came to the conclusion that not everything was going well at LOC and this conference was not going to successful as earlier thought to be.

As a precautionary measure, Prof .Rao revised the budget of conference and he took many cost cutting measures which ultimately proved to very beneficial. The four major issues weighed on his mind was,

1. Transportation 2. Catering 3. Entertainment 4. Event management.

Transportation of delegates from Bangalore Airport to Venue, and back was to be provided to all delegates at free of cost. At Mysore Local transportation was provided free of cost. Accommodation at the venue was provided free of cost delegates who were staying at venue. In addition to the above, several concessions [registration fee] had to be doled to delegates, because of the failure to realize the payment through our payment gateway within the stipulated time. With these many freebies and stringent shoestring budget, how do we manage the show? This is where the experience and vision of Prof.Rao came to work. He has done everything possible to cut the cost without compromising the quality. This perhaps goes in the history of an international conference where the Event manager was decided just 40 days before the event!

COSPAR Scientific Assembly :

Finally, the very important day arrived. ISRO is always known for extraordinary crisis management. ISRO has put all resource at its command to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Right from the entry to Infosys campus for registration, ambiance of the International event was clearly visible. The first impression is the best impression. Our registration counters, help desk were highly impressive. There was no delay in processing any registration. All issues related payments at the venue were handled smoothly with humane touch. Even in certain cases the demand from the delegates were not fair, we could accommodate them based on our national sentiment,” Athithi devo bhava”.

To our surprise we could collect as much as much as 1 crore at the venue which also, perhaps a record. Many unsuccessful registrants came directly to venue to attend the conference and paid the money.

The conference technical arrangement perhaps was the best.[3441 abstracts were received out which 2297 for oral presentations and 864 posters]for Most of the foreign delegates were, amazed by ambiance of the venue which was of the global standard. Some senior scientists remarked that, ‘This campus is modern Tajmahal’. Thanks to NRN the founder of Infosys, whose amazing vision is seen in the creation of this magnificent campus.


The special events like Welcome Reception, Inauguration ,Cultural events were hallmark of this conference. Welcome reception held at silent shores resort is perhaps one of the best ever hosted by any country[This comment is made by COSPAR HQ] so far. Food arrangement, both continental and Indian was appreciated by all the delegates. While westerners could enjoy famous south Indian cuisine , hot Masala dosas ,Indian delegates had the opportunity to taste the continental food at affordable cost.

No country that organized such an event has provided transport and accommodation free of cost. Our transport arrangement perhaps was the best , and everybody requirement was met very amicably. All the delegates were amazed by the ambiance of the Venue. Infosys has done everything possible to keep the delegates comfortable. With all these arrangements everybody thought that it will make big hole in our budget. But later on it turned out to be one of the most economically organized International events.


Delegates:

Was it a flop show? We were astonished to know that 2130 delegates[ total attendance 2838 including organizers] attended this conference, which made 39th COSPAR Scientific Assembly one of the most successful COSPAR event, ever held in Asia[see space research today December 2012]. According to western observers, 39th cospar2012 assembly held at Mysore, has created new benchmark for future organizers of COSPAR event by its shear, flawless arrangement, quality of documentation, seminar materials, excellent food, cultural event ,hospitality, security arrangement, cute exhibition arrangement arranged with short notice and above all excellent technical arrangement. Many dignitaries who had attended the COSPA2012, appreciated holding this scientific extravaganza , after three decades[ previously held in Bangalore in 1979 attended by 700 delegates] in the historical city of Mysore. For us it was a unique experience organizing scientific festival for ten days. We have learnt many lessons that will be going to be very useful for future. However, it was an excellent team effort and ,ISRO has once again demonstrated that ,“ when going gets tough, the tough gets going”.

My personal experience:

I had the unique opportunity of meeting several scientists and interacting with them that made me slightly richer in experience. I had the unique experience of meeting S.L.Byrappa, a doyen in Kannada literature during this conference. Besides being one of the great Kannada literary figures, he has also evinced keen interest in science. On one occasion introduced me to him. He told me that he is familiar with my name. I was amazed by his comment. Then he remembered to read a book I have written in Kannada in the year 1998,namely “ Bhahyakashakkondu sethubhanda”, for which Prof .Rao had written the foreword. I was overwhelmed with Joy, after knowing such that such a great literary personality has read my book ,and able to recollect my name.

Post conference scenario:

After the successful conclusion of any event one has to a stock of what went wrong , if anything has really gone wrong. In our case all the stake holders were very happy, and it appeared as if ,all the problems we faced before the conference had a happy ending, like a bollywood movie love story. There were many things all of us have learnt, which I am sure, is going to be very useful as future guidance for organizing such events. However, I would like repeat some of them again.

1.Get all clearances for such events at least one year in advance

2.Design the website which is user friendly. Give all information even if it is minor, specially bring out all limitation. Avoid seeking unnecessary information which has no relevance to conference.

3. Payment gateway should be designed to accept all types of card, If not bring out limitations .

4. Do not take VISA issue lightly.

After the conference is over settlement of accounts is also very important. COSPAR HQ had a special appreciation for LOC settling their account speedily and very smoothly. Finally , COSPAR 2012, Scientific assembly had positive bank balance, which made Chairman LOC, to graciously reward, all those who had worked hard to make this event a grand success. To sum up, Russia which is organizing this event in 2014 and Turkey in 2016 had asked details of planning process from us, which speaks volumes on the success of cospar2012 -39th scientific Assemblies held at Mysore, India.

NAMMA NAAYI KATHE

 ನಮ್ಮ  ನಾಯಿಯ  ಕಥೆ 

ಸುಮಾರು ಹನ್ನೊಂದು ವರುಷದ ಹಿಂದೆ  ನನ್ನ ಮಗನ ಒತ್ತಾಯದ  ಮೇಲೆ ನಾವು ಒಂದು ಜರ್ಮನ್ ಶೆಪರ್ಡ್  ನಾಯಿ ಮರಿಯನ್ನು ಮನೆಗೆ ತರಬೇಕಾಯಿತು.ಅವನೇ ಕೊನಂದ್ದೊರೀಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಒಂದು ಮರಿಯನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಬಂದ .ತರುವಾಗ  ಎಲ್ಲ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಹೇಳುವಂತೆ ನನ್ನ ಮಗ ಮತ್ತು ಮಗಳು ಸಹಾ ತಾವೇ ಸ್ವತಹ ಅದನ್ನು ಚನ್ನಾಗಿ  ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದಾಗಿ ಆಶ್ವಾಸನೆ ಕೊಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರು . ಕ್ರಮೇಣ ನನ್ನ ಮಗಳು ಹಾಗು ಮಗ ಇಬ್ಬರು ತಮ್ಮ ಆಶ್ವಾಸನೆಯನ್ನ  ಎಲ್ಲ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಮುರಿಯುವಂತೆ ಮುರಿದಿದ್ದರು .ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಅವನನ್ನು ನೋಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ನನ್ನ ಮತ್ತು ನನ್ನ ಹೆಂಡತಿಯ ಕೊರಳಿಗೆ ಬಿತ್ತು .

ನಮಗಿಬ್ಬರೀಗೂ ನಾಯಿ ಸಾಕುವ ಅನುಭವವೇನೂ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ .ಆದರೂ ಸಹಾ ಅದು ತೋರಿಸುವ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯಿಂದ ನಮಗಿಬ್ಬರೀಗೂ ಅವನೊಬ್ಬ ಕುಟುಂಬದ ಸದಸ್ಯನಾದ .ನನ್ನ ಮಗ ಅವನೀಗೆ ಗ್ರಾಮಿ ಎಂದು ನಾಮಕರಣ ಮಾಡಿದ .ನಾವೆಂದೂ ಸಹಾ ಅವನನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಸಾಕಲಿಲ್ಲ .ನಾಯಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಹಾಕಿದರೆ ಅವುಗಳು ಮುಂದೆ ಅಪರಿಚತರನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಚುವ ಅಭ್ಯಾಸ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತವೆ .ನಮ್ಮ ನಾಯಿ ಯಾರನ್ನು ಕಚ್ಚಬಾರದು ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನನ್ನ ಹೆಂಡತಿಯ ಖಚಿತ ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯವಾಗಿತ್ತು .ಗ್ರಾಮಿ ಯಾರನ್ನೂ ಸಹಾ ಕಚ್ಚಲಿಲ್ಲ ,ಅಪರಿಚತರನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಬೊಗಳುತಿದ್ದ .ಕ್ರಮೇಣ ಅವನೊಂದಿಗೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಸಂಭಂದ ಗಟ್ಟಿಯಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗಿ ಅವನು ತೋರಿಸುವ ನಿಷ್ಕಾಮ ಪ್ರೀತಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಅವನೊಂದಿಗಿನ   ಅವಿನಾಭಾವ ಸಂಭಂದಕ್ಕೆ  ನಾಂದಿ ಯಾಯಿತು.ನಮ್ಮ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಬೇರೆ ದೇಶಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋದ ಮೇಲಂತೂ ನಮಗೆ ಅವನೇ ಮನೆ ಮಗುವಾದ .

ನಾಯಿಗಳ ಎನನ್ನು  ಅರಿಯದ ನಾವು ಅವನಿಂದ ಬಹಳ ಕಲಿತೆವು.ಅವನು ಮನೆಯವರು ಹಾಕಿದ ಊಟ ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಯಾರು ಏನೇ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೂ ತಿನ್ನುತ್ತಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ .ಅವನು ಶಾಖಾಹಾರಿ ಆಗಿ ಬೆಳೆದ . ನನ್ನ ಹೆಂಡತಿ ಮಗಳ ಮನೆಗೆ ಆರು ತಿಂಗಳು ಹೋದಾಗ ,ನಾನು ಆಫೀಸಿನಿಂದ ಬರುವುದನ್ನೇ ಕಾಯುತಿದ್ದ .ಸುಮಾರು ೧೨ ಗಂಟೆಗೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಗೆ ತನ್ನ ನ್ಯಾಚುರಲ್ ಕಾಲ್ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಕೊಂಡು ನಾನು ಬಂದ ಮೇಲೆ ಹೊರಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ತನ್ನ ಭಾದೆಯನ್ನು ತೀರಿಸಿ ಕೊಳ್ಳುತಿದ್ದ .ಅವನ ಸಮಯ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ವಾದದ್ದು .ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ ,ಸಾಯಂಕಾಲ ,ರಾತ್ರಿ  ಅವನು ಗಂಟೆ ಹೊಡೆದಂತೆ ಸಮಯಕ್ಕೆ ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ನನ್ನ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಬಂದು ಕುಳತು ನನ್ನ ಮುಖ ನೋಡುತ್ತಾ ಎಮೋಷನಲ್  ಬ್ಲಾಕ್ ಮೈಲ್  ಮಾಡುತಿದ್ದುದನ್ನು ನೋಡುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಚೆಂದ .ಅವನಿಗೆ ನಾವು   ಆಡುವ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ  ಮಾತುಗಳು ಅರ್ಥವಾಗುತಿದ್ದವು .ಅವನನ್ನು ಡಾಕ್ಟರ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಕೊಂಡು  ಹೋಗುವಾಗ ನಾವು ಗುಟ್ಟಾಗಿ ಮಾತನಾಡಿ ಕೊಳ್ಳ ಬೇಕಾಗಿತ್ತು .ಅವನೀಗೆ  ಕಾರಲ್ಲಿ ಅಥವಾ ಆಟೋದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗುವುದಂದರೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಖುಷಿ .ಆಟೋ ನೋಡಿದರೆ ಸಾಕು ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ನುಗ್ಗಿ ಬಿಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ .
ಗ್ರಾಮಿ  ಮೊದಲು ಹೀಗಿದ್ದ

ಈ ಎರಡು ವರ್ಷದ ಹಿಂದೆ ಅವನೀಗೆ ಒಂದು ವಿಷಿಷ್ಟ ಕಾಯಿಲೆ -ಕಾಲಿನ ಪಾದದ ನೋವು ಶುರುವಾಯಿತು .ಡಾಕ್ಟರು  ಅವನೀಗೆ ಒಂದು ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಜಾಸ್ತಿ ಆಂಟಿಬಯೋಟಿಕ್   ಮದ್ದು ಕೊಟ್ಟರೂ ಸಹಾ ನೋವು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಯಿತು .ಪ್ರತಿ ದಿನ ಅವನ ಕಾಲನ್ನು ವಿನೆಗರ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಳೆದು ಡ್ರೈ ಮಾಡಿ ಮದ್ದು ಹಾಕಬೇಕಿತ್ತು .ಅವನಿಗೆ ತಿನ್ನಲು ಆಂಟಿಬಯೋಟಿಕ್ ಮಾತ್ರೆ ಮೂರು ಬಾರಿ ಕೊಡಬೇಕಾಗಿತ್ತು .ಇದನೆಲ್ಲಾ  ನನ್ನ  ಹೆಂಡತಿ ಯಾವುದೆ  ಬೇಸರವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಮಾಡುತಿದ್ದಳು  .ಕ್ರಮೇಣ ಅವನ ಕಾಯಿಲೆ ಉಲ್ಭಣ ವಾಗುತ್ತ  ಹೋಯಿತು .ಅವನೀಗೆ ಹತ್ತಾರು ಇಂಜೆಕ್ಷನ್ ಕೊಟ್ಟರೂ ಯಾವುದೇ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಆಗಲಿಲ್ಲ .ಸುಮಾರು ಮೂರು ನಾಲ್ಕೂ ಡಾಕ್ಟರ್ ನೋಡಿ ಮದ್ದು ಮಾಡಿದರೂ ಅವನ ರೋಗ ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಯಿತೆ ವಿನಃ ಯಾವುದೇ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಆಗಲಿಲ್ಲ .ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಡಾಕ್ಟರಗಳೂ ಈ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿ ಪರಿಹಾರ ನೀಡದಾದರು .ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಈ ಕಾಯಿಲೆಗೆ ಮದ್ದಿಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವ ಮೂಲಕ ಕೈ ತೊಳೆದುಕೊಂಡರು. ಕ್ರಮೇಣ ಅವನ ಕಾಯಿಲೆ ಕಾಲಿಂದ ಮೈಗೆ ,ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಬಾಯಿಗೆ ಹರಡಿ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ನೋವನ್ನು ಅನುಭವಿಸ ತೊಡಗಿದ .ನಾವು ಪ್ರತಿದಿನ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಬಾರಿ ಕಾಲ್ಗೆ ಸಾಕ್ಸ್ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡು ವಾಕಿಂಗ್ ಕರೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಬೇಕಿತ್ತು .ಅವನ ಕಾಲಿಗೆ  ಸಾಕ್ಸ್ ಹಾಕುವುದು,ದೈಪೆರ್ ಹಾಕುವುದು ಗಾಯಕ್ಕೆ ಟ್ರೀಟ್ಮೆಂಟ್ ಕೊಡುವುದು ಸುಮಾರು ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಘಂಟೆ ಕೆಲಸ ಬಹಳ ನಿಷ್ಠೆಯಿಂದ ನನ್ನ ಮಡದಿ ಮಾಡುತಿದ್ದಳು ಎಂದರೆ ಅತಿಶಯೋಕ್ತಿ ಆಗಲಾರದು  .ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಅವನು  ಮಲಗಿದ ಜಾಗದಿಂದ ಏಳಲಾಗದೆ ನ್ಯಾಚುರಲ್ ಕಾಲ್ ಹೋಗಲಾರದೆ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗೆ  ತಲುಪಿದಾಗ ,  ಮಲಗಿದಲ್ಲೇ ಮಾಡತೊಡಗಿದ .ರಸಿಗೆ , ಮತ್ತು ನ್ಯಾಚುರಲ್ ಕಾಲ್ ಗಳಿಂದ ಆದ ನಾತ  ತಾಳಲಾರದ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಗೆ ಬಂದಾಗ ನಮಗೆ ಏನು ಮಾಡಬೇಕೆಂದು ದಿಕ್ಕೇ ತೋಚದಾಯಿತು.ಕೊನೆಗೆ ,ಡಾಕ್ಟರ್  ಇದು ಗುಣವಾಗುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ಭರವಸೆ ನೀಡದಾಗ  , ನಾವು ಒಂದು ಕಷ್ಟಕರವಾದ ನಿರ್ಧಾರ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳ ಬೇಕಾಯ್ತು .ಅವನ ಪಡುವ ಮೂಕ  ವೇದನೆಯನ್ನು ನೋಡುವುದೇ  ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾದಾಗ ,ಅವನನನ್ನು ಸುಖವಾಗಿ  ಕಳುಹಿಸುವ ನಿರ್ಧಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದೆವು .ಅವನ ಕೊನೆಯದಿನಗಳನ್ನು  ನೆನಸಿ ಕೊಂಡಾಗ ದುಃಖ  ಉಕ್ಕಿ ಬರುತ್ತೆ.ನಾಯಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯೊಂದನ್ನು ಬಿಟ್ಟು ಏನನ್ನು ಕೇಳುವುದಿಲ್ಲ .ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಎಲ್ಲ ರೀತಿಯ ಕಷ್ಟಗಳನ್ನು ಸಹಿಸುವ ಸಕ್ತಿ ಇದೆ .ಅದು ಸತ್ತಾಗ ಅದರ ಪ್ರೀತಿ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಕಾಡುತ್ತದೆ .ಯಾವುದೇ ಮನುಷ್ಯ ಆ ನಿಷ್ಕಳಂಕ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯನ್ನ ತೋರಿಸಲಾರ . ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಅವನೀಗೆ ಒಂದು ಉತ್ತಮವಾದ ಜಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂತ್ಯ ಕ್ರೀಯೆ ಮಾಡಿದೆವು.ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ನಾವು ಮೇನಕಾ ಗಾಂಧಿ ನಿರ್ಮಸಿದ  ಜಾಗಕ್ಕೆ ಚಿರರುಣಿಗಳು .  ಇಂತಹ ಉತ್ತಮ ಜೀವಕ್ಕೆ ದೇವರು ಯಾಕೆ ಇಷ್ಟು ಕಷ್ಟ ಕೊಟ್ಟ ಎನ್ನುವುದೇ ನಮಗೆ ಅರಿವಾಗದು.ಅವನ ಅತ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಶಾಂತಿ ದೊರೆಯಲಿ .

            ಸೂಚನೆ : ನಾಯಿ ಸಾಕುವ ಮುನ್ನ ಆ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಯ   ಬಗ್ಗೇ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಮುಕ್ಯ .ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಇದನ್ನು ಗಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ತುಂಬಾ ಆವಶ್ಯಕ .

ಗ್ರಾಮಿ  ಕೊನೆಯ ದಿನಗಳು