“ENGINEERS LIKE TO SOLVE PROBLEMS. THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS HANDILY AVALIABLE. THEY WILL CREATE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS”

G. D. Naidu (Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu) (23 March 1893 – 4 January 1974) was an Indian inventor and engineer who is referred to as the “EDISON OF INDIA” and “THE WEATHER CREATOR OF COIMBATORE” He is credited with the manufacture of the first electric motor in India. His contributions were primarily industrial but also spanned the fields of electrical, mechanical, agricultural (hybrid cultivation) and automobile engineering. Naidu developed an independently internal combustion four stroke engine. He had only primary education but excelled as a versatile genius.

PERSONAL LIFE :

G.D. Naidu was born at Kalangal, COIMBATORE on 23 March 1893 in Tamil Nadu, India. He was the son of a farmer. His childhood years were spent getting in trouble at school. He disliked attending classes.His son name is KaliyaSwamy he created the company.His wife name is pushpa Naidu.

EARLY LIFE :

Naidu obtained work as a 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫 in a hotel in Coimbatore with the intention of saving money to buy a motorcycle. After getting the vehicle he spent time dismantling and re-assembling it, and later became a mechanic. He began his transport business in 1920, with the purchase of an automobile coach. He drove it between 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢 and 𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐢 In a few years, his Universal Motor Service (UMS) owned the most efficient fleet of public transport vehicles in the country. In 1937, the first motor to be produced in India was brought out from G. D. Naidu’s factory – NEW (National Electric Works) at Peelamedu, Coimbatore.

𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 :

G.D. Naidu developed India’s first indigenous motor in 1937 along with D. Balasundaram Naidu. The motor’s success resulted in the founding of textool by Balasundaram and, later, lakshmi machine works (LMW).Naidu’s ‘Rasant’ razor incorporated a small motor operated by dry cells, called HELIBRONN.

G.D. Naidu, Rathnasabapathy Mudaliar and India’s first finance minister R.K. SHANMUKHAM CHETTY conducted survey, for bringing Siruvani water to the Coimbatore city.Through Naidu’s efforts and donations India’s first polytechnic college, the Arthur Hope Polytechnic and the Arthur Hope College of Engineering were set up. Later the college moved to its present location and is now known as Government college of techonology. The college was named after the then Madras governor Aurthur hope In 1945, GD Naidu was the principal of the college. Naidu was not satisfied with the four-year programs and said that it was a waste of time for students. He suggested that two years was more than enough to teach the same courses, even with different concentrations. However, the British government did not accept his idea and Naidu resigned from his post. The name Hope College for the original site of the college remains in Coimbatore even.

Naidu died on 4 January 1974. Sir C V Raman said of Naidu: “A great educator, an entrepreneur in many fields of engineering and industry, a warm-hearted man filled with love for his fellows and a desire to help them in their troubles, Mr Naidu is truly a man in a million – perhaps this is an understatement!” He is survived by his son G.D. Gopal and grandchildren G.D. Rajkumar and Shantini. A permanent Industrial Exhibition in his memory is in Coimbatore. He provided employment in the engineering and manufacturing sectors to many individuals in the 1950s and 1960s.

By virtue of working in the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR)   and few other organisations in India and even abroad, I have the opportunity to meet many IAS officers and around 15 senior IAS officers were my bosses. While I was in abroad (many countries) many foreigners appreciated our IAS system of recruiting. 

 I have to agree that all IAS officers whom I met and interacted with were knowledgeable and vibrant in different fields. Some of them were publishing articles also. I am now a senior citizen and around 65 years of age but two names I remember whose articles inspired me – one is T. L Sankar sir and another one Rajeev Sadanandan sir. I had the opportunity to work under both of them when both were in NIRDPR as Director General and Deputy Director General in different periods. 

Recently, I have the opportunity to go through the book written by Chinmay Basu sir, an Odisha cadre IAS now retired on superannuation and settled in Kolkata. He also worked in NIRDPR as Deputy Director General. After retirement he has published (February 2021) a wonderful book in Bengali titled ‘Jibaner Jharna Kalam’ (meaning, according to me Jotted Down Experience of Life). 

There are altogether 23 chapters in the book and the volume is spread over to 128 pages including foreword and preface. The foreword is written by one IAS – Anita Agnihotri madam. 

For the benefit of readers I am highlighting a gist of each chapter as the author has presented his experience during service life mostly during his experience in Odisha with some cases in each chapter. 

 First chapter has highlighted his experience when   he was a student staying in the hostel of Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Calcutta, now Kolkata. According to the author most of the students were from different parts of India mostly from North East of India. Anyway, he has presented a sad case as he met one person, Sheikh Kader at YMCA whose family still has a renowned bakery in Guwahati, Assam. Kader finally became a medical doctor and a few years ago when the author with his wife went to Guwahati as tourists desired to meet Kader and accordingly went to Sheikh Brothers Bakery and came to know Kader passed away. Second chapter is interesting as when he joined Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy, Mussoorie, in 1977 as probationer, while filling up the form mentioned married as before joining marriage registration took place.  But normally as per Indian culture social marriage is a must so when he wanted to go for social marriage top head of the Institute asked him to clarify and with interesting note he has clarified   because registration and social marriage are two  different phenomena. In the third chapter, the author has presented his experience when he went to join with his wife a small town Gunupur as SDO (Sub Divisional Officer), Korapout district.  With a lot of hassles he joined and he was the first IAS officer to join as SDO in that place. In the fourth chapter, the author has narrated how a small   rivulet (drainage type)   became furious because of incessant rain. With a lot of difficulty the author crossed the rivulet with the help of local staff as there was an important meeting. 

In the fifth chapter a case of corrupt practice has been highlighted as how an official harassed a small cinema hall owner. With the intervention of the author, the cinema hall was reopened. Sixth chapter also touched upon the corruption (bribery) case which the author has neutralised. In the seventh chapter exploitation of the bonded labourers by the big landowners has been presented. The author’s experience in Kalahandi has been presented in chapter 8 where he worked as district magistrate. Here also he observed some issues. In chapter 9 the author had to move by train by taking a ticket in another person’s name and the situation has been lucidly explained. An anomaly during recruitment of staff in Sambalpur district, where the author was the district magistrate, has been presented in chapter 10, and the author and his immediate colleagues tackled the issue as he received an anonymous letter about corruption during examination. In chapter 11 the author has explained how his childhood friend who went mountaineering lost his life. The chapter 12 is also interesting as the author was with his two children and wife while going to Nandankanan, a great and famous sanctuary of the animals by bus, and faced a serious problem because he forgot to take the required amount. And finally how it was resolved may be found in the chapter. 

 The author has explained his interesting experience in Chapter 13 about train journeys and the train left the station as within the stipulated time he along with his boss a chief secretary level officer could not get down in the station timely and finally the issue was resolved. In Chapter 14 the author has explained how the big industrialists exploit weavers. Health issue of the author’s teenage son and how the issue was tackled has been narrated in chapter 15 and chapter 16 as the author’s son suddenly suffered from nerve related issues in 1995. In chapter 17 former Prime Minister Honourable Rajiv Gandhi’s visit with Madam Sonia Gandhi at Kalahandi in 1987 has been lucidly presented. And unfortunately both could not visit a village because of heavy rain although it was scheduled. But later on the author visited and observed a few cases of corruption and highlighted these in chapter 17.  When the author’s son and daughter were students at Symbiosis college in Pune, the mother of both (his wife) , used too many phone calls through STD. Those days cell phones were not available. So the author was disgusted as the phone was meant for official purposes. In view of this, the author joined in Mumbai as Chief Executive Officer in Khadi and Village Industries Commission. Time to time both husband and wife used to visit Pune to meet their children and similarly both the children on holidays used to visit their home in Mumbai. And in this chapter 18 behaviour of both son and daughter has been lucidly explained which is a simple example of generation gap. 

The author had the opportunity to study in Harvard University of USA in 1989 under the scholarship of UNDP. Since it was a prestigious programme, he went there with his wife and both the children and had the opportunity to attend Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen’s class (chapter 19). In chapter 20, the author has explained a case in the USA as by seeing ‘Food Coupon’ which an old lady was using he puzzled and later on came to know these are given by the Government to the poor persons who are unable to work like Old-age pension in our country. The author has lucidly explained in chapter 21 his visit with family members to Niagara Falls in Canada. Here he has honestly explained about the visa issue because he came from India on one single entry visa but some people misguided him that multiple entry visas are required and finally the issue was resolved. The author’s experience with the former Chief Minister Honourable Biju Pattnaik and about his personality has been wonderfully jotted down in chapter 22. In the last chapter of 23 while the author was Chief Executive Officer in Khadi and Village Industries Commission in a programme Prime Minister Honourable Atal  Bihari Vajpayee came as chief guest , the author’s embracing position while extending vote of thanks in Hindi has been explained. The author feels that he should have spoken like an extempore speech not by reading a piece of paper and with a humorous note he has concluded the chapter.

This is a wonderful publication although in Bengali so I suggest the author if possible it may be published in Odia, English and Hindi also. Also I suggest all the 23 chapters should be numbered by inserting 1, 2, 3 etc., as only the chapters’ titles have been mentioned in the content. Since, the publication has mainly highlighted his experience during service period and abroad so many of us faced such issues in our service life so I am feeling nostalgic.

 Dr Shankar Chatterjee

Former Professor & Head (CPME),NIRD & PR ( Govt. of India), Hyderabad,  

Dance is one of the best forms of expression. People all over the world are into various forms of dancing. They say anybody can dance…which is true, unless and until you are knowledgeable of the dance form. The easiest dance form is Freestyling. It is simple and you don’t need to have a specific choreography to dance along with the music.

Here are some dance styles that are widely loved by the people of the world.

HIP-HOP

The dance form is usually performed by skilled dancers. It includes a wide range of styles created in the 1970s and made popular by dance ctews in the United States. They go under training that usually involves locking, popping, breaking, flips, handstands etc. This dance has moves which are closer to the ground and is usually performed to hip-hop, R&B, Funk, Electronic, and pop music. They are also called street dances or street style. This is a dace form that is widely performed and loved.

BALLET

A dance style that was originated in the 15th century in Italy and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. This is usually performed on classical music. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained ballet dancers. It requires ages of training and is extremely eye pleasing.

SALSA

It is performed in couples and is performed on Salsa and Latin American music. Salsa is an amalgamation of Cuban dances such mambo, pachanga, and rumba as well as American dances such as swing and tap. It was primarily developed by Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Different regions of Latin America and the United States (including countries in the Caribbean) have distinct salsa styles of their own, such as Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian, and New York styles. Salsa dance socials are commonly held in nightclubs, bars, ballrooms, restaurants, and outside, especially when part of an outdoor festival.

BELLY DANCE

It is an expressive Arabian dance style that was originated in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style; with Egyptian style the most recognized worldwide due to the Egyptian cinema. It is popular worldwide with many schools around the globe now practicing it.

BHANGRA

It is a type of traditional folk dance of the India subcontinent, originating in Sialkot in Punjab. In a typical performance, several dancers execute vigorous kicks, leaps, and bends of the body—often with upraised, thrusting arm or shoulder movements.  its modern-day evoluti on has allowed bhangra to retain its traditional Indian roots, while broadening its reach to include integration into popular music and DJing, group-based competitions, and even exercise and dance programs in schools and studios.

FLAMENCO

It is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, originating in the culture and traditions of the Cale Roma, commonly known in Spanish as Gitanos, of the region of Andalusia, but also having a historical presence in Mucia. Flamenco has become popular all over the world, especially the US and Japan.

TANGO

Tango is a partner dance, and social dance that originated in the 1880s, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango then spread to the rest of the world. Many variations of this dance currently exist around the world. On August 31, 2009, it approved a joint proposal by Argentina and Uruguay to include the tango in the UNESCO Cultral Heritage list.

DRAGON DANCE

It is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese dance. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen in festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers who manipulate a long flexible figure of a dragon using poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the dragon. The dragons are believed to possess qualities that include great power, dignity, fertility, wisdom and auspiciousness. The movements in a performance traditionally symbolize historical roles of dragons demonstrating power and dignity.

CONTEMPORARY

is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in the U.S. and Europe. Although originally informed by and borrowing from classical, modern, and jazz styles. Due to its technical similarities, it is often perceived to be closely related to modern dance, ballet, and other classical concert dance styles. 

Article by : Haniah Mirza

“Beauty is skin-deep” the saying goes, and it seems most of you agree when you describe what you consider most beautiful in a person.

Confidence, kindness, happiness, dignity and intelligence all ranked in the top five out of 19 attributes that people said make the opposite and same sex beautiful.

Physical attributes like facial appearance, body weight and shape, and sexiness come much lower in the rankings of a recent Global Advisor survey of more than 18,000 people across 27 countries.

In fact, strength was the only physical attribute in the top 10 for what women considered beautiful in men. For how men view women – strength, sexiness and facial appearance – ranked at the bottom of the top 10 traits.

“No matter how physically gorgeous someone
is, if they are a rotten person, they will
not appear beautiful to us for long.”
Carla Flamer, Marketing Canada

But, if the business of improving your looks is such a big business, then why do we place less importance on physical traits when it comes to what we consider beautiful?

Or, is there more to this than what meets the eye?

Difference between thinking & experiencing

Namika Sagara, President of Ipsos’ Behavioral Science Center, says we use different processes in our brain when we think of what characteristics matter versus what matters when we experience things.

“When we think of it, we tend to be more logical and rational, and also cognizant of what others might think of what we have to say,” said Sagara. “But when we experience, we tend to skip those logical and rational processes.”

Greg Gwiasda, Behavioral Scientist & VP at our Behavioral Science Center, adds that when things seem distant, we tend to think more abstractly, but when we are close to doing something, we think more concretely.

“When we talk to people about what they want in a partner, we are in a more abstract mindset – so the general traits are more likely to be salient,” said Gwiasda. “When we are actually choosing a partner, this is a very immediate need and we think in much more concrete terms – she’s got a nice smile, figure; he’s got good eyes, abs.”

Appearing beautiful vs. staying beautiful

There’s also a difference between what we initially view as beautiful when we meet someone and what keeps them as beautiful in our eyes, according to Carla Flamer, President of Marketing Canada, who’s worked with some of the world’s biggest beauty brands.

“The physical aspects, features, body type, facial balance – that gets positive first attention,” said Flamer. “What keeps someone looking beautiful in our eyes is intrinsic.”

“One is more immediate/visceral, in terms of creating an impression, and the other longer lasting,” said Flamer suggesting both are equally important elements of beauty – the physical and non-physical.

“No matter how physically gorgeous someone is, if they are a rotten person, they will not appear beautiful to us for long.”

Sagara backed this sentiment by saying that attraction can go through a journey and change over time.

“For example, the most salient attraction you might recall right when you met your partner is a physical attraction [like] how pretty his or her eyes were,” said Sagara. “What you think most attractive about your partner now may be the confidence he or she has.”

This is not because you think the eyes of your partner are no longer attractive, Sagara explains, but more that you have developed a stronger attraction to their confidence after spending more time with them.

What’s socially acceptable?

But given the popularity of current dating apps where you can swipe through potential partners based on their looks, the experts agreed there could be an element of people wanting to give socially desirable answers in order not to appear shallow.

Physical traits like hair styling, youthfulness and body weight and shape were among eight of the last nine characteristics that made men beautiful to women. Similarly, seven of last 10 attributes that made women beautiful to men were physical ones.

Sagara said that when we report what makes a person beautiful, we – consciously or unconsciously – tend to align with what we think should make a person beautiful, which can be heavily influenced by our macro and micro cultures.

But Colin Strong, Global Head of Behavioral Science at Ipsos, argues that giving more importance to physical attributes of beauty can be misleading, because it is difficult to really understand why we are attracted to another.

He points to the fact that the current survey’s findings are similar to one done by Ipsos for Dove’s Real Beauty campaign in 2004.

“Since 2004 there has been an explosion in online dating – and a lot of handwringing over the way in which we are making increasingly superficial decisions over who we want to date,” said Strong.

“Maybe this shows that in actual fact, despite this, we are all still looking for qualities in our partners that will lead to love, not just a hot date.”

Everything that we want to achieve requires some effort. But how important is effort in achieving our goals?

What you do today – the effort you put in – determines your success tomorrow. Rory Vaden, the author of “Take the Stairs: 7 Steps for Achieving True Success”, says, “Success is never owned; it is only rented – and the rent is due every day.”

Effort, like sunscreen in the summer, needs to be applied consistently. To achieve our goals, we need to put in the effort each and every day. On days that we feel good and on days when we don’t feel like doing the work. Many people will put in effort for a short time and when their effort does not immediately pay off or they become distracted by life, they stop putting in the daily effort needed to finish and succeed.

One way to keep yourself motivated to put in the effort needed for your goals is to think of all the other people who have the same goal. Knowing that most people will at some point give up and stop putting in consistent effort, you can use this to motivate you to continue to work hard and keep moving forward. I call these “Get ahead” days. These are the days that you get ahead of your competition. After all, everyone can put in the effort when they are feeling good or the circumstances are perfect, but not many persist through the tough days.

Effort is really just a habit that we need to develop if we want to be successful. Success requires that you are willing to do whatever is necessary, when it is necessary in order to succeed.

Effort pays off in many ways. When we put in effort, we learn. Whether the effort produces results or not, we can learn and adapt based on what we learn from our efforts. If our efforts lead us further away from our goal, then we need to change our strategy. If our effort brings us closer to our goal, we can double down with our effort.

The great basketball player, Michael Jordan said that work ethic, (effort), eliminates fear. By putting in the effort, we know what we are capable of and do not need to be afraid.

Effort teaches us that we can do more than we thought. We learn new skills and abilities when we take the time to put in consistent effort. Every new success that we achieve through our efforts increases our confidence in ourselves and our abilities. Effort keeps us focused on success. As your effort brings you closer to your goal, your motivation and willpower increase as you can taste victory.