Thursday, August 28, 2008

Know your money

 

I found this excellent piece of information on Reserve Bank of India site...  It is great to know a bit about trivia of the money we use and earn ...  some more links to explore money ( Currency )

http://www.banknotes.com/images.htm

http://www.currencymuseum.ca/

http://www.rba.gov.au/Museum/Displays/1788_1900_before_federation/gold_and_the_age_of_british_notes.html

 

Throughout history, the right to Coinage and Currency and issues of sovereignty have been curiously conjoined, emotionally if not rationally; these issues stimulate debate even today. The transition of currency management from colonial to independent India was a reasonably smooth affair. Midnight, August 15, 1947 heralded Indian independence from colonial rule. The Republic, however, was established on 26th January, 1950. During the interregnum, the Reserve Bank continued to issue the extant notes.

Government of India brought out the new design Re 1 note in 1949.


Government of India - Rupee One

Symbols for independent India had to be chosen. At the outset it was felt that the King's portrait be replaced by a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi. Designs were prepared to that effect. In the final analysis, the consensus moved to the choice of the Lion Capital at Sarnath in lieu of the Gandhi Portrait. The new design of notes were largely along earlier lines.


Rupees Ten - King's Portrait


Rupees Ten - Ashoka Pillar

In 1953, Hindi was displayed prominently on the new notes. The debate regarding the Hindi plural of Rupaya was settled in favour of Rupiye. High denomination notes (Rs 1,000, Rs. 5,000, Rs. 10,000) were reintroduced in 1954.


Rupees One Thousand - Tanjore Temple


Rupees Five Thousand - Gateway of India


Rupees Ten Thousand - Lion Capital, Ashoka Pillar

The lean period of the early sixties led to considerations of economy and the sizes of notes were reduced in 1967. In 1969 a commemorative design series in honour of the birth centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi was issued depicting a seated Gandhi with the Sevagram Ashram as the backdrop.


Rupees One Hundred - Commemorative Design

Cost benefit considerations prompted the Bank to introduce Rs. 20 denomination notes in 1972 and Rs. 50 in 1975.


Rupees Twenty


Rupees Fifty

High denomination notes were once again demonetised in 1978 for the same reasons as the 1946 demonetisation. The 1980s saw a completely new set of notes issued. The motifs on these notes marked a departure form the earlier motifs. The emphasis lay on symbols of Science & Technology (Aryabhatta on the Rs 2 note), Progress (the Oil Rig on Re 1 and Farm Mechanisation on Rs 5) and a change in orientation to Indian Art forms on the Rs 20 and the Rs 10 notes. (Konark Wheel, Peacock).

Management of Currency had to cope with the rising demands of a growing economy, together with a fall in purchasing power. The Rupee 500 note was introduced in October 1987 with the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi. The water mark continued to be the Lion Capital, Ashoka Pillar.


Rupees Five Hundred

Mahatma Gandhi Series

With the advancement of reprographic techniques, traditional security features were deemed inadequate. It was necessary to introduce new features and a new 'Mahatma Gandhi Series' was introduced in 1996. A changed watermark, windowed security thread, latent image and intaglio features for the visually handicapped are amongst the new features.


Rupees Ten : Size 137 x 63 mm

Image : Rupees Fifty
Rupees Fifty : Size 147 x 73 mm

Image : Rupees One Hundred
Rupees One Hundred : Size 157 x 73 mm

Image : Rupees Five Hundred
Rupees Five Hundred : Size 167 x 73 mm

Image : Rupees One Thousand
Rupees One Thousand : Size 177 x 73 mm

Reserve Bank of India

Friday, August 22, 2008

India food map

 

India and its rich culture also brings in an additional dimension which is the culinary heritage across the different states . I found this interesting map of India food.  How many of this you have sampled ?

 

 india food

Monday, August 18, 2008

Ethnologue report for India

 

India has a wonderful diversity when it comes to languages. It is often seen that two unknown Indians speak to each other in English when they are meeting out side India instead of their mother tongue. This is bacause they are not sure which language the other person is comfortable with. The number of languages listed for India is 428. Of those, 415 are living languages and 13 are extinct. I am enclosing an extract of the Ethanologue report for India.

In comparison , The number of languages listed for USA is 238. Of those, 162 are living languages, 3 are second language without mother-tongue speakers, and 73 are extinct.

The number of languages listed for China is 236. Of those, 235 are living languages and 1 is extinct.

The world record however goes to Papua New Guinea which has 830 languages listed for . Of those, 820 are living languages and 10 are extinct.

The complete report can be found at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=in

Languages of India

Republic of India, Bharat. 1,065,070,607. Indo-Aryan 777,361,000, 76%; Dravidian 216,635,000, 21.6%; Austro-Asiatic 12,250,000, 1.2%; Tibeto-Burman 10,350,000, 1%; Other 2,468,600, 0.2%. National or official languages: Hindi and English. There are 22 official 'scheduled' languages: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Meitei, Nepali, Oriya, Eastern Panjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. Literacy rate: 36% to 52%. Also includes Armenian (560), Burushaski, Chitwania Tharu, Geman Deng, Judeo-Iraqi Arabic, Kathoriya Tharu, Northern Pashto (15,000), Portuguese (250,000), Russian (1,036), Uyghur, Walungge, Western Farsi (18,000), Arabic, Chinese. Information mainly from G. Marrison 1967; R. Hugoniot 1970; C. Masica 1991; K. S. Singh 1994, 1995; J. Matisoff, S. Baron, and J. Lowe 1996; R. Breton 1997; R. Burling ms 1998. Blind population: 9,000,000. Deaf population: 9,400,000 to 14,000,000 (2001). Deaf institutions: 850. The number of languages listed for India is 428. Of those, 415 are living languages and 13 are extinct.
Living languages

Aariya

[aay]  Madhya Pradesh, Chhatarpur, Datia, Panna, Rewa, Satna, Shahdol, Sidhi, Tikamgarh districts. Classification: Unclassified 
More information.

Adi

[adi] 110,000 in India (1997 BSI). Population includes 1,200 Palibo. Population total all countries: 111,088. Arunachal Pradesh, East, West, and Upper Siang districts, Upper Subansiri and Dibang Valley districts; Assam, north hills of Assam Valley, between Bhutan and the Buruli River. Also spoken in China. Alternate names: Abhor, Abor, Boga'er Luoba, Lhoba, Luoba.  Dialects: Ashing, Bokar (Boga'er Luoba), Bori, Karko, Komkar, Milang, Minyong, Padam (Standard Adi), Pailibo, Pangi, Pasi, Ramo, Shimong, Tangam. Sun (1993) lists Tani languages and dialects as Apatani, Milang, Bokar, Damu, Mising, Padam, Bangni, Tagin, Sagli, south Aya, Leli, and perhaps Pailibo, Ramo, Asing, Bori, Pasi, Panggi, Simong, Minyong, Karok, Hill Miri, and some northern and western dialects of Nisi. Intelligible with Adi Galo but they are sociolinguistically distinct. A different language from Yidu Lhoba.  Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, North Assam, Tani 
More information.

Adi, Galo

[adl] 150,000 (2004). A few older adult monolinguals. Arunachal Pradesh, West Siang, East Siang, Dibang Valley (south), Lohit (east), Changlang (northeast), and some in Upper Subansiri (west) districts. Alternate names: Adi, Adi-Gallong, Adi-Galo, Gallong, Galong.  Dialects: Reportedly intelligible with other Adi dialects but they are sociolinguistically distinct.  Classification: Sino-Tibetan, Tibeto-Burman, North Assam, Tani 
More information.

Agariya

[agi] 55,757 (1981 census). Madhya Pradesh, Mandla, Bilaspur, Rewa districts, Maikal hills; Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur District Uttar Pradesh, Agra, Mathura, Mirzapur districts. Alternate names: Agaria, Agharia, Agoria.  Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Munda, North Munda, Kherwari 
More information.

Ahirani

[ahr] 779,000 (1997). Maharashtra, Dhule, Jalgaon districts; Gujarat. Alternate names: Ahiri.  Dialects: Preliminary findings are that it is distinct from Khandesi.  Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Khandesi 
More information.

Ethnologue report for India

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

जयोऽस्तु ते श्री महन्मंगले शिवास्पदे शुभदे

 

India won its independence 61 years ago . Veer Savarkar who was a great patriot wrote an inspiring poem to create a momentum for the freedom movement. Savarkars approach towards freedom was quite different than the Gandhian  philosophy but nobody can dispute that Savarkar's words today also give us inspiration and honour motherland 

जयोऽस्तु ते श्रीमहन्मङ्गले शिवास्पदे शुभदे
स्वतन्त्रते भगवती त्वामहम् यशोयुताम् वन्दे

राष्ट्राचें चैतन्य मूर्त तूं नीती संपदांची
स्वतन्त्रते भगवती श्रीमती राज्ञी तूं त्यांची
परवशतेच्या नभांत तूंचि आकाशीं होशी
स्वतन्त्रते भगवती चांदणी चमचम-लखलखशी

गालावरच्या कुसुमीं किंवा कुसुमांच्या गालीं
स्वतन्त्रते भगवती तूंच जी विलसतसे लाली
तुं सूर्याचें तेज उदधिचें गांभीर्यहिं तूंचि
स्वतन्त्रते भगवती अन्यथा ग्रहणनष्टतेची

मोक्ष-मुक्ति हीं तुझींच रूपें तुलाच वेदांतीं
स्वतन्त्रते भगवती योगिजन परब्रह्म वदती
जें जें उत्तम उदात्त उन्नत महन्मधुर तें तें
स्वतन्त्रते भगवती सर्व तव सहकारी होती

हे अधमरक्तरञ्जिते सुजनपूजिते श्री स्वतन्त्रते
तुजसाठि मरण तें जनन
तुजवीण जनन तें मरण
तुज सकल-चराचर-शरण चराचर-शरण

Monday, August 11, 2008

A Golden Moment

India won its forst Individual GOLD Medal . Kudos and heartiest congratultaions to Abhinav Bindra who won a Gold Medal in 10 m Air Rifle event at Beijing Games.

A quick note on Abhinav Bindra

Abhinav Bindra (born September 28, 1982) is an Indian shooting sports person and businessman. He is the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics. As a shooter, he specialises in the field of Air rifle. In August 2008, he became the first Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympic Games.[1]
Abhinav Bindra was the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 Olympic Games. He won six gold medals at various international meets in 2001. In the Air rifle event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, Manchester, he won Gold in the Pairs event and Silver in the individual event. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he broke the Olympic record but failed to win a medal. He is a recipient of the Arjuna award in 2001 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 2001-2002. Abhinav Bindra's potential talent was first spotted by Lt. Col. J.S. Dhillon. He was Bindra's first coach. Apart from being a shooter, Abhinav Bindra holds an M.B.A. (Masters in Business Administration). He is also the CEO of Abhinav Futuristics.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Abhinav Bindra won the gold for the Men's 10m Air Rifle final after shooting a total of 700.5, thus becoming the first Indian individual gold medallist at the Olympics. He scored 596 (fourth) in the qualifying round and out-scored all other shooters in the finals with a round of 104.5.



It is a special moment for India as we have struggled to win an Olympic Gold for so many years and now we have a ocassion to celebrate. May we have many such moments in future . Relish this day..... Cheers

Friday, August 08, 2008

Have you seen " MODI" script ?

 

India is a home to many languages and scripts . Many of them has been lost in the pursuit of English. The rich heritage of India can only be understood through the ancient scripts first wrote in scripts such as " Modi" . Modern India needs to preserve and take appropriate measures to keep alive these scripts. I am sure there will be many others scripts used in different parts of the country. Happy learning....

Modi alphabet   Modi

Origin

The Modi alphabet was invented during the 17th century to write the Marathi language of Maharashtra. It is a variant of the Devanāgarī alphabet. The Modi alphabet was used until 1950 when it was replaced by the Devanāgarī alphabet.

Notable features

  • Modi is a syllabic alphabet - each letter has an inherent vowel (a). Other vowels are indicated using a variety of diacritics which appear above, below, in front of or after the main letter. Some vowels are indicated by modifying the consonant letter itself.

Used to write

Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 71 million people mainly in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Modi consonants

Modi consonants

Modi vowels and vowel diacritics

Modi vowels and vowel diacritics

Modi numerals

Modi numerals

Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modi_script

http://marathimodi.tripod.com/

http://www.ancientscripts.com/modi.html

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

THANK YOU

A big thank you to all the readers who have landed on my blog. I will be celebrating 1000th visitor soon and 50th blog post very shortly. Thank you for readership again....

Hindi : धन्यवाद

Arabic: شُكْرا، أشْكُرَك
Chinese (Simplified): 谢谢(你)
Chinese (Traditional): 謝謝(你)
Czech: děkuji
Danish: tak
Dutch: dank je
Estonian: aitäh, tänan teid
Finnish: kiitos
Greek: (σε, σας) ευχαριστώ
Hungarian: köszönöm!
Icelandic: þakka þér
Indonesian: terima kasih
Japanese: ありがとう
Latvian: paldies; pateicos
Lithuanian: ačiū
Norwegian: tusen takk (for)
Polish: dziękuję
Portuguese (Brazil): obrigado
Portuguese (Portugal): obrigado
Romanian: mulţumesc
Russian: благодарю
Slovak: ďakujem
Slovenian: hvala
Spanish: gracias
Swedish: tack !, tackar!
Turkish: teşekkür ederim

Show Large Images with Deep Zoom Composer - Video Tour

 

Courtesy : www.labnol.org

 

deep zoom composer Deep Zoom Composer is a free software from Microsoft that lets you place high resolution photographs and other large images in a web page without resizing them.

Your viewers can then navigate through the images using standard zoom and pan controls similar to what we have in Google Maps. The only thing they would need is Silverlight*.

It take three steps to create a composition (or collage) in Deep Zoom Composer.

Step 1: Import your pictures into Deep Zoom Composer.

Import Pictures

Step 2: If you have just one picture to showcase, you are ready to go. Else your may arrange and resize the pictures in any manner you like. There’re are helpful on-screen guides to help you with the alignments and resizing.

Arrange Pictures

Step 3: The last step is to export your composition. You can either export them onto your local drive or let Deep Zoom Composer upload it to Microsoft’s PhotoZoom website from where anyone can view your pictures.

Export Deep Zoom

You may also watch this screencast video on how to quickly create a composition with Deep Zoom Composer.

With Deep Zoom Composer, you can not only put high-res images on the web but the software can also be used for stitching panoramas on the fly. Just select the images that are part of the panorama, right click and select "Create Panoramic Photo."

Deep Zoom Composer | Get Silverlight | Photo Zoom | Team Blog