HISTORICAL EVENT OF THE MONTH

Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi

 

21 May in India is observed as Anti-Terrorism Day to commemorate the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was assassinated by a suicide bomber. 

On May 21, 1991, at 10:10p.m., Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India, was killed in a bomb blast that occurred during an election rally at Sriperumbudur near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The blast was triggered by Dhanu, a Sri Lankan Tamil suicide bomber who detonated an explosive-laden belt concealed under her dress while stooping to touch his feet. Fifteen people, including Rajiv Gandhi and Dhanu, were killed on the spot while three succumbed to their injuries in hospital; 44 were injured. 

The assassination was carried out by the Liberation of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Tamil terrorist outfit operating in Sri Lanka, who opposed the deployment of the military contingent Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka as part of the agreement between the two governments when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. With the elections near, the LTTE feared that Rajiv Gandhi's return to power would result in a return of the IPKF and a crackdown on the LTTE network in India. 

The case was immediately entrusted to the CBI, who formed a Special Investigation Team to find the culprits. A 3-month-long hunt ended with the suicide of Sivarasan, the mastermind behind the assassination, along with his chief accomplice Subha and five others when the police closed in on their hideout in Bangalore.

DO YOU KNOW

What is mad honey?

It is the honey produced by bees which feed on the nectar of certain species of rhododendron flowers. These flowers have a natural neurotoxin called grayanotoxin in their nectar. The bees pollinating these flowers pass the toxin into the honey which when consumed, induces hallucinogenic effects in people. 

Dark reddish in colour, this honey has been historically produced in the Black Sea region of Turkey. There is an interesting account relating to mad honey dating back to 401 B.C. A company of Greek soldiers passing through Turkey took violently ill and became disoriented after eating honey from beehive along the route. They recovered the next day. In another account, in 69 B.C., the invading Roman army of Pompey the Great was tricked by the locals into eating the honey. When the Roman became delirious and nauseated, the enemy soldiers swooped in and killed them.

Mad honey is eaten only in small amounts like medicine. Eating too much can cause hallucinations, vomiting, dizziness, irregular heartbeats and fainting. The symptoms are rarely fatal.

 

As rhododendron grow in high altitudes, the bees usually make their hives in sheer cliffs. In Nepal, members of the Gurung tribe go to extraordinary lengths to gather the honey. They climb down treacherous cliffs on long rope ladders with no protective gear, smoke out the bees and then cut away the hives dripping with honey. 

THE BREAD OF THE DESERT

The Date 

The Date (Phoenix dactylifera), a native of the deserts of Arabia, is popularly called the 'bread of the desert'. An ancient fruit that finds mention in the Quran and the Old Testament, the Date is a key food source for millions living across the Middle East and North Africa. 

Dates grow on the Date palm, a tall evergreen tree that reaches up to 30 metres in height. Usually unbranched, it has long leaves that surround the trunk in a spiral pattern. Because of its tenacity in sprouting in the driest of deserts, the tree is viewed as a symbol of fertility and has been depicted on monuments and coins. Its shape is even thought to have inspired a style of columns in Greek architecture. Each palm produces five to ten bunches of Dates. A single large bunch may contain more than a thousand Dates, and can weigh between 6 to 8 kg. The tree begins to bear fruit at 3 to 5 years, and reaches full production after about a decade. 

The fruit is characterised by its succulent, soft flesh and the single hard seed in the middle. Unripe Dates are green in colour and mature to reddish-brown when fully ripe. 

The Date is not just a delicious fruit but a powerhouse of nutrition, as it is packed with body-building and disease-fighting proteins, minerals and vitamins. It is high in sugar content and provides energy. Vitamin C present in Dates helps lower blood pressure by dilating the blood vessels, and also lowers bad cholesterol level in the blood. Further, the fruit is rich in fibre and an excellent source of potassium. Its high iron content helps keep anaemia at bay.

According to an old Arab saying, the uses of the Date palm are as many as the number of days in the year. All the parts of the tree are put to commercial use - the trunk for timber, the leaves for weaving mats and baskets, the bark as building material, and the sap as an ingredient in baking. Even the Date stone (seed) finds use as cattle feed, after being soaked and powdered. 

STORY

Prayer for contentment

 

Once Lord Vishnu was very much pleased with the tapasya (penance) of a devotee and said, "I shall grant you three requests."

The elated devotee did not hesitate, "Here is my first request," he said, "I want my wife to die so I can marry a better woman." His wish was immediately granted. 

But when his friends and relatives gathered for the funeral and began to recall the virtues of his wife, the devotee saw he had been hasty. So he asked the Lord to bring her back to life. 

That left him with just one more petition. He was determined not to make a mistake this time, for there would be no chance to change it. He consulted widely. 

Some advised him to ask for immortality. But what good was immortality, said others, if he did not have good health? And health if he had no money? And money if he had no friends?

Years passed and he had still not made his choice, life or health or wealth or power or love. Finally he said to the Lord, "Tell me what to ask for."

The Lord laughed when he saw the man's predicament, and said, "Ask to be content no matter what you get."

MAKING A CAREER

The hospitality industry

 

Every large hotel has many teams working round the clock to ensure that all the operations take place smoothly. These teams are managed by extremely capable managers in different leadership roles. Let's look at a few people involved with running a hotel. 

General Manager (GM): The GM is at the top of the hierarchy in a hotel's management. The GM's role is to ensure maximum customer satisfaction. To make that possible, the GM makes sure that services provided follow a well-defined system that caters to predetermined quality standards. The main role of GM is to oversee the recruitment of staff, advertising agencies, brand builders, complaints, planning for fewer or more visitors, expansion plans and financial and budget reviews. 

Director Of Finance (DOF): The DOF reports to the GM. The DOF supervises the finance department, is involved in budget planning, makes adjustments for unexpected challenges, manages the hotel's relationship with its bank to ensure a steady cash flow and handles tax compliance, foreign exchange, salaries and so on. 

Resident Manager (RM): The RM is someone who resides on the hotel property. The RM is responsible for supervising all the daily activities of the hotel such as customer service, reservations and front desk operations and ensures that the property is well maintained. The RM along with the front office manager, verifies the paperwork of guests and liaisons with the local police station for international travellers, monitors security cameras and ensures general security in the hotel. At times, when the GM is unavailable the RM manages all the activities. Another important responsibility is to make sure the property's goals are met without exceeding the budget. 

Purchase Manager (PM): The PM attends to all the procurement requirements to ensure the hotel functions smoothly. The PM is actively involved in obtaining competitive quotations for hotel requirements and ensuring that the best products are sourced and purchased. When the purchases are delivered, it is this person's responsibility to check and approve the delivered items. The PM also keeps track of the stocks and verifies the pending orders daily. Since this person handles the purchases, he or she works with the finance department by providing information about rising prices to make accommodations in the hotel's budget plan. 

Front Office Manager (FOM): The FOM supervises the front desk operations, ensuring that the customers can check in with ease. The FOM also handles customer complaints, provides clear instructions to front desk personnel and ensures proper accounting of customer details. The FOM is generally the first person the customer meets and is thus the face of the hotel. Since the FOM interacts with customers daily, his or her inputs are crucial in the hotel's marketing activities and development plan. The FOM's duties also include handling cash, checking the cash for counterfeit notes and handling credit. 

Sales Manager (SM): The SM reports to the GM and is responsible for proactive direct sales, marketing, telemarketing, direct mail, appointment calls and tours of the hotel. This person stategises on how to boost sales and revenue for the hotel. 

Executive Chef (EC): The EC is in charge of the kitchen and hence the food that is served to customers. This person's culinary responsibilities include designing new recipes, planning menus, selecting plate presentations, taking stock of food and equipment supplies and obtaining feedback on the food. The EC is also involved in hiring, training and supervising staff and ensuring hygienic practices are followed in the kitchen at all times. 

Hotelier in focus: Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi 

Rai Bahadur Mohan Singh Oberoi, the founder of Oberoi Group of hotels, began his illustrious career in the hotel industry as a front desk clerk at the Cecil Hotel in Shimla. His hard work resourcefulness and ability to take on additional responsibilities earned him a promotion as the Manager of the hotel and allowed him to gain first-hand experience by operating a newly acquired hotel, the Clarke Hotel. His business acumen soon saw the hotel reap huge profits and that was the beginning of his acquisitions. He was the first Indian hotelier to enter the international market and opened the first modern five-star hotel in the country. The Oberoi Intercontinental in New Delhi opened in 1965. From then on, he revolutionised the hotel industry through many of his initiatives. In 2001, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan. 

SHORT MORAL STORY

The foolish weaver

 

A weaver and his wife lived in a village. He went to the forest to get the wood he needed to repair his loom. As he began to chop the tree, a djinn appeared and asked him not to cut his abode. In return, the djinn offered to give anything that the weaver wanted. The weaver left the forest to discuss this with his wife. The greedy and dimwitted wife told the weaver to ask the djinn for an extra head and two extra hands so he could think more and work work more. 

The stupid weaver agreed and went back to the djinn, which immediately granted the wish. 

The weaver happily walked back to the village, where people thought him to be a monster and beat him to death. 

Moral: Lack of understanding, improper judgment and wrong decisions can lead to several missed opportunities and land anyone in trouble. 

ONE OF THE OLDEST FORTS IN DELHI

Purana Qila

The Purana Qila, also known as Qila-i-Kunha and Shergarh, is one of the oldest forts in Delhi. It was built in the 1530s inside Din Panah, which was a small city in Delhi. Recent studies have also suggested that the site of construction was the old city of Indraprastha, the capital city of Pandavas. Interestingly, excavations done at the site have also thrown up pottery fragments that date back to the 4th century BC.

The fort was constructed by Mughal emperor Humayun and later renovated by Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri. The fort itself is rectangular in shape, with extremely tall walls and three gates around it. All the walls are supported by bastions, which are embellished with coloured marble and blue tile work. The fort originally stood on the banks of the Yamuna River before the river changed its course. Therefor, the westward wall was built in a way that it protected the fort from being submerged. 

The gates, which are double storied and built with red sandstone, show Muslim and Hindu architectural styles. The northernmost gate is the Tallaqi Darwaza or the Forbidden Gate and entry from here is prohibited. It is engraved with panels and a painting that shows a fight between a human and a lion. In the olden days, the emperor and his family used this gate to go in and out of the fort. The two other gates are Humayun Darwaza or the South Gate and Bara Darwaza or the West Gate, which is now used as the entry point. The gates are known for their engraved balconies, chattris and pavilion.

The three prominent attractions here include the Sher Mandal, which is now a memorial in honour of Humayun's death. This was being built as a personal observatory and library for Humayun. Unfortunately, Humayun fell from the second floor of this building and died. Entry to the library is thus restricted. The Quila-i-Kunha Masjid, which was constructed in 1541 by Sher Shah Suri, is known for its inscriptions from Quran. The Archaeological Museum here showcases objects that are as old as 1000 BC. These include antiques, paintings, pottery and utensils from the Mauryan, Mughal, Gupta and Rajput periods. 

* The Quila-i-Kunha Mosque has a single dome and five entrance doorways. 

* The fort is now used as a venue for a sound and light show that showcases the history of Delhi. 

* The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered a rare 12th-century sculpture of Lord Vishnu and terracotta seals from the Gupta period here. 

* The walls of the fort are 20mts tall and 4mts thick. The fort is enclosed by two walls - one inside the wall and one exterior wall. Between the walls, there was a water body to prevent attacks. 

* After the Mughals, the fort lost its glory till the British arrived. Edwin Lutyens designed the Viceroy's House (now called Rashtrapati Bhawan, where the Indian President resides) at an elevation so it would look at the Purana Qila. During World War II, the fort was used as a campsite for 3,000 Japanese civilians. After India got its independence, it was used to set up refugee camps during Partition.