Rapist on the loose

The vicious suspect(s) who raped and murder a four-year-old toddler is still on the run and police are searching for one or more suspects who are related to the case.

The toddler’s body was found with bloodstains on her private part and scratches on her hand, neck and body near Rotary Nagar of Madiwala police station limits on February 12. A case of murder has been opened, and police are awaiting forensic results.

The toddler went missing on Monday (February 11) when playing outside while her caregiver was asleep. When the caregiver woke up she realised the toddler was missing.

The family later went out searching for her but the search was hopeless. They filed a complaint at the Madiwala police, who dispatched a search team within the vicinity of Rotary Nagar and Kodichikkanahalli till late at night.

But for the family it was no rest till 6am, when shock hit after finding their daughters body on the roadside in Rotary Nagar Phase 2. They immediately alerted the police and the body was sent to Victory Hospital for post-mortem. The police questioned her mother for hours.

The toddler’s family feels extremely strong about the case and noted that their daughter was raped and killed. 

The police have registered the case under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code. “After the post-mortem and forensic examination, things will become clearer. Later, we can convert it into a rape and murder case. Right now, we are trying to find out who killed her,”  Senior police officer told Bangalore Mirror.

The toddler was the daughter of a maid and her father is a farmer in Mandya. The toddler was living with her mother in Bangalore for two months before her life was taken heartlessly. The mother works at a few houses in Rotary Nagar and the surrounding areas and would pay an old woman Rs 300 to take care of her toddler.

DCP (south-east) P S Harsha said to Bangalore Mirror, that based on the complaint, the police have registered a case of murder under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code. “We are searching for the culprits.”

It has been two months since the Delhi gang rape and murder of 23-year-old medical student occurred and rape cases are on the rise in the media in different states of India.

Sex Education at Govt Schools

pic by: www.memphisflyer.com

Experimenting with sex should be avoided and schools should encourage students to moralise instead of condimising.

The first question any teen would ask, why should I learn about sex in school with my peers? Sex education, which is a part of the Biology curriculum in schools; help children understand the importance of gaining knowledge about the subject.

Dateline Bangalore contacted Karnataka Public School principal Mrs. Manjit Kur said, “Sex education has been implemented at the school since it started in 2005 and their aim at the school is to teach the students morals and values about sex.” She further added that students should realise and differentiate between a proper and an intimate touch.

Kur said the students are taught about sex education through seminars, power point presentations, drama activities etc.

“We check personally on our students as there is attraction to the opposite sex which they call love, and we call it infatuation. We keep reminding and guiding the students and as the principal I  have one on one sessions with my students as this is a sensitive and delicate issue to deal with,” said Kur.

The school also tackles a student’s emotional, mental and logical state in all sectors of sex education.

Megha Soni, a 10^th Standard commerce student at Marais Public School in Guwahati, Assam, stated the school does not teach students sex education, and no school in Assam provides sex education.

Megha, expressed herself by saying, sex education should be taught at all schools in Assam.

Whilst Shreyas Kumar in the 7^th Standard from Prarthana Education Society said, “Sex education is taught from 7^th Standard as part of Biology. Teachers explain in class what is written in the textbook and request us to go back home and reread what we understood. The next day the teacher would check if we understood the work.”

He further stated that the school teaches them sex education at an early stage, so they are well educated and learn everything about sex.

Though for Shreyas, he feels it is to early to learn about sex in the 7^th Standard as some students get carried away, and forget to concentrate on schoolwork.

It has come under siege after the Delhi gang rape and murder of 23-year-old medical student. She was gang raped by six bus conductors while travelling back home from a movie with her boyfriend at night.  

Mocking at Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius with his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
 Picture by http://chasemebaby.com

International Role Model Oscar Pistorius (26) known as 'Blade Runner' has been accused of killing his girlfriend on Valentines morning at about 3am.

Yes, I understand that there were only two people in the house, but despite that we all make allegations and mock at the situation when we have no idea what the real story is.

Okay, it is understandable he is an amputee in both his legs, but the real question I ask myself is, why do we mock and make fun at his disability?
Put yourself in his shoes, understand what he went through when his legs had to be amputated and he had to be trained in prosthetic legs? We have no idea what it felt like, but we all know that he has made a name not just in South Africa but around the globe as a role model to the young and old.

February 14, 2013 he claimed that he thought there was a burglary in his house, when he shot and killed his 29-year-old Law Student and Model, Reeva Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria.

According to reports he fired four shots at the bathroom door, which three had got Steenkamp. Okay, I am no one to judge the real situation as I, myself was not at the scene when the shooting took place.

We also heard that he carried his girlfriend downstairs screaming for help, and apparently the security guard heard him. But what is the real story? Let the police do their job before we as individuals judge the situation.

Maybe people are having fun mocking his legs. He may not be fully bodied, but we know that has never stopped him from being a true role model and athletic who has competed in both Para Olympics and Olympics against fully bodied people as a Gold Medalist

Lets give the Steennkamp and Pistorius family some respect, especially the fact we know a life has been lost and another has been ruined.

Oscar running. Picture by telegraph.co.uk

 At least lets think twice of what we say before posting it on twitter, facebook or any other social network. Let us not forget that if such an incident took place in our own home, we would be stealthy as a cat. 

Vikram Hazra performs in Lenasia

VIKRAM Hazra, renowned International Art of Living singer and teacher from India, performed live at the Gandhi Hall in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg on May 5, 2012
Hazra kept the crowd balancing on the edge of their seats with his music from the simplest of Indian folk bhajans (spiritual chanting/songs to Buddhists chants to African and African-American spirituals to contemporary blues and jazz.

Vikram Hazra

People from all over Gauteng joined into hear the diverse and simple voice of Hazra on his African Tour Celebrating Unity in Diversity Concert.
He is known for his international unique style of music, fusing ancient Sanskrit chants and secular wisdom with the sounds of his electric guitar.
Hazra was joined by his band, Mizo Doss who plays the guitar and Ajay Kadam who plays the tabla.
Hazra an Art of Living Programme Director travels all over the world, directing workshops on personal excellence for corporates, initiating community development and service projects which provide basic needs such as safe drinking water, health care and education to underprivileged communities.
His main purpose of performing live in South Africa is to raise funds towards the Ashram which is soon to be built in the beautiful city of Cape Town.


He has visited SA once again for the sixth or seventh time and he continues to work with the youth in townships.
"You always learn much more from them then you are teaching them," Hazra said.

Hazra joined the Art of Living Foundation in 1994 and for the past 18 years he has been travelling the world to make a difference to people.
Hazra said he loves the South African spirit and people have so much national pride and are always willing to walk together as a country.
"I love investing my time and energy in the youth as you are investing your time and energy for the future of our planet," he said.
Hazra perfomed in Zimbabwe and Botswana last week and this week he will be performing in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Vikram Hazra and band

Anup Jalota

His message to youth interested in singing is to learn classical music and they for sure will do well in the future.

Anup Jalota and Shashika Mooruth

ANUP Jalota, known for his ghazal, classical and spiritual music, performed live at the Patidar Hall on May 11, 2012

Jalota was accompanied by his band Shashika Mooruth (singer), Amit Choubey (tabla), Rohan Krishna 

Ratan (santoor), Dhiren Raichura (guitarist), and Keeran Eshwarlall (guitarist).

Mooruth sang with Jalota in her beautiful voice.

Jalota, from India, has been singing for 40 years.

He said God has given him the gift of singing and that when he sings, God is purifying him.

According to Jalota, the audience is always emotionally connected with an artist’s music.

He believes that people who listen to devotional and spiritual music are already on a spiritual journey.

He has travelled to 25 countries and 500 cities to perform live and has done 5000 concerts. Jalota’s most memorable concert was last year in New York when he performed with Ustar Zaakira Hoosein.

However, he has this to say about SA: "South Africa is a country which is paradise on earth with amazing climate and it is so green."

His message to youth interested in singing is to learn classical music and they for sure will do well in the future.

A teacher, role model passes on

Punitabhen

I WAS taken back when I saw Punitabhen Lalitbhai Makan (49) lying in that bed smiling as I walked through the door at Hospice care in Houghton.

She held my hand tight and all I felt was joy and happiness.

Punitabhen was a teacher at the Shree Bharat Shrada Mandir School (SBSM) since 1996.

She taught me Gujarati in Grade 2 but I often would go to her house as her daughter and I are friends and we use play together.

She always gave me love no matter where I went and always called me ‘my bachu’.

I sat by her bed side talking to her on May 21 and she was so happy hearing me still talk Gujarati.

I was touched as I cried silently with joy to see Punitabhen not even feeling helpless but happy. Excitedly she said to me, I see your name in the newspaper. You have done so well for yourself. I felt so overjoyed speaking to her after long and she had so much faith in God that nothing could throw her off her feet.

I saw her five hours before her last breath on May 29, 2012 at Hospice, lying in that bed so peacefully like nothing was going to hit her.

As I walked out towards my car, I broke down into tears knowing it was my last day to see an amazing mother, teacher, and inspiration back home.

She always put a smile on my face and all her pupils she taught for 14 years.

Punitabhen never gave up on any of her pupils and she would continue motivating them through the worst of moments.

She continued encouraging those who wanted to drop Gujarati as a subject, but through her dedication and love her pupils learnt Gujarati till matric.

She believed that it was okay to forget how to read and write Gujarati but it was more important to speak Gujarati.

Punitabhen was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer at the end of February 2011, therefore she stopped teaching and went to India for chemotherapy.

She had nine chemotherapies in India and returned to South Africa five days before her daughter Preeti’s wedding which took place on January 28, 2012.

Her greatest wish was to get her daughter married.

Her pupils from Madi High School in India went to visit her in hospital over there and years later she remembered each one of them including a kid whose life she changed his life by showering him with unconditional love.

Punitabhen was married for 31 years to Lalitchandra Makan (64) and blessed with three children Sandeep (26), Pritesh (25) and Preeti (23).

Her son-in-law Nishen Gokal was regarded as her son and he took her as his mother.

“She was going to teach me Gujarati but never had the chance,” Gokal said.

He said when I look back at the time I spent with her I realize that she thought me something far more valuable.

According to Gokal, she taught him how to love unconditionally, how to be strong in the face of overwhelming odds and even in her death showed everyone how to place your complete trust in God.

He added that however though we might not understand we should never question His will.

“Today we mourn her loss. But let us not grieve the way she died, or the way she suffered up until her death,” Gokal added.

He believes that people should rather celebrate her life as she was a shining example to all of how you should live, how you should raise your children and above all else believe that there is a higher power which is watching over everyone.

Gokal hopes and prays that everyone who knew his mom will follow her teachings and honour her forever.

She was part of the spiritual group Swadhyay and was the master of ceremonies annually at the Gandhi Satabdi event organised by SBSM and was a presenter on Eastwave radio 92.2fm as a motivational speaker speaking about Hinduism, the languages (Gujarati) and its importance.

September 13, 1962 to May 29, 2012