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Private Circulation for LIC Pensioners only

( A monthly e-Magazine of LIC Retired Class I Officers’ Association, Kolkata )

August, 2015 (Year - 2013 : Issue-2nos, Year - 2014 : Issue- 12nos) Year-2015 : Issue - 8 1

Chief Editor : Basudeb Das

Editorial Board S.K. Mazumder A.K. Goswami D.K. Ghosh A.K. Mahato S.K. Ghosh T.K. Sanyal S.Mukhopadhyay

IN THIS ISSUE:

Editorial…………….. 1 Legal News……...... 2 Assocn News……... 3 Financial News……. 7 Health Guide……... 7 Of Interest………….. 9 Jokes……………….. 11 Pensioners’Tour…. 13 Pensioners’News.. 15 Dr Abdul Kalam…. 17 Obituary………….. ..18 Art/Painting/

Photography… ….. 18 Pensioners’Views…19 Readers’ Feedback .20 Note…………………….21

EDITORIAL

WE DEEPLY MOURN THE PASSING AWAY OF THE EX-PRESIDENT OF INDIA, MISSILE MAN, BHARAT RATNA, DR ABJ ABDUL KALAM ON 27TH July, 2015 WHILE DELIVERING A LECTURE AT IIM, SHILLONG. Report inside.

Interim Order of the Supreme Court of India on 7.5.2015 regarding payment of 20% of the amount as per the impugned judgments pertaining to the High Courts in favour of the respondent-employees of LIC, within six weeks brought a feeling of joy to all the pensioners, particularly to those who are suffering from the inequality of DA formula. Since Morning shows the day, this partial favourable order speaks of in which direction the final order may go.

But with the passage of time, the enthusiastic pensioners came in touch with the hard reality and many of them lose their heart. The same dilatory process, as exhibited in the past, was adopted by LICI. Where is the end - disappointed voice burst out.

The legal battle so far in the broad road has now entered into a penultimate blind lane. We know, a broad Road may be extended, it may be longer and longer, the end point may be out of reach in foreseeable future. But that is not the case with a blind lane; it has a definite end nearby. It cannot be too elongated. The only thing that is required is that, we shall have to catch hold of our patience for some more time before we can thank Mr Asthana and other leaders.

The various judgements delivered by the Supreme Court of India on Pension issues supported our believe of achieving victory. We came across a very recent judgment delivered by the Supreme Court of India on 1.7.2014 in a Civil Appeal No.1123 of 2015 (State of Rajasthan & Ors. Vs. Mahendra Nath Sharma) in which two State Govts. denied revision of pensions to Lecturers, Librarians etc. who retired prior to 2006. The Apex Court observed “It is a well known principle that pension is not a bounty. The benefit is conferred upon an employee for his unblemished career.” The Court accordingly ruled in favour of retired persons.

So friends, we may also look forward to have the door of Victory.

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LEGAL NEWS : The ad-interim measure, 20% of the amount in favour of the respondent-employees within six weeks from the date of Order, 7.5.2015, has not been released

in real Terms.

Our apprehension comes true. LIC has started dilatory process by asking for

the list of inforce members of our Federation of Retired LIC Class-I Officers‟ Associations from the General Secretary, since the Federation appeared before the

Delhi High Court on behalf of its Members. LIC knows it very well that the up-to-date details are not likely to be with our Federation. It has to collect it from the Divisional Units, which is a time-consuming process. LIC pushed the Ball in our

Court.

However the E-message received in this regard from our General Secretary,

Sri G.N. Sridharan on 7.7.2015 is reproduced below:

Sub: Interim Order of the SC I just received an email from CO requiring us to furnish (1) names and addresses of affiliated Associations and (2) list of pensioners who had retired between 1. 1. 86 and 31. 7. 97 who were valid members of concerned Associations, on 3. 7. 2007 the date on which our Federation filed the Writ Petition in Delhi HC. with validity of membership as on the date of the SC order. It is learnt that a written communication dated 6. 7. 2015 has also been sent to us, and the same is awaited.

It is stated that the Corporation is unable to proceed for compliance of the order of the SC dated 7. 5. 2015 due to non-availability of required information. They have now called for individual data relating to each such pensioner under 13 heads of particulars, like name, SR No., date of retirement, basic pension etc.. We are examining their request and shall be communicating with members shortly.

It is a coincidence that the MD Mrs. Usha Sangwan whom we met earlier on 20th June is in Chennai today. We were able to meet her to represent for a broader view in settling our issues.

GN Sridharan Gen Secretary Federation of Retired LIC Class I Officers' associations.

====================== LIC Vs Madan Lal Gandhi =======================

We received a piece of information on 28-07-2015 from Shri G Krishnaswamy that the case (LIC Vs

Madan Lal Gandhi) came up on 28.07.15 and no order was passed as per the report of Shri B R Mehta

of Panchkula as follows:

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“Dear LIC Pensioners Friends,

Proceedings in our contempt case at Punjab & Haryana High Court Chandigarh are over today.

Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain did not pass any favorable order today keeping in view pendency

of whole issue before supreme court and as such posted our matter for next hearing on 5th

October 2015.

Regards

BRMehta, Panchkula

ASSOCIATION NEWS: [ From the Desk of General Secretary, Kolkata Association]

The silence, maintained by LIC since the date of 7th May‟15, has been broken much

after the expiry of the six weeks period. This six weeks‟ period was set by the Supreme court. Little action by LIC has come on the surface. But the actions of LIC do not speak of LIC‟s good intention of honouring the Supreme court interim order

of 07th May‟15.

LIC has applied for withdrawal of 20% of the amount deposited with Rajasthan High

Court and PB & HR HC citing intention of payment of 20% of the dues to the respondent employees. PB & HR High court on 20/07/2015 have dismissed the

LIC‟s application for 20 % withdrawal. This rejection of application does not in any way shield LIC from the charges of contempt. We do not know if any amount has been withdrawn from Rajasthan HC. LIC has asked from Federation of Retired LIC

Class-I Officers Associations a list of members having membership as on 03/01/2007 and retired between 01/01/1986 and 31/07/1987. We do not know

whether Federation will submit the list of members but decision of submission has to be taken after serious thought as submission may lead Federation to a cunningly laid trap.

Our opinion is that Federation should write to LIC demanding 20% dues to be paid to all eligible pensioners and Federation should not be a party to determine whom

the 20% of the dues to be paid. A classification of receipients by LIC is not backed by Order of SC. 20% is not the final payment, even there are doubts if this 20% interim payment will be made at all or not.

Let the respondents read the writings on the wall and they should not run for any contempt petition before Supreme court.LIC may be sincerely desiring it as this

contempt petition will take one to two years‟ further time and our main issue will remain wrapped under thick dust.

The irony is that PB & HR (Chandigarh) HC petitioners had filed a contempt petition at Chandigarh against LIC for not implementing its order by LIC. The said HC on

28th July‟15 adjourned the case till 5th October‟15 in view of pendency of the whole issue before the Supreme court. The dangerous phenomenon is that even the Supreme court orders have no

sanctity. Is this a civilised society or a society of anarchists ?

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What are steps to be traversed now ? To keep quiet and to wait for 23rd September‟15 when Angels will come down to the earth with basketful gifts of

dirction to LIC and GOI to pay the legitimate dues to the deprived LIC pensioners or to unite ourseles under a common platform leaving aside individual ego keeping in

mind that unified stand on some counts, at least, will look us strong with positive arguments. Our leaders or the Case Managers, by whatever nomenclature we understand, must seriously ponder over the issue with sense of introspection.

Please, keep in mind, that if victory is finally achieved you will be worshipped by the pensioners for the years to come. But if the battle is lost, you will lose your

credibility as leader and pensioners will throw you in the BINS of history.

In another case on an issue of upgradation of Pension ( between Rajasthan Govt

and Government college teachers ), the Supreme Court, on 1st of July‟15, has rejected the SLP filed by the Rajasthan Government upholding the Rajasthan HC order favouring the retired Government college teachers. The judgment has

recognized the following (A) that revision of pension and revision of pay scales are inseparable. (B) that on revision, the basic pension cannot be less than 50% of the basic pension in the minimum of the pay band in the revised scale corresponding to

the pre-revised scale. (C) pension is a right and not a bounty. Therefore, upgradation of pension is also a right and not a bounty. The judgment was

delivered by a Bench in which Justice Dipak Mishra was one of the judges. It may be mentioned here that Justice Deepak Mishra is one of the two judges of the Bench that is considering the appeals by LIC. This development gives rise to hopes

in our minds that strengthen our belief.

A] The Governing Body of LIC RETIRED CLASS-I OFFICERS‟ ASSOCIATION,

Kolkata for the year 2015-16 met on 13th July‟15 at Kolkata. The meeting was originally scheduled for 10th Of July‟15 but it had to be rescheduled because of

heavy overnight rainfall causing water-logging throughout the city putting the normal city life out of gear.

The meeting stared with sri Ajay Kumar Banerjee, the outgoing President, in Chair.

The meeting co-opted three members to the 18 member elected Governing

Body. The co-opted members are S/sri Sanat Kumar Dhar, Sunil kumar Das and Sunandan Mukhopadhyay. All the three members joined the meeting.

The office bearers were then elected for the year 2015-16. The comprehensive list is provided with at the end of this communication. The meeting, thereafter, inducted S/sri Dilip Kumar Paul, Smarajit Sinha, Manoranjan Ghosal, Santi

Bhusan Kahali, Bishnu Pada Ghosh, Jyoti Prakash Banerjee, Dilip Kumar Ghosh, Parimal Kumar Roy, Murari mohan Roy, Prasun Kumar Mitra, Amar kumar

Goswami, Rameswar Das, and Smt. Nandita Banerjee as Special invitees to the Governing Body for its enrichment.

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The meeting appointed the Editorial board for EASTERN NEWS, the e-

magazine of the association for the year 2015-16 and appreciated the performance of the out going Board.

The Meeting decided to recommend to the Federation Of Retired LIC Class-I Officers‟ Associations the following names for election to the General Council of the Federation. The names are 1) Sri Ajay Kumar Banerjee, 2) Sri Subir kumar

Mazumder, 3) Sri Basudeb Das and 4) Sri Sunandan Mukhopadhyay.

The General Secretary briefed the Governing Body about the present position

in the matter of 20% of arrears pension payment in terms of the SC order dt 07/05/2015.

THE GOVERNING BODY FOR THE YEAR 2015-16

OF LIC RETIRED CLASS-I OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION, KOLKATA

1 Sri Ajay Kumar Banerjee President 9433746043 25773161

2 Sri Ajay kumar Sengupta Vice-President 9836209404 22876824

3 Sri Chandra Sekhar Bhattacharya Vice-President 9331248598 25567656

4 Sri Pashupati Bandyopadhyay Vice-President 9831713038 24149839

5 Sri Ananda Kishore Mahato Vice-President 9830337436 25004374

6 Sri Bhupendra Nath Mitra Vice-President 65290542

7 Sri Subir Kumar Mazumder General secretary 9433279070 65400159

8 Smt. Jharna Chowdhury Joint Secretary 9831202321 25382549

9 Sri Purna Gopal Saha Joint Secretary 9831643640 25656024

10 Sri Subrata Kumar Ghosh Joint Secretary 8582962243

11 Sri Sunandan Mukhopadhyay Joint Secretary 9432386564

12 Sri Nirapada Kundu Joint Secretary 9433677505 23580167

13 Sri Saroj Kanti Chakraborty Treasurer 9433618485 25658428

14 Sri Partha Chatterjee Member 9038634932 25432369

15 Sri Sanat Kumar Dhar Member 9831069477 23587008

16 Sri Basudeb Das Member 9432065640 26221030

17 Sri Bibhuti Bhushan Paul Member 9433044966 24627092

18 Sri Sunil Kumar Das Member 9903506858 23350122

19 Sri Radha Binod Mandal Member 9433626225 23372336

20 Sri Sailendra Nath Patwari Member 9433676314 24165953

21 Sri Tapan Kumar Sanyal Member 8100697667 24770614

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22 Sri Dilip Kumar Paul Special Invitee 9830981808 23983428

23 Sri Smarajit Sinha Special Invitee 9432094212 23375107

24 Sri Mano Ranjan Ghosal Special Invitee 9433293551 24071664

25 Sri Santi Bhusan Kahali Special Invitee 9830378336 24114254

26 Sri Bishnu Pada Ghosh Special Invitee 9830316370 25185815

27 Sri Jyoti Prakash Banerjee Special Invitee 9339734379 25552299

28 Sri Prasun Kumar Mitra Special Invitee 8902652108

29 Sri Dilip Kumar Ghosh Special Invitee 9831122129 24906057

30 Sri Parimal Kumar Roy Special Invitee 8981425363 24342771

31 Sri Amar Kumar Goswami Special Invitee 9433669803 25632888

32 Sri Murari Mohan Roy. Special Invitee 9830203566 26627383

33 Smt. Nandita Bandopadhyay Special Invitee 9433416399 9432079468

34 Sri Sri Rrameswar Das Special Invitee 9051162814

Sri Manas Kumar Mukjerjee HONY-AUDITOR 23375164

B] AN URGENT REQUEST BY OUR GENERAL SECRETARY

We need the data in the following two formats from our members and family Pensioners of our deceased members who retired between 01/01/1986 and 31/07/1997. kindly send the required data to us at the earliest and inform other

member pensioners who are similarly placed to submit data. This is very very urgent please.

Pensioners' format :

PENSIONERS RETIRED BETWEEN 01/01/1986 and 31/07/1997

NAME SR No. Pension File No.

Date Retired Disbursing Office

DO or ZO

Family Pensioners' format :

FAMILY PENSIONERS OF THE DECEASED RETIRED BETWEEN 01/01/1986 and 31/07/1997

Family Pensioner‟s Name

Retired Pensioner‟s Name

SR No Pension File No.

Date Retired

Disbursing Office

Do or ZO

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The data for Pensioner members of our Association, received upto 29th July 2015 evening, has already been sent to Federation on 29.07.2015.

The data for Family pensioners and further data of Members, if any, will be sent in due course on receipt of the same.

FINANCIAL NEWS:

PENSION COVER OPEN TO NRIs

Non-resident Indians (NRIs) can invest in the National Pension scheme to get a social

security cover, regulator PFRDA said today.

The Reserve bank of India has communicated to the Pension Fund Regulatory and development Authority of India about the NRIs’ eligibility to make such investments. The government will also come out with a clarification on foreign exchange management act (FEMA) guidelines to facilitate NRI investment in NPS. Courtesy: The Telegraph: 24.07.2015

PF WITHDRRWAL

Retirement fund body EPFPO is likely to launch the online PF withdrawal facility within three

months for the benefit of its over six-crore subscribers. After the launch of the facility,

subscribers will be able to apply online for the withdrawal of the provident funds, which will be

transferred directly to their bank accounts. Courtesy: The Telegraph: 24.07.2015

HEALTH GUIDE FOR PENSIONERS : Check Your Thyroid: All You Need Is – A Thermometer!

Recently there have been a lot of people reporting problems with the thyroid gland. Many people have problems with it, and are not even aware.

Hypothyroidism is a condition in which the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormone.

Because the body is expecting a certain amount of thyroid hormone the pituitary will make additional thyroid stimulating hormones in an attempt to entice the thyroid to produce more hormone. Left untreated, the symptoms will progress.

Rarely, complications can result in severe life-threatening depression, heart failure, or coma. But, why risk it when it can be easily diagnosed using only a thermometer.

This test is known as the Barney test. First, you will need to shake a thermometer well to make sure it does not show a temperature higher that 35 degree Celsius or 95 degree Fahrenheit. Leave it on your nightstand or bedside table, and make it a

point to put it under your armpit first thing when you wake up. You will want to do this with no clothes on. Hold it for 10 minutes, and write down the Temperature.

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1. If the temperature is between 36.5C OR 97.7F and 36.8C or 98.2F, the thyroid gland is working normally.

2. If the temperature is below 36.5C or 97.7F, the thyroid gland is working slower than normal. The symptoms would include depression, lack of energy, fatigue,

infections, and chronic headaches, lack of concentration, memory loss, and hair loss.

3. If the temperature is higher than 36.8C or 98.2F, then the thyroid is working faster or there could be an infection in the body.

You will want to repeat the process 4 days in a row to ensure accuracy. If your

temperature is above or below the limit, then you should think about contacting your doctor. [Sources: http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/hypothyroidism-too-little-thyroid-hormone http://jonnybowden.com/check-thyroid-at-home/ http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/01/02/temperature-regulation-for-thyroid-testing.aspx]

B] Calcium-rich foods for your bones

Include these calcium-rich foods in your diet to maintain healthy bones and joints.

Milk: Milk is the best source of calcium, not only for children but also for adults.

Moreover, the calcium is in a form that can be easily digested and absorbed by your body.

Yogurt: High in protein and containing healthy bacteria for your gut, yogurt is said

to offer 400 mg of calcium in a single serving. Choose non-fattening flavoured yogurt for a satisfying and healthy snack. Besides milk and yogurt but dairy

products like cheese is also a good dose of calcium.

Leafy greens: Many vegetables, especially the leafy green veggies, are rich sources of calcium. Opt from spinach, turnip, kale, romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli,

cabbage, asparagus and mushrooms or toss all of them into a salad.

Beans: For another rich source of calcium, try kidney beans, white beans or baked beans.

Herbs and spices: Herbs like basil, thyme, cinnamon, mint and spices like garlic not only enhance the flavour of your food but also provide calcium to your body.

Oranges: Citrus fruits like oranges are not only rich in calcium but also contain vitamin D that is essential to absorb the calcium in the body. Have it as a fruit or

squeeze out its juice and have it as a breakfast.

Roasted sesame seeds: It is believed that 1 ounce of these seeds give you 277 mg of calcium.

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Sprouted soybean: Have half a cup of these and you get 230 mg of calcium.

Salmon: The good old salmon with bones offers you 212 mg of rich calcium.

Tofu: Have half a cup of tofu daily and you get a stellar 253 mg of rich calcium.

Kale (Cauliflower): 188 mg of calcium is what you get from 2 cups of this wonder superfood.

Almonds: While it may not give you as high an amount of calcium like the others in

the list, but a handful of almonds give you approximately 72 mg of calcium.

Your bones and your waistline will reap the benefits.

Calcium helps you lose weight, studies show. "Really exciting research shows that if

you get three servings of dairy daily, you're not only preventing osteoporosis, but

you're enhancing weight loss," says WebMD Weight Loss Clinic dietitian Kathleen

Zelman, MPH, RD, LD.

However, that research has only involved dairy projects, she adds. "It seems there is

a synergistic relationship between protein and calcium. Eating other calcium-rich

foods, like collards, won't do that."

Nonetheless, calcium in any form is good for your body. Some of the top calcium-

rich foods are:

1. Cheese 2. Yogurt 3. Milk 4. Sardines 5. Dark leafy greens like spinach,

kale, turnips, and collard greens 6. Fortified cereals such as Total, Raisin Bran,

Corn Flakes (They have a lot of calcium in one serving.) 7. Fortified orange juice

8. Soybeans 9. Fortified soymilk (Not all soymilk is a good source of calcium, so

it's best to check the label.) 10. Enriched breads, grains, and waffles

[ WebMD Feature : Article Sources © 2004 WebMD, Inc.]

OF INTEREST:

A] A Rare picture.....Construction going on of Howrah Bridge (West Bengal),

renamed as Rabindra Setu. The Works began in 1937 and completed in 1943.

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B] The … “E”... life !!!!! In this world of E-mails, E-ticket, E-paper, E-recharge, E-transfer and the latest E-

Governance...

Never Forget "E-shwar ( God )"

Who makes e-verything e-asy for e-veryone e-veryday.

"E" is the most Eminent letter of the English alphabet.

Men or Women don't exist without "E".

House or Home can't be made without "E".

Bread or Butter can't be found without "E".

"E" is the beginning of "existence" and the end of "trouble."

It's not at all in ‘war’; but twice in 'peace'.

It's once in 'hell' but twice in 'heaven'.

"E" represented in 'Emotions'.

Hence, all emotional relations like Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, wife & friends have 'E'

in them.

"E" also represents 'Effort' & 'Energy'.

Hence to be 'Better' from good both "E"s are added.

Without "E" we would have no ‘love’, ‘life’, ‘wife’, ‘friends’ or ‘hope’

& 'see', 'hear', 'smell', or 'taste' as 'eye' 'ear', 'nose' & 'tongue' are incomplete without "E".

Hence GO with "E" but without E-GO.

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C] MICROVEN FOR RE-HEATING NOT FOR COOKING. (An extract of an interview of Dr.Soma Gupta,Professor ,Bio-chemistry Deptt. Sagar Dutta Medical College.Published in "Sambad Pratidin" Dt 01/11/2014.)

Fuels like woods, cowdung or even coal are now history. The latest gadget at our smart kitchen is microven. However , the safety-security aspect of micro-oven is still undergoing research. For quick and hassle free cooking it is now

very popular and being used widely. But problems of indigestion and various other associated ailments are also becoming very common.

Let us see the heating mechanism of Microven. Unlike convection mode of

heating in our earlier cooking process in microven ,electric wave creates motion at atomic level of the food items. This motion creats friction which in turn generates

heat. This process changes structure of atoms of the product. In this process " L-Prolin " of protein is converted into " D-Prolin" which affects our nerve and kidney. To prepare French fry and potato chips at microven these are required to be kept at

120 degee centigrade for a longer period; as a result sterch is converted into "Acrylamide" which may cause cancer.

Amino Acid is the smallest unit of any protein. Different proteins are crated

through linking of amino acids in different patterns- through peptide bonds and co-valent bonds along with Hydrogen and Carbon.

When heated these bonds get ruptured ;as a result pieces of meat become soft

and easily digestible but in microven the new structures of protein which are created are not easily digestible.

Microven is right for a few minutes heating and not for cooking which takes a longer time.

JOKES:

A] PRAYER POWER

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In a small town, a person decided to open his bar business, opposite a temple. The temple and its congregation started a campaign to block the bar from opening with

petitions and prayed daily against his business. However, when it was almost complete and was about to open a few days later a strong lightening struck and it was completely destroyed.

The temple folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, till the bar owner sued the temple authorities on the ground that the temple congregation and prayers was ultimately responsible for the demise of his bar shop, either through direct or indirect actions or means. In its reply to the court, the temple vehemently denied all the responsibility or any reasons for the demise of the bar shop. As the case made its way into court, the judge looked over paperwork at the hearing and commented: “I don’t know how I’m going to decide this case, but it appears form the paperwork, we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer and we have an entire temple and it’s devotees that don’t.” ( Courtesy: The Speaking Tree: 11.01.2015)

B] MANAGER!

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am." The woman below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost. You've not been of much help."

The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "But how did you know?" 13 of 21 Pages

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people below you to solve your problems. Though you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, somehow you make it sound it is my fault!”

PENSIONERS’ TOUR :

On 3rd July, 2015, the Members of LICI Pensioners‟ Club, Kolkata, visited GUPTIPARA --- a Place of Ancient India, located between three Districts, namely, Nadia, Hooghly and

Bardhaman. The Guptipara Station is 75 km, 35 km and 84 km from Howrah, Bandel and Sealdah respectively on Bandel-Katwa Railway line.

By the side of Hooghly river, it is one of the main places of ancient India where „‟Sanskrit Toles‟‟ were famous and many pundits lived here. Pathmahal was one of them and Raghunath Mandir & Mela was the festival of that period. Still someone can find many of the oldest “Punthi”s in the preserved condition in the Govt. Library of “Sisir Bani Mandir Pathagar”.

Bengal‟s First Community Durga Puja termed as “Barowari” introducing “Sri Bindyabasini Jagaddhatri Durga Puja” was originated from Guptipara. The term „Barowari‟ had been added to Bengali Dictionary in 1761 ( 1790 by other sources. No concrete evidence was found ). It is learnt that the local common people of Guptipara were prevented from taking part in the Palace Puja of „Sen dynasty‟ (King of Banga). Twelve persons of the locality formed a committee to celebrate the Barowari puja. It was reported in May,1820 and was published in “Friends of India” magazine, Serampore. There was a difference of opinion about the worship, whether 1761 or 1790.

The name of „Guptipara‟ can be found in the Book of “Dutta Vansamala” (1876), written by Srila Vaktivedanta Thakur, preserved by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The interesting story is: Ratnakar Dutta Chaudhury (the eldest son of Tindari Dutta Chaudhury) of Purushottam Family of Andul while bathing in Ganges found a Jewel shining so brightly that he kept it in an Iron Box, after returning home. Later this Box turned into golden one. His Grandma was surprised as it was a “Sparsamoni” (Philosopher‟s Stone) and knowing the intrinsic value she renamed it as “Deb Duttamoni”

and hid the „moni „ carefully. Later due to its influence, Ratnakar became rich and the news spread to the then Ruler of Gour City and he ordered Ratnakar to come with the Stone. Ratnakar set on by Boat from Andul. He was not willing to hand it over to the Emperor and to save the sanctity of the Stone, he jumped in the Ganges and was drowned. He could not be saved by his attendants.

Main Places to visit : A] Temple complex --- Housing of 4 Vaishnava Temples depcting Bengal Temple Architecture.

1. Chaitanya Temple : Oldest, built by Bishwar Roy in mid-sixteenth century. Two-thached Hut-shaped adorned with Bengal‟s earliest Terracotta carvings, but did not survive in march of time.

2. Brindabanchandra (Jagannath) Temple : 60 ft. hight and built in 1810, it dominates the Temple complex. It built in “Atchcala” form but no “Terracotta” art. It has colourful paintings both in outer and inner walls.

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3. Ramchandra Temple : The “ekratna” (single pinnacle) – constructed in late 18th

century by Sri Harish Chandra Roy, king of Sheoraphully. Most elegant, single storied –octagonal turret contains rich Terracotta. Carvings depict war scenes from “Ramayana” , Royal procession, Voyages and glimpses of everyday life.

4. Krishnachandra temple : Constructed in 1745 during rule of Ali Vardi Khan. It is also in “Aatchala” form.

5. All the Temples stand on elevated platform and are inter-connected.

B] It is the Birth place of renowned Kabiyal “Bhola Moira” but hardly any trace remains.

C] The Guptipara Ratha, one of the tallest and one of the oldest in West Bengal (started during the time of Raja Krishnachand), is said to cover the second longest distance in India (only next to Puri). On the day before the Ultorath (The return of Lord Bridabanchandra to home) a festival known as "Bhandarloot" is observed in Guptipara. Many people across eastern India comes here to pull the ropes of the ratha).

D] First Barowri Durga puja place

E] Palace of Sen dynasty

Besides, Guptipara is famous for its “Gupo Sandesh” a sweet made of milk and cream.

Brindabanchandra Temple (Photo: B. Das) Ramchandra Temple (Photo : Basudeb Das) Terrocotta works

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(Photo : Basudeb Das) Terrocotta works Sijit Choudhury the Photographer

L-R : P.G..Saha, B. Das, D.K.Ghosh, A.K.Goswami, S.K. Ghosh & S. Mukhopadhya.

PENSIONERS’ NEWS:

We welcome Ms Mita Dasgupta and Mr Manoj Basu who joined our Association and wish them Good Health and happy active retired life.

Continuation of Medi-claim coverage to the dependants parents and parents in law. The circular of the LICI, Central office (next page) is self-explanatory.

Price index for June'15 is announced. It is 261. There will be 31 slabs rise of DR from 01/08/2015, payable with the pension for the Month of Aug'15.

Jan’15 Feb’15 Mar’15 April’15 May’15 June’15 254 (5797) 253 (5774) 254 (5797) 256 (5843) 258 (5889) 261(5957).

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DR APJ ABDUL KALAM Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the ex-President of India, the architect of Missile Technology Development in India, the Great Scientist, was born on 15th October, 1931 in Tikundi of Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram in Tamilnadu. His father Jainaluddin was a humble boat owner and he rented out the boat to fishermen. His father was a pious Muslim and a close friend of the Rameswaram Temple priest. This helped Kalam to grow up in a multi religious tolerant society with a progressive outlook. The spiritual simplicity of his parents made Kalam to live life without any bias. He would study both Koran and Gita as an ideal secular Indian. “He found a perfect harmony between Science and Spirituality” former Deputy PM said. Kalam had seven siblings and he was the youngest. His daily routine would start at 4am in childhood days. After bath he would go to the Mathematics teacher who would teach him free. After return he would go around to distribute Newspaper in the locality. At that time there were no electricity in the Town. Kerosine lamps were available for 7pm to 8pm but his mother would arrange some kerosene to enable Kalam to study till 11 pm. His education and his conviction to become a driving force for the space and missile research programmes of India helped him to rise to become the Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India and also the chief of Defence Research and Development Oganisation. A non political President who became choice of all the political parties because of his straight forward approach to any situation. He abolished the distance between the President and the common people of India. Students were his first love and he would love to be called a Teacher. After his term as President came to an end he became regular visiting Professor of many leading Universities and Institutions. The Childrens‟ President, never retired in life and continued to preach students till life came calling on 27th July,2015 when he was delivering lecture at IIM, Shillong in the evening. He breathed his last as a Teacher.

Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.

---Dr Abdul Kalam

Your best teacher is your last mistake.

---Dr Abdul Kalam

UNO declared OCTOBER 15TH the date of Birth of Dr Abdul Kalam as the WORLD STUDENT DAY.

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OBITUARY

We deeply mourn the sad demise of two of our members.

Sadhan Chandra Das passed away in early hours of 28th July,2015 (03-30 hrs), at

his residence at LIC OFFICERS' COLONY, New Alipore, Kolkata. For the last few days, he was not maintaining good health. May his soul rest in peace.

Mahendra Kumar Mahanta left for his heavenly abode on 25th July,2015 at Delhi.

He was a resident of Dibrugarh, Assam. A very sincere and enthusiastic member of our Association, although staying far away from Kolkata, he was regularly in touch

with our Association and always maintained his membership position up to date. May his soul rest in peace.

LIC Retired Cl-I Officers' Association pays its respectful homage to departed soul

and offer heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved families.

ART/PAINTING/PHOTOGRAPHY:

Yumthang Valley in Sikkim in April, 2015 (Photo Courtesy: Jayanta Kumar Lahiri )

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PENSIONERS’ VIEWS:

LIVE LIFE HOLISTICALLY Sunandan Mukhopadhyay

In the concluding lines of the last month’s article ‘Eat Right and Live healthy’ it was mentioned that while eating a man should enjoy the eating. It means that his mind should remain attached with the process of eating only. Not only at the time of eating but also for any type of activity the man’s mind must be attached and be involved in the activity. But in practice it is very difficult to do this, because the man’s mind is restless and as a result the control on mind is lost. Instead of controlling our mind the reverse thing happens. Mind controls the man. Mind forces the man to other things of interests and loses control. Suppose a man just came out from a cinema/ picture hall and met a dearest friend who was going to attend a musical function. The man failed to avoid his request and took his company. But he could not enjoy the musical concert because his mind is preoccupied with the film that he enjoyed an hour before. The man failed to control his mind with a view to place it on the music. Previous attachment with the film resists his mind to detach it from the film and reattach with the music and as a result he failed.

This timely attachment of mind and proper detachment, when required, is nothing but control. Development of mind power helps to control of mind through concentration. But it is not so easy, without proper training and practice it is difficult to achieve. As per example, the person who is a player or singer or an artist can develop their skill through constant practice after receiving the basic primary learning and training in the subject. Another important issue is that mind has a relation with the body. The mind acts on the body and the body also acts on the mind. Hence with a view to training the mind it is easier to take the help of body first. Hence control of body has to be taken care of. But unfortunately the human beings, in general, do not take care of the body. It is the physical exercise, controlled diet and science of breathing which can help the body itself to keep under control. Again as for example, a football player through practice can control his feet movement or head movement; an artist can control his fingers to move as per requirement etc.

Similarly every person through regular practice and controlled diet can keep his body out of diseases and through proper exercises of the senses, can keep control of the senses from easy attachment to a particular thing of interest. Moreover control on breathing through pranayam helps the body to reach the mind. Well built body helps the man to work in a perfect and finer way and the man starts to learn enjoying the work as well as its benefits. The man himself can feel the finer and perfect working and it becomes his habit. The more he works in a finer way, the works come under control because mind is much finer and powerful than body. Finer and more perfect work becomes the habits of a man and thus it reaches the mind. In this way a man can control the operation of his various senses as he wishes and can concentrate more and more on the work or activities that he wishes or loves. Gradually it becomes a practice and results are achieved through this power of concentration which is termed as ‘DHYAN’ by yogis or saints.

Regular concentration helps the body to control his minds. Hence controlled diet with exercise of body and especially regular systematic breathing creates a body-mind relationship where body and mind act and react upon each other. By the process of concentration the human being can also

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control his attachment on a particular thing or habit as well as control on detachment when required. Otherwise more and continuous attachment will make the man to become lustful and greedy as well as it can harm in such a way that sufferings are more in life and finds no way to come out of it.

Hence through concentration body-mind relationship can be developed and it helps the mind to make any impossible task easily.

READERS’ FEEDBACK:

1. MANY MANY THANX TO U & THE AUTHOR OF THIS CONCISE, CAPSULE READYMADE FORM OF

LIC GROUP MEDICLAIM , SO FINETUNED FOR EASY REFERENCE & ACTION BY ALL-EMPLOYEES &

PENSIONERS

CONGRATULATIONS TO Sri Partha Chatterjee FOR HAVING UNDERTAKEN THIS CRUCIAL TASK

BENEFICIAL TO ONE & ALL

R.B.KISHORE,VP,AIRIEF

ED(Retd),LIC,PROBUS LIFE MEMBER,

044-28155810 / 098403 40591

2. Dear Sir Thank u very much. With best wishes SSiyer, Chennai

3. Dear Mr Mazumdar, Thank you very much. It is a very wonderful and useful material made available to pensioners. Kind regards. C H Mahadevan

4. THIS IS A COMMENDABLE EFFORT IN GIVING THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE CURRENT

YEAR'S GROUP MEDICLAIM POLICY IN A CAPSULE FORM FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE

RETIREE COMMUNITY !

MY HEARTY CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU AND SRI PARTHA CHATTERJEE FOR THIS SERVICE-

ORIENTED FRIENDLY GESTURE ! THANK YOU !

-- A. BALASUBRAMANYA

5. Dear Sir, Thank you. I have post your mail on my blog. R K Sahni.

6. Thanks Sh Subir Kumar Mazumder and Sri Partha Chaterjee for the excellent job done, its being forwarded to more retirees in my contact. Regards HK Aggarwal.

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NOTE :

ANY BRILLIANT ACHIEVEMENT/SUCCESS IN ANY FRONT IN THE FAMILY OF LIC PENSIONERS INCLUDING PHOTOGRAPH MAY BE SENT TO US FOR FOCUSSING THROUGH OUR E-MAGAZINE.

Feedback/Write Ups/Information/Readers’ Views/Request with e-mail id for soft copy of monthly e-Magazine EASTERN NEWS free of cost may please be sent to following e-mail IDs :

LIC RETIRED OFFICERS’ ASSOCIATION : licretiredofficers@gmail.com AMAR KUMAR GOSWAMI : amarkumar1951@gmail.com SUBIR KUMAR MAZUMDAR : eskayem@gmail.com

Monthly EASTERN NEWS can NOW be read directly from :

PENSIONERS VOICE & SOUND TRACK, EDITOR :: RK SAHNI : http://www.rksahni.blogspot.in/

LIC PENSIONERS’ CHRONICLE, EDITOR :: PG GANGADHARAN : http://licpensionerscalicut.blogspot.in/

& AIRIEF WEBSITE :: AN INITIATIVE OF RB KISHORE :

https://airiefvision.wordpress.com/

OUR SINCERE THANKS TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THE WEBSITES.

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