Miscellaneous Facebook posts & comments in June 2020

Last updated on 5th Sept 2020

When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer).

To save time, I am usually not providing my FB post links but only contents. I am also not hyperlinking links. So readers will have to copy-paste links from this post onto a browser link box and then browse to that link.
==========================================

Panch sir is now USA National Science Foundation Head!

The tweet in message below is dated 19th June 2020. So this information is over a week old but I came to know of it only today. I had known about his nomination by USA President Donald Trump some time back but not of the USA Senate ***unanimous*** confirmation.

---Contents of message I received ---

Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan has been appointed by the President of USA as the chairman of National Science Foundation of USA.

He was a Balvikas Student from Tamilnadu.

Served as the One of the Zonal Presidents of Sri Sathya Sai International Organization, USA.

He was also a guest lecturer at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning Puttaparthi. 

https://mobile.twitter.com/NSF/status/1273715642806525958/photo/1

SaiRam

--- end contents of message ---

Ravi: I replied to above tweet today as follows: "Congratulations Panch sir! My prayers to Almighty God to continue showering His Grace on u as u take on this challenging job as top science foundation leader, in tough COVID-19 pandemic times worldwide, with world eagerly looking for science-led cure &/or vaccine for COVID-19." My reply tweet can be seen here:  https://mobile.twitter.com/RaviSaiIyer/status/1277107390580572161 .

https://www.nsf.gov/od/ shows Panch sir as its head (Director).

https://mobile.twitter.com/NSF/status/1273715642806525958/photo/1

-----------------------------------

With coffers empty, Padmanabhaswamy temple to seek help from royal family, https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2020/jun/15/with-coffers-empty-padmanabhaswamy-temple-to-seek-help-from-royal-family-2156608.html

The temple is a famous temple in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, and has been associated with the Travancore Royal family for centuries.

A small extract from above article:

“The monthly expense of the temple comes to around Rs 1.5 crore — Rs 1 crore for salary payment and the rest for purchases and office expenses. Previous savings from revenue earnings had helped the management run the show so far,” said V Ratheesan, temple’s executive officer. 

--- end extract ---

The temple has about 150 employees as per the report, and from April a "salary challenge" where 20% of their salary has been withheld, has been in effect.

-------------

Update: Interesting to see that the post got a few likes. So I thought I should add some background info. My elder sister did her MBBS from TNMC and BYL Nair hospital in the 70s (second half, I think). My father was being treated for serious illness and died in the same Nair hospital in 1978. We were living in Bandra (East) Govt. Colony then. I have made quite a few visits to TNMC and BYL Nair hospital in those days and have clear memories of those visits even today.
I also shared this pic with my sister who now lives in another part of Mumbai and she responded "Nice".
Of course, I must add, I am just sharing the good work done by others - Sathya Sai orgn. Mumbai - in this matter. I am based in Puttaparthi and have made no contribution in this matter (except for sharing it on social media, which is a minor thing).

Shared post: https://www.facebook.com/ssssomg/posts/1407364102798735 "Aum Sri Sai Ram
With blessings of #SriSathyaSai #SaiYouthMumbai offered seva of 1000 face shields to #Nairhospital today 6th June 2020. Appreciation as attached.
Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations, India
 Sai Youth Mumbai Sri Sathya Sai Young Messengers"
-------------------

Chetan was a youngster in Sathya Sai samithi/orgn. Dombivli (Maharashtra state, India) when I was in Dombivli samithi in the 1990s and early 2000s. So I enjoyed seeing Chetan speak from California, USA on the Coronavirus situation there. The interview is in Marathi: USA And Corona | Chetan Babanagare | LockDown 0.0, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QfuE_CDH-E, 13 min. 36 seconds.
--------------------

सदा निरंतर हरि गुण गाओ Sada Nirantar Hari Guna Gao-By Pt.Chaturbhuj Rathod, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drTwGw1PTyo, around 5 mins.
-----------------------