(photo alongside of Sri. Sunderlal Bahuguna & Sri. Dharampal, shot during their stay in Chennai a few years back. courtesy Smt. Lakshmi, Chennai)
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Dear Friend / Fan of Dharampalji,
Greetings. Tomorrow is Dharampalji’s 87th birthday.
As we celebrate the second year of launching this website (www.dharampal.net), we feel happy and over whelmed by the response. There have been an average of 150 visitors (with over 80% of these new ones) every month for this website since its launch on 19th Feb 2007.
The website has made available Dharampalji’s works to many for the first time. We have had enthusiastic responses from lecturers in remote rural colleges, young students and researchers from different parts of India, Indian professionals working abroad wanting to re-discover India, activists, NGOs, researchers from universities abroad…the website has served a wide variety of people.
The two years has also seen several publication of Dharampalji’s works:
Ÿ re-publication of the Collected Writings in 5 Volumes by Other India Books in collaboration with SIDH,
Ÿ publication of his collected writings in 11 volumes in Hindi by Ahmedabad based publication house that had earlier brought out similar volumes in Gujarati
Ÿ A compilation of personal articles by close aides of Dharampalji under the title, ‘Remembering Dharampal’ by SIDH.
Several other initiatives have been undertaken including, a study group on Dharampalji’s work among youth in Pune, audio-visual presentations on India in which his materials have been extensively used in Chennai, Dharampal Memorial Lectures in Bangalore and recently, a group of university students have tried to enact a stage play based on his life and works in US. In discussion stage are couple of research programmes, a research centre and a series of documentary movies based on his work by an eminent filmmaker. Obviously, these are exciting developments. We are happy that many initiatives have found and used the material in the website; many have written to us, some have called from far off places to thank, a few have dropped by just to say ‘hello’.
At Samanvaya, we consider this website as a way of thanking Dharampalji for sharing so much with us. This website is maintained voluntarily by Team Samanvaya with inputs from friends. We maintain and enhance the website as often as we can.
Whatever donations we receive towards this website will support the ‘Indi-Quest Institute’, a research institute formed with the blessings of Dharampalji to take his work forward. We request friends to make a small annual donation if possible (the Institute has 80-G tax exemption). Large donations are also welcome, but, better a few small donors than several well-wishers waiting for someone else to make the large donation.
We are happy to share these developments today and remind you once again of how Dharampalji’s work continue to inspire and motivate many Indians across the world. To give you another reason to remember him today.
warm regards,
Ramasubramanian
Director
Samanvaya Consulting
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Samanvaya Consulting - Evolving Knowledge Organizations and Initiatives www.samanvaya.com
Samanvaya, 2nd Floor, 179/ 94, Royapettah High Road, Luz, Mylapore, Chennai - 600004
Phone: +91-44-24984422 / knowledge@samanvaya.com
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