FORMULA 1 RACE IN INDIA

FORMULA 1 RACE AT NOIDA. 30TH OCTOBER, 2011


Till 2010, India had only two permanent car raceways, one in Chennai (Irungattukottai), and Kari Memorial Speedway in Coimbatore.

Since 2003 efforts were being made to have raceways at Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. All were given up for one reason or the other. Finally in 2007 Bernie Ecclestone the FIA chief announced that, it was decided to construct one circuit at Noida near Delhi. This was to be named as BUDH INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT and the race first scheduled for 2008 was postponed to 2011. The Indian F1 Race will occur as the 17th round of the 2011 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The track called Buddh International Circuit is in Greater Noida, 44 km from Delhi. The circuit, designed by F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke, is 5.141 kilometers (3.194 miles) long. The track is spread across an area of 875 acres. The initial seating capacity is speculated to be around 150,000. However there are plans to increase the seating capacity to 200,000 later on. The sprawling circuit is a part of Jaypee Green Sports city and will also be used for hosting one or more rounds of Moto GP championships in the year 2012. The 10-year contract for the race has been given to the Indian construction company Jaiprakash Associates.

An excellent express way connecting Delhi to Budh international Circuit was ready. Paid parking in two tiers was arranged near the circuit. Free parking space was available in Knowledge City, which is about 8 kms. from the venue. Free shuttle services were arranged for visitors from Knowledge city to the Venue.

Knowledge City gets its name from the large number of educational institutions in the area. Gautam Budh University and Golgotia University are two of the largest. Golgotia university sent 800 students and faculty as volunteers to work on the programme.

The huge scale of construction becomes apparent once you near the venue. The complex is a huge civil engineering structure, at one stage 6500 personnel and a vast fleet of earth moving equipment were working.

Five 747-400F jets were flown into Delhi with the 24 F1 cars onboard. The total weight of the air-cargo was 600 tonnes. Another 900 tonnes of cargo, including 30,000 Litres of high octane petrol was shipped in via sea.

Around the track there are fifteen stands, the Main Grand stand being the most valued and accommodating 20000 people (Rs. 35,000 per head). There are two picnic stands, where visitors enjoy sitting in small tents and the atmosphere is that of a picnic.(see photo)

The track in all has 16 largely medium speed corners where F1 cars lap at an average speed of 210 km/h. At 1060 metres, the circuit's main straight is among the longest in Formula One and lets cars reach 320 km/h making it one of the fastest tracks in the world. The expected F1 car lap time is 1 minute 27 seconds.

The pit lane is over 600 metres in length. The pits were exactly opposite the Main Grand Stand. The pit is the place the cars are attended to during the race. A perfectly synchronized, millimeter perfect, choreographed Pit stop is team work at its best. The precisely timed pit stop is vital if a team’s racing strategy is to be successful. The pit crew consists of nearly 20 people. It takes about 20 seconds from the time the driver enters the pit lane and he rejoins the main track. However the time the car is stationary is just 3 seconds some times. Just imagine all four wheels being changed and minor defects in the car rectified in 3 seconds. It is to be seen to believe. We were lucky to watch this as we were just opposite the pit lane.

Practice runs were made on Friday 28th October and qualifying races were held on Saturday, the 29th October to decide the grid positions. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time and took pole position.

Michael Schumacher was impeded on his final lap by India’s Narain Karthikeyan, who later received a five-place penalty for the infringement. Twenty four cars qualified for the race and Karikeyan was in 17th position after the penalty.

The main race is of 60 laps totaling to 308.22 Kms.

On 30 October 2011, the first F1 Grand Prix was held at the circuit.

Initially, two support races called the Delhi Champonship with MRF of 1600 cc cars and JK Racing India series of 10 laps each were also held. These races gave us an idea as to what the actual Formula 1 will be.

Before the Main race, a minute's silence was held in memory of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon and MotoGP rider Marco Simoncelli, who died in accidents over the previous two weekends.

A group of girls carrying flags of all 24 participating cars came on to the track and stood in respective grid positions based on the qualifying times of the drivers. The cars took off one by one from the pits, made one lap and stood in their respective grid positions.

The race was flagged off by Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar.

On the main straight, which is parallel to the Main Grand Stand (between points 16 and 1 on the track drawing), the cars reach nearly 300 kmph and in spite of wearing ear plugs the noise is deafening. The cars speed past you before you notice it. At the curves the speed is reduced suddenly to nearly 100kmph. The strain on the engine is terrific, which you can judge from the noise of braking. We had an excellent view of the main straight and two curves at the end. It was an exciting experience to see the handling of the cars and maneuvering especially when they try to overtake each other.

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull led from the pole position and comfortably won the event, his 11th of the season. He also had the fastest lap of the race on his last lap. Jenson Button of McLaren-Mercedes finished second and Fernando Alonso of Scuderia Ferrari finished third.

The only Indian F1 driver Narain Kartikeyan of HRT F1 finished 17th position. The only Indian F1 Team Sahara Force India driver Adrian Sutil finished at 9th position. Five cars had to retire due to mishaps and engine problems.

Stalls were put up in the area outside the galleries, for food and race merchandise. Since no food or water was permitted in the galleries, they were absolutely clean. The race merchandise were unbelievably costly, a Red Bull T –shirt was costing around Rs.6000.

While everything was perfect and went off like clockwork, the organizers did not think of the problems of traffic once the show is over. Before the event started vehicles/public started coming to the venue from 9 am. The crowd was thus distributed from then on till 3 pm., when the actual race started. However once the show was over tens of thousands of people and cars and buses tried to get out of the place simultaneously, causing huge traffic hold ups. We were stuck in a shuttle bus for more than an hour. Luckily temperature was rather low and people tolerated it. I hope before the next event this issue would be taken care of.

Watching the first Formula 1 race in India was a memorable experience.

NEPAL

NEPAL

Nepal is the only Hindu kingdom in the world and has innumerable temples depicting the religious life of the residents. Even though the majority of the population is Hindu, a substantial number of Budhists also live in the country.

• KATHMANDU(KANTIPUR)

Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal is situated at about 1400M altitude in a bowl shaped valley surrounded by four major hills. Seven rivers flow through the city. The city was originally known as Kantipur (the abode of Lakshmi).Some claim that the name came from Kashta Mandap (wooden structure), a three storeyed temple built in pagoda style in sixteenth century, dedicated to Gorakhnath. The structure is made entirely of wood, using no iron nails.
The three most important religious places in Kathmandu are the Pashupatinath, Boudhanath and Swayabhunath, in addition to the temple of Goddess Taleju (See my article on KumariDevi for further information on Taleju).

1. PASHUPATHINATH TEMPLEPashupathinath Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, said to have been built in the fifth century in richly ornamented Pagoda style. This was mostly destroyed by Mughal invaders in 14th century. The present structure was built in 19th century by Dharma Dutta of Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. However the original Shivling and Nandi still exist. The priests who perform the services at this temple have been Brahmins from South India since the time of Malla King Yaksha Malla. This tradition is believed to have been started at the request of Adi Shankaracharya. The temple is a square, two-tiered in pagoda style, built on a single-tier plinth, and stands 23.6 meters above the ground with richly ornamented gilt and silver-plated doors on all sides. The Bagmati River runs next to Pashaputinath Temple. The banks are lined with many ghats (bathing spots) for use by pilgrims.

2. BOUDHANATH TEMPLEThis temple is located about 10 kms from Kathmandu and is the largest stupa in Nepal and one of the largest in the world. The Stupa is said to entomb the remains of Kassapa Buddha. When refugees entered Nepal from Tibet in the 1950s, many decided to live around. The original Bouddhanath is said to have been built just after the demise of Lord Budha. However the one in existance seems to have been built in the 15th century after the Mughal invasion.
The base of the stupa has 108 small depictions of the Dhyani Buddha Amitabha and is surrounded with a brick wall with 147 niches, each with four or five prayer wheels engraved with the mantra, om mani padme hum. At the northern entrance where visitors must pass is a shrine dedicated to the goddess of smallpox, Ajima. Thousands of prayer flags are hoisted up from the top of the stupa downwards and dot the parameters of the complex.

3. SWAYAMBHUNATH TEMPLEThis was built in the fifth century and is revered by both Hindus and Budhists.
The stupa consists of a dome at the base. Above the dome, there is a cubical structure present with eyes of Buddha looking in all four directions with the word "unity" in the main Nepali dialect between them. There are pentagonalToran present above each of the four sides with statues engraved in them. Behind and above the torana there are thirteen tiers. Above all the tiers, there is a small space over which the Gajur is present.

4. DURBAR SQUAREThis is situated in the old part of Kathmandu and is literally full of temples. The area is divided into two quadrangles. The outer quadrangle has the Kasthamandap, Kumari Ghar(see my article on KumariDei) and Shiva-Parvati Temple while the inner quadrangle has the Hanuman dhoka and the main palace.

• BUDGAON(BHAKTAPUR)

DURBAR SQUARE
Durbar Square is a conglomeration of pagoda and shikhara-style temples grouped around a fifty-five window palace of brick and wood. The square is one of the most charming architectural showpieces of the Valley as it highlights the ancient arts of Nepal. The golden effigies of kings perched on the top of stone monoliths, the guardian deities looking out from their sanctuaries, the wood carvings in every place-struts, lintels, uprights, tympanums, gateways and windows-all seem to form a well-orchestrated symphony. The main items of interest in the Durbar Square are:
1. The Lion Gate :
Dating as far back as 1696 A.D., this gate is guarded on either side by two huge statues of lions. Alongside, there are two stone images of Bhairav (the dreadful aspect of Shiva) and Ugrachandi (the consort of Shiva in her fearful manifestation).

2. The Golden Gate :
The Golden Gate is said to be the most beautiful and richly moulded specimen of its kind in the entire world. The door is surmounted by a figure of the goddess Kali and Garuda (the mythical man-bird) and attended by two heavenly nymphs. It is also embellished with mythical creatures of marvellous intricacy. It is placed like a jewel, flashing innumerable facets in the handsome setting of its surroundings. The gate was erected by King Ranjit Malla and is the entrance of the main courtyard of the Palace of Fifty-five Windows.

3. The Palace of Fifty-five Windows :
This magnificent palace was built during the reign of King Yakshya Malla in A.D. 1427 and was subsequently remodelled by King Bhupatindra Malla in the seventeenth century. Among the brick walls with their gracious settings and sculptural design, is a balcony with Fifty-five Windows, considered to be a unique masterpiece of woodcarving.

4. The Statue of King Bhupatindra Malla:
This statue showing King Bhupatindra Malla in the act of worship is set on a column facing the palace. Of the square's many statues, this is considered to be the most magnificent.

• PATAN ( LALIT PUR)

Patan is presently called Lalit Pur.
Lalitpur is on the Baghmati River, in the Kathmandu Valley, just south of Kathmandu.
The site of Lalitpur is very old, having parts of ancient walls and Hindu temples dating from the 3rd century BC and Buddhist temples of the 15th and 16th centuries. Founded about AD 650, Lalitpur was the capital of the traditional first king of Nepal. During the Middle Ages the area was alternately an independent Newar kingdom or subservient to Kathmandu or Bhaktapur, until the Shah dynasty conquered it in 1768.

1. DURBAR SQUAREThis whole square is a cluster of fine pagoda temples and stone statues; it is at the same time the business hub of the city. At every step one comes across a piece of art or an image of a deity, testifying to the consummate skill of Patan's anonymous artists. The ancient palace of the Malla kings and the stone baths associated with various legends and episodes of history are especially interesting to visitors. The stone temple of Lord Krishna and the Royal Bath (Tushahity) with its intricate stone and bronze carvings are two other masterpieces in the same vicinity.

2. ASHOKA STUPAS
Popularly believed, though not proven without doubt to have been built by Ashoka, the Buddhist Emperor of India, these stupas stand at four different corners of Patan, giving the whole city a monastic character. All these Buddhist mounds were built in 250 A.D.at the time when Buddhism was making headway in the Kathmandu Valley.








Bhaktapur earlier known as Budgaon is a UNESCO World heritage site. Bhaktapur was built by King Anand Dev in 889 A.D.

KUMARIDEVI, NEPAL

THE LIVING GODDESS OF NEPAL
Kumari Devi & the Indra Jatra Festival
The Himalayan Hindu Kingdom of Nepal is not only the land of many mountain peaks, but also of many gods and goddesses, unique among all of them being the living, breathing goddess – Kumari Devi, a deified young girl.
The custom of worshipping a pre-pubescent girl, who is not a born goddess, as the source of supreme power is an old Hindu-Buddhist tradition that still continues to this day in Nepal.
The story goes like this. Jaya Prakash Malla was the King of Malla Dynasty. According to myth, he was playing every night Tripasa (a kind of dice game) with the Goddess Taleju. The Goddess used to come every night to play with him with a condition that he would never reveal this secret to anyone. One day the Queen came searching for the King and saw him playing with the Goddess. When the Goddess saw the Queen, she was very angry. She told the King that if he wanted her to come back and protect his country then he would need to go in a search of a virgin in the Newari community in whom she would reincarnate herself and save the country. It is believed that the King went in search of a virgin girl in the Newari Community and the tradition of Kumari thus started.
Choosing the Living Goddess
Selection of the Kumari, who is entitled to sit on the pedestal for worship as the Living Goddess is an elaborate affair. According to the traditions of Vajrayana sect of Mahayana Buddhism, girls in the age-group of 4-7 year, who belong to the Sakya community, and have an ‘appropriate’ horoscope are screened on the basis of their 32 attributes of perfection, including color of eyes, shape of teeth and even voice quality. They are then are taken to meet the deities in a dark room, where terrifying tantrik rituals are performed. The sight of the Buffalo heads scattered around, the demon- like masked dancers, the terrifying noises they encounter scare some of these innocent babies. The real goddess is one who stays calm and collected throughout these trials. Other Hindu-Buddhist rituals that follow finally determine the real Kumari. The Kumari cult is distinctly evident among the Newar community in the Kathmandu Valley as she has become an inevitable feature of their worship almost in every Vihar and Bahal, including the nooks and corners of Newari settlements
Girl Becomes Goddess
After the ceremonies, the spirit of the goddess is said to enter her body. She takes on the clothing and jewelry of her predecessor, and is given the title of Kumari Devi, who is worshipped on all religious occasions. She would now live in a place called ‘Kumari Ghar’, at Kathmandu’s Hanumandhoka Palace square. The god-house, Kumari Ghar is a store-house of magnificent intricate carvings where the Living Goddess performs her daily rituals. During her tenure in the god-house, Guthi Sansthan, the government trust fund bears her entire expenses including that of her caretakers.

The Kumari Festival (Indra Jatra)
Indra Jatra is performed on the last day of rainy season(September end), to seek blessings from Indra the god of rains, so that the rains arrive next year as usual.
On Indra Jatra day the Living Goddess in all her jeweled splendor travels through the older part of Kathmandu city in a three tiered chariot accompanied by Ganesh and Bhairab for three days. It is really a grand gala in which thousands throng in and around the Kathmandu Durbar Square to pay their homage to the Living Goddess. During this festival she also blesses the King in keeping with the tradition in which the first king of the Shah dynasty, who annexed Kathmandu in 1768, received a blessing from the Living Goddess.
This is the only day on which she appears in public.
Normally, the Kumari appears for tourists through an intricately carved window at her residence in the historic square on a few occasions. But not for the past six months. Her guardians have withdrawn her from sight because of the row with the Kathmandu municipality. The whole area has been declared as “Endangered” by UNESCO and an entry fee is charged form Foreigners. There is a dispute about sharing this revenue which has lead to this impasse.

Goddess Turns Human
The Kumari’s godhood comes to an end with her first menstruation, because it is believed that on reaching puberty the Kumari turns human. However, if she turns out to be unlucky, even a minor cut or bleeding can render her invalid for worship, and the search for the new goddess has to begin.
As the reigning Kumari approaches the age of 12, the board of selectors reactivates their child-hunting network. At the first sign of menstrual blood, it's the end of the road for the present Kumari -- her days of power are gone, the spirit of Taleju has fled her body, and all that's left to do is take her back where she had come from.
This fall from grace has never been smooth, and modern thinkers suggest a sort of half-way house where ex-Kumaris can adjust to the drastic change in their circumstances. Most come away wondering why they are being penalized, and find it tough to settle down in a house where they no longer belong, with a family they hardly know. They suffer emotional scars.
Parents too have little use for a daughter who may as well have dropped into the household from another planet -- with no social skills, no experience of domesticity, no education, no prospects of catching a husband. There is a superstition that men who marry Kumaris will die soon, so Kumaris generally remain un-married.
The walls of the Kumari palace are replaced by a vast emotional wasteland and there are no doors this time, which will release them after they have served their time.
Many children will suffer similar fate, so long as financial constraints remain a factor in the poverty-stricken Shakya community. Parents willingly hand over their daughters as there is a mouth less to feed. The superstition that without them, the country is lost still retains its death grip on girls of Nepal's Hindu-Buddhist society.
“After all these years, I still cannot cross the road by myself”, says one ex Kumari whom we met during the Jatra while we were waiting for the Kumari Devi to come out of her dwelling. “I cannot relate to crowds, I shut myself out at family gatherings as I find I have nothing to say. The only time I feel some measure of security is when I'm alone. I've grown accustomed to silence.”