[Wikimediaindia-l] [Press] Telegraph : It’s a Wiki Wiki world!

[CherianTinu Abraham]

Thank Srikanth, for sharing this.

The article can be viewed on epaper :
http://epaper.telegraphindia.com/PUBLICATIONS/TT/TT/2011/09/11/index.shtml
( Nice to see Vibhi's photo and huge heading "Wiki Warriors:on the main page
)
Don't forget to full article on page 13 too.


The full text of the article :

 *Wikipedia, the world’s largest online encyclopaedia, has a vibrant
community of editors and contributors in India. And on its 10th anniversary
it is looking to enlarge its base in the country, says T.V. Jayan *
* *
*Vaibhav Jain, 13, looks like any other child. The Delhi resident is crazy
about animated characters Pokémon and Shin-chan, and cheers for the Delhi
Daredevils whenever his home team is playing at the IPL. But looks, as they
say, can be deceptive. Vaibhav assumes a completely different persona when
he is on the Web — that of a vigilant cop waging a war against vandalism. *
*Vaibhav is one of the 4,200-odd “rollbackers” of Wikipedia — the world’s
largest free and open online encyclopaedia. When he is not studying or
playing, he scours Wikipedia articles for recent editorial changes that are
suspect and reverts them to the original. Vaibhav, who set up his Wikipedia
account earlier this year because he “got bored with social networking sites
and online games”, has a Wiki user page that says it all: “This user reverts
vandalism faster than Rajinikanth…” *
* *
*Seventy-three-year old G. Balachandran from Paravur, Kerala, has a
different story to tell. Paralysed for nearly two decades, this retired
junior commissioned officer of the Indian Army got a new lease of life,
thanks to Wikipedia. When his son presented him with a laptop, Balachandran
started contributing to Wikipedia in Malayalam. “Wikipedia not only helped
me rediscover myself, but also gave me the strength to fight my condition,”
says Balachandran, who has contributed nearly 100 articles to the Malayalam
Wikipedia since 2008 and has more than 2,000 edits to his credit. *
*Vaibhav and Balachandran belong to a vibrant global community of
Wikipedians who contribute to the resource in one way or another. And there
is a growing number of Indians among them — those who have taken it upon
themselves to add, edit and improve Wikipedia in their spare time. *
*

INDIAN MOVERS: (From top) Vaibhav Jain, K. Ravichandar and G. Balachandran
are part of the global community of Wikipedians *
*