Feast for Thought

A few poems written in 2005

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:29:00 +0000

Grow out of my arms

Grow out of my arms – my son – my baby,

Grow up a man well loved to be,

Go out into the arms of the wide-wide world

Grow out of my arms – my son – my baby.

Stride ahead with firmness of step,

Put forth your hand to aid and help,

Be it a friend, be it a foe,

Jus’ remember – goodwill - it needs a hoe.

Take out the venom, put in the honey,

Lay the sweet open, for all to see,

Water a plant, pick out a weed,

Look to the sun – and place a seed.

When I could gather all of you to me,

I knew – the day will come early,

When your eyes and mind are ready,

To go out of my arms- my son – my baby.

Hurt not a feather

When you are stung

Sting not back

Hurt not a feather

Or widen a crack.

When you are slapped

Hit not back

Try out a balm

Soothe on like lac.

When fortune beats you

Slack not a sinew,

Mind - God is with you,

‘Cause you said not a ‘Boo’.

Mind your Language

A P and a Q

Brighten a day

Hold open the door,

Give another a say.

A civil word here,

A kudos-pat there

The place lights up,

And dark clouds beware.

Put U before I,

And reverse a Nay,

For a tap of your heels,

Could make the floor give way.

A sorry for a wrong,

Does not pinch you,

Check it out right away – do

And smile your way through!

When I hear the Anthem…

When a breeze rustles the tricolor
When all eyes look to the chakra
When the overture begins
My heart fills to the brim.

To attention I stand
But let the mind travel
Back to the glory that was
And to the Future in our hands.

Sentiments they may be,
Sentimental too,
Not wrong, not amiss, surely?
Don't you feel as I do?

As the last strains fade in the ear,
I stare - to burn away the tear,
Add to history I may or not
Blur or change it - I dare not.

Will my son feel for the homeland?
If that doth lie in my hand
He will shed a tear or two - be assured
For the country - and his son will, too!

The here and the now

Past is past - let

Bygones be bygones, avow,

See resting in your hands

The Here and the Now.

Unmade hay and unstruck iron,

Let not cloud the vision,

Spilt milk of a day gone by,

Is at best tomorrow’s lesson.

An unheard knock, a missed call,

Rattle – they will – every hour

On the morrow wake up wise,

To see the sun surely rise.

Clear the mind to prepare it

For Fortune’s future favour,

Tomorrow is another day – with it come

Many more Here’s and many more Now’s.

Sight: PoV

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 10:38:00 +0000

My family's Only-10-Boxes Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Tue, 08 Jun 2021 13:14:00 +0000

A transferable job is a boon and a bane. One gets to live in different places, but it also means ever-changing neighbourhood and schools, besides repeated establishment of home infrastructure. As part of a sixth move (this time to the great NCR) in a period of 11 years , I just started on the job of classifying household things into "needed" / "give-away-when-usable" / "recycle". If you are a 'goal-oriented minimalist' trying to de-clutter sincerely, you will find good company in efforts such as - "How to Live With Just 100 Things". As for us, the single dominant motivating factor is the comfort that we (sincerely try to) practise anti-consumerism, and this alone should, I hope, help us meet the challenge of fitting all packable household stuff into ten 2X2X2 trunks. (I hear horror stories of some family's 75-box inventory - what a morale-booster!) For those who need inspiration to declutter, whether "physical, emotional, even temporal", "5 Steps to Clutter-Free Living" may serve as a guide. As to the present challenge, breathe easy. I'll leave an update when - and if - I complete numbering my boxes 1 to 10 (without having to insert the likes of 1a, 5j, 10z....)

(originally posted: July 08, 2008)

(Fixed broken links June 08, 2021)

gandikota గండికోట गंदिकोटा

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 09:14:00 +0000

Ever heard of 'Kipple'? It's similar to 'Entropy'

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 12:12:00 +0000

"Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around, kipple reproduces itself."

Kipple seems to be a combination of entropy and capitalism. I don't think past civilizations had the resources to produce so much packaging to hold our stuff until we buy it or consume it.

Don't forget the First Law: "There's the First Law of Kipple…'Kipple drives out nonkipple'."

Kipple is useless objects, like junk mail or match folders after you use the last match or gum wrappers or yesterday's homeopape. When nobody's around, kipple reproduces itself. For instance, if you to go bed leaving any kipple around your apartment, when you wake up there is twice as much of it. It always gets more and more.No one can win against kipple, except temporarily and maybe in one spot.

From Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick.
Published by Doubleday in 1968

According to the philosopher of kipple in the novel, J.R. Isadore, "the entire universe is moving toward a state of total, absolute kippleization." Physicists will note the similarity to the concept of entropy, which is most usually taken to refer to the tendency of closed systems toward increasing disorder.

I like the definition taken from classical thermodynamics, that entropy is a quantitative measure of the amount of thermal energy not available to do work. In the 21st century, we seem to be working as hard as we can to take available resources and transform them into objects that cannot be used for anything (kipple). We are doing this socially as well; by using welfare, we encourage our human resources not to do work, either. If we can recycle paper, we can recycle people, too. [Source]

Reproducing a post from a decade ago - "US National Debt - Entropy in the 21st century"

Ridiculous? Incredible? Mind-boggling? Flabbergasting? Indecent? There is probably no single word to help convey all that the obese(!) US national debt figures will eventually mean to humans alive now and to several future generations.
So the counter ran out of digits, did it?
Where did it all go? We should surely be able to see where -
- in glass fronted sky-high edifices? - And among the debris in Afghanistan and Iraq
- in over-obese consumers' frames? - And in the hollow eyes and malnourished, bloated underbellies of the world's poor children
- in vulgar luxury infrastructure? - And in dried-up, empty farm lands
- in over-stuffed homes? - And in laid-bare forests
- in gleaming and overflowing supermarkets? - And in grotesque landfills and toxic oceanfills
Entropy - even as the word occurred in the mind, I felt that this term fills in where other words fail. In the field of thermodynamics, Entropy is "a measure of the partial loss of the ability of a system to perform work due to the effects of irreversibility", to cite just one of many definitions.
It is likely that implications of the US national debt will be explained as a kind of entropy.
Apparently it is - I'm not surprised at this - See Entropy: A new World view The authors "seek to analyse the world's economic and social structures by using the second law of thermodynamics, that is, the law of entropy. The authors argue that humanity is wasting resources at an increasing rate, and that will lead to the destruction of our civilization, which has happened before on a smaller scale for past empires. The book promotes the use of sustainable energy sources and slow resource consumption as the solution to delay the inevitable: death by entropy".

Update 08 July, 2021: Unavailable link http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ replaced with https://usdebtclock.org/

Why not small buses?

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 08:19:00 +0000

Note: This was written in early 2014, in the context of KSRTC issues in Kerala's capital city Thiruvananthapuram.

One is extremely disturbed - to say the least - to read about the woes of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), and the woes caused to other road users by KSRTC buses. The organization is the lifeline for ordinary citizens. Unfortunately though, it is not a thriving venture at present; and it seems that its buses are culpable in a tragically large number of road accidents.

In this “blessed” state of India, where villages seamlessly transition to towns, most roads other than national highways and a few stretches of bypasses, are too narrow to accommodate heavy vehicles. One is often bemused and amused to watch C segment cars, luxury sedans and enormous SUVs flow out of palatial premises to occupy unfair amounts of road space. Most streets and alleys seem to have been designed with only processions of the political kind in mind. After all, such processions have arguably been the biggest users of road space over the decades.

With multi-axle buses, whose presence on the roads is certainly much more justifiable than that of private cars, there’s nothing amusing. It’s painful to watch them negotiate impossible turns and curves and navigate amidst busy junctions. In such a state where land acquisition is difficult, slow, and mostly near-impractical, it seems unreasonable to hope for, or insist on roads broad enough to accommodate disproportionately huge, long, vestibuled high capacity buses, though they may be the best option in terms of fuel consumption per passenger mile.

A World Bank evaluation on ‘Factors Influencing Bus System Efficiency with respect to Vehicle Size and Type’ carried out by Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (ppiaf.org) has pointed out the advantages of using buses smaller in size (and capacity). (http://www.ppiaf.org/sites/ppiaf.org/files/documents/toolkits/UrbanBusToolkit/assets/1/1d/1d8.html)

“Smaller vehicles are necessary on routes where road conditions inhibit the use of larger vehicles. This often applies when routes operate in high-density residential areas with very narrow streets. Other constraints on the operation of larger vehicles may include low or weak bridges, or terminals and depots with restricted access, as well as legislation restricting vehicle dimensions.

Smaller buses can provide a higher frequency of service for a given passenger flow, which can improve the convenience of the service. Passengers also often prefer small buses because they are faster and take less time to load.

Small vehicles also make it possible to offer a greater number of route variations, without adversely affecting service frequency.”

With smaller buses, there are more possibilities:

a) Car owners could be persuaded to switch to such public transport for travel to work.

b) The buses could run on the cleaner fuel CNG, once the infrastructure and supply lines are in place to ensure ample supply.

In the capital city of Trivandrum, and elsewhere in the state of Kerala, town planners along with road and transport authorities can surely get together and look for alternatives to ease congestion, reduce pollution and ultimately make road travel safe for all. It will surely be possible for the JNNURM scheme to include smaller-sized buses where the terrain and density warrant their use.

Kailash Mansarovar 2012 Visual Recap

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 03:16:00 +0000

Recounting a fortuitous journey from 6 years ago. The longing to revisit will persist forever!
Visual Recap

The Aam fruit ... Never 'aam', Ever Special!

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Wed, 13 Jun 2018 03:19:00 +0000

Mangoes gala
Woman goes gaga!

Garden Magic: Nature's bounty

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Wed, 16 May 2018 12:43:00 +0000

khatta-meetha-teekha Mango pickle!

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Mon, 23 Apr 2018 13:52:00 +0000

Using jaggery, NOT sugar! Certified 'good' by the resident critic!

Banana wine!

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 10:58:00 +0000

If you are blessed with 32 sweet teeth - like me - you may not care much for drinks that are not sweet enough, except perhaps sugar-free coffee.

So when SA, our neighbour in Annanad, (Trissur district, Kerala) offered some wine during one of the neighbourhood rounds (that are such a pleasant and customary part of hometown visits), i gave a tentative nod. i even managed to sip it, and savour it as slowly as i could, resisting the urge to assume an air of being a connoisseur. Ha ha

SA then generously shared the recipe in detail, complete with cautions and warnings. Here's the recipe, courtesy SA and her sources.

Ingredients:
Ripe (or overripe) Palayankodan bananas
Jaggery, powdered (the unsalted variety)
Cardamom
Cinnamon
Cloves
Air tight jar
Recommended sitting time: 41 days.

Wash or wipe clean the bananas.
Chop / slice the bananas, along with the peels.
Crush the spice mix.

In a dry jar, place a layer of jaggery, followed by a layer of chopped banana pieces. Repeat the layering, as much as the quantity of banana requires (but do not exceed 3/4ths of the jar's volume).
Sprinkle just a little of the crushed spice mix. Close the jar tight.
After 10 days, open the jar, and stir the contents gently, taking care to use a dry ladle. Taste a sample and add some more jaggery if needed.
Cover the jar again. At the end of 41 days, pour out the liquid from the jar in to a suitable bottle, and let sediments settle.
Next, use a clean washed muslin to squeeze out additional liquid from the rest of the contents. The left out solid residue can be used with additional jaggery to continue fermentation in the jar.
Filter the liquid for storage, and viola! Homemade banana wine is ready for the friendly neighbourhood to enjoy!

On the cliché "I will act according to what my conscience tells me"

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 08:25:00 +0000

Next time you hear anyone resort to 'conscience', or even if you are tempted to resort to your 'conscience', on matters that, well, matter, think about this -

"Why is conscience called one's "manahsaksi"? Conscience is fit to be only a witness(saksi), not to be a judge. A witness often gives false evidence. The mind, however, doesn't tell an untruth - indeed it knows the truth of all things. " There is no deceit that is hidden from the heart(mind), " says Auvvai. Conscience may be regarded as a witness. But nowadays it is brought in as a judge also in dharmic matters. As a witness it will give us a true report of what it sees or has seen. But on the basis of it we cannot give on what is just with any degree of finality. "What I think is right, " everybody would try to satisfy himself thus about his actions if he were to be guided only by his conscience. How can this be justified as the verdict of dharma?

We often hear people say, "I will act according to what my conscience tells me. " This is not a right attitude. All at once your conscience cannot be given the place of a judge. It is only when there is no other way open to you that you may tell your mind: "You have seen everything as a witness. Now tell me your opinion. " The mind belongs to each one of us as individuals. So it cannot be detached from our selfish interests. The place it has in one's personal affairs cannot be given to it in matters of religion. On questions of dharma the opinion of sages alone is valid, sages who were concerned with universal welfare and who transcended the state of the individual concerned with his own mind [or with himself]."

Source

A Book, and a Tanjore painting

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 05:45:00 +0000

Jerry Pinto's review of the book 'Smritichitre' by Lakshmibai Tilak (English translation by Shanta Gokhale) convinced me that i should buy it, and i did. Indeed a wonderful account of the people and the circustances in familiar places of Maharastra, the book covers the period from the last couple of decades of the 19th century, and the first three of the 20th century. Experience the author's angst as her spouse hastens steadily from one faith to another, and she ends up treading the same path.

In the same newspaper edition as the review, i got to read another fascinating account of one man's beloved collection of Tanjore paintings. "The gods and goddesses in the iconic paintings often have “stark staring eyes”. This is because, Singh suggests, in the Indian tradition of darshan, you do not just look at the deity but the deity looks back at you. The box frames are a three-dimensional representation of a shrine. The religious cannot be disconnected from the aesthetic in this way of experiencing art."
One of the images accompanying the article is of Kamadhenu.

Why have these two pieces of reading been bunched? Simply because, the author in the former mentions that her multi-faceted and talented husband Mr Tilak, (later Rev Narayan Waman Tilak)
drew "a picture of a cow flanked by the sun and the moon. A Sanskrit sloka was inscribed underneath. The body of the cow was covered from horns to tail with images of deities."

Lifestyles Vs Livelihoods

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Fri, 24 Nov 2017 04:14:00 +0000

More fascinating possibilities

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 05:29:00 +0000

"....reminds us of the persistence of primal floods rising to punish human beings for their greed. Most often, the stories tell of a giant fish rising to save humanity. We have our own version in ‘matsya avatar’ with Vishnu taking the form of a fish to save Manu, the designated survivor of humanity. The Sumerians’ tales of Gilgamesh talk of Sage Utnapishtim, who takes his family, his animals and enough grains, to start all over again after the deluge.
Then there’s the Aztec myth of a couple that climbs a tree with two ears of grain to save themselves from the flood. And the Norse myth of Odin and his brothers who kill Ymir, an ice-giant, the frost in whose veins melts and floods the earth.
Maybe our own Ichthyosaurus is a reminder of the fragility of all life forms in the everflowing flux of time. Or how closely connected we all are by our myths and heredity. Surfacing as the oceans begin to rise, the Ichthyosaurus of Kutch lives again." Source

So once again, let us revisit the Sage of Kanchi's lecture:
"How are we to understand the presence of Hindu ideas or concepts in the religious beliefs of people said to belong to prehistoric times? It does not seem right to claim that in the distant past our religion or culture was propagated in other countries through an armed invasion or through trade, that is at a time when civilization itself has not taken shape there. That is why I feel that there is no question of anything having been taken from this land and introduced into another country. The fact according to me, is that in the beginning the Vedic religion was prevalent all over the world. Later, over the countries, it must have gone through a process of change and taken different forms. These forms came to be called the original religions of these various lands which in the subsequent period- during historical times- came under Buddhism, Christianity or Islam as the case may be." Source

Fascinating possibilities

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 15:05:00 +0000

1. "Climbing Australia’s giant red rock Uluru to be banned"
"The rock’s traditional Aboriginal owners’ connection to the site dates back tens of thousands of years and it has great spiritual and cultural significance to them." Source

2. "Tribe rejects plan to build tram, hotel in Grand Canyon"
"Members of the Navajo Nation Council have rejected legislation to build an aerial tram to take paying visitors to a riverside boardwalk in the Grand Canyon in the U.S. Critics showed up to urge lawmakers to oppose the project. They have said the area is sacred and that the proposed development would mar the landscape". Source

3. "In the dim past what we call Hinduism today was prevalent all over the world. Archaeological studies reveal the existence of relics of our Vedic religion in many countries. For instance, excavations have brought up the text of a treaty between Rameses II and the Hittites dating back to the 14th century B. C. In this, the Vedic gods Mitra and Varuna are mentioned as witnesses to the pact.
There is a connection between the name of Ramesses and that of our Rama.
About 75 per cent of the names of places in Madagascar have a Sanskritic origin. In the Western Hemisphere too there is evidence of Hinduism having once flourished there. In Mexico a festival is celebrated at the same time as our Navaratri; it is called "Rama-Sita".
Wherever the earth is dug up images of Ganapati are discovered here. The Aztecs had inhabited Mexico before the Spaniards conquered that land. "Aztecs " must be a distorted form of "Astikas". In Peru, during the time of the holy equinox [vernal? ] worship was conducted in the sun temple. The people of this land were called Incas: "Ina" is one of the Sanskrit names of the sun god. Don't we call Rama Inakula-tilaka? There is book containing photographs of the aborigines of Australia dancing in the nude (The Native Tribes of Central Australia, by Spencer Killan, pages 128 & 129). A close look at the pictures, captioned "Siva Dance", shows that the dancers have a third eye drawn on the forehead." Source

T M Krishna in conversation with Ananya Vajpeyi

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 11:44:00 +0000

Addressing the 'trust deficit'....

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 05:07:00 +0000

All NGOs work for some cause.

And their funding is under scrutiny.

The government or its designated department gives approval after ensuring the legitimacy of the cause.

At the time of registration, let the govt provide a seed fund, open the NGO's account in a chosen bank, and announce that the NGO can seek funds from anyone who wishes to support the cause.

The funds would be routed through only this account. Can't transparency be ensured this way?

And political parties also can be considered non-governmental organizations!

Quoting from NGOs’ foreign funds and a trust deficit

".... foreign funding of NGOs is dwarfed by other foreign money coming into India. Of this, the amount used for potentially questionable purposes is about 13 per cent. Let us look at another set of issues. All organisations working in society need to be transparent and accountable, including NGOs, whether domestically or foreign funded. The RTI tries to do that for the government. But beyond the NGOs, corporates and the government, there are political parties and religious organisations.

The Supreme Court has admitted a petition saying that India’s two major political parties, the BJP and the Congress, receive illegal foreign funding. Like other major democracies, India also does not permit political parties to receive foreign funding. But no notice has been issued by the government to the political parties. One of the parties said they have returned the money, and the matter was laid to rest after that. Would other organisations, including the corporate sector and the NGOs be permitted to respond similarly? The political parties have also violated the RTI Act by refusing to comply with CIC orders.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Government has passed an ordinance that an FIR cannot be filed against legislators and senior officers without prior approval to avoid frivolous allegations. But there is no protection for ordinary citizens against harassment whether by the police, income tax or other authorities. The police investigate allegations against themselves and give themselves a clean chit. There is no remedy for citizens who need some permission from the government and there is no reply for months or years. The government has publicly used the phrase ‘tax terrorism,’ but has so far done nothing to protect the citizen. It is well known that several religious organisations and their affiliates receive foreign funding. Those that indulge in anti-national and subversive activities will not be affected by the new FCRA rules — their work is underground.

So we see a trend where government officers and elected representatives, political organisations and some religious organisations and affiliates are protected, but others are harassed. This is in line with some of the erstwhile Communist countries, such as Hungary and Russia, which are also clamping down on NGOs getting foreign funding. Interestingly there is no such clampdown in the West. Are we moving towards a free market economy along with totalitarian controls? The major reason that is offered for these controls is that sometimes NGOs indulge in activities that are “detrimental to national interest, likely to affect public interest, or likely to prejudicially affect the security, scientific, strategic or economic interest of the state.” This was the classic language used by the British colonials in order to justify new laws and regulations aimed at curbing civil liberties. This is not to say that no NGO ever does anything wrong. If they break the law, they should be brought to book. There are more than adequate laws to ensure that this happens."

Ruralize, don't urbanize! Why do we clone our cities?

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 16:52:00 +0000

A few years ago, living in Thiruvananthapuram and watching the city - a lovable overgrown village really - burst at the seams, these were thoughts that i had shared (see Stop the cloning of cities) - Indian cities have been trying hard at developing into clones of big cities across the world, and succeeding. (Aside: In the matter of solid waste management they are just clones of each other). Bangalore was a laid back garden city till about a couple of decades ago, even though it was the aerospace-cum-electronics hub of India. If we put together all the pros and cons of living comfort, standards of living, and quality of life, we will find that the present Bengaluru has unfortunately lost its overall charm.
We have let globalisation and technological revolutions invade our urban spaces and our mind spaces so much, and at too fast a pace, that entire sections of urban residents have forgotten to pause, look around, smell the earth, and think of whole lots of other people to whom globalisation has meant deprivation, more financial burden and regress.
Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) is a uniquely endowed, endearing, overgrown village. But it is increasingly obvious that this city is also hurtling down the ‘progress and development’ path blindly, with foolhardy zeal and no imagination whatsoever. Think of the city 20 to 30 years from now: only more glass facades, more high-rise match boxes marring the green skyline, and humongous concrete masses looking down on snarling traffic, tempers adding heat to treeless avenues...

Mahatma Gandhi is said to have termed the city of Trivandrum as “Evergreen city of India”, blessed as it is with plenty of tree cover, and nestled on small hills between the Western Ghats and the coast.

It is evident that with globalisation, newer technologies and industries invade and take over / overtake the very thought processes of a city and end up thrusting a narrow concept of development. Prosperity and well-being of a city starts to be measured against such yardsticks as ‘world-class’ infrastructure and the upward mobility of city residents. The public have also been manipulated and steadily moulded to believe in advertised images and perceptions of what is desirable. The unnatural creation and projection of images of perfection and desirability by the media, advertising, marketing firms, and authorities who tout ‘global standards’ delude the masses into believing that their locality and the city will attain that kind of picture-perfection - if they have wider roads, bigger buildings, more indoor comfort and malls in which to ‘chill out’. (Parks and gardens aren’t ‘cool’ enough, you see).

If you stand on a stretch of MG Road, you can easily forget that it is MG Road, Thiruvananthapuram; it could be MG Road, any other city. Do we need that kind of development that swallows a city’s original character? Nearly all of India’s metropolitan areas and urban spaces have gone that way. Cities have expanded to encompass suburban areas and have become nightmares to residents and the already (mostly) clueless administrators. Delhi’s tentacles extend to several sub-cities, Mumbai grows into the sea leaving its heart far behind, Chennai pincodes have grown to 600117 and Bangalore’s now joyless veins clutch outer villages. Why is Ananthapuri being compelled to follow those models?
Heritage structures and rich, green spaces on Government-owned land should be left intact, preserved for posterity while possibly serving some public purpose. All the remaining green and open spaces within city limits – precious few of them – should serve as well-maintained oxygen pockets.
We need to reclaim, revamp and take care of public places that had had grandiose plans bestowed on them by successive Governments.
Why can’t we - concerned city residents – play a role in defining our vision for the city, guided by the principles of aesthetics, abundant local wisdom, heritage preservation and Nature conservation?
In this context, it is good to note the introduction of programmes like the new Urban Design Master’s course offered at the CET, Trivandrum. Let us hope that such courses inculcate a holistic, long-term vision for cities. The budding future town planners should realize that there is much more at stake than the fortunes of the brick and mortar industry.

A city’s growth lies not in numbers of Big Retail, multiple ‘brandnamas’, outsize cars, cooler and swankier malls, but in the numbers of residents who feel proud and happy about the right things – health, clean air, welcoming public places, mind-invigorating outlook of fellow-citizens. We must preserve what is left of the city’s character. Even if it means calling a stop to mindless real-estate expansion and ridiculous numbers of car dealerships.

"Unless citizens are motivated to live in ways not imagined before, the death of Indian cities will be rapid"

Gautam Bhatia writes in "The city's bleak future": "The Indian city’s undisguised fawning and mimicry of Western models bodes ill for an urban culture steeped in an altogether different life and pattern. Stockholm and Berlin may present a cohesive picture for initiating a computerised smartness into Indian urbanism, but they can hardly be imitated wholesale. When 60 per cent of the citizens are without local housing or access to municipal utilities, 40 per cent move about as pedestrians, with a third of those without conventional livelihood, the needs of urbanity are closer to those of Lagos or Cairo than of European or Chinese cities. A more generous and open-minded comprehension of traditional town structure by the government can provide a constructive direction to the country’s urban future."

Let's stop looking at cities as the 'engines of growth', because, these engines are adding to pollution at unmanageable rates. The government must ponder over former President Dr APK Abdul Kalam words written in the book 'Ignited Minds': The developed India will not be a nation of cities. It will be a network of prosperous villages empowered by tele-medicine, tele-education, and e-commerce....The political leaders would be working with the zeal born of the knowledge that the nation is bigger than individual interests and political parties. This attitude will lead to minimizing the rural-urban divide as progress takes place in the countryside and urbanites move to rural areas to absorb the best of what nature can give ..."

Of "Jellicut" aka "Pulikulam" & "Palingu" & the entire imbroglio

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 16:13:00 +0000

Some amazing facts here - From Jellicut to jallikattu

"It is only the Jellicut (identified as Pulikulam) that has been described scientifically (between 1870 and 1930) as a “small bull specially bred for bull-fighting/taming in the Tamil region“, according to the Roslin Institute of the University of Edinburgh."

i read the piece with great interest. Scientific management is one logical route to protecting native breeds and all of the so-called IP, though i prefer to term it knowledge base instead. One experiences mixed feelings on learning that a few other countries have recognised the unique traits of native Indian breeds, and taken efforts at tapping the preferred qualities for better results; beginning with the fact that “American Brahman” is “the first beef cattle breed developed in the US”.

Here are a few questions that occurred to me as a layperson, following the dismaying developments of the past few days

1. Are there clear indications about the A2 milk Vs A1 milk? In Delhi, i have seen sachets marked as ‘A2 milk’ being marketed.

2. If a NZ-based company can file for patents based on ‘A2’, why have Indian companies not seized the initiative?

3. Do humans need to produce and consume such enormous amounts of milk and other dairy products at all?

4. Why won’t youth get together to protest the plastic and polythene that is discarded all over, and which our cattle ingest routinely?

The author has rightly highlighted the importance of scientific management for protection of native breeds and indeed for the preservation of the immense traditional knowledge base. This is important in view of the challenges posed by climate change and the known resilience of native flora and fauna. A holistic approach is necessary to address all the issues.

Also, while a seemingly unbiased youth-led movement is largely good for society, we must watch out for attempts to mislead, and attempts at diverting the focus away from genuine societal concerns. For this, we need articulate public figures who can talk to the youth in the jargon which they can listen to, understand and come up with well-considered responses.

i’d just like to insert a couple of words in the concluding statement: “Only science sans human greed can ensure ~~commercial~~ viability and enduring pride in our native breeds”.

Perhaps it won’t be long before the phrase post-truth gets associated with the jallikattu imbroglio currently panning out in TN.

No public figure has found the initiative to speak in a language that the youth would understand, and it’s a tragedy that none among the youth is able to articulate at all.

What we see in the Parliament, assemblies, news rooms ... is what we see on the roads too. More of emotions and instant opinions, and no intelligent discussion or informed debates.

MGIIREPD to MGICCC to MGIUS

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Tue, 24 Jan 2017 10:55:00 +0000

On Gandhiji's birthday in 1992, the Govt established the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Integrated Rural Energy Planning and Development (MGIIREPD) - with a view to “TAP RENEWABLE ENERGY TO THE FULLEST” and with a mission to Combat Climate Change and develop it as a “CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE” especially related with Strategic Knowledge Centre.

The Institute - obviously set up by the Govt of the day - was renamed as Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Combating Climate Change (MGICCC) through an office order - perhaps intentionally - 30 Jan 2009.

As given in the website, "The main objective of the Institute is to organize the Training Programmes for Government, Public Sector and Private Sector Officials in the areas of Pollution Control, Waste Management, Bio-diversity, Greening, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Climate Change and Clean Development Mechanism. Institute is tasked to conduct Education and Mass Awareness Programmes for School Children, RWAs and Rural Women and Extension activities in the field of Climate Change and the Applications of Renewable Energy Sources by the Govt. of Delhi and conduct R&D work in collaboration with Institutions, Colleges and Universities. In view of the above set broad objective and climate change agenda for Delhi (2009-2012), MGICCC has inter-alia been mandated to pursue the following tasks as a strategic knowledge centre.

To oversee the use of biofuel by the government in some applications and to encourage restaurants to sell their waste fat and oil to an agency which can convert this into biofuel in collaboration with the Department of Environment, GNCTD and Delhi College of Engineering(DCE)/Delhi Technological University(DTU).

To launch and conduct a massive campaign of awareness about the NAPCC (National Action Plan on Climate Change) and about Delhi Government targets for the NAPCC. To achieve this objective, a comprehensive process of education and awarness involving every citizen of Delhi like communities, NGOs, Schools and Colleges, is to be initiated.

To prepare background paper and hold conference to increase awareness and response of the public. Discuss the impact of use of biofuels and other stringent fuel quality norms and their effects.

To hold discussions and seminars on the problem to find a solution and create a knowledge base about the problem of mercury in CFL lamps.

To start a pilot project for manufacture of small facility for biofuel and see how it can generates employment for small scale sector by involving industry and hotels and restaurants and other study institutions in collaboration with the Department of Environment, GNCTD and Delhi College of Engineering(DCE)/Delhi Technological University(DTU).

Whether or not anyone worked toward these noble goals, an RTI may reveal. But Mahatma Gandhi lives on though, in yet another name proposed in July 2012 along with a revamping of the institute.

Check it out here.

Knowledge must travel....

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Tue, 06 Dec 2016 06:35:00 +0000

This is the translation of a verse sung by pastoralists belonging to the Kutch region of Gujarat, India.

Treasures!

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Thu, 01 Dec 2016 13:05:00 +0000

What i thought was lost in cyberspace, i found today.
To say that i am a wee bit satisfied.... would be an understatement!
Thanks, unknown cyber librarians and cataloguers!
But not many can make out the priceless from the valueless!

Moderation in Everything, Necessities in Moderation.

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 15:52:00 +0000

The origin of fireworks / crackers (and their use during deepAvali) has become the next contentious issue. While the debate continues, those who wish to pause and think can ponder on these -
1. CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) site lists "Noise Standards for Fire Crackers". Unable to find regulations or emission standards.
2. There are regulations in other countries - see Consumer Fireworks and Hazards and Regulations

In recent years, newer toxic pyrotechnic compounds have been unleashed in the consumer fireworks market, without any checks whatsoever.

All religious, social and cultural practices were once environmentally sustainable.
Now each of these practices, fasts and festivals have become convenient targets for 'sustainable' businesses, trapping citizens to vulgar outward displays and transient glee. The climate change crisis is a valuable opportunity for the right wing government to lead the nation in reverting to sustainable and sensible practices.

Inputs welcome.
#SustainableHinduism

If an outright ban is not practicable, then it is time for stringent regulations in the fireworks industry. Once again, it is likely to be the defense services which can come to the rescue of clueless civilian authorities who focus more on revenues than on repercussions.

Monsoon Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (Swarna) — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 06:32:00 +0000

(Predictions of) A good monsoon ought to cheer up a farmer, far more and far earlier than lesser citizens of a nation. After all, the monsoons are a sort of DBT from Nature to the farmer's soul. And the rest of the nation benefits indirectly.

But what do we notice?
Prediction of good rains cheers up stock markets, energises the brokers, adds to the disposable incomes of the elite, keeps up the GDP illusion... all this before the farmer can say ஏலேலோ ஐலசா 'Elelo ailasa'