kanji - soul food

Kanji in Tamil, Kaanji in Hindi (Porridge) is a healthy, nutritious breakfast.
there are millions of different ways of preparing it.
we have always had this mix prepared and sent by our parents. this time we decided to prepare them from first principles.

here is our recipe.

Hindi	Tamil	English	Marathi
रागी	ராகி	Finger Millet	Nachani
जव		Oats	Jau
दलिया	சம்பா கொதுமை	Broken Wheat	Lapsi
बाजरा	கம்பு	Pearl Millet	Bajri
सोया	சொய	Soya Beans	Soya
मूंग दल	பச்சை பயிர்	Green Lentil	Moong Dal
मक्की	மக்க சோழம்	Corn (Maize)	Makya
कुलथ	கொள்ளு	Horse Gram	Koolith
		Red Rice
चन्ना दल	போட்டு கடளை	Fried Gram Dal
साबुत दाना	ஜவ் அரிசி	Pearl Sago	Sabudana
एलैची	ஏலக்காய்	Cardamom	Elaichi
बादाम	பாதாம்	Almond	Badam

table is under construction and needs some more gap-filling and verifications.
take equal amounts of all the grains and pulses. we did 250 gms of each item (except elaichi and badam - these are for taste and flavour)
the ragi and moong dal needs to be soaked overnight to allow for sprouting.
dry these 2 in the sun. ragi is the most beautiful grain.

dry roast all the grains/pulses separately (over medium/slow flame) in a thick bottomed pan. roast them till they become कड़क (crisp). test by popping them into mouth.
while roasting, do check out the smells. divine.
i added 4-5 badams and elaichi pods with each roasting batch.
cool the grains. mix them together and then grind them into a coarse powder. we did the grinding at a nearby chakki mill for a princely sum of Rs.10.50 (for 3 kilos). these mills were a wonderful part of our childhood (when there were no ready made flours in fancy supermarkets).

storage is best in fridgid environments. else likely germ infestation possible.

for making the kanji, dissolve 2-3 tbsps of the powder in cold/luke warm water. stir vigourously to dissolve the lumps (technically it does not 'dissolve').
then keep on low flame till it boils. keep stirring occassionally to prevent coagulation/lumping.
at the end, add little milk and sugar/jaggery.

healthy, nutritious and yummy kanji ready.

WTF - salaried home-makers?!

in one of the most interesting absurdities to come into our space:
Kerala housewives demand pay from govt

simply staggeringly LOL funny.

volunteering at the local farm - 3 and 4

after day 2 and day 1 here at our service farm, i have some simple comments to share from our work from day 3 and 4 over this weekend.
1. eat a proper meal min of 4 hours before any serious manual work.
2. use both your sides equally to use/build muscles.
3. सफाई काम is a unmatched way to get kids energised.
4. cold water baths are better than hot water. especially after physical work. tough but it is good that summer is on us now :-)
5. practice does make perfect. my digging is now quite upto the mark.
6. allow kids to settle their disputes themselves. works very well indeed. do not interfere with your own value system. like tolstoy did as a headmaster. (superb book, please do read).

life expectancy calculator

i know.
how can we do something like that??

but here is a good place to check it out:
there is another concept called virtual age - which is a reflection of your health and vitality. The lower it is, the better shape you are in. It is used to calculate the Life Expectancy of someone of your physical age.

My scores:
Biological Age - 34
Virutal Age - 12.9
Life Expectancy - 95.1

i moved the scales up and down to follow the impact of factors and found that genetic components contribute the most.

once you are done with all this, read the articles on the very same site.
some are truly special like "letting go".

hat tip: daily good

Gem from 1908

from the archives, atanu at deesha has dug up a brilliant old article - The New Nationalist Movement in India.

written by an british-canadian (guessing) in 1908 and was published in an American journal. it is long, but is a fantastic read and offers many insights which are quite relevant even today.

i tried to display parts of it on this page, but could not pick any part over any other.
it is a must read for its spread, its prose and observations.

sarang alternative school

a beautiful concept - The Sarang School- is:

...the practice of life of a modern species that can live and let live. Education happens everywhere, 24 hours X 365 days. Anything that we hear, see, touch, taste or smell, making a change within us, is part of our education. Movies, ads, news, speeches, performances, people; all that interacts with us is part of our education. In today’s fast-changing world a static system is not the way to real education.

their brand ambassador

Gautham Sarang (28) is the only child who could go through Sarang’s curriculum continuously. He has traveled extensively as part of his studies and handles six languages with ease. He has worked as a contract labourer, photographer, milkman, taxi driver, blacksmith, percussionist, actor, skilled labourer, web designer, and project coordinator, as part of his education and to support the large Sarang family. Anuradha (Inset) completes him.

in a beautiful location which they have nourished.

dreaming a lovely dream

Sarang is a rural university in its early infancy which dreams of a society of self reliant individuals. Sarang’s goal is to prepare the next generation to live fulfilling lives using minimal resources. We dream of a rural university, proposing no degrees or certificates, but offering a space to learn to cope with life and all its myriad hues and tones.

would i love to teach at Sarang?

farmer to cricketer to cab driver

is the most fascinating life story of ewen chatfield - a former new zealand fast bowler.

most of my sporting heroes and memories are from the 80s and are vividly imprinted.
one image which is scorched and branded is the 'rarest of rare' sight of gavaskar heaving chatfield over midwicket for in the 1987 cricket world cup at nagpur.
it was highly uncharacteristic as gavaskar was THE defensive expert and chatfield was THE stingiest bowler.

coming back to chatfield, he is now a taxi driver, and loving it.
it speaks volumes of his character and attitude to life.

If you go by what you read of him, the personality might not be the same either. He was a man of economy - of run-up, of action, of words. He was the man who once got Viv Richards out caught down leg and told Ian Smith, the keeper, "That should have gone for four." That's what you read.

Chatfield is a funny man with faraway eyes. With long pauses when he speaks. Is idiosyncratic. Makes you laugh when he talks about his debut Test. Except that he almost died during it. Thirty-four years and two days ago; after a bouncer from Peter Lever struck him in the head.

Was it difficult mentally to come back? "No, it wasn't difficult. Just carried on as if nothing had happened… I got a helmet."

and certainly a lesson for me in attaining contentment and satisfaction with what we have.

IIMs placement crash

the slowdown effect has spread across to the most prized talent (not my definition) in the country.
reports in indicate that the placements have been hit badly this year:. many top recruiters do not even exist as companies any more.
business standard says (giving itself poor marks in maths and english):

This year, IIM Ahmedabad (IIM-A), the largest and most prestigious of the institutes, has seen a 50 per cent slowdown in placements on the coveted "day zero" (the first day), probably for the first time since the dotcom bust in 2000.

Sources said only 18 to 20 out of 250-odd students were placed on day one yesterday, compared to 40 to 50 in a good year. Last year, when the economy was booming, more than 65 per cent (161 students) were hired by 25 firms on slot zero.

while the times reports some high figures (to cover up the gloom?)

The Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta which wrapped up the first round of placements this week saw three students accept pre-placement offers (PPO) of over Rs 1 crore each from investment banks that were made when those institutions were still flush with funds. At the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business too, some Rs 1-crore offers had flown in.

another simple indicator is the number of emails (4, at the last count) i have received in the last month from B-schools inviting my organisation for campus placements.
माम्ला गंभीर है.

my type of business leader...

...is Haruka Nishimatsu, the CEO of Japan Airlines.
here's why

...(He) who takes the bus to work.
...Nishimatsu knocked down his office walls so people can walk up and talk to him, and he works from a desk with an old-fashioned wooden in-and-out box.
Got an idea? Tell him at lunch in the company cafeteria because he wants people to share.
"I go there," Nishimatsu said, "to raise morale and motivation."
How does Nishimatsu treat himself? How about buying his suits at a discount store - wearing Armani, he says, puts his people at arms-length.

hierarchy, duh...

"There's no one person being on top," he told us, "and one person being on bottom, in an organization such as ours."
And he motivates one-on-one, regularly popping into planes, chatting with flight attendants, even helping sort the newspapers.
"I'd like to just find what is going on at the front line," he said.

buck stops at him

All CEOs say that service is important, but Nishimatsu goes a step beyond. He says that if you're having a bad experience, don't get angry with the people you're dealing with … blame the person in charge.

and salary,

For running the world's 10th largest airline Nishimatsu doesn't make millions. One year his pay was $90,000 because when he had to cut salaries, he also cut his own.
"My wife said, 'What?!" he laughed.
Does it work?
"Yes," he said. "The company is doing better, and so are its people."

hat tip: daily good

obligatory slumdog post

slumdog millionaire has given mumbai's tourism industry a shot in the arm.

15 years or so ago, the Indians became the focus of the beauty industry and promptly Sush and Ash walk away with the Universe and World titles.
i feel slumdog is a receipient of in a very similar lines - the entertainment industry.

for the record - i saw the movie and would have walked out in the middle if not for the fancy money i spent.
but, my liking it or not is not relevant.

i think ARRahman deserves all the accolades that come his way.
his talent coupled with his humility will be inspirations for me. he beautifully said in his acceptance speech - Ella pughazhum iraivanukke (எல்லா புகழும் இரைவனுக்கே) - God is the one who deserves all the fame.
lovely sentiment.

rest i dont want to waste any breath.

volunteering at the local farm - 2

Day 2 was even better। (day 1 here at our service farm)

We got some additional labour force (with all prior permissions), as they needed to get some serious ploughing done.

Around 10 or so plots needed to be ploughed for the next planting cycle. But only 2 plots were watered overnight and hence had softened up enough for ploughing.

A team of 6 people joined us and away we went wielding our pickaxes and कुलाड़.

The boys who joined were hyper enthu and joined up to plough 2 unwatered plots as well.

It is a tough job and requires the finesse of a weightlifter. Technique is so critical.

In the macho mode, within 10 strokes we were all left breathless. With the right technique, your output multiplies fourfold.

All the kids in the families also joined in and we had a blast.

The girls wanted to take home some palak/methi for their dinner. And there was the major 'reverse-negotiation' scene. The girls wanted to pay, the farmers said no.

The eldest brother talked about lots of ‘spiritual’ stuff – ‘ego, atma, karma’ and all. Very beautifully and from the heart and it fully resonated within me.

We watched the boys boisterously wind down the days exertions, diving and swimming in the massive well.

Truly an outstanding evening of work and joy.

volunteering at the local farm - 1

we did it. the discovery of the year was visited in rolled up sleeves and trousers.
very nice 2 hours we spent.
general मजदूरी happened. today was watering day and they let me handle the spade.
there is a foot wide water trough through the center along the length of the field and around five 5x5 sq ft squares on each side of the trough.
the trough is breached at each of the squares and dammed in such a way that the water flows into the square. it took me 3 attempts to crack the process. very simple and some nice innovations.
was introduced to the men folk this time and the kids too. got to tell our story and why we are interested in this work.
quite a joint family - around 40 strong. and most work in the filed along with doing whatever else they do - women managing the household, men doing side-business and kids in schools.
we also harvested some चौली (leafy vegetable) - 15 stacks (measured by the size of the harverster's hand) to be sold just in the veggie cart outside on the street.
and some really impoverished radish (मूली) (root vegetable), which would be bought for its leafy top instead at a huge discount.
good connections happened and more such posts are likely. keep watching.

the non-violent taxi driver

the ahimsa-vaadi taxi driver is one who:
1. honks not
2. keeps within speed limits
3. gives way to others
4. does not indulge in brinkmanship
5. treats pedestrians as equal rights partners
6. keeps a respectful distance from the previous car.
7. respects the 3 lights thing usually found at intersections.

was in one such taxi yesterday. and i was one frustrated passenger!!
barked couple of times during the trip, and sometime towards the end of the journey, i recognised the true value of the taxi driver.

get up, stand up...stand up for your rights

in a story which starts with elements of disgust, disgrace and disbelief, saugata and his friends display amazing gusto, grace and belief to stand up for their individual rights against tough odds.
very inspiring.

hat tip: dcubed

superheros in our midst

malli mastan babu.
never heard about this guy till today. some random email which listed him as a super-achiever.
huh, super-achiever and me not knowing. what are the chances!!
but as i got to read about this dude, he just blew me away.
check this out:

World Record

• He has climbed the 7 highest peaks in each continent. That too in a span of 172 days.
  

Education

DEGREE	SCHOOL/INSTITUTE	DURATION
P.G.D.M.	I.I.M. Calcutta	2002 – 04
M.Tech (Electronics)	I.I.T. Kharagpur	1996 – 98
B.E.(Electrical Engg)	N.I.T. Jamshedpur	1992 – 96

truly a super hero.
time to sweep the shattered fragments of my jaw from the floor.

discovery of the year

an agricultural piece of farm land.
smack bang in the middle of mumbai's center.
right close to where we stay.
here are some wikimapia screenshots. the green spot in the center with the "bulls-eye" mark.











and a slightly zoomed version.












it does not look too much from the satellites, but it is approx a 250 sq mt plot (2500 sq ft) where 8 families operate. the whole area was split into multiple rectangular patches (approx 25 sq ft each) and general harvesting is done based on demand (they first thought, that we were there to buy).
they grow leafy vegetables (we saw 4 types) and bhindi. पलक takes around 1 month from seed to harvest and other leafy vegetables take a bit more.
we have offered our services as volunteers for picking, planting and general मजदूरी over the weekends.
will check it out next weekend.
quite staggering to retain such a place in one of the most expensive realty zones of the city. and the bloody luckbychance that we spotted it while on a jaunty walk.

आज की कंगाल मजाक

inspired by PJ du jour of ships, etc, here is my KM (kangal mazak) of the day.

Early warning - drew a poor response when tested with the public (1 person only).

Q: a desi-engineer starts a new technology company dealing in cutting edge innovation. what does he call it?

Ans: तलवार technologies.

urban pot farmer - part 2

in sept, i started my novice urban farming experiment.

in the 5 months since, i have limited to report.
1. i planted bhindi and beans. 3 times.
2. reasons attributable to pigeons, sunlight, pigeons, water, pigeons, soil caused series of failures. may be even pigeons could be reasons.
3. composting was the only success. but delayed by 3 sets of roosting pigeon making the compost bin their nest. only one chick made it to flight school graduation day.
4. for the record, the mother pigeon incubates the egg for 5 weeks and the chick takes another 3 weeks of parenting to reach flight capability. and fending off crows is a full time job. well done indeed.
5. unexpected net result of nesting, is the compost got massive doses of guano.
6. earthworms.

so in part 2, i got the compost (super fine dark rich colour with a tantalising fragrance) all mixed up with soil and planted a fresh batch of seeds.
this time from a different seed maker. and tomatoes, chilli and coriander.

waiting and watching.

mills to high street - phoenix from the ashes

high street phoenix (aka phoenix mills-PM) is now an iconic leisure/lifestyle destination in central mumbai.
the company website says (they still use 'mills' in their name - strange) :

Today High Street Phoenix boasts the reputation of being the flagship for fledgling shopping and entertainment hubs across the country.
The Phoenix Mills Limited successfully converted a defunct, disintegrating textile mill into the highly productive High Street Phoenix, now regarded as Mumbai's premier lifestyle destination. (emphasis mine)
High Street Phoenix has become a model for the rest of the country in terms of retail led development centers. From haute couture at Quorum to monthly household shopping at Big Bazaar, SF Jeans and Lifestyle, High Street Phoenix boasts of a completely congenial environment. There's something here for everyone.

just recently they opened the PVR Phoenix - a state of the art 7 screen multiplex.
i watched LuckByChance here this week.

while waiting, i gazed at the massive new building that was coming up in the same premises (in the years i have come to this place, construction has been the only constant). it was supposed to be a car park, but now looks like it will be another monster shopping area.
gazing on, i remembered reading a blog post on a research paper (author - Shekar Krishnan) on how PM was developed into this fancy destination on the ashes of the law, workers and other opponents whom they burnt down.

that was 2 years ago...
i shook with disgust on reading that.
never again will i set foot on this vile place, i thundered in my mind.

these 2 years...
i have been to PM a decent number of times. the thunder has been silenced.

not anymore. the disgust and thunder have returned back.
never again will i set foot on that vile place.

"what is the use/need?", one may ask.
this response on not based on use and need.
just disgust and thunder.

nagesh - a legend passes on

nagesh - the unquestioned king of comedy of south cinema in the 1960s/70s - passed away last week in chennai.
nagesh was universally loved. i cant think of other artist whose memory would only evoke admiring smiles.
kamal says beautifully "nagesh has done the work equivalent of 1000s of doctors".

to "create" laughter is a skill of a very high order.
and nagesh was a master creator.

people search anyone?

try Pipl.

very good.

mmrda shows some gonads

today's fresh headlines (aka ताज़ा ख़बर) screams - " hiranandani faces Rs 2000 crore fine"
i had earlier posted on the scam that is hiranandani gardens in powai.

looks like MMRDA has limited options to raise more money as bidders for their 'land auctions' are either extending or not showing up in the first place.

all good trends in my book.

story of the month

the meaning of "Obama" and the history of friendship is my pick for the most fantastic story on the web this month.
the connection from the controversial 1968 olympics' black salute to the current day optimism with Obama becoming POTUS is just spectacular.

What the election of Obama signifies, the energies it can generate, the solidarities it can create, the transformations that can be effected under its sign, cannot be understood simply in terms of a charismatic man of mixed race becoming President of the most powerful nation today. It is only those who cannot see beyond these mere “facts” who are cynical and mocking, for whatever Obama’s actual record in office will prove to be, we must mark this moment.

It is a moment that every struggle against power and authority anywhere in the world has claimed for itself. Centuries of racism and two decades of Empire later, every edifice of power in every part of the globe has, in one sudden ray of light, revealed its vulnerability. Anything seems possible, not least of all, a Dalit woman Prime Minister of India.

“Obama” is bigger than the man.

i fully agree.

ILO says aaiyyo

just when we went into a depressing news reporting phase yesterday with the unemployment scenario, the international labour organisation (ILO) report scares the yolk out of shells.

Scenario 1 aka "Optimistic": Based on current labour market trends, the first scenario would mean that the global unemployment rate may rise to 6.1 per cent in 2009, and 198 million people will be unemployed (see Table S1 and S2 in Annex 2). This is an increase of 18 million over the estimated number of unemployed in 2007.

Scenario 2 aka "Realistic": ....the global unemployment rate would rise to 6.5 per cent, an increase of 0.8 percentage points over 2007. This would correspond to an increase of the global number of unemployed by 30 million people in comparison with 2007.

Scenario 3 aka "Worst Case": ...the global unemployment rate would rise to 7.1 per cent, an increase by 1.4 percentage points over 2007. In the Developed Economies and the European Union, the unemployment would rise to 7.9 per cent. This would correspond to an increase in the global number of unemployed of 51 million people in comparison with 2007.

brace yourself. turbulence ahead.

alarming water situation

2 recent articles highlight the extent of degradation of our water sources.
1. the excessive use of chemical in agriculture in punjab.
2. the result of pharma industry's callous and casual waste treatment in Hyderabad.

the story of stuff has data that 40% of US waterways are unswimmable; leave alone drinking the stuff.
we must be close to that in india.

earlier post - flushing disgrace - on drugs going down the toilet.

mounting job losses

over 70000 job cuts announced in a single day.

in the US, it is reported that number of unemployed has grown by 3.6 million people from dec 07 to dec 08.

export oriented indian cities like surat (diamonds), tirupur (textiles), bhadohi (carpets) are getting hammered.
same same in china, singapore and taiwan.

how will these guys cope through these tough times?
am afraid that many will collapse...

WTF is in a name?

names are in the news again.
check the overflowing irony in this headline:
Name your children in Tamil: Stalin

mainstream tamilnadu govt/politics/governance is in the throes of extreme degeneration.
more later.

education performance - india

the annual survey of education report is an annual report on how 'india is learning'.
in its 4th report - ASER 2008 - released in Jan 2009, there are some interesting results.

background
they are among the few tests to check student learning.
they check rural kids from Std 1 to Std 5 (i.e., the primary cycle of schooling). they test reading ability (alphabet, words, sentences, paragrpahs) and mathematical ability (numbers, subtraction and division).

results
1. ASER 2008 estimates that 44% children in Std 5 cannot read a Std 2 text

2. the worst performing state (in educational attainment) is tamilnadu. this has been the case since the first report. this is inspite of TN having great numbers in the general parameters of enrollment, infrastructure, etc.

3. enrollment in private schools has increased from 16.4% in 2005 to 22.5% in 2008. this is just rural india. comparing the educational attainment, students in private schools are doing 5-15% better than their peers in schools

4. In Bihar, children (6 – 14 year old) not on school have dropped steadily over the last four years from 13.1% in 2005 to 5.7% in 2008. Over the same period, the proportion of girls 11-14 not in school has dropped from 20.1% to 8.8%.

5. 56.6% of all 5 year-olds are enrolled in schools rather than in pre-schools.

6. in Chattisgarh, the proportion of children in Std III who could read a Std I level text has increased from 31% in 2007 to 70% in 2008. MP has also shown similar improvement.

7. STD booths are present in 58.5% villages while 48.3% village households have a cell phone or a land line connection.

the full report can be downloaded here.

what is in a name?

shakepeare may not mind being called by any other name and write just as well, but check out this school's name.
ouch!!
now can you tell me how they carry their books to school?

housing slump, eh?

MHADA is maharastra govt's housing development organisation.
they create low, middle and high income group (LIG, MIG and HIG) flats.

they are currently running a scheme to sell 3863 flats at diverse locations in mumbai.
in 2 days they sold around 2 lakh application forms.
and there are reports that app forms sales are likely to triple in the coming weeks.

earlier in june 2008, we reported a similar rush to affordable housing through MHADA.

and these are not that cheap really.
at their versova cluster, they are selling 900 sq ft apartments at around Rs 55 lakhs, which works out to Rs 6000/sq ft.
this is around half of free market rates.

time to exit bombay....again!!

26/11 investigations

as expected, tehalka carries a cover story on the investigations into 26/11 terror attacks on mumbai.
i feel that the majority of the reasons we succumb to such attacks lie in our poor and weak defenses. unless we prioritise our efforts to shore them up, no amount of targetting terror camps, surgical strikes, etc., will work.

the story (if fully true) lays out the callousness of our intelligence (how can we still use this term!?) agencies.
this particular part is highly unnerving:

On 18 September, for example, the Research and Analysis Wing had intercepted a satellite phone conversation which clearly indicated that a hotel at the Gateway of India in Mumbai would be targeted. Crucially, the intercept also revealed that the sea route would be used to launch this operation.

if this really happened, it is a stinkeroo of the highest order.
considering that the agency is RAW, it is a little much to expect intelligence from such greenhorns.

india goes hungry

says the latest report from the international food policy research institute.
key summary points:

1. India’s GHI 2008 score is 23.7, which ranks it 66th out of 88 countries. This indicates continued poor performance at reducing hunger in India.
2. ISHI scores are closely aligned with poverty, but there is little association with statelevel economic growth. High levels of hunger are seen even in states that are performing well from an economic perspective

for the first time, the individual states are ranked on several parameters.
infochangeindia has a complete analysis.
the effect, as we see in Table 1 in the infochangeindia analysis, is a decrease in per capita availability of food grain in most states.
as one could simply formulate, there is a decrease in the land under cropping and a simultaneous upsurge in the population. this is offset to some extent by increasing productivity.

while improving productivity is certainly possible, it is highly unlikely that it is sufficient to beat the crisis. michael pollan even berates the argument of improving productivity through GMO seeds.
he articulates the need to change our eating habits. he says "It's the outsourcing of our food preparation I think that has gotten us in a lot of trouble, and the corporations we allow to cook for us don't cook very well."

another crisis!

was talking to this just-out-of-college guy (say around 22) and he tells me that he has the quarter life crisis.
i went huh, duh.
apparently, it does exist.

that's a new one.

tigers - brink of extinction

the story of the indian tiger is a sad one.
left to the mercy of fierce poachers, inept indian govt and shrinking habitat.
slowly but surely, the tigers of sri lanka also face a similar fate.

fighting for a separate tamizh eezham over 2 decades has been bloody and gruesome.
led by the LTTE - the liberation tigers of tamizh eezham (tigers henceforth) - this struggle has been classified illegal, terrorism (check no. 23), freedom movement, etc.

in 2008, the sri lankan army has upped their offensive against the LTTE and with never before seen success. the latest news is that Killinochchi, a tiger stronghold, has fallen.

india has been dealing with this neighbourhood since 20 years. rajiv gandhi sent the IPKF to usher in peace in the emerald isle. with disastrous consequences for him.
the tamizh eezham movement has a very strong support base in tamilnadu and is a very emotive issue in the local politcal milieu.
even to the extent that there is an increasing support towards separatism in tamilandu.

this is not surprising, since at the time of independance, the dravidian movement was a vociferous proponent of a separate tamil state.

either during my youth or in my current 'aware state', i have hardly felt an iota of sympathy or support for the eezham cause or the LTTE.
it is quite contrarian to my regular stand on other similar issues.
could be my tam-bram upbringing, could be LTTE's almost patented assasination strategy or ....
need to figure this one out.

Q&A with students

affected by the 26/11 episode, students from grade 7 and 8 from the riverside school created a list of questions.
i present my responses to these questions. you can also get to the site and present your answers.

1. Why is there so much anger?

Ans: Anger arises from a mismatch in 'what we want' and 'what we get'. This is not restricted to the material world alone. For e.g., 'I want a peaceful life' and 'my city gets rocked by a tragic terror attack'. And these mismatches get compounded when we see others getting something we wanted. In a society which celebrates and encourages 'more wanting', these mismatches are bound to increase.

2. What is going to happen next?

Ans: No idea. Don't trust anyone who predicts tomorrow. I plan to do a series of things to help me understand things better and try to improve myself. (I am leaving it a bit vague).

3. What can we humans do to accept each other?

Ans: Accept ourselves first, then our family. If we manage to do these well, then start expanding the circle. Kabir says "Bura jo dekhan main chala, bura na milya koi, Jo mann khoja apna, tho mujhse bura na koi" We will be helped on this path if we build our patience, our listening, our smiles and similar stuff.

4. Till when will we have to suffer?

Ans: Suffering is mandatory for a happy life. I rather die than live a life without suffering. Failures and suffering are our best teachers and we would be wimps if we do not endure them. Even the damage and suffering inflicted by the terrorists is now a text-book for us. As Kahlil Gibran says "Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding."

5. Is the world safe any more?

Ans: From the perspective of climate change issues, I would say that the world is becoming more dangerous. But from the perspective of human society, the world is as safe as you think it is.

6. Are the terrorists also insecure?

Ans: Most certainly. Who isn't? They face the exact same issues that we all face. Their angers stem from the same seeds.

7. What do they get by killing innocent people?

Ans: Tough one. They probably get the same sense when a soldier kills his enemy on the battlefield. Innocents, victims, enemy, friends are labels we give to each other. Our teachers say that those at the Taj are innocent, Kasab's teachers must have told him that they are the enemy.

8. Is our future negative or positive? What about peace?

Ans: That depends on what we take forward in our lives. The future is not fixed, it depends on the choices we exercise today. If we continue to deplete the rain forests, our future is bleak. If we are able to quickly restore the rain forests, then our future is bright.

Peace is a choice we all have. We need to continuously choose it. The more we do it as an individual and more it is done in the collective, the better is our future.

9. Why should humanity care about being human?

Ans: Who else will? For sure, the animals, insects don't care. Each of us is responsible for each of us. It is our duty and responsibility. So what if a few are not doing their part of the bargain.

10. Has killing innocent people given the terrorists their reason for living?

Ans: In most cases, the terrorists die in the same episode. They are somewhat like the insects which come just before the rain. These insects have a very life span and have a very focussed 4 hours of existence. The terrorists are also trained like that.

11. What is the role of education in terrorism?

Ans: The same role as its role in any other sphere (education/training creates V Anand and Kasab through the same structures). If education is the lighting of a lamp, in the case of the terrorist, the wick is stuck into a bomb.

12. Is technology securing our security or disabling it?

Ans: We ourselves are securing or disabling security. Technology is just a tool like all other tools. Don't blame the hammer if you whack your thumb while putting a nail in the wall.

13. Does a human life matter anymore?

Ans: All living things matter. Nobody can change that.

14. How should we deal with these situations?

Ans: It is tough to have one standard mechanism for all to cope and deal with such situations. First recommendation would be to purge the rage from the system. Second would be to discuss with one's peer group and come up with a list of questions (like you guys have done). It is a slow process and we need to be prepared for the long haul as the questions that will crop up in due course will expand to cover larger issues and topics.

15. Is the world going to break up into tiny groups? What about democracy?

Ans: So what if it does? Once upon a time, it was a collection of thousands of almost fully independent villages. We will need to understand the relevance of the multiple identities we carry (country, state, language, caste, locality, school, college, etc).

Democracy is certainly the most desirable form of governance. It will have to evolve from its current state. It needs more participation and more decentralisation.

16. When will the governments wake up? And wake up to what?

Ans: We have the responsibility to wake up anyone who is oversleeping including ourselves. The governments and the politicians are smart enough to know which way the wind is blowing. The onus is now on us (the wind) to blow in unison.

17. What will the new definition of freedom be?

Ans: Freedom should continue to be defined by what gandhiji defined as 'swaraj'. Swaraj implies self-transformation, self-discipline and self-restraint on a personal level.

nature deficit disorder

richard louv coined this beautiful term - nature deficit disorder from his book 'Last Child in the Woods'- which talks about the increasing disconnect between children and nature that today's society has enforced.
the potential depradations of this disconnect should be obvious even to the casual observer.

in this delightful interview (part 1 and part 2), he comes up with some superb snatches:

Pediatricians will tell you they're not treating very many broken bones in kids anymore. What they are seeing now are repetitive-stress injuries in children, which generally last a lot longer, sometimes permanently, compared to most broken bones.

It's the litigiousness of the society that's probably the reason schools put up "no running" signs on the playground.

I know I'm out on a limb on that -- but that's where the best fruit is.

If we were really interested in education reform we'd have a "No Child Left Inside" movement.

We're in danger of having a whole generation disassociate from nature. Not only because they didn't go outside as kids, but because of the message being sent, often unintentionally, by environmental organizations and by the news media: When it comes to the environment, it's too late. Game's over.

engineer turned farmer

this is close to what i want to do and be...
there is one statistic in slide 7.

My target is a net income of Rs 100,000 per annum per acre. I have achieved up to Rs 50,000.

at this level, the maximum potential profitability is Rs 1 lakh per acre.
and after 10 years of working, madhavan is at 50% level.
two points:
1. our regular farmers must be then in a severe financial mess. apparent from all the suicides we read about.
2. farming allows only a certain level of income, within which the family should learn to live, for it to be a long term and sustainable occupation/life.

point 2 is key life lesson we (farmers) have forgotten. and has led to disastrous methods of mono-cropping, dependence on chemicals, etc.

it is liberating to read such fresh approaches amongst our generation.

electrician

sakharkar is his name.
it means 'sugar maker'.
and never has been a better example of 'living up to one's name'.

another artiste of highest caliber.
he details each process and the related success probabilities and associated costs assiduously. he must have had his fill of kanjoos and khit-pit customers.

he came over to quieten our noisy ceiling fans. and a fantastic job done.
spot on with timing, with cost and cleanliness.

marathis (even gujaratis?) have the most interesting surnames. all seem to be directly linked to their profession.
here are some links on marathi surnames. some frivolous and some decent.

seeing, hearing is false, only trust serious research

the title is a poor translation of a brilliant kural.

was discoursing a batch of students who had raised many questions around J&K such as:
1. should we bomb pakistan?
2. is kashmir issue the root of all the problems?
3. why is india not rooting out the terrorism in kashmir?
4. what is the status of the border?
5. why dont we drive pakistan out of kashmir?

though we are all far removed from J&K, we still harbour serious positions and opinions on the state of J&K (though it is a fact that it is universally called Kashmir).
my responses to the students was around the title.

and i get back home to read the latest news reports, and...
the elections for the 2009 J&K State Assembly have been on for more than a month.
A mega complicated exercise by the election commission, as it is being held in multiple stages.
Media has been ebullient about the people's participation. Voter turnouts have been over 60%.

But then, here is some fresh info.

trust only serious research...but what is serious research anyways??

pattern or coincidence

this mail has been going around since a few days commenting on the sinister connection of the terror attacks in india in 2008 with the number 13.

May 13 - Jaipur
June - nothing
July 26 - Ahemdabad
August - nothing
Sep 13 - Delhi
Oct - nothing
Nov 26 - Mumbai
Dec - nothing

whatever be the case, (i would pitch for pattern) i can bet that on Jan 13, india will be on tenterhooks.

updated info based on airspy comment
Dec 13 2001 - parliament

out of pattern
8 Sept 2006 - Malegoan (suspicion is on Hindu terror modules)

wikipedia list of terror attacks in india

does our vote count?

may be, may be not...

but check out the latest results from the assembly elections 2008.

Nathdwara constituency - Rajasthan
Kalyan Singh Chauhan - BJP - 62216
CP Joshi - Congress - 62215
Margin of victory - 1 vote

TOI reports that Neena Verma (BJP) wins the Dhar constituency (MP) by 1 vote.

inclined to believe that every vote counts?

update on Dhar
Neena Verma (BJP) - 50510
Balmukund Singh Goutam (Congress) - 50509

Flow - movie on water crisis

today's daily good led me onto this interesting movie - Flow.
talks about the water crisis.
the trailer is here.

i expect that it features the stories from india - plachimada, mehdiganj, kala dera, etc.

on this same note read this nat geo article on 'bottled water vs tap water' and the accompanying smashing photo.

what is education for?

was forwarded an old (1991) commencement address by David Orr with the same title.
he is a professor of environmental studies and has approached this question from his area of expertise.
his list of myths...

1. ignorance is a solvable problem.
2. with enough knowledge and technology we can manage planet Earth.
3. knowledge is increasing and by implication human goodness.
4. we can adequately restore that which we have dismantled.
5. the purpose of education is that of giving you the means for upward mobility and success.
6. our culture represents the pinnacle of human achievement.

and his points through answering the question posed...

1. all education is environmental education.
2. the goal of education is not mastery of subject matter, but of one's person.
3. knowledge carries with it the responsibility to see that it is well used in the world.
4. we cannot say that we know something until we understand the effects of this knowledge on real people and their communities.
5. "minute particulars" are very important and examples are much more powerful than words.
6. the way learning occurs is as important as the content of particular courses.

i was drawn primarily because on his invocation of aldo leopold - the author of 'a sand county almanac'.
you can read his recent interview here on treehugger.

last week onwards in africa

nigeria was torn apart by sectarian violence. over 300 dead.

and zimbabwe is facing a cholera epidemic which has already claimed 500+ lives.
and of course, they are facing a hyperinflation of unprecedented levels.

a bloody week indeed.

forgiveness

the following thought has come and gone over the last week.
i even recall using the the phrase "these poor fellows".
but never found the space and courage to be direct about it.
the ten guys who came in and chaosed mumbai through their guns and grenades.
i forgive them. i don't hate them. they are the "poor fellows".

i borrow the following from a mail exchange from the author who wrote "Hotel Taj: Icon of Whose India?"

they (the terrorists) were as selfless and sacrificing as the commandos, equally brilliant and efficient in warfare like the commandos. the only problem has been they have been motivated by a ideology that taught them to hate and destroy in the name of religion.

Hotel Taj Mahal - India's Icon?

"no", says gnani sankaran among others things
very leftist, but raises serious issues which reflect our common perspective to the mumbai episode, as well as our overall approach.

i have always felt uneasy in 'rich settings' like the taj.
that comes from 2 notions which need to be worked upon:
1. being completely comfortable with oneself
2. being judgmental

delicate italian feet in mouth

the people are pissed with the politicians (hereinafter referred to as idiots).
the idiots say stupid things and do stupid things.
while these are gems of a high order, i would like to present a few which are even higher in my rating scale.
and they come from sonia gandhi, a more recent entrant into the idiot club.

"We can no longer sit back and let these attacks overwhelm us. Our response has to be effective and it has to be decisive," she said at the meeting of the party's highest policy-making body, Congress Working Committee, in New Delhi on Wednesday night. (emphasis mine)

clearly means that the UPA has to shelve their long-term, high-investment ass-expansion programmes.

and that's not all...

"They (people) must feel they have a government that is taking all possible measures to give succour to those who need it and, more important, to ensure that there is no recurrence of such traumatic acts of terror," the Congress chief said. (emphasis mine again)

overjoyed that the people's feelings are the topmost priority of the idiots.

the terrorists are seriously wasting their time trying to damage india.
our idiots are doing a splendid job of it.

ATS deaths - Qasab se

the lone captured terrorist - Mohammed Qasab - has confessed to killing the ATS team and ACP Kamte, says NDTV reports:
my conspiracy theory on the ATS deaths has been 'officially' negated by this report.
but, any amount of "air-freshener" cover up can at best mask the odour, but not take it away.

it continues to smell for me.

naughty nisha nixes 'namma' nadu

in the midst of all the mumbai maha-mayhem, cyclone Nisha slams Tamil Nadu.
Nisha!?!? where did that come from... another unnecessary American influence...

70 are dead and mega tons of water has screwed mega thousands of people.

for the first time ever, water has entered the ground floor of my family home in madras.

Mumbai ka Police Commissioner kaun?

am sure that a significant majority would not have answered this question pre 26/11.
am certain, that the same majority will not be able to answer this question today.

am also certain that a good number of the mumbai 's best will not be able to answer this question.

where has Mr. Hassan Gafoor been all this time?

the most obvious person to lead the entire counter operations would be the chief of police.
but there was nary a scent on Mr. Gafoor's whereabouts throughout the early stages of the attacks.
i just managed to find one news article at 1140AM on 28th Nov in TOI.

in fact, Mr Gafoor's online presence is negligible to say the least.
his appointment was a bit controversial as some quarters termed it 'minority appeasement'.

this is another stinkeroo...

ATS deaths - malodorous

ATS was heading one of the most controversial investigations - on 'hindu terror' through the involvement of Col Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya in the Malegoan blasts.

the hindu right wing had started assembling their might against the ATS.
1. shiv sena calls for state bandh on 26th Nov.
2. advani joins the sangh parivar chorus to release the sadhvi on 18th Nov.

and 24 hours from sena's bandh call, the ATS head - hemant karkare is dead in "mumbai 26/11".

the mumbai mirror reports how the terrorists got the ATS.

at 230AM on thursday, when i first heard the news, i was discomfited with this news.
now, it stinks.

p.s.: i forgot to add that ACP Kamte (in Pune), Inspector Salaskar have already been cremated and ATS head Karkare 's last rites will be on Saturday.
surely no time for any investigation into their deaths...

ashamed...

...of our media for their drivel and sensationalist 'breaking news' approach. one of the NDTV reporters says, "The whole area has been securitised....". Times Now constantly harping, "Exclusive pictures only from TOI and only on Times Now..."

...of our intelligence bureau

...of our security forces - 21 hours and counting...no resolution. the most tragic image was a tired and struggling fireman trying to aim his hose into a 3rd floor fire at the TAJ with no water pressure.

...of the trolls that spew venom on the message boards.

...of our non-existent emergency response systems.

...of the ATS to have allowed their top officers to enter into the battlefield with inadequate preparation and gear with disastrous effect.

...of manmohan singh, who has single-handedly made george bush look efficient and decisive.

Intelligence (sic) Bureau

the IB is the premier agency handling sensitive counter-insurgency measures and of course filled with the top notch cops of the country.
this is their analysis of the "mumbai 27/11":

The Intelligence Bureau has confirmed that the attacks that took place in Mumbai on Wednesday night were an act of terror and aimed at disrupting peace and causing panic among Mumbaikars.

i think the terrorists are wasting their time in india, there are more than sufficient 'intelligent' gents around to flush the country down the drain.

safe from...

....the attacks
so safe ...for the time being...

auto ignition

here are some general good links on the all pervasive Big 3 bail-out boohaahaa.

the big scare scenario being thrown about is the number of people who will be seriously impacted due to Big 3 becoming redundant!
most news available is throwing a 1 in 10 (of all US workers) number at us.
NY Times rebuts this here.

there are cuts and thrusts aplenty on the validity of a bail-out in a truly capitalistic auto market.

in many ways i view this as a good development.
with climate change being such a serious threat, which requires a phenomenal level of rapid and immediate cut down of emissions and all that, there is bound to be a serious positive impact on the physical environment.
but not of course, the social environment.

i love a good recession

most reports indicate that the world economy is going to go through some 'root-canal' pain.
global-recession is around the corner.
but this is not whether this is going to happen or the economic theory or the corrective actions undertaken by the regulators, etc.
i have always received such news with glee, an element of 'i-told-you-so', a dash of 'serves-them-right'. a shake-up was required to reign in the rampaging power/money hungry capitalistic hordes!
it asserted that my moral position was superior to the rest of the majority in the capitalistic world.
it is obviously flawed from not only the same moral position, but from the devastation that a recession will unleash onto the ground.

i stand corrected.

a must-see/must-read speech

just saw this over the web-waves.
a truly memorable and inspirational speech expostulating the power of the labour force and an impassioned plea towards building a new world by discarding prejudices.

the speaker is richard trumka (and certainly a trump card for obama), a trade union leader.

and it does appear that working class backed obama.

but the obama support is just part of the speech.

asbestos or as-worst-as

india is sitting on an asbestos time bomb.
tehelka and infochangeindia has covered this story in detail.

a product that is banned in the European Union, Australia, Japan and New Zealand could not have been imported with such impunity in India. The slashing of import duty on asbestos from 78% in 1995 to 15% in 2004 only adds more grist to the conspiracy mill. No wonder cumulative asbestos imports have touched a whopping 7 million tonnes, up from a low annual import of 40,000 tonnes in 1960 to over 250,000 tonnes in 2006.

Appellate Body of World Trade Organisation while upholding chrysotile ban in France had soundly rejected the "controlled use" and safe use argument of the Canadian asbestos industry. In its 95th Session of the International Labour Conference on 14 June 2006, International Labour Organisation adopted a resolution for the elimination of all forms of asbestos from future use as the only way forward for protecting workers.

the entire report released is available here.
i loved the story"Asbestos Multinationals in India: The Experience of Turner and Newall" - page 44 onwards.

waiting for change

the collective sighs, yippees, yays, phews and other high and low frequency sounds have passed us now.
obama has handsomely won and created a whole new paradigm in democracy in the USA. the man is super hot when he is on public display with a mike in front of him.
second to bill clinton in public oratory.
america has been heralded by him into the throes of change!!!

waiting to see it!!
have few doubts.

for the pedigree he has been colour-associated with --- mandela, martin luther king... he should get his primary focus on peace.

bajrang dal - 'militancy' to 'terrorism'

the bajrang dal is the militant youth wing of the vishwa hindu parishad (VHP).
they have perpetrated series of violent acts in the last months in orissa, karnataka, etc.
their tag-line is slowly being changed from militant group to terror group.

since the dramatic arrest of sadhvi pragya, the face of 'hindu terror' is emerging.
the convenient 'SIMI scapegoating' should finally end.

tehelka has run a long interview with their current president - prakash sharma.
it is good reading and a lot of cut and thrust.
i am quite amused by sharma's constant refrain to 'spontaneous reaction'.
sometimes i wish for spontaneous human combustion.

the mess that is our cities

2008 is an important year for population statisticians.
the population residing in urban areas will cross the 50% mark.
the UN estimates that this will move to 70% by 2050.
the 2001 indian census shows that 27.8% of our population is urban and increasing quite rapidly.
atanu dey at deesha is an active proponent of the creation of cities.

it is an undeniable migration and close to irreversible (unless the raj thackereys of the world have their way).

but the reality of the india's inept governance structures makes this process extremely scary, a point which is well brought out by kalpana sharma.

Typical of such small urban centres is Nawada, the district headquarters of Nawada district in South Bihar. Barring a few reasonably broad paved roads, the rest of the city appears to be connected and disconnected with narrow pot-holed roads where all manner of vehicles jostle for space with vendors, pedestrians, and animals. The winners are the ones who are more dexterous.

Electricity comes sporadically. The rich have diesel generators and invertors. Most manage with kerosene lamps after dark. Many homes depend on handpumps either inside or just outside their houses for water. Sanitation facilities are suspect although there must be some sewerage, and there is little evidence of garbage collection as you see the piles of garbage around every corner with pigs and dogs competing for access.

Yet, this town has a history studded with the names of men and women who played an important role in the freedom struggle -- like Jayaprakash Narayan. The Sarvodaya Ashram he established is a couple of hours away from the city. And there are older reminders of a distinguished past that residents will tell you about, including its link to Buddhism and Jainism. Nawada is also home to the master of dhrupad and thumri, Siyaram Tiwary.

Its past notwithstanding, Nawada’s present reflects little that distinguishes it from other towns of an equivalent size. It exemplifies the acute problems that urbanisation poses in India – the absence of investment in infrastructure, the lack of planning and developmental norms and the poor status of structures of governance that could make a difference. There is a silent crisis afflicting these places that is affecting the lives of millions of people, yet no one seems to notice or care.

for example, the water supply situation...

According to figures quoted in ‘Status of Water Supply, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management’ prepared by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (June 2005), there are literally dozens of fairly major towns in India that get water twice a week or every alternate day. Although the figures quoted in the study are from 1999, and the situation in some of these towns could have improved, it is indicative of the extent of the water crisis in these cities. The worst off, according to the 1999 data, were towns in Gujarat. Surendranagar, for instance, got water for 30 minutes once a week, Gondal was slightly better off with water supplied for 20 minutes once in four days while Amreli received a supply of 60 minutes once in three days. Nine towns in Tamil Nadu had water either twice a week or on alternate days. Even Bangalore got water on alternate days.

entire article is here.

eat less oil and more sunshine...

says mike pollan in his letter to barack obama.

the food and agriculture policies you've inherited -- designed to maximize production at all costs and relying on cheap energy to do so -- are in shambles, and the need to address the problems they have caused is acute. The good news is that the twinned crises in food and energy are creating a political environment in which real reform of the food system may actually be possible for the first time in a generation.

his suggestions hinge on his concept to 'resolarise the american farm':

Your challenge is to take control of this vast federal machinery and use it to drive a transition to a new solar-food economy, starting on the farm. Right now, the government actively discourages the farmers it subsidizes from growing healthful, fresh food: farmers receiving crop subsidies are prohibited from growing "specialty crops".....
...Commodity farmers should instead be encouraged to grow as many different crops -- including animals -- as possible. Why? Because the greater the diversity of crops on a farm, the less the need for both fertilizers and pesticides.

to 'rebuild the food culture'...he says:

On the premise that eating well is a critically important life skill, we need to teach all primary-school students the basics of growing and cooking food and then enjoying it at shared meals. (emphasis mine)

this is certainly true for not only america, but the entire world.

back in circulation

spent a week each on either side of deepavali travelling and catching up at home base.
madras, coimbatore, bangalore, allenahalli (karnataka) were touched in this trip.
did the entire trip by rail (indian railways zindabad!!!)

by all measures, this was a defining trip for wife and me.
why and what this means will be another series of posts coming up.

good to be back on fanaa.