WE ARE A NATION OF GEEKS

NOT ONLY THAT WE ARE ALSO SWOTS,NERDS,DWEEBS,BOFFINS AND DORKS. READ "GEEK NATION" BY ANGELA SAINI TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR SCIENTIFIC TEMPERAMENT.


GEEK NATION : HOW INDIAN SCIENCE IS TAKING OVER THE WORLD : ANGELA SAINI : HACHETTE : PAGES : 280 : PRICE : RS 499/-




The British author is 31years old, of Indian origin, an award winning science journalist and daughter of a chemical engineer. She is also an engineer by training. She is a self-professed geek. The svelte woman with a chic haircut calls herself a “pretty girlie geek.” She argues passionately that the nation of her ancestors is geared to become a scientific superpower. Her book is a journey through the colleges and laboratories of India to discover the scientific capability of the students and researchers and the changing scientific landscape.

She considers Indians and people of Indian origin as swots, nerds, dweebs, boffins and dorks. Words many of us had not heard before. Neither did Narayana Murthy of Infosys. Nor the legendary U R Rao of ISRO. She refers to Jawaharlal Nehru as the other important geek after Vikram Sarabhai. They pushed us into frontiers that were held earlier by the likes of Aryabhatta and Bhaskara. Though not equipped with the best of hardware for their research, the Indian scientists are using their mental software (read creativity) to compensate for the lack of quality equipment and they are developing cheap technologies for day to day applications. This is bringing about a scientific revolution. Indian science is according to Angela definitely riding a crest.

There are many who do not agree with her line of thinking. Her critics say that she is being carried away by the large presence of Indian engineers, doctors, technologists and forensic experts and IT professionals to jump to such conclusions. Undeniably, her book is an interesting travelogue. She visits ISRO, BARC and the IT corridor in Bangalore. Her interactions with Dr Manish Gupta who heads research at IBM India are very interesting. IBM is working on a new technology called the Spoken Web which put simply is a voice-based web which lets people use spoken words to surf spoken information on their mobile phones. With a large mobile subscription base coupled with large illiteracy this invention could create a large number of internet users through the mobile phone. She praises our TB research at Chennai and the work on mind-reading machines. She is excited with superstition and scientific temper in the same mindset of Indians.

After her visits to these centres of excellence, Saini’s optimism takes a hit. She is disappointed as she does not find them the hothouses of intellectual curiosity and innovation. The flip-flop of high praise and disenchantment goes on almost continuously. She calls Lavasa the hi-tech new township in the Western Ghats and as a Geek’s paradise lost to the poor. She is very impressed with our competence and achievements in international chess tournaments and physics Olympiads. She even visits the Vaishnavite stronghold in Karnataka where Ramanujacharya lived for many years to observe how scholars are interpreting ancient Sanskrit esoteric texts in the Academy of Sanskrit Research to show to the world that our rishis knew a lot of what we term as modern science. There is no doubt that India is emerging as a scientific superpower. But Angela Saini, a part of a group called Girl Geek Dinners, a kitty party kind of group where science is the common interest, needs more clarity in what she is looking for in the New India. It is a fascinating, weird and wacky world allright for this science journo who thinks she has the best job in the world. She is making her own little bit contribution to science writing in a domain of masculine imagery where women are very under-represented. She must know that people being in the thrall of science does not make their nation very scientific .

LOVELY LYCHEES

In July 2008, I had posted in this blog on the wonderful fruit Lychee also spelt Litchi. It is one of my favourite fruits. I am happy to post again on this great fruit because this year there has been a record production. Nearly 300,000 tonnes against last year's 225,000 tonnes. Lychees are grown mostly in Bihar and that too near Muzzafarpur. 80% of the country's production is concentrated in Bihar. The flowering in lychee trees was good this year and showers in March and April helped in their growth and ripening.

Lychee has a firm and rough skin which is bright pink-red in colour. Lychees are grown abundantly in China. The fruit grows in bunches of 5 to 30 pieces in trees. The trees are very tall and in the range of 30 to 60 feet. The inside consists of a layer of sweet, translucent white flesh. The texture is somewhat similar to that of a grape. The centre contains a single glossy brown nut-like seed.The fruit is commonly eaten out of hand. Lychee is also put in salads, pie and made into jams and jellies. Furthermore lychee is used to make tea. The seed can be eaten after roasting it. Lychee is also called ‘Chinese Strawberry’. In China, lychee is a symbol of romance and love.

Good production is a double-edged sword for the poor farmer. Shelf life of lychees after ripening is only a couple of days. They have to be despatched to the markets immeditaely after plucking. If smooth and fast transportation is not available, the advantages of a bumper crop are lost. If there are lychee-processing factories near the fruit plantations, it solves the dilemma of the farmers. Also Shahi lychees are the best among lychees. There is a huge demand in the export markets for this variety. Why can't Bihar produce more of these high value lychees?

Nitish Kumar's government must seriously look into increasing lychee production, in particular the Shahi variety, reduce tranportation bottlenecks and establish processing facilites in the vicinity of the lychee producing areas which the Government has been promising for many years now.

RETURN OF THE AMAZON OR CAN SHE BECOME A GANGA NOW?

JJ (J.Jayalaitha) is back in power after a long hiatus.The people of Tamil Nadu fed up with the Himalayan corruption of the DMK patriarch and his family had to choose between the devil and the deep sea.They have chosen to give another chance to JJ hoping that she would have put her bad ways behind her and that this long Vanavas would have chastened her and that she would be a true leader for the people,by the people and of the people. This is the last chance that JJ is getting. If she can capitalize on this unique opportunity provided by a combination of her own popularity and the negative votes cast in her favour due to a groundswell of public opinion against Kalaignar and his family, she could get elected and reelected for many more terms. Whether she will grasp this moment or squander the chance away is difficult to say. She was ferocious,revengeful,diabolic and untrustworthy in the past. For the sake of Tamil Nadu and her people, if she is a transformed person now, it will be a great blessing. But if she lives up to her past performance, it will indeed be a sad day for Tamil Nadu.

I am reproducing below from the web, a reaction of a youngster to her recent success. I think it reflects the mood of her fans very well.

"Kowsik 14 hours ago
Madam JJ

Dedicate this victory to the People of Tamil Nadu
Make your swearing in Ceremony as a grant Public Function
Make common people close to you.
Put in your head that YOU ARE A PEOPLE'S LEADER

Make one poor old elderly person come to the dias and garlend you with a blessing for you.

These are the thing people like Madam, always do not forget that the one vote that one person put in favour of you only made you the CM here now.

Remember this always and make always your public appearance with a poor person, let it be a elderly lady, elderly man, small child etc.

People really love it and like it, be a MGR hereafter madam JJ, you will see the love overwhlem you all around and all the while.

When in office you are a CM, but when you come out to the Public function, you put yourselves as MGR to people, they love and like it from you.

People wave to you, you also wave, do not site quite, it may be paining but they are your supporters

receive garlands from them, mingle with them, they want to see you close and affectionately

We write all these because, we know all the section of the People really love and like you to be their leader and CM

Do not fail us, Do not fail them, Do not fail Tamil people.
You are really a gift of God to this good Tamil People
Be a good gift to them always for many more years to come.
Good Luck Madam JJ"

40 SUFI COMICS

40 SUFI COMICS : MOHAMMED ALI VAKIL AND MOHAMMED ARIF VAKIL : CREATESPACE : PAGES : 96 : PRICE : RS 256/-

It is a very noble attempt by two brothers to teach spiritual/Islamic life lessons through the medium of comics. It is an amazing collection of comic strips, forty in all, each on a single page, illustrating key spiritual concepts and teachings. Relevant excerpts from the Koran are shown on the page facing each comic. The age of the reading audience could be anywhere from six to sixty of any religion. It is likely to appeal to them all. Life’s lessons are taught in a perceptive, subtle and humorous way. A short comic is a preferable medium these days for many to read and assimilate new subjects. One can go back to it as often as one wants because they are not boring, They convey esoteric philosophy in simple language and cartoons without compromising on content or quality.

The Vakil brothers work together with their father in the family business of developing residential properties in Bangalore. They started with an e-newsletter called “our monthly dose of inspiration”. Then it became their company blog named the “Arif and Ali blog”. The Sufi Comics is a project which they started in 2009.

Sufism focuses on the spiritual dimension of Islam such as faith, respect, piety, love and truth. The brothers learnt to draw cartoons from the bare basics after they started this venture but they learnt the techniques of drawing very fast from some Youtube videos and books. To speed up the process, they used a Tablet PC. They were aware that their project had started off around the time there was such an uproar over the Danish cartoon of the Prophet. Islamic art does not draw the faces of revered personalities. They have respected that tradition.

The book has been published by opening it through the “ Creative Commons” license. This allows anyone to make copies and distribute them. There is one caveat though. No changes are permitted. The print version of the book was published using CreateSpace.com which is an Amazon.com company. The book can be bought online from Amazon.com & Flipkart.com. The good news is that the Vakil brothers will be soon working on Volume 2 of 40 Sufi Comics.

Sufi music has been popularized among the youth by Bollywood, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and A R Rehman. I hope these comics will generate the interest among the youth to know and learn more about Sufism, a subject of great interest to me.

BOOK REVIEWS

Dear Readers
I have decided to post on my blog the reviews of books that I do for a monthly magazine called Dignity Dialogue meant for senior citizens.
I have been doing book reviews for a couple of years or more now. The first of this series will be on '40 Sufi Comics'. Look forward to your comments.
I will of course continue on other topics of interest to me as well.
Best regards.
Gopal

KONIGSGEMUSE (ROYAL VEGETABLE)

The simple, delicate, delicious plant asparagus is referred to in Germany as the Royal vegetable. Grown initially extensively around the now Stuttgart area around the 16th century,this vegetable was meant for the royals. The whole of Deutschland has caught on to it and it is the favourite vegetable of every person high or low. And now is the season till end June. I used to visit Koenigse, a small town in the East of Germany for many years. Coinicidentally, I would be in Germany every year during the "Spargel saison" (Asparagus season). My hosts knowing my vegetarian food habit would stuff me with asparagus- either in the form of a freshly cooked vegetable or as puree or soup. It was Spargel for lunch and Spargel for dinner. In India, it is called Shatavari and is also a seasonal vegetable.

I decided to post a blog on this subject when I received an email from my daughter's mom-in-law on the medicinal properties of asparagus. During the Renaissance, asparagus was valued for its many medicinal qualities against a variety of ailments. It is also considered to be an aphrodisiac. Asparagus is an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and folate, and the stalks are high in fibre. People who have consumed it have sworn by its efficacy in curing fully-blown cancer and also in dissolving kidney stones. If you don't take butter sauce along with it, asparagus can be considered to be a low-calorie food.

'Asparagus officinalis' is a leafy plant whose young shoots are known to us as the vegetable asparagus. In Europe, it is one of the first vegetables of spring. There are two varieties of asparagus, the green and the white. The green one is more common in USA. The Germans prefer it white. German farmers keep the sun away so that they don't turn green with the growth of chlorophyll. Germans consume about 70,000 tonnes of this vegetable every year. Most of it is grown in Germany.

Passionate consumers of asparagus make this a passionate vegetable too!

INDIA WINNING THE WORLD CUP? TELL DHONI HE'S DREAMING"

This was the comment an expert foreign player had made before start of the World Cup. He had to eat humble pie when Mahinder Singh Dhoni proved his detractors wrong.No doubt, Captain Cool had his fair share of luck. He was in poor batting form till the last match,the team fielding was sloppy almost throughout the entire tournament and the bowlers never posed a serious threat to the opposition. With all these apparent weaknesses, how did the players in blue win? That is a natural and interesting question.

The answer lies in self-belief, good coaching by Gary Kirsten and excellent leadership by the Captain and of course the backing of the home crowd.Under pressure,the team performed well.Though backed by punters for winning the championship their performance in the initial matches gave no scope for such optimism. But then all the abovementioned factors helped them to neutralise their weaknesses and win the coveted World Cup.

A good lesson for everyone who wants to achieve. Believe that you can do it. Work towards your goal and you will succeed.

In the recently published list of 100 most influential people in the world for the year 2010 by Time magazine, our captain fantastic was placed higher than global football icon Lionel Messi and US President Barack Obama. At world ranking 52, Dhoni is 9 notches above billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Hats off to Captain Hope.

Jo jeeta wo hai Sikandar, Jo haara wo hai Bandar.

Vamos (come on or get going)

Vamos is a Spanish word.It means ''come on' or 'get going'. Bhupathi while playing the quarter-finals alongwith Paes in the Australian Open recently used this word against his opponents, one of them being Spanish. This upset the Spaniard. But the Spanish fans were more upset. Bhupathi got hundreds of 'tweets' riling him for using bad words. It is like sledging in cricket when you make faces and curse your opponents and look aggressive to put your opponent psychologically on the defensive. It works many times and it backfires sometimes as well. Like in the case of Andrew Symonds and Bhajji. Our cricketers have learned this art very well. The Australians really started all this. Srisanth,Bhajji and a few others now do it well. While Srisanth will be missed at the World Cup, let us hope our cricketers show their prowess with bat and ball and with face and mouth to win against our opponents. Let them give the Australians a taste of their own medicine.

BEST PATRIOTIC SONG FOR REPUBLIC DAY

Vande Mataram is the national song of India and is sung on Republic Day. It was written by legendary Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in a mixture of Bengali and Sanskrit in his novel 'Anandamatha' published in 1882. It was a hymnal tribute to our imprisoned mother India. Vande Mataram was first sung by Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore in 1896 at a political session of the Indian National Congress. Vande Mataram gave the much-required fillip to the struggle for independence. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari,men, women and children sang this hymn with patriotic fervour and courted arrest. After India gained independence, the first two verses of Vande Mataram were adopted as the national song to be held at par with the national anthem.

Muslims however are not happy with the song as it is in praise of Durgamata.T hey refuse to sing it as they consider it to be against the tenets of Islam. Ironically, Oscar-winning music composer, A. R. Rahman, a Muslim, rendered another touching version of Vande Mataram that is regarded as the second most famous song in the world.

vande mātaram
sujalāṃ suphalāṃ
malayajaśītalām
śasya śyāmalāṃ
mātaram
vande mātaram

I bow to thee, Mother,
richly-watered, richly-fruited,
cool with the winds of the south,
dark with the crops of the harvests,
i bow to thee, Mother!

śubhra jyotsnā
pulakita yāminīm
phulla kusumita
drumadalaśobhinīm
suhāsinīṃ
sumadhura bhāṣiṇīm
sukhadāṃ varadāṃ
mātaram
vande mātaram.

Her nights rejoicing
in the glory of the moonlight,
her lands clothed beautifully
with her trees in flowering bloom,
sweet of laughter,
sweet of speech,
The Mother,
giver of boons, giver of bliss!
I bow to thee,Mother!

Let us all sing this hymn in praise of our Motherland every morning!

The Sabarimala Tragedy-It Could Have Been Avoided

The tragic stampede at Sabarimala on Makara Sankranti day this year when 102 people were killed and 55 people injured caused by a jeep which crashed into them could have been avoided. It has once again brought to centre stage the phenomenon of the flash of light that appears three times every year without fail on this auspicious day. Every year thousands of devotees throng Sabarimala to witness the flashing light across the eastern skies off the shrine. It is generally held by devotees that it is a divine phenomenon, whereas rationalists see it as a hoax on the gullible people committed by the Devaswom Board authorities. Even the Kerala High Court has asked the TDB to clarify the cause of this happening- whether there is a human hand behind it or whether it is a divine dispensation. Undoubtedly, this whole subject cannot be settled legally as it falls under the zone of belief and traditions. People often confuse between Makara Jyothi and Makara Vilakku.Makara Jyothi is supposed to be natural.It is the appearance of a star in the evening of Makara Sankranti day, while Makara Vilakku is admittedly man made.It is a fire which is lit in a hill neighbouring the Sabarimala Hill. It is an unnnecessary controversy hiding the real issue. Why did this stampede take place? It was not because of Vilakku or Jyothi but because of lack of proper facilities for pilgrims.

Interestingly, eminent architect late Laurie Baker had prepared a report about fifteen years back on how without damaging the environment basic amenities could be provided for the pilgrims.He travelled from Pampu to Sabarimala Hill through the thick rainforests when he was 79, no mean a task at that age.In a 36 page report full of illustrations and drawings in his own hands,he had warned that if the roads leading to Pampa ,the base camp, is not made into a fourlane walkway,we would be waiting for a disaster to happen.His prophecy has come true. He emphasised on drinking water,sanitation and cool and shady trees on both sides which would provide relief to the pilgrims who undertake this steep climb to the temple atop. All this was to be done with minimum disturbance to the environment. About 50 million pilgrims visit Sabarimala every year and about 1.5 million pilgrims watch the Makara Jyothi. The Devasom Board and the Kerala Government earn huge revenues from this massive inflow of people. The least that they could do is to follow Laurie Baker's recommendations.

Let them learn from this Makara Sankranti's tragedy and create the basic infrastructure and facilities required for safely enduring an arduous journey by the Ayyappa devotees.

Hopefully the Travancore Devasom Board will wake up and follow what Laurie Baker in his brilliant report has recommended so that another tragedy of this magnitude can be prevented in future.

Sharanam Ayyappa.

OUT OF THE OSCAR RACE

Aamir Khan has been three times unlucky in the Oscar so far. It was 'Lagaan' first,then 'Tare Zameen Par' and now it is 'Peepli LIve' which is this year's India's official entry to the Oscars. It has failed to appear in the final nine list.There were 66 films vying for the Oscar in the Best Foreign Language film category. The list will be pruned down further to five nominees by the Academy voters for January 25 Oscar nominations.The 83rd Academy Awards will take place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood.

Peepli LIVE is a telling satire on how the media trivialises the suicide of farmers.It was directed by first-timer Anusha Rizvi.
It focusses on politicians, bureaucrats, television reporters and the local people. PEEPLI LIVE makes a scathing attack on the functioning of media in India and how they would go to any extent to improve their TRP ratings.
Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri), is a poor farmer from Peepli village in the heart of rural India. He is about to lose his plot of land as he has defaulted in paying back a government loan. Natha chooses to commit suicide so that his family may benefit from government's aid to farmers who commit suicide. His brother (Raghubur Yadav) is glad to push him towards this objective.

Local elections are around the corner and what might have been another tragic but innocuous incident turns into a big tamasha, with everyone wanting a piece of the cake.All descend upon poor sleepy Peepli to push their agenda. Natha's mother (Farrukh Jaffer]) and his wife [Shalini Vatsa] are perenially quarelling,while his young son urges his father to go through with the suicide so he can use the money to become a policeman. One TV journalist, in a desperate search for a new angle, tries to examine Natha's faeces to determine his emotional state. Nobody seems to care how Natha really feels.

It's a well written and well executed film that deals with a serious issue in a humorous manner. It keeps your attention on the screen all the time. Anusha Rizvi does a great job as a director and handles the subject in a very mature manner.Music is ethnic and cinematography excellent. Manikpuri is brilliant as Natha. Raghubir Yadav as the opportunist brother does well. Malaika Shenoy,as the television reporter, is refreshing. Shalini Vatsa, as Natha's wife puts up a great performance. So does Farrukh Jaffer,Natha's bed-ridden mother.The constant bickering between the two adds humour to the plot. Naseeruddin Shah as the shrewd politician is exceptional. Others in the cast put in good performances.

This brilliant film produced and directed by Aamir Khan,I thought, was a sure winner in the Oscars this year for its original story and outstanding acting by Natha. Hope Aamir is lucky the next time.

Jumbo Onions

Onions are dangerous vegetables for politicians.They have caused collapse of governments in the past.They threaten to do so today.They also bring lots of tears to the common man.

For more than a month onions have ruled the roost.At Rs 70 and Rs 80 per kg,unheard of and unimaginable.But then as they say who cares.A sensitive government should have anticipated the bad crop in Maharashtra which produces 80% of the country's onions and taken positive action.Exports of onions were allowed to go on when an imminent shortage of onions in the domestic market was expected.As usual,the bureaucrats slept and caused lots of pain to the aam aadmi.

Knee jerk reactions like importing from Pakistan were taken. That also did not last long.Then we rushed to China and imported some quantitites. Meanwhile what arrived from Pakistan were rotting in the port. Now, people may like the Chinese onions.They are twice the size of our normal onions and weigh about 250 to 300 gms each.The Chinese believe in big sizes.Whatever they do is huge.But will the imports continue? And stop the tears. Or will the stapled visa controversy stop the Chinese imports?

Union Minister Sharad Pawar was blamed. Rahul Gandhi had a subtle dig. And NCP reacted by saying that they can go alone.BJP accused the PM of being a bad economist as he allowed the prices of onions and other vegetables to shoot up to dizzy heights.

Meanwhile,the crop this time around seems to be good. The prices have fallen and might reach normalcy in another month.Let us hope the Government learns a lesson.Luckily for them the elections are not around.Otherwise,they would have got a solid thrashing.Onions may not remain in centre stage anymore.

Just a thought. Why can't we think of jumbo onions? Has it got something to do with GM vegetables? Then Jairam Ramesh may jump into the fray and not allow it to be grown like he did with brinjals.

A 'Marathon' Walk

For the last few months, I have been suffering from intense pain on my right leg. Right from the hip upto the calf. After lot of medical investigations,including MRI et al, I was told that I was suffering from LSS (lumber spinal stenosis). It is a narrowing of the spinal canal carrying nerves down to the feet. This causes the nerves to touch the wall of the spinal canal causing pain and inability to walk. I was advised surgery to enlarge the passage in the canal. I was given drugs for reducing pain. I took them for a week and then stopped them. I went surfing wildly on the internet to know all about LSS. I visited many ayurvedic sites and acupressure sites.They claim that they can cure my problem. I read books on Yogasanas and even bought a DVD on spinal health presented beautifully by Yogacharya Dr Ananda Bhavnani. I haven't yet decided what to do.

I decided to take an half-hour morning walk with my two dogs and my Ipod every morning before starting on a disciplined regimen. Management experts would call this multitasking.The dogs are happy to relieve themselves, I listen to some spiritual music on my Ipod and get a bit of exercise by walking. The results so far have been short of miraculous. The pain has considerably subsided,I am confident of walking long distances once again and I am seriously considering restarting my tennis. What has helped me in this remarkable change? Right posture? The morning walk? Some basic exercises? I don't know. I am not saying that the diagnosis was incorrect. After all Xrays and MRIs don't lie. Maybe this is only a temporary relief and the pain may resurface soon. Well the jury is still out.

This morning I decided to take a long walk right upto Nariman Point to watch the Mumbai Marathon runners. My s-i-l and his brother were also running.That was an added attraction.The excitement in the Marathon seems to have died down. Unlike in the past there were very few people who had come to watch the Marathon runners and cheer them up.The policce had made huge bandobust but frankly lt it was quite unnecessary.There were lot of foreigners particularly from Africa who were participating.

Walking the distance to NP and back home was a breeze.Totally about 4 KM. But it was a marathon walk for me. I felt no pain and I enjoyed it. So,it is going to be more of walks for the next one month before I start on probably a planned Yogic regimen for strengthening my hip and leg muscles.

Visiting the "Fairy Land"-Bali

Visiting Bali was an exceptionally happy experience for me and my wife.We had a three day holiday package with the Ramada Inn Hotel in the weekend of the first week of August. From the time we entered the hotel we felt "at home". Different people have expressed their pleasure after visiting Bali in different ways. For some it is the "fairy land", for others the "happy island" and for some the "last paradise" and for others "the isle of beauty and romance". For us it was the 'eat,pray and love' island.

A lot also has already been written on this beautiful island. Yet I must also record what impressed me most.When we landed at Den Pasar,intuition told me that we were going to have a good time visiting the numerous temples,countryside,forests and beaches in this small island which nourishes a population of several million,80% of whom are Hindus and where life is harmonious and happy. Bali is situated a few degrees south of the Equator and is blessed with a tropical climate.While there is lot of forest area, there are many rice fields in the lowlands and on the sides of mountains. The Balinese are a race who have preserved their original culture and at the same time happily blended it with modernism. They have a very positive attitude towarsds life. They are hardworking and charming. The women are exceptionally beautiful. It is a feast for the eyes to see them carrying baskets of bananas on their heads and flowers in their hands to be offered to their Gods.There is no life without religion for the Balinese.Their temples are dedicated to the spirits of Hindu Gods and to the mountains,lakes and springs.The temples have a distinct architectural style. Their open gates lead to several courtyards. Here one finds pagoda type towers called meru. The Balinese are god-fearing,respectful and celebrate life like happy youngsters hoping for the next day to be still better than the current day.

Our three days were packed with activities.We visited numerous temples.We saw the small village of Batur,which was destroyed in 1926 by a volcano.The stream of lava is supposed to have stopped just in front of the temple doors. We went to a home where the family specialises in wood engravings,then a metal shop and later several shops selling bathik paintings. We watched a lovely cultural programme. It was a short version of the Ramayana. On our last day we went for the traditional Indonesian body massage and face scrub. Ramada Inn had arranged a programme of dance and drama that evening. The dances were classic pieces from Bali's rich dance repertoire. Bali has a wonderful dance heritage. Dance is an integral part of Indonesian culture.Indonesians are literally born, raised and die with art.

We met people of different nationalities and even made some friends. On the last day of our stay,we took an early morning walk on the clean beach. We picked up some seashells for our grandchildren. Sunrise and beauty go hand in hand. As the morning sun's rays embraces the earth, people see the darkness coming to an end. And with that, the beginning of new hope. Once small fishing villages, many of them have been transformed into modern, upscale resort villages. They have boutique hotels,luxurious eateries and avantgarde galleries. Many of these people worship the Sun every morning; what they call Surya Sewana. There are Brahmin priests who conduct the Puja.These mantras wish the well-being of all people and creatures and pray for happiness in the whole universe.


From Benoa to Jimbaran,Tuban,Kuta,Batubulan,Ubud,Waterspring temple in Tampaksiring,volcano,mother temple in Besaki,and then on our return keckak and firedance-it was an exciting holiday. Kecak is a very unique Balinese dance.There is no orchestra but only a choir of hundred men. Then there is the horse(jaran) ritual dance and the dancer is the medium through which the deities and ancestors convey their wishes.There is another dance called Sanghyang Jaran where a boy dances like a horse around a bonfire made from coconut husks. He then enters the fire and dances on the fire.

There are countless Hindu temples in Bali. As per customary law, each village is required to construct and maintain at least three temples.Then there are the nine directional temples located at strategic points across Bali.They are designed in a manner to protect the people from dark and invisible forces.The mother temple of Basakih on the slopes of Mount Agung is the most important of all. Balinese temples dedicated to Hindu Gods and Goddesses have shrines and have a padmasana -the throne of the Supreme Deity.There is a large pavilion which is always left empty to allow the Gods to visit during the ceremonies.You have to be dressed in a sarong and sash to enter the temples.

Three days is a very short period to see and marvel at this wonderful eat pray and love island. Tourism in Ubud revolves around scenic rice-fields, small villages, art and craft communities, ancient temples, palaces and rivers. You see a cornucopia of colours. We will have to come again to Bali to soak in the Balinese warmth while seeing many beautiful spots which we missed during this short holiday.

Who is this Sparrow man?

Have you heard of Mohammed Dilawar? I had not.Till I read about him recently. He is a young birdwatcher from Nashik. He is a friend of the sparrows. One of Time's Hero of Environment 2008 awardees, he is critical about the way urbanisation is taking place in our country leaving hardly any room for trees and birds. According to Dilawar, sparrows are the best bio-indicators of urban life and environment. If we can't take care of these humble creatures, we are doomed says Dilawar.

In his opinion, sparrows are disappearing fast. There are a host of reasons. Cities are becoming concrete jungles.Tress are being felled. Cellphone towers are emitting radiation. All these and many more reasons have contributed to the steep fall in the sparrow population. Our conservation policy pays too much attention to the "fat cats" in the jungles and ignores the humble birds and other species, says Dilawar. Sparrows have been put on the Red List category by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Is it possible to reverse the trend? Dilawar feels that it can be done. Plant hedges, protect trees, ban catapults and ensure availability of grains. They will be back. He has launched an NGO called Nature Forever Society. He is creating awareness among bird lovers through his website.He is also distributing nest boxes for the sparrows. Environment must become central to our lives, says Dilawar. Then we can save our cities and our country.

Good to know that someone is taking cudgels on behalf of the poor,silent and hapless sparrows. They are charming,cheerful and gregarious.While surfing the internet yesterday about house sparrows, I came across a beautiful poem by the famous American poet, William Carlos Williams which I quote below:

"At that, his small size, keen eyes, serviceable beak and general truculence assure his survival –

to say nothing of his innumerable brood. Even the Japanese know him and have painted him

sympathetically, with profound insight into his minor characteristics.

Practical to the end it is the poem of his existence that triumphed finally; a wisp of feathers

flattened to the pavement, wings spread symetrically as if in flight, the head gone,

the black escutcheon of the breast undecipherable,

the effigy of sparrow, a dried wafer only, left to say and it says it without offense, beautifully;

This was I, a sparrow. I did my best; farewell."

Couldn't have been a better epitaph to the humble house sparrow.

May there be more Dilawars to save and bring back more sparrows to our cities. After all don't they like to live around human habitations?

AN ITALIAN CULINARY EXPERIENCE

I don't visit restaurants very often. When I do, I am very choosy. Recently I visited the same restaurant twice in quick succession. Last Friday night, I took my cousin from the US out for dinner to an Italian restaurant in the heart of busy Mumbai. Called 'Bellagio Bistro', after a famous district in North Italy, the restaurant provides authentic Italian food. Located in Boatawala Building which is a heritage structure near the Asiatic Library in Fort area, the external facade of the restaurant is impressive.There is a ground and a mezzanine floor too. The internal decor is simplistic. Where it scores is its food and service. It has a transparent kitchen where you can see the cooks stirring up your dishes in very neat and hygienic conditions. What you get is fresh,fragrant and fulfilling stuff. Basil leaves dominate many of the dishes.The wine repertoire is quite wide ranging.On Friday, we chose to have French Bordeaux wine while on Sunday when I took my wife,I had a glass of red wine distilled by Sula. Pastas,Pizzas,Risottos,Ravioli-you name it and they have it all. We tried their three-grain rissotto and loved it. The rates are on the higher side but the best thing to do is to order three or four dishes and split it into two or three as the case may be.They have there own bakery too.You get fresh bread literally out of the oven. I loved the clear vegetable soup with lemon grass.They have a good variety of desserts and coffee. We had the crunchy chocolate cake and coffee latte which we enjoyed.

Run by a Jain family,the waiters attended to details when we placed the order. We said we were ok with onions but garlic was a no-no.The chef complied with our request and gave us some delectable stuff. I strongly recommend this place for those who want to taste genuine Italian food.The best time would be in the night when the traffic is less on the road.During daytime,presumably,there would be a rush from the senior executives working in the vicinity. They have a special lunch pack too for office-goers. We took a window seat on the ground floor on Sunday afternoon while we sat on the mezzanine floor on my earlier visit.The view was perfect and the experience pleasing.

HEELS OVER HEAD-BEWARE OF SLIPPERY STILETTOS

There is a popular expression to describe the mad love between a boy and a girl.It is said that "they are head over heels in love".
But this post is about heels over head. Today's youngsters particularly the young women take to wearing high heels basically for two reasons. First to appear ultra fashionable and second to look taller than what they really are.Everyone knows that wearing high heels can wrought havoc to one's spine besides the constant danger of tripping and falling while walking and hurting one's bones.Yet, the young lasses and also some older ones too insist on making this style statement.The high heels dominate over their heads in these cases.

A recent study done in the US by a Master's student of the University of Iowa State has found that prolonged usage of high heels is one of the factors contributing to degeneration of joints and osteoarthritis of the knees. Assisted by her Professor Phil Martin, Danielle Barkema studied the effects of walking with high heeled shoes on the lower joints in the body. Barkema selected heels of three different height. Flat, two inches, and three and half inches. She had each of the 15 women in her study complete walking trials. Using a wide range of sophisticated instruments, she was able to measure and quantify the shockwaves that travel up the body. She concluded that over time, continued usage of high heeled shoes contributes to joint degeneration and knee osteoarthiritis. Greater the heel, greater the risk.

Oh, Young women! Why wait till your back and knees break. See the writing on the wall and be your natural self. It will do you tons of good in the long run. And it will also give you peace of mind.

Panda- An Endangered Species Too

The population of pandas in the whole wide world is supposed to be less than 1000; most of them live at an altitude of about 11,000 feet in the cold forests of the eastern rim of the Tibetan plateau. Pandas are China's national treasure. Pandas are large mammals and are almost the same size as that of a black bear.Their numbers are decreasing and they might soon become extinct. WWF has put pandas on the endangered list. The bamboo-eating pandas are also intelligent. After Paul the octopus who shot to fame rightly predicting outcomes in the last World Cup soccer matches,pandas are now predicting the results of events in the Asian Games at Guangzhou.And most of the times,they are right!

In the devastating earthquake that hit Sichuan province in Southwest China in 2008,pandas living in the Wolong Nature Reserve which is the world's largest and well-known conservation area for pandas narrowly escaped though lot of buildings were destroyed and many people lost their lives. Pandas are extremely lonely animals and breed only a few times in a year. That is another reason why their population is not growing.Their average age expectancy is only 20-25. Also they are being poached for their soft fur, driven out of their habitat by the ever-increasing human population and deforestation leaving hardly any bamboos for their sustenance.

China will have to take up the challenge of saving the pandas on a war-footing. Else, one more species will disappear from planet earth soon.

Olive Ridley Turtles - Another Endangered Species

Thanks to our callousness, yet another world-famous species is gradually facing extinction. A massive deep water port is being constructed at the mouth of Dhamra river, north of the world famous Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Orissa. Every year, Olive Ridley turtles come in heaps to the sandy beaches of Rushikulya river mouth off Orissa's Ganjam coast at the mouth of Dhamra rivercoast. There is a spread of about 3 km from Purunabandh to Gokharakuda which is the second biggest rookery in the world. The wellknown Gahirmatha is the biggest rookery in the world to lay eggs. Thousands of turtles wait in the sea for their turn for nesting in the sandy beaches.

This year for some unknown reason the mass nesting has started much earlier. About 2 lakhs Olive Ridleys had nested in the first fortnight of March last year. Some guess that it could be due to the sudden increase in temperature accompanied by wind from the southern direction. Wildlife officials are doing their bit by clearing the beach to help the turtles in their annual ritual.Olive Ridley turtles also lay their eggs in the west coast of India.

The turtles come every year and mate on the calm ocean waters. The females thereafter make it alone to the beach and scoop a big hole in the sand to accomodate 50 to 100 eggs.Once the eggs have been laid,they cover them with sand with their legs and return to the sea.It takes about a month for the eggs to hatch. The little ones then emerge out of the nest. They then start their lonely journey into the sea without their mothers. Nature's miracles are inexplicable.

The construction of the deep water port will add to the woes of the turtles who already suffer from illegal netting.Movement of ships,probable oil spills and other environmental factors pose a severe challenge to their existence. Wonder whether Jairam Ramesh,our Minister for Environment, is aware of the imminent danger to the turtles.

The local villagers at Rushikulya treat the turtles as God's incarnation.Neither do they eat their eggs nor their meat. On the contrary they go all out to protect them. Wildlife officials have set transmitters on some of the turtles to record their movements.

We owe it to our future generations to protect these turtles from extinction. In the scale of conservation status, these turtles are currently ranked in the vulnerable category. Do visit the website www.wild.org and look for Olive Ridley turtles. Do your bit to save these turtles.

Owls-the endangered species

I am blogging again after a long hiatus.In the interegnum. I learnt a foreign language. German. For four months almost every Saturday and Sunday,I was in MMI(Max Mueller Institute) learning Deutsch. Our teachers gave us a lot of hausaufgabe (homework). There was just no time to blog. But now I am happy that I can read, write and speak a foreign language.My German friends will be thrilled.

Those who read these lines might wonder as to why I chose this topic. Not an auspicious way to restart,they would say. Aren't owls associated with bad luck,many would wonder. Indeed now they are having a bad patch. Bad luck has fallen on these very birds once considered to be wise. Somewhere along time they lost that reputation. And they became associated with doom and destruction. And today their numbers are dwindling. Our Minister for Environment is concerned. He has accused the Harry Potter fans for capturing owls to tickle their fancies. They are being bought by parents as pets for their children who read Harry Potter books. Also thousands of them are being caught to be eventually used for black magic and rural medicine and for village performances. What a fall! From being considered as a wise bird by the Greeks, they have now fallen on bad times and are fighting for survival.

So is human life.Men too have their ups and downs.History is littered with examples of the powerful and famous who have fallen and collapsed like a house of cards.What is the moral in this? Everything is transient. Nothing is permanent.Be balanced in life.You never know when good or bad times will befall you.Develop equanimity. You will then be a happy person.