http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/en-EUhttp://backend.userland.com/rss092http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/41/97f7af65f423644d3fa6101f4177b9_160x200.jpg <p>Lataji recently completed 80 years of age and may God bestow her with more years and a melodious voice. We would love to hear her sing more like "Havaa mein udta jaaye, mera laal dupatta malmal" or "Dil hoom hoom kare, ghabraye". She has done 30000 songs in her illustrious career. </p> <p>Out of curiosity, I browsed for SPB's records. From <a><a href="http://www.spbindia.com/AwardsAchievements.aspx">http://www.spbindia.com/AwardsAchievements.aspx</a> </a>, I found the following:</p> <p>Has recorded over 36,000 songs in a span of 35 years, which include film songs and devotional numbers recorded by various recording companies of the country. It's a world record which will be soon entering into the Guinness Book of World Records.</p> <p>Has recorded 17 songs in Kannada for the composer Upendra Kumar in Bangalore from 9.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. on February 8, 1981 which is a record.</p> <p>Has recorded 19 songs in Tamil in a day, and 16 songs in Hindi in a day, which is a notable achievement.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/10/04/lata-and-spb-a-small-comparison-7097449/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/10/04/lata-and-spb-a-small-comparison-7097449/Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:19:33 +0200 <p>Prakash Karat, the CPM General Secretary a couple of days ago issued a statement (or talked to the Press)that some forces were trying to create misunderstanding between China and India blah blah blah. He was in a defensive tone for the Chinese. </p> <p>Is he going to progandise that China is a friend of India (as is the wont of all communists to brainwash) despite the following:</p> <p>1. China attacked India without India's provocation and has captured certain portions of India<br> 2. China is promoting Pakistan as an India deterrant<br> 3. China has given nuclear technology and even weaponry to Pakistan to be used aginst India and only India<br> 4. Chinese spuroius drugs are exported to African countries with a "Made in India" mark<br> 5. Hate mails are being circulated on the Internet by Chinese to disintegrate India and so support separate country struggles within parts of India<br> 6. refuse to issue visas to Arunachal Pradesh residents implying that China considers that as its integral part<br> 7. China is making all efforts to stall Indian progress in world fora like UN and the Indian agreement with US for nuclear cooperation</p> <p>and so on and on and on...</p> <p>Even as I was finishing this blog, I saw a news item that China in its 60th year of revolution is building a private railway of 65 km length. Here the kimmies and their unions will not even allow privitization of the catering service. A case of more loyal than the king.</p> <p>Wake up dear communists, bat for India, support India's causes, be loyal to your country of birth and sustenance and be patriotic. Don't bat for China, though you may be receiving Chinese money still. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/10/04/let-cpm-become-indian-rather-than-being-chinese-7095548/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/10/04/let-cpm-become-indian-rather-than-being-chinese-7095548/Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:46:50 +0200 <p>Hypocrisies galore and I am also not tired of bringing forth the latest. Karunanidhi getting the best script writer in Tamil movies for 2008 from the government of Tamilnadu for his one (or may be two) movies in 2008. He should be ashamed to receive this award given by his government and for a non-worthy piece of crap he wrote and some one produced as a movie. With so many other worthy scripts competing, the official found this as worthy of an award just to exhibit his sycophancy. </p> <p>Then there is the US the master of all hypocrisy. It is now shouting at the Iran’s uranium enrichment plant. It has closed its eyes when China and Pakistan were clandestinely (or was it quite openly) helping Iran. Even now, it can’t raise its voice against China because China is the financier for US. It will triple its aid to Pakistan though Musharaf admits that US aid was used to fund terrorists against India. India was crying hoarse for decades to US to control its aid to Pak but to no avail. Who is fooling whom?</p> <p>Now BJP is shouting that Quattrochi is being left off because he knew too much. There was a man called Vishwanath Pratap Singh who said that he knew all about Bofors, had the secret account number of Rajiv Gandhi in his packet and would release it the moment he became PM. He became PM with the help of BJP but they did not do anything to Quattrochi. They did not make any sensational disclosure or rather could not. Rajiv died, V P Singh also died and now BJP is also dying but no revelation. And now this “truth” about Q. Who is fooling whom?</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/09/29/hypocracy-again-7063345/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/09/29/hypocracy-again-7063345/Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:46:22 +0200 <p>Human history has seen many cruelties and those who had perpetrated them. It is still seeing in the form of so many wars (civil and with others) which naturally bring in cruelty as one element. But none can beat the cruelty of Adolf Hitler. One standing example is the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp near Katowice in Poland. Started by Hitler near the village called in Polish village of Oświęcim ostensibly to keep Polish prisoners, he found it later a more comfortable camp to keep all prisoners because he could keep things confidential and buried and transportation was easy because the village was well connected by railways. I decided to visit the camp, having seen in so many movies how the camps were run. Let us remember, mini Hitlers are still alive and run camps like Guantanamo Bay. Anyhow, no one can come near Hitler who had no mercy for even pregnant woman and child in the womb. His aim was to eliminate the last drop of Jewish blood from the face of the earth and had he been successful for two more years, he would have achieved his target very nearly, having already exterminated 6 million out of the 11 million Jewish population of the world.</p> <p>The first camp (Auschwitz) was a Polish military barrack (there was no Poland at that time) and looks very comfortable in comparison to the Birkenau. In fact some prisoners who were transferred to the second (Birkenau) considered the former as a 5-star facility!!!! But the simple memory of about 60000 people in Auschwitz and 130000 in Birkenau having been killed in gas chambers and cremated, their ashes having been spread over the same place shatters even strong men when they walk on the same roads which led men and women on their last journey and whose ashes and bones may still be under the soil. Many of them were led to believe that they were being resettled and were hoping for a better future. Their faces exhibit the hopes in the few photos and so also the suitcases which bear the names and addresses as if they were all shifting from one town to another. The mound of suitcases kept as sample speaks volumes of the hopes that met with death by cruelty. The other samples wrench one’s heart. The hair of the men and women and children, many of them is the entwined state, the shoes of all hues and sizes, the clothes of children, the spreads on which bodies were lying after having been starved to death and even the metal vessels for heating water or tea cups, pastry rollers, graters – you name it, it is there. These are some remaining portion of the loot and plunder which the Nazi army did. One more heart-wrenching collection was the artificial limbs of war veterans who were sent to the gas chambers directly but whose artificial limbs were taken off to be used by injured German soldiers. This is beyond all limits of conjuring up the cruelty.</p> <p>The “prisoners among prisoners” is another story. Those who tried to escape or did not obey or committed what the Nazi officer considered a crime were taken to another death chamber where the court martial was ordered in less than a minute and invariably death sentence. The various cells are kept in the same state as they existed then. Even a Hitler’s portrait was hanging in the room of the officer against the Polish law of not depicting Hitler in any appreciative form. The worst part of this cell was the “Standing room” where the punishment was to make four such soldiers stand together in a chamber of 1 square yard all through the night. Along with 3 more, I went and stood in the chamber and not even one could sit. This way they stood all through the night and the next day, they were asked to work. Doing like this for a few weeks or even a few days resulted in sure exhaustion and death. Other soldiers were taken to an open space next to this chamber and were asked to stand against a concrete wall called “the death wall” and a small hand gun was used to shoot them on the back of their heads. This way the noise of the shooting was muted. The windows of another barrack adjacent to this wall were closed with wooden planks so that those in the block could not see or hear what was happening.</p> <p>There is a gas chamber and a crematorium rolled into one building. Four incinerators are still in working condition. It is almost a replica of the electric crematoria we have in Chennai nowadays. This is a place where about 30000 were murdered and cremated. The commander Hess was living just 100 meters away from this building with his wife and children. Either his whole family was hardened to these crimes or he had skillfully hidden the goings-on from the whole family. The gas used for killing “Zykon” was ironically invented by a German Jew. Ultimately this commander was extradited to Poland after the War and was tried and sentenced to death. He was hanged in the same gallows which he used to hang many. Retribution is quick these days, beware all cruel leaders and soldiers!</p> <p>The gas chamber here is intact because this was in disuse long before the war ended and though the army tried to dismantle and destroy all construction in the other camp, they forgot this, probably,</p> <p>I went to the Birkenau camp next which is on a 400 acre piece of land. Though most of it was destroyed before the Nazi army left, the remaining evidences paint a gruesome picture. Because the bricks were in short supply, these were made of wood from the dismantled horse stables of Germany. These stables were not needed because horses were no more used in the WW II. This made the condition of the prisoner still more pitiable because wooden chambers could not protect them from the extreme weather conditions. Sanitary conditions were still bad. One common toilet consisting of some 40 or 50 seats arranged in line in the middle of the sanitation chamber was the only one available for men. No privacy, no hygiene and this can be used only twice in the day. They were sleeping in wooden cots and sometimes 10 were asked to sleep in one such cot which can comfortable sleep two. They could sleep just on one side and if any one wanted to move over to the other side, all the 10 would have to change the sides. </p> <p>If one man’s (or woman’s) obsession becomes an ideology, then the results are there for everyone to see. We in India are highly fortunate not to have given birth to any such leader and it is my hope that even if one is born in the future, he or she will not be as successful as Hitler because there are enough forces to keep them in check. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/09/27/auschwitz-birkenau-concentration-camps-7051137/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/09/27/auschwitz-birkenau-concentration-camps-7051137/Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:42:30 +0200 <p>In an earlier blog of the same title (<a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/07/17/sustainable-development-6532499/">Sustainable Development</a>) , I have talked of how ancient civilization lived with nature and how we are now living against nature. In a very enlightening article, in The Hindu dated 25th Sep 2009, Siddharth Varadarajan says this:</p> <p>"If the rise of civilization is linked to the harmonious relationship that developed between human beings and their environment in the Indus, Nile and Mesopotamian valleys, the unrestrained emission of greenhouse gases in Pittsburgh (and places like the Ruhr valley in Europe) for more than a century is what future archaeologists of climate change are likely to identify as the beginning of our decline".</p> <p>There is another passage in the same article which runs like this:</p> <p>"It was only in 1941 that the first pollution control ordinances in the ‘Smoky City’ were passed but their implementation had to wait for legislation that came only at the end of World War II. Old timers speak of going out in the morning and coming back with soot on their faces. Frank Lloyd Wright was asked once what could be done about Pittsburgh. “Abandon it”, the famous architect famously replied. Since then, of course, a lot has changed. <strong><u>After cleaning up its skies and rivers, the city became a pioneer in ‘green building’, converting disused industrial sites, or ‘brownfields’, into eco-friendly buildings with a very low carbon footprint. The changing nature of the local economy helped, as heavy manufacturing relocated to other parts of the world</u>.</strong> The Lawrence Convention Centre is itself a former brownfield and President Barack Obama is likely to point to it as an example of what can be done to combat global warming". </p> <p>US which is now telling everybody in the world to check emissions has shifted the problem to elsewhere as the undelined sentences indicate. Right, agreed that pollution should be curtailed everywhere. No meaning in India's defecnce that its per capita emission is still lowest. Becasue of the 1.1 billion population, the per capita emission is low but what is the total emission which is naturally huge and damages the environment. So, there is no escaping the rule that we have to reduce emission. But US has no moral right to say that. If needed, it should atone its past mistakes - grave ones at that - by helping other economies with technology and money to reduce emissions. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/09/25/sustainable-development-7036807/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/09/25/sustainable-development-7036807/Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:46:43 +0200 <p>I opened the TV early morning and the breaking news came in. Ted Kennedy passes away losing the battle with brain cancer. On the first day of my visit to Dallas, I chanced upon JFK's memorial (I did not remember that he was killed here) and towards the end of my visit, the last of Kennedy brothers passes away. Some touching tributes, glorious moments, British PM Gordon Brown announcing the conferring of Knighthood (Sir Kennedy) in British Parliament, his support to Obama against Hillary, his support to Obama's health care plan and tributes by peers and close friends all were filling up the air time. I was feeling bad, for reasons I did not know. But I could feel that a good man has passed away, fortunately in a natural way, unlike his two elder brothers. RIP. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/26/edward-ted-kennedy-passes-away-6827407/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/26/edward-ted-kennedy-passes-away-6827407/Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:40:37 +0200 <p>Amar Singh has invited Jaswant Singh to join Samajwadi Party. Yes, Jaswant has washed all his “communal sins” of being a Jan Sanghi or a BJPite by singing the paeans of Jinnah and so can join Maulana Mulayam Singh Yadav’s party.</p> <p>I feel that so much non-sense is being dished out in the form of TV coverages and commentaries on this act of a leader of a party in decline. Let him have his views and let the party expel him for that. How does it affect a common man? </p> <p>Talking of TVs whipping up euphoria on non-issues, swine flu is a recent one. I was appalled to see on CNN that 30000 (yes thirty thousand) people die every year of ordinary flu in US and this year swine flu is feared to kill about 90000. For a country like US where paranoia is a way of life, there is not much of a cry created over the media and in India, so much is being talked about and shown about. The media, starved of content, takes up anything like if I say tomorrow my pet dog has jumped up the wall and got into a neighbour’s house, even that may be covered for a few hours on the TVs, even the national one. It is disgusting and nauseating. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/25/jaswant-and-amar-singhs-6818792/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/25/jaswant-and-amar-singhs-6818792/Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:57:00 +0200 <p>For all its development of infrastructure on a massive scale, US woefully lacks railway infrastructure. Last week end, I was travelling from Dallas to Fort Worth, a distance of 40 KM. These are twin cities of Texas. But the railway track is not even double for most part. The railway stations at both the places are woefully inadequate. Compare that with the stations in India. The Central station in Chennai is a massive structure buzzing with people (for that matter, every place in India buzzes with people, cynics may say) and has so many trains coming and going.</p> <p>Fort Worth is a small town and a picturesque one too. Both Dallas and FW are sparsely populated and so you don’t get the din and bustle of Chicago or New York.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/25/dallas-and-fort-worth-6818779/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/25/dallas-and-fort-worth-6818779/Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:55:12 +0200 <p>It was a memorable evening yesterday. My colleague in Dallas took me to an Indian restaurant Kalachandji's. It is part of a building housing the Hare Krishna temple. The food was excellent for a price of $11. Neither too spicy, nor oily, it embellished the taste buds very nicely. Mostly it was Gujarati and Jain food. I was surprised to get Collard Green (in Tamil - Aathi keerai). The tamarind water was really splendid. Salads were aplenty. No Indian bread only the English variety. </p> <p>Any Indian coming to Dalls, I would recommend at least one visit to this place. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/21/kalachandji-s-in-dallas-6777154/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/21/kalachandji-s-in-dallas-6777154/Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:07:34 +0200 <p>Jaswant Singh has really stirred the hornest's nest by writing a book on Jinnah (following the footsteps of Advani in calling Jinnah a secular man)where he praised Jinnah as a tall leader (I have not read the book, honestly) who was pushed towards partition by Nehru and Patel. Congress is finding faullt for faulting Nehru with partition and BJP for Patel. No one has noticed or brought forth the fact the Gandhiji on whom RSS is laying the blame squarely for partition has been totally spared and that is one more act of heresy as far as RSS/BJP is concerned. </p> <p>Another aspect every one is harping about is freedom of speech and right to dissent. Freedom of speech does not absolve irresponsibilty and any one professing to be a founder member and senior leader of a party cannot afford to toe a line totally against the party tenets. Jaswant also talked about alienation of the Indian Muslims which Congress and Communists are finding RSS/Jan Sangh/BJP to be the reason. After so far claiming that it was not against Muslims per se, BJP cannot afford to have a senior leader accept that Muslims were alienated. When Varun Gandhi spewed venom, people blamed BJP for not acting (by not expelling him) and when almost a similar act is done by JS, people blame BJP for acting. Hail double standards!!!</p> <p>JS is hell bent on demolishing or at least tarnishing the party and he has talked of shielding Advani against Kandahar event. Entropy is an inherent quality of any system. Probably BJP is undergoing one of its entropic phases. One can wish and pray that it comes out of it as BJP is needed for Indian democracy. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/21/jaswant-singh-and-his-jinnah-6776464/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/21/jaswant-singh-and-his-jinnah-6776464/Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:00:42 +0200 <p>My colleagues here rather forced me to accompany them to watch a base ball game at the Arlington Ballpark stadium in Dallas between Texas rangers and Minnesota Twins. I picked up a few learnings about the game, how the scores are made and what are some of the nuances. More tnan the match, it was the festive atmosphere that was more interesting. As it happens with all live matches, the crowd was ecstatic. I even participated in the Mexican waves that swept the stadium. The food was good. Americans enjoy life king size. The food they eat, the colas and beers they drink and any eatable are all king sizes. And more than anything else, the happenings on the sides were quite interesting, games for children, charity activities etc etc. As I said to my colleagues, I can watch a base ball game on TV with more understanding. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/20/watching-a-base-ball-game-in-the-us-for-the-first-time-6768356/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/20/watching-a-base-ball-game-in-the-us-for-the-first-time-6768356/Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:39:15 +0200 <p>I was struck by the spate of advertisments in the US TVs (I am now in Dallas TX)about Mesothelioma - cancer induced by exposure to asbestos and the lawyers trying to help the victims to get compensation from govt. Not long ago, 45 years probably, we were made to thrill at the wonder sheets called asbestos which replaced the thatched sheds in slums and gave a neat and exuberant look to the slums. Factories started sprawling manufacturing asbestos in India. Lo and behold, after 40 years, I am pained to see the advertisments saying that the attorneys are experienced for more than 30 years in this Mesothelioma litigation. My God, another instance of unsustainable development. Are we learning from our ancestors? The thatched sheds are there from time immemorial, the roofings are made of either coconut or palm leaves (a renewable source) and will be replaced normally once a year. These roofings never gave any disease to those below them. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/19/mesothelioma-6762450/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/19/mesothelioma-6762450/Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:22:21 +0200 <p>I read an article in Swaminomics about how Pope Benedict has done injustice to the black, brown and yellow labourers by talking against outsourcing as something that goes against the stakeholders to protect the shareholders. He explained very lucidly how Pope tries to protect White labour aristocracy by not talking about outsourcing that is done in Latin America and Poland but mainly against China, India and Philipines. He also takes us back in history by pointing out how all the textile labour was shifted to UK during the British rule of India much against the welfare of Indian labour and no voice was raised against it at that time. </p> <p>My reaction is as follows:</p> <p>Pope has simply parrotted the words of his financiers ignoring that there is a vast population of Christians in India too who are working in all these outsourced jobs. The best reply to him would be for all Indian Christians to echo their rejection of this idea and I am sure they will not go to Hell for that one reason alone. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/02/pope-and-outsourcing-6636254/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/02/pope-and-outsourcing-6636254/Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:46:50 +0200 <p>Today I saw a bicycle rally in Marina, Chennai, India organized by a school here against global warming. The chief guests, some local actors arrived at the scene in a car. What is that they are fighting against, global warming? And they add to it by using their car when they could have come by other means, least of all a bicycle.</p> <p>Again along the way, the students were serving drinking water. And how? In plastic cups. And the users were forced to throw the cup on the beach. What a mockery of ideals and ideas. The organizers could have exercised a little more discretion. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/02/ignorance-or-hypocracy-6636064/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/02/ignorance-or-hypocracy-6636064/Sun, 02 Aug 2009 16:11:27 +0200 <p>We seem to have forgotten the sustainable development model. Though some faint voices are being raised now and then, they are drowned in the din and bustle created by the development mania. Let me analyse how in the past 2 centuries, we have messed up with Nature (with a capital N) and are facing the music apart from bequeathing a damaged and bruised earth to the future generations.</p> <p>It all started with the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries. The world was a lovely place till then punctuated by the man-made wars now and then. Factories started belching smoke, textile mills created more and more tuberculosis patients and the global warming had started by then. Pollution control was thought of after almost two centuries of abuse of Nature and environment.<br> ====Added on 25th Aug 2009<br> An article by Sunita Narain in CSE magazine says that the gases emitted since 1800 (start of industrialization) are still collected in the atmosphere and they continue to damage the ozone layer. This has strengthened my argument against industrialization. One generation or two have benefitted forcing the entire humanity towards extinction<br> ======<br> Our ancestors (not necessarily Indians but also Chinese and the Egyptians and Mesopotamians and even the Europeans) were living in comfort. They did not exploit the natural resources but used it for their comfortable living. I am sure they would have known about the coal deposits below the earth and the crude deposits also. So many saints and visionaries were roaming about the Himalayas in the Kamaroop (present Assam)) and they would have definitely identified that there were huge deposits of crude below. Those who could identify the Aluminium ores, Gold and Silver Ores and other metals, is it not logical to assume that they would have known about the coal and crude deposits? But I am sure they did not bring it to light for the one reason that these are non-recyclable whereas metals are recyclable. </p> <p>But the Industrial Revolutionists went in search of more and more of coal deposits and today we get estimates of deposits that will last for a couple of hundred years more. In the history of mankind, couple of centuries is a very miniscule part and no development should be started which can sustain itself only for such a short time.</p> <p>Another culprit for the present mess is the Crude oil. Earlier mankind was extracting oil from vegetation and was sure that this is a non-exhaustible source of energy at least for a few millenniums. We turned it upside down. We created energy out of the crude oil and the coal, two of the most polluting elements today. </p> <p>Let me list out all the other “epoch-making” inventions and show how they are unsustainable:</p> <p>1. Trains and motor cars that transported us very fast and are transporting the mankind itself very fast to oblivion by creating holes in the ozone layer and by being the cause of so many diseases afflicting us.<br> 2. Our ancestors were also wearing clothes. They were not roaming around naked. But the textile mills we invented were the source of despair for the workers there.<br> 3. Medicines like Penicillin, considered life-saving just 50 years ago are life threatening. Antibiotics come and antibiotics go each with varying degrees of damage to human body.<br> 4. Our ancestors were not stinking. They were using soap like materials, aromatic beauty aids and ornaments. But now, the soaps and detergents are found to be eco-unfriendly and you find notices and appeals in all hotel rooms to help them reduce the use of detergents. The deodorants and the other beauty aids of modern day are again damaging the ecology.<br> 5. The biggest of all offending inventions is the plastics. Considered as one of the greatest inventions, again in the fifties and sixties of 20th century, now they the most dreaded. They are getting banned in place after place.<br> 6. Chemical fertilizers are another case in point. You heard in your childhood (if you are now in the fifties and sixties) that they created the green revolution. But within fifty years, they are now considered villains to the Mother Earth. You start hearing about “Organic fertilizers” and vegetables grown with them. You pay a higher price where as even 70 years ago, our farmers (and so also worldwide) were using natural manure and were growing healthy food. A development which turns villainous within 50 years cannot be called a sustainable development.<br> 7. Creation of towns and cities is another example. A city like Madurai created thousands of years ago is able to sustain itself even now whereas cities like Mumbai with a history of just 300 years are bursting at the seams. Those who built temple towers of unimaginable height (many towers are much taller than the sky-scrapers of today), were not unaware of building dwelling units of that size and height. But they refrained from doing so because they were aware that it was not sustainable. Another point to note is that those churches and temples are living for thousands of years whereas the modern buildings’ lives are calculated in tens of years. I recently visited the ancestral home of my relative and was astonished to see the polish on the walls even after 2 decades of disuse. Note that the walls did not have “ceramic” tiles but just simple brick and mortar (not even cement).<br> 8. Can you find one allopathic drug without side effect? How is that our traditional medicines and medicines from Homeopathy are attacking just the disease?<br> 9. Weaponry is a sure recipe for disaster of mankind. People have been fighting wars ever since they started living as a society. Take Mahabharat war, even though it may be a mythological war for those who do not believe, it was conceived a few hundred or thousand years ago. It has not wrecked mankind just as a Hiroshima or for that matter any war up to the 19th century. You don’t develop something to destroy mankind. That is not development, leave alone Sustainable Development.<br> 10. The latest to join the list is e-wastage. Oh! 1981 - the year when PC was launched by IBM is a landmark year in the history of mankind. Oops! that is the year when e-waste started accumulating. Read Dr Gpalji Malviya in this URL<br> <a href="http://epaper.newindpress.com/NE/NE/2009/07/16/ArticleHtmls/16_07_2009_011_002.shtml?Mode=1">http://epaper.newindpress.com/NE/NE/2009/07/16/ArticleHtmls/16_07_2009_011_002.shtml?Mode=1</a><br> Take asbestos, mercury and many other items which were developed without an eye on sustainabilty.<br> 11. (added on 20th Aug) Asbestos is another. I have written another post on this. <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/19/mesothelioma-6762450/">http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/08/19/mesothelioma-6762450/</a><br> 12. (added on 24th Sep 2009) Pollution of rivers across the globe is another outcome of industrialization. We invented erecting industrial plants but never planned for treating the effluents especially leather tanning and chemical industries. Also fertilizer industries and ammonia based industries polluting the air and making the lives of nearby villages and towns hell, is common knowledge. I was speaking with my friends in Katowice Poland when they said that they were having enough of water for use but it was polluted by the industries. This problem is global. Left to himself man will pollute moon and mars also, now that Chandrayaan-I reports that there is enough traces of water in moon.</p> <p>This is not an exhaustive list. I will be updating it as and when thoughts come to me.</p> <p>Indian system consists of three phases for every action, whether it is life or pooja or anything. Aavahan, Utsarjan and Visarjan corresponding to the Hindu triumvirate Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva meaning Creation, Maintenance and Destruction. Nothing will be systematised unless it can go through these 3 phases and without consequences. But the modern world does not bother about the disposal. It is interested in churning out more and more inventions irrespective of whether they are sustainable or not. We are running faster into extinction than ever before.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/07/17/sustainable-development-6532499/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/07/17/sustainable-development-6532499/Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:23:38 +0200 <p>Karunanidhi has become a laughing stock across India for the blatant and crass manner in which he sought ministerial berths for his kith and kin. But shameless as they are, these politicians do not get any lump in their throat while giving out a lie or seeking a favour. Impunity again, to the sentiments of millions who voted them to power. A cartoon in Times of India today beautifully depicts. Karunanidhi is standing before Manmohan Singh with a baby in his hand and the latter says that he would not hesitate to accommodate the former's great grand child also but they did not have any baby-seats in the cabinet. Nothing can be more disgusting than this. Even Dr Ramadoss looks very graceful in demanding a berth for his qualified son in the face of this man demanding a cabinet post to his son who is neither educated nor experienced. Fortunately, the hands of the PM are strengthened so much that he can keep these elements in check just like he showed the door to SP and RJD. May God give him more strength in disciplining the criminals and the corrupt in his regime.</p> <p>Talking of the hypocracies, we saw many during the great Indian tamasha called the General Elections 2009. We saw losers being ungraceful - I don't say disgraceful - in inventing all sorts of reasons for the debacle, voting machine frauds, counting frauds, money play etc. But the best aspect of this election is the door shown by the Indian electorate to all sundries who were having a field day during the last 5 years, like the Communists, Lalus and Mulayams, Ramadosss and Pawars. All those who created havoc during the last term were put in their places. This will be a stable set up - be it Congress or BJP, all the tails that wagged the head have been chopped off. Even DMK could not talk from a position of strength. It had to go abegging. The initial signals are encouraging to indicate a cleaner rule.</p> <p>Another piece of news that attracted me was US asking China to help Pakistan to train its forces to face terrorists. Are they trying to take coal to Newcastle? The country which for well over 5 decades specialised in training terrorists and sending them to India needs training to counter it - best joke of the millennium. Instead of pulling the pipeline of supplies of arms and money which everyone in the establishment knows where it lies, they are beating around the bush. Somebody has to call their bluff.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/05/28/these-shameless-policticians-6189778/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/05/28/these-shameless-policticians-6189778/Thu, 28 May 2009 07:58:22 +0200 <p>Obama does not want companies in US to outsource on a large scale. He wants to give jobs to Americans first. But when it comes to war in 'AfPak' region, he blissfully outsources it to Pakistanis and Afghans by throwing in a few dollars more. Taliban who were created by Americans are now being fought by Pakistanis and Afghans at the bidding of Americans. Long live American hypocracy!!!</p> <p>Nearer home, DMK is another champion of hypocracy. Karunanidhi will preach atheism to every one in his party. He will have a jibe at those who believe in God (only of they are Hindus - Muslims and Christians can believe in God, he has no temerity to mock at that). But his son Azhagiri starts his election campaign after offering obeisance at Narasimhaperumal Temple near Madurai. This temple was selected because it was believed to be good for those who were born in the start Swati and Azhagiri is one. So for the father of rationalism in Tamilnadu (he seems to have replaced EVR), his son believing in astrology and God is not objectionable whereas other Hindu believers are objects of mockery. Long live DMK's hypocracy!!!</p> <p>And if you start recording the hypocracies of the Indian politicians during these elections, probably a new server is needed to blog all of them. Advani calls Manmohan a weak PM when he released a terrorist and cried over the demolition of Babri and Manmohan talks of Advani melting. Mulayam wants computers and English to go whereas his children and his wheeler-dealr Amar Singh live out of them. Mayavati talks of uplifting the poor when all she has done is uplift herself. The MPs from the suicide-ridden Vidarbha in Maharashtra have incresed their wealth over the past five years when farmers have resorted to more and more suicide out of poverty. The list goes on and on and on.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/04/14/on-the-topic-of-hypocracy-again-5943301/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/04/14/on-the-topic-of-hypocracy-again-5943301/Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:27:21 +0200 <p>This is a mail from a very young friend of mine<br> ========<br> When people who wallow in gutters scream for help, it doesn't necessarily mean they want to be rescued. Instead in many cases, when someone on firm ground reaches out compassionately but naively, they get dragged into the muck themselves. And what does one do then? You first swim away from the person who dragged you down, since as long as you are next to them, they'll never let you get out. Once you are at a safe distance, you pull yourself out, cleanup, and move forward. The next time someone else reaches out, don't ignore the person; don't lose out on your compassion. Instead look for the signs to determine if the person genuinely wants to be rescued; and if you can't figure it out, err on the side of compassion rather than caution. But make sure that you are smarter this time and have your feet firmly on the ground, so that if you start feeling dragged, you can pull away before it happens. Of course there's a possibility that the person is very strong and you end up getting dragged despite your best efforts. Go through the process again since the person will loosen the grip on you when they find somebody else to drag; and rest assured they'll find another one. </p> <p>I do not believe or disbelieve in God as of today. But if I was a believer, then I would also like to believe that God took the form of these people so that he could be my teacher. And I bow down and salute them for making me realize that I'm not as intelligent or strong or wise as I think, and pushing me in the direction of being a better human being in all these respects. And I'm grateful to them that most of my hurt has been emotional - not financial, physical, social, or legal. Because, as of today, I feel that only with emotional hurt comes a strong guarantee that it can be overcome.<br> ------------------</p> <p>This is not from any book - this is a thought which has germinated in my mind as I'm trying my best to forgive some people whom I loved and cared for immensely, and who instead hurt me back because I was capable of giving. Though I'd never claim that this is a completely original idea - I'm very convinced that years of reading, listening, pondering, and conversing have lead to this moment. I'm hoping this will help me overcome my current sense of loss, and the pain from my past which still lingers.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/03/24/a-passionate-moment-for-me-5817924/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/03/24/a-passionate-moment-for-me-5817924/Tue, 24 Mar 2009 04:57:33 +0100 <p>The last para of an article by M J Akbar in TOI dated 08.03.2009 detailing how the state of Pakistan failed.<br> =====<br> On the day that terrorists attacked Sri Lankan cricketers, I had a previously arranged speaking engagement at a university in Delhi before largely Muslim students. I began with the suggestion that <strong>every Indian Muslim should offer a special, public prayer of thanks to the Almighty Allah for His extraordinary benevolence - for the mercy He had shown by preventing us from ending up in Pakistan in 1947. </strong>The suggestion was received with startled amusement, instinctive applause and a palpable sense of sheer relief.<br> ===== </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/03/09/thank-god-we-remained-in-india-5721941/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/03/09/thank-god-we-remained-in-india-5721941/Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:35:49 +0100 <p>I exclaimed twice when the TV bludgeoned that Gandhiji's memrablia had been purchased by the Liquor Baron Vijay Mallya and that they would be given to the government. Once, after knowing the amount (just $1.8 m or INR 90m), because there was not one soul in this country who could afford this much of money for saving a memory whereas parties spent billions in elections and advertisements. The Congress Party which had the greatest opportunity of claiming Gandhiji as its own just did not wink an eyelid. The government was mired in its bureacracy and lethargy rather than acting quickly. No other businessman who has amassed wealth from this country could think of shelling out just 90m rupees or was not willing.</p> <p>I shouted the second time because the saviour is none other than the industrialist Vijay Mallya and the irony is that most of his income comes from the liquor business which Gandhiji wanted people to move away from. As the Tamil proverb goes, the money got by selling a dog will not bark. But more than that by such an act, can we treat Mallya to have wiped out a significant part of what we consider as 'Sin' of manufacturing liquor? My biggest cheer for this man is that he did it without publicity and very discreetly whereas many chatter boxes were making huge noise of participating in the auction and bidding for the items. Hats off to you Mallya or will this be better --- Three cheers to you Mallya!!!!</p> <p>(The writer is a teetotaller but has moved a lot among 'drinkers')</p> <p>When I look at the late night news, Ambika Soni, the Culture (definitely not Cultured) Minister says that The Indian Government was always in touch with Mallya's representatives and got it executed through him. Promptly comes the denial that no one ever contacted him before or after the auction. Just like he took back Tipu's sword, out of his own interest, Mallya has taken this. Shameless creatures, these!!!</p> <p>==== Article by Santosh Desai in TOI dated 8th Mar 2009<br> "Now that India is affluent, who dare buy our ancestral heritage even if we do not fully care about it personally? Gandhi is ours to ignore, and by god, we shall put good money to protect that right."<br> "We treat Gandhi as many parts of the world treat their women, with an air of <u><strong>proprietary indifference</strong></u>"<br> "For there is no question that we have no particular desire to be reminded of Gandhi and his ideas. Buying back his glasses for crores of rupees is an act of naked tokenism. But the manner of doing so is richly symbolic. As it turns out, what this symbol points to has nothing to do with Gandhi. Could we have bought back Gandhi’s things and <strong>sold Gandhi down the river</strong>? "</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/03/06/what-an-irony-what-an-irony-5702948/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/03/06/what-an-irony-what-an-irony-5702948/Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:05:46 +0100 <p>Every time I visit a new country, I tend to compare it with India and get excited about certain new things in the country and at the same time draw consolation from some other aspects that India is a better place on any day. When I visited Indonesia, I was under the impression that I was visiting a country lower than India and so expected it not to be better than India in most aspects. But surprisingly, this country at first sight seems to be a better place. The airport is quite small or at least it is not gorgeous but it is efficient. The people are courteous and the taxi service is definitely very efficient. The roads are good and I did not find many signals on my way from airport to Kuningan where I stay and also when I went to Taman Safari on a Saturday.</p> <p>The number of Toyota vehicles I see on the road is simply mind-boggling. I heard from Oman, our driver, that there are 28 models being produced in Indonesia by Toyota. Of course Benz vehicles also ply a lot apart from Hondas, Nissans, Mitsubishis and Suzukis. Two wheelers are their own masters here too.</p> <p>There is a rule that cars cannot ply on certain busy roads with single passengers. So boys and girls called Jockeys stand by the side of the road with their hand raised. You can ask them to get in and travel till the end of the restricted roads for a price of IDR 15000 roughly equal to Rs 65 or US $ 1.3. Contrary to this two wheelers earn money by carrying you on pillion for a price. Man is really enterprising.</p> <p>There are lanes and bylanes but SUVs like CR-V or Innova are driven with ease by the drivers here. And people create traffic jams occasionally by parking their cars in these lanes but people do not get angry too soon. Another interesting aspect is that junctions in the lanes are managed by volunteers who control the traffic well. Pure volunteerism, hats off to the people.</p> <p>A very good thing I have noticed is that walls are not defaced by notices. Here too there are 40 political parties but their leaders are greeted by posters which are placed in a non-intrusive way. And people don’t spit indiscreetly or throw garbage. Poverty is visible but it has not affected the cleanliness of the city. I have to visit the rural side to validate my opinion.</p> <p>The country gets copious rains because of being on the equator and also being an archipelago. The islands are very green and one does not encounter vast dry expanses at all.</p> <p>The Taman Safari is a beautiful place. Zebras, Ostrich, Lions and many other animals walk on the road and all the animals are allowed to roam freely with safety for the visitors. Going by a car, I got to pass by a lion sitting in the middle of the road. And a tiger going by the side. It was thrilling. More than that, I got a leopard cub sit on my lap for a fee and naturally got it photographed. That will be one of my prized possessions. Another one was the parrots eating out of our hands, sitting on our forehand or even the head.</p> <p>The whole area is a forest on a hill and there is a beautiful water fall. A cow boy show is a not-to-be-missed item in this safari. Wild West is recreated so nicely that one can consider the films as inferior to this. For 45 minutes, we are taken through a fight between the cow boys and the Indians with the Sheriff and his man winning in the end, but it was the amazing continuity that is maintained that boggles your mind.</p> <p>The currency is a joke here. IDR 500 is like a 50 paise coin in India. Its value is like Rs 2. People talk in terms of hundreds of thousands, like milk sells at 28000 for a litre. However, I find that it is costlier than India. Can I assume that this is a more developed country than us?</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/02/08/selamat-datang-to-indonesia-welcome-to-indonesia-5528498/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/02/08/selamat-datang-to-indonesia-welcome-to-indonesia-5528498/Sun, 08 Feb 2009 05:52:23 +0100 <p>Language, for me, is just a medium of communication. Its beauties are to be enjoyed. It should not be used as a weapon to fight unwarranted battles. But, throughout history, after man created languages, he is fighting over them. Just like the saying, ‘The biggest enemy of global peace is patriotism’, ‘Love of one’s mother tongue’ is again an enemy of peace, not necessarily among countries but within communities inside a country. If it is not so, we would not have seen wars between French and English, English and Spaniards, French and Germans, Germans and Austrians, Czheks and Slovaks, Arabs and Israelis, Muslims and Christians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, Tamils and Hindi-speaking, Malayalees and Tamils, Kannadigas and Tamils, Kannadigas and Marathis, Marathis and Konkanis, Japanese and Chinese. The list seems to be endless.</p> <p>What provoked me to write this blog was a casual remark by a friend that there was no language like Tamil which could express humour in so many ways and so beautifully. This sort of a feeling is harboured by almost every one. Even those who do not have script for their mother tongue – they are just dialects, they express similar thoughts. Another friend of mine remarked that Hindi had all the pronunciations in the world. Having learnt about 7 languages so far in my life, my strongest belief is that no language is superior to another. Each one has its beauties and its limitations. If one starts listing out the limitations, one is ostracized. Tamil being my mother tongue and English being the second language I learnt as a child, my love for these two is immense but that does not border on chauvinism. I can boldly say that these two are not phonetic languages just like any language which has Sanskrit as a base like Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. In the latter set, we speak as we write and write as we speak. They can accommodate most of the pronunciations one normally encounters. This is not the case with many other languages like Tamil and English because the alphabets of these languages are a very small set. This is not to belittle these two languages. Over ages, people have invented new letters or new styles to express words from other languages. Each language is almost complete to express the needs of its people but only when it interacts with other languages does the trouble arise. Here historically, the person ruling over others has imposed his language specialties on his subjects and the subjects have willingly or unwillingly accepted. Thus we had Urdu language, for example when Persian could not be completely spread here. </p> <p>I love all the languages I am fortunate to learn. But the so called lovers or protectors of languages like Tamil or Hindi or Marathi, are simply not worried about the degeneration that has been introduced by the TV or video or radio jockeys. Language is being used to make a livelihood by provoking people. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/01/25/language-tool-to-unite-or-divide-5442582/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2009/01/25/language-tool-to-unite-or-divide-5442582/Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:53:32 +0100 <p>Oh what a week it was!!! India has so many places that compete with the best in the world. If only our rulers, officials and the people show some more care and discipline, one need not go to any other country for seeing most of the wonders of nature. Man made wonders also abound here as we saw in Halebeedu and Beluru. The sculpture there was so intrinsically carved that it threw us into rapture. The procession of elephants and horses and Yaalis (the mythological animal which looks like a lion), the different postures of the dancing, a student learning dance from teacher, the lady with a mirror in her hand, the naaga veena or the veena of serpent, the squint eyed woman, people wearing helmets, the 48 pillars in Beluru, the most exquisite of them, the Narasimha Sthamba which is having the miniature versions of all the dancing postures on the outer walls, the story that says that the creator had left some vacant areas in that pillar for a better sculptor to complete it, the single stone bull, the reliefs on the ceilings were just a few of the details I could remember. It needs a day or two and complete details from Internet to go through each of the items.</p> <p>Shravanabelgola was another excellent place to visit even from a fitness point of view if not from a religious angle. The 600 odd steps on the hill are so steep that they easily make you almost breathless. But the view from atop is too good to remember the hardship. The Kalyani tank looks great from the top.</p> <p>Kodagu district is again God’s own country. The meandering road to Madikeri from Kushal Nagar and then to Talakavery is easily one of the best sceneries nature provides. The Kaveri Nisarga Dhama (the abode of natural disposition of Kaveri) is set in an idyllic and serene environment. The Talakaveri and the hillock by its side provide another breathtaking view of Nature’s bounties. If only one gets to rest in these places for just a week in a year, one gets rejuvenated, physically and mentally. Are we missing so many things in India or at least are we aware of these to know what we are missing?</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/12/28/the-hassan-madikeri-trip-5288514/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/12/28/the-hassan-madikeri-trip-5288514/Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:31:21 +0100 <p>Singapore trip in November 2008 brought back nostalgia. After 8 years, I was going to Singapore. But unlike last time, I was better equipped this time with the help if Internet. I could get good details of the geography. My stay was in Serangoon Road and that made matters more interesting. I could meet my cousin who was working there. Mustafa is like a pilgrimage center for me and I visited it almost every day. I spent a day with my friend and her family. The Sentosa visit was worth remembering and I have captured it in my Panasonic. The butterfly park, the dolphin show, the Jurong Bird park and all the other places I visited were quite exquisite. More than anything else, my friends enjoyed my cooking and had very good variety. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/12/28/singapoora-again-5288505/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/12/28/singapoora-again-5288505/Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:29:30 +0100 <p>Cho is perfectly right when he often repeats that by saying DMK is a family, Karunanidhi means just one family that is his family. All is out in the open today with MK's charges against Marans and the latter's counter offensive. It was all hearsay but now it is official. It is the money that was the reason for the split. MK and his family were given 'just 100 crores (one billion rupees)' for offloading their shares in Sun whereas they were worth several billions. And Marans say that it was under MK's suggestion that this was done. Again the opinion poll that infuriated the mob was creating divisions in the family, as per MK. And how brazenly he defends the killing of 'innocent' people in Murasoli office by the mob? No remorse whatsoever? Hey Ram, agreed that politics is the last refuge of scounderals but is it also the last refuge of remorseless murderers? Nepotism is the byword of MK now (and for that matter for the past few decades). He wants to run the party for his family. And the poor buggars in the name of party workers are striving to keep the family flag up and running. If you look at the other side, it is the Sasikala and family which provides the alternative (JJ will only be a head). Is it that even God cannot save this state? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/11/22/kazhagam-oru-kutumbam-dmk-is-a-family-5077809/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/11/22/kazhagam-oru-kutumbam-dmk-is-a-family-5077809/Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:09:53 +0100 <p>There was a beautiful article by the Crusader P Sainath in the Hindu of 20th Nov 2008, about how the Big Oil and Big Auto of US are taking the taxpayer to ransom. He explained in detail how the auto industry and oil industry systematically destroyed public transport and converted electric traction to oil based traction. Just to sell their cars, they created a dream of every one owns a car. And today, ozone layer is getting punctured. The Iraq war, he says, very aptly, would not have happened, if the national product of Iraq was asparagus instead of oil. He also laments that the public health care was similarly systematically destroyed by the Big Pharma. Unfortunately, we in India want to emulate that model and do not want to improve the public transport model. Health care is becoming costlier and costlier and out of the reach of some 200 million, though India is touted as a medical tourism hub. Canada is a very good example of how public health care is much cheaper and within the reach of everybody. Sainath ends his article by inviting us all to the Jurassic Park of Autos and Ideas because these metal lizards are compared to the ‘Terrible Lizards’ that existed once. But unlike those creatures which were neither terrible nor lizards, who did not engineer their own destruction or the earth’s, these metal lizards are very much taking the globe towards extinction. This article is a must read. As an aside, he talks of the bail out plan to banks being misused for declaring bonus to bank CEOs. He also cites how their favourite PM Dr Singh was shouted down by the media for suggesting limits to CEO salaries. All in all, it all points out to unsustainable development of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. For a long time, I believe that Indian system of development was always based on sustainability and cyclic symbolized by the Trimurtis of creation, protection and disposal in a harmless way. Probably the Indians of the early days, knowingly did not explore much on crude and its derivatives knowing well its ill effects. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/11/20/jurassic-auto-and-idea-park-5069789/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/11/20/jurassic-auto-and-idea-park-5069789/Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:59:24 +0100 <p>I have a lot of faith in humanity. It gets reinforced every now and then by some insignificant events. I was sitting in the airport watching the TV. It was NDTV. Suddenly I heard a voice from behind requesting me to change the channel to Sun TV. A woman was not able to reach the button and so requested me. She wanted to see Mahabharat which would be telecast at that time. When I turned to see who it was, I got the shock of my life. It was a burqa clad Muslim women. I was emotionally shaken but my faith in humanity increased. It is not that all Muslims are terrorists or hate other religions. The common Muslim is still an Indian enjoying the Indian culture, mythology and even gods. Long live Bharat Mahaan!!!! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/11/10/faith-in-humanity-5013271/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/11/10/faith-in-humanity-5013271/Mon, 10 Nov 2008 15:57:31 +0100 <p>News is that L K Advani, Indian opposition leader considers it a shame that a nun was raped in Orissa and so many churches were attacked over different places in India. In Tamil, there is a proverb - pinch the child and then rock the cradle to silence the crying child. The whole orgy was orchestrated by the Bajrang Dal on the premise that Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati who opposed conversions was killed by Christians, which turned out to be untrue as the Maosits claimed that they killed the Swami. Now having been exposed this way, the BJP is trying to wriggle out by declaring it a shame. Is it the first time? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/10/10/one-more-instance-of-hypocracy-4848030/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/10/10/one-more-instance-of-hypocracy-4848030/Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:58:14 +0200 <p>One of the biggest misunderstood and most mauled concept in Hindu Dharma is the concept of four divisions of the society called Varnashrama. The society is divided into Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The most maligned Manu did not create them on the basis of birth, one born of a Brahmin father does not necessarily become a Brahmin and so also one born of a Shudra parent is not forbidden from becoming a Brahmana. The degeneration of this happened over the centuries when the zealots and bigots perpetuated the division by birth. That is why I said it is the most mauled system. Let us see what Purusha suktam says:<br> Braahmanosya mukham aaseet<br> Baahu raajanya krutah<br> Ooru tadasya yad vaishyah<br> Padbhyam shoodro ajaayata</p> <p>The Purusha or the supreme Lord has Brahmin or the learned as His face, kshatriya or warriors as His shoulders, vaishya or the merchant as His thighs and shoodra or the servant as His legs. The cynical may still say that shoodras are denigrated as His legs but my answer to them is that if they consider being legs as so inferior, let them chop them off and see what it feels. Every part described here is equally important and one cannot live comfortably without any of these. That apart, the early Vedas divided them according to their aptitude, nature and actions. This is to ensure that there are no square pegs in round holes. Each job should be done by the person with the right aptitude. Do we select a scientist for a sales man’s job or select a coward for a warrior’s post? Don’t we adopt different selection criteria for different jobs? These were as simple as that. Krishna tells these lucidly in two places, first in verse 13 of chapter 4 and then in verses 41 to 44 in Chapter 18. In Chapter 4, He says,</p> <p>Chaatur varnyam maya srushtam GUNAH KARMA vibhaagashah<br> Tasya kartaaram api maam vidya kartaaram avyayam</p> <p>Meaning ‘I created 4 divisions on the basis of <strong><u>aptitude and actions’</u></strong>. The basis is aptitude and actions.</p> <p>Later in Chapter 18, He says</p> <p>Braahmana Kshatriya Vishaam Shoodraanaam cha parantapa<br> Karmaani pravi bhaktaani swabhaava prabhavair gunaih</p> <p>Shamo damas tapah shaucham kshantir aarjavam eva cha<br> Gnana vignaanam aastikyam brahma karma SWABHAAVAJAM</p> <p>Dairyam tejo dhritir daakshyam yuddhe chaapya palaayanam<br> Daanam eeshwara bhaavascha kshaatram karma SWABHAAVAJAM</p> <p>Krishi gowrakshya vaanijyam vaishya karma SWABHAAVAJAM<br> Paricharyaatmakam karma shoodrasyaapi SWABHAAVAJAM</p> <p>No one can be clearer and no one can be more misunderstood even after this. Let us see how He divides people according to their <u><strong>innate nature (SWABHAAVAM)</strong></u></p> <p>Brahmins – equanimous, self-controlled, austere, clean, patient, honest, knowledgeable and experienced, faithful in God</p> <p>Kshatriyaas – heroic, vigorous, firm, dexterous, steadfast in battle, charitable, leading in nature</p> <p>Vaishyaas – involved in agriculture, cow herd and trade</p> <p>Shoodras – serving others</p> <p>Does He anywhere here say that it is birth which determines your Varna? The degeneration of this system into a casteist society and further in institutionalizing the superiority of Brahmins over other three, kshatriya over the other two and vaishya over shoodra is the cause of all evils afflicting the Indian society. How many can claim to be brahmanas under this definition? In my view, only the Swami Chandrasekhara Saraswati of Kaanchi can claim to be so. The most graceful person can consider most of us as traders as we trade our knowledge for money.</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/10/10/hinduism-and-castes-4848021/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/10/10/hinduism-and-castes-4848021/Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:53:17 +0200 <p>The 21st verse in Chapter 16 says<br> 'Trividham narakas Yedam dwaaram naashanam aatmanh<br> kaamah krodhah tatha lobhah tasmad edad tryam tyajet'</p> <p>The three doors to hell are attachment, greediness and anger. So enjoins upon Arjuna and all of us to do away with these three. In Chapter 2 he says that attachment leads to greediness which in turn to anger ultimately to destruction. Here he forbids all the three factors. The assertion is very emphatic </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/10/08/krishna-s-assertion-4841034/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://nellaisuresh.blog.co.uk/2008/10/08/krishna-s-assertion-4841034/Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:32:35 +0200