Jugaari Cross

Tales from Ganga

2012-01-08T01:12:00.000-08:00

These three tales from the Ganga basin highlight the fact that scarcity of resources is not just a physical phenomena, but rather that has been socially constructed through specific human interventions. People raise some important questions on natural resource use and; the role of state and appropriateness of technologies amongst others.

1930 -- Somewhere in India

2012-01-01T08:19:00.001-08:00

A video I made, containing candid images in sepia of the 1930s, India.

Landscape of Urban Memories

2011-12-31T22:48:00.001-08:00

This is a short video I made on Bangalore using archival images.

Search

2011-12-31T22:36:00.000-08:00

An experimental video shot on my phone.

Fatehpur Sikri -- Then and Now

2011-11-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

Photographs (Then and now) of the Jami Masjid, Fatehpur Sikri, from the Archaeological Survey of India Collections, taken by Edmund William Smith in 1893 and by me in 2009. The palace-city complex at Fatehpur Sikri was built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r.1556-1605). The Jami Masjid was completed in 1572 and dedicated to Shaikh Salim Chisti, whose refuge was nearby. The tomb of the saint is situated in the courtyard. This is an interior view looking along the colonnade of the main sanctuary of the mosque.

Then

Now

Elements of Kannada Grammar 1854

2011-10-26T11:17:00.001-07:00

Dialogues in Kannada 1865

2011-10-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

Kannada Reading Lessons 1853

2011-10-26T11:12:00.001-07:00

Kannada School-Grammar: Prepared for the Government Schools 1859

2011-10-26T11:10:00.001-07:00

Second book of lessons in Kannada: for the use of Government 1862

2011-10-26T11:08:00.001-07:00

First book of lessons in Kannada: for the use of Government 1862

2011-10-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

Modern Kannada Grammar in English 1899

2011-10-26T11:03:00.001-07:00

Halegannada Inscriptions at Devagiri

2011-10-26T11:02:00.001-07:00

Kannada -- English Dictionary -- 1858

2011-10-26T11:01:00.001-07:00

Nagavarma Prosody Ferdinand Kittel 1875

2011-10-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

The life and adventures of Robinson Crusoe -- Translated into Kannada -- 1854

2011-10-26T10:56:00.000-07:00

An elementary grammar of Kannada 1864

2011-10-26T10:51:00.000-07:00

Panchatantra for schools 1865

2011-10-26T10:50:00.001-07:00

Katha manjari -- 1841

2011-10-26T10:48:00.001-07:00

Kannada -- English Dictionary -- 1858

2011-10-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Bhagavat Geeta -- Sanskrit -- Kannada -- English -- Year 1846

2011-10-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

Jaimini Bharata

2011-10-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

ಹಿಮಗಿರಯ ಕಂದರ

2011-09-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

ಹೋಗೆ, ಬೆಂಕಿ,

ಅಯ್ಯೋ, ಹಾಳಾಗ -

ಉರಿ, ಸೆಖೆ, ತಾಪ,

ಹೊರಗೆ ರಣರಣ ಬಿಸಿಲು, ಒಳಗೆ ಮಾರಣ ಬೆಂಕಿ

ಮಲಗಿತ್ತು ಮನ ಚಿತೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಆಫಿಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ

........................................................

ಮಿದಿಳು-- ಬಚ್ಚಲ ಹಂದೆಯಲೇ ಬೇಯುವ ಆಮೆ--

ಎದ್ದೆದ್ದು ಬಿದ್ದು ಒದ್ದಾಡುತ್ತಿತ್ತು

ಹಿಮಗಿರಯ ಕಂದರ ......

ಗಿರಯ ಕಂದರ ......

ಕಂ.....ದರ ......

ದ..........ರ ......

ರ ......

ಗೋಪಾಲ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಅಡಿಗ

Deaths of RTI activists (2010 - 11)

2011-08-25T10:18:00.001-07:00

Deaths of RTI activists (2010 - 11), originally uploaded by Lingaraj G J.

I made this infographic using QGIS. The richest state of the country, Maharashtra tops the list with 5 deaths in one year. Also another inference is the role of natural resources use/extraction in most of the deaths.

2011-08-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

Amruthapura -- Amar Chitra Katha on stone

2011-07-31T01:42:00.000-07:00

If at all you want to see sculpted version of Amar Chitra Katha, then you should surely visit Amruthapura. Amruthapura is a small village on the banks of River Bhadra in Tarikere taluk of Chikmagalur district. It is known for the splendid Amruteshvara temple. The temple was built in 1196 by Amrutheshwara dandanayaka (commander) under Hoysala King Veera Ballala II.

The Amar Chitra Katha connection is primarily because, the outer parapet wall of the open mantapa has a total of 140 panels of sculptures depicting the Hindu epics. Unlike in many Hoysala temples where the panels are small and carvings miniature, these panels are large. The Ramayana is sculpted on the south side wall on 70 panels with the story proceeding anti clockwise which is unusual. On the north side wall, all depictions are clockwise, the normal Hoysala style. 25 panels depict the life of Lord Krishna and the remaining 45 panels depict the epic Mahabharata.

Vasudeva pleading with a donkey, Amruthapura

There are some forgotten episodes of mythology that these walls remind us of. In one panel a man is bowing to a donkey, the story being, every time when Devaki borne a child a donkey would bray which would indicate Kamsa to come and kill the baby. In this panel Vasudeva is pleading to the donkey not to pray. This also is apparently the source of the Kannada Gaade "Kaaryavaasi Katthe Kaalu Hidiyabeku" which translates to "To get your work done, you should even kneel in front of a Donkey".

How to reach
Amruthapura is 6 Km from Tarikere and 35 Km from Shimoga on NH 206 (also known as Bangalore Honnavar road).

View Larger Map

Getting Out
Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is 12 Km from here as also backwaters of Bhadra Reservior. Jungle Resorts and Lodges has a very nice resort called River Tern Resort. Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary is a bio-diversity hotspot consisting of dry deciduous, moist deciduous forest and semi evergreen forests . Animals sighted in the park include tiger, leopard, wild dog, jackal, elephant, gaur, sloth bear, sambar, spotted dear, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, common langur, bonnet macaque, slender loris and the malabar giant squirrel amongst others.

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು -- ಒಂದಾನೊಂದು ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ

2011-06-09T07:05:00.000-07:00

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ರಸ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ: ಈ ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಸ್ತಳಗಳ ನಡುವೆ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಕಲ್ಪಿಸಿ:

ಮೆಜೆಸ್ಟಿಕ್
ಕೆ ಅರ್ ಮಾರ್ಕೆಟ್
ಹಾಕೀ ಸ್ಟೇಡಿಯಂ

ಉತ್ತರಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಈ ವೀಡಿಯೊ ನೋಡಿ

Baba Ramdev's profile as seen through google trends

2011-06-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Google trends is a google service that shows how often a particular search-term is entered relative to the total search-volume across various regions of the world, and in various languages. The horizontal axis of the main graph represents time (starting from some time in 2004), and the vertical is how often a term is searched for relative to the total number of searches, globally. Below the main graph, popularity is broken down by region, city and language. It is possible to refine the main graph by region and time period. I have tried to trace the meteoric rise of Ramakrishna Yadav, or more popularly Baba Ramdev through Google trends. The results are startling, the meteoric rise is very evident from the graph. The search results highlight all the 'highs' of Baba's career such as the tiff with Brinda Karat on medicines, launch of Bharat swabhiman, Anna Hazare and issues with lokpal bill upto the current fast in the Ramleela maidan.

Click on the image to see it completely.

Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped Our World and Will Define Our Future

2011-06-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Economist Reviews Exceptional People: How Migration Shaped Our World and Will Define Our Future by Ian Goldin, Geoffrey Cameron and Meera Balarajan. The book as the Economist point out provides a perspective on costs and benefits of migration. The review titled The future of mobility, observes that the book traces the historicity of human migration as well as the state of modern migration. One of the startling observations on the book made by the reviewer is :

"The authors knock down wild predictions that climate change will create 200m refugees by mid-century. Global warming may cause more frequent floods, but most flood victims go home when the waters recede. The authors cite as evidence the deluges that hit Mozambique in 2000 and America’s Gulf Coast in 2005".

This is contrary to the popular discourse on climate change induced migration. The observation that people return to their homes post disasters is valid. According to IPCC terminologies such sort of adaptation is termed 'seasonal retreat'. However, there are socio -- ecological limits to adaptation that drive people out resulting in permanent retreat. The Guardian Video below captures this dichotomy nicely.

At this stage, quantitative projections of displaced people/migrants/refugees are not robust enough because of complexities involved in modeling multiple factors that result in migration. We are yet to read the book to completely understand the rationale behind the observations made. Your views on the book and the issues raised are solicited.

Read the full review The future of mobility

Precautionary Principle and Climate Change Migration

2011-06-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

The precautionary principle or precautionary approach states that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking the action. In some legal systems such as the law of the European Union, the application of the precautionary principle has been made a statutory requirement. There is a considerable amount uncertainty associated with the science of climate change. This uncertainty multiplies when we try to understand the implications of climate change on migration. How important is scientific uncertainty, for any concrete action ?

At the backdrop of an UN report warning 50m environmental refugees by end of decade, Achim Steiner, UN Under-secretary General and Executive Director of UNEP reflects in an article in the Guardian called Climate migration will not wait for scientific certainty on global warming. He says

"Although reviewing science is an integral part of knowledge generation, we should not allow the critique to paralyze emerging science on climate change from reaching society – especially when the lives and livelihoods of considerable numbers of people are at risk."

Winter Crops, North India

2011-02-21T08:45:00.001-08:00

Winter Crops, North India, originally uploaded by Lingaraj G J.

As long as you're green, you're growing

2011-02-17T07:48:00.001-08:00

As long as you're green, you're growing, originally uploaded by Lingaraj G J.

The Falling Man

2011-02-17T07:14:00.000-08:00

This is a photograph taken by photographer Richard Drew during September 11 World Trade Centre attacks. This image evoked anger during the aftermath of 9/11 for not being sensitive to peoples sentiments. Mark D. Thompson a theosophian opined that this was "perhaps the most powerful image of despair at the beginning of the twenty-first century is not found in art, or literature, or even popular music. It is found in a single photograph."

The Falling Man

Also some what parlley this image reminded me of a poem we had in school called Five ways to kill a man by Edwin Brock . It is chilling in its deliberately emotionless tone as it uses the language of a practical manual to explore humanity's cruelty. The poem takes us through a series of approaches towards killing people through historical references from Jesus's crucification, medieval wars, world wars to the fifth way to kill a man:

Simpler, direct, and much more neat
is to see that he is living somewhere in the middle
of the twentieth century, and leave him there.

Lull

2010-09-05T02:50:00.001-07:00

Monsoon dusk, originally uploaded by Lingaraj G J.

Monsoon clouds hover over a sleepy village in Kuttanad, Kerala, as dusk sets in. Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala is below sea level. It is also the lowest point in India.

About a quarter of our GDP rely on monsoons with more than 60% of Indian agriculture still dependent on it. Over the last few years monsoons have become erratic with scientific findings pointing towards climate change. Few good men would sit in Mexico later this year to decide the future of many people. Their actions and inactions have strong implications to many people including the villagers in Kuttanad who have rising seas and inconsistent monsoons to face.

Scars of History

2010-09-05T02:44:00.001-07:00

World War II bullet marks at an apartment in Berlin S C A R S OF H I S T O R Y,
originally uploaded by Lingaraj G J.

They sucked us in;
King and country,
Christ Almighty
And the rest.
Patriotism,
Democracy,
Honor—
Words and phrases,
They either bitched or killed us

To Good Guys Dead- By Ernst Hemingway

Cheer em' up !

2010-09-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

Everything associated with commonwealth games seems to be cursed, at least thats what the media wants us to believe. Latest in the series of cursed-events is the A R Rahman composed theme song for the games. People have raised eyebrows on the 2 lakhs rupees per second song. I for one liked the song. The lyrics(by Mehmood) is mostly disyllabic which I think will make it easy for foreigners to pick the song.

The games have received little or no positive media coverage. Last week I was in Mumbai, the most populous city in the country and had to travel everyday from Andheri to Colaba for meetings. All through the route there were umpteen CLT20 posters around, but not a single poster or hoarding on CWG. Finally, found one in a Central Bank of India premises but that was because the bank is the official banking partner for the games.

The same media went gaga over a private tournament IPL. While team previews, strategies, cheerleaders, parties graced the sports-pages of our news papers, our idiot box had an army of retired cricketers and film actors commenting and analysing every action on and off the field. Why is the media indifferent now ? Of course the corruption associated with the games are of a very high magnitude as with most of the multi crore projects of the country. Of course, the capital city of the country is all dug up and stadiums are still unfinished. But is there something more to the bad publicity than just cases of mis management and governance failure. The Churumuri expose suggests that there is more to the hyper-ballistic coverage of CWG and Kalmadi by the media.

I would nt get into jingoistic arguments about the great Indian pride at stake and all. As as a sports-lover I am looking forward to the games with great anticipation. The people absent from the spot light at this point in time are sportsmen. I think they deserve a much better treatment from all of us, especially the fourth estate.

Yeh hain Mumbai meri jaan

2010-06-16T19:20:00.000-07:00

......

Wah Taj!

From Marine Drive, 10 PM

From Marine Drive, 6 PM

Mute witness, Flora

Bookshops near Flora Fountain, Dadabhay Naoroji Road

poach-eRR !

2010-05-09T22:22:00.001-07:00

poach-eRR !, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

This image was taken in Theni, Nilgiris, South India. In India it is estimated that the tiger is being poached at the rate of 1 per day. The rate of other animals are much faster. This chap is holding the skin and other important parts of snakes, fox, vultures. tiger teeth etc.

Poaching in India is organized and widespread and faces little opposition from ill equipped, unarmed and too few wardens and park rangers. A single warden can be responsible for patrolling up to 20 square kilometers a daunting task considering many of them don't have any shoes to wear let alone binoculars, vehicles or guns.

Meghaduta

2010-05-09T04:17:00.001-07:00

o
Meghaduta, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

Learn first, O cloud, the road that thou must go,
Then hear my message ere thou speed away;
Before thee mountains rise and rivers flow:
When thou art weary, on the mountains stay,
And when exhausted, drink the rivers' driven spray.

-Kalidasa

Who is Ramalinga Raju ?

2010-04-14T00:21:00.000-07:00

Overheard in a recent interview

Interviewer

" Who is Ramalinga Raju ?"

Interviewee in all enthusiasm
"A funny character in the recent hit film 3 idiots also known as Silencer"

Cheers !

2010-03-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

From Along the Ganges

(Sighted in Dehradoon)

Only .....

2010-03-25T02:11:00.001-07:00

Only ....., originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

When all the trees have been cut down,
When all the animals have been hunted,
When all the waters are polluted,
When all the air is unsafe to breathe,
..........................
Only then will you discover you cannot eat money.

Cree Prophesy

Must Watch

2010-03-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

Watched Harishchandrachi Factory, a Marathi film that happened to be India's official entry to the Oscars this year. The film, essentially is about the making of the first Indian feature film Raja Harischandra. The film is also about Dada Saheb Phalke, India's First Film Maker and his fascination and adventures with 'moving images' ( Chalan Chitr as he would say in the movie)

Its humorous, its warm, its entertaining, its absorbing and on the whole its a feel good experience sas melodramatic elements.

Must watch.
Download* the film (torrents) here,

*PS: Piracy for a noble cause, BTW there are strong rumors that the INTERNET would be nominated for this years Noble Peace Prize.

When one man saved thousand orangutans

2010-03-06T04:28:00.000-08:00

The following is a 20 min speech on Reforstation by Willie Smits, a pioneer in saving orangutans. A 20 year project that just astounds you with what can be achieved. By piecing together a complex ecological puzzle, Smits has found a way to re-grow clearcut rainforest in Borneo, saving local orangutans and vast areas of forest -- and creating a thrilling blueprint for restoring fragile ecosystems.

You will be inspired!

When Hari met Savitri :)

2010-03-06T03:42:00.001-08:00

When Hari met Savitri :), originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

When Harry Met Sally, he said

I came here because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible

But what did Hari say When he met Savitri ?

Holocaust Memorial, Berlin

2010-03-05T02:48:00.001-08:00

Holocaust Memorial, Berlin, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

"the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason".

I wish, I had got this in Class XII

2010-03-03T05:03:00.000-08:00

I moved to a new house. My old house had TV and internet, which helped me kill time. The new one did not have both. It is at this time that I was forced into reading, a habit which I had nearly given up in the recent times. I had bought Bill Bryson's Short History of Nearly Everything some time back. I opened a random page, it had a fascinating account of the long lost Dodos. I was hooked onto it instantly. It is a science book written for general public.

Bill Bryson takes us on a wonderful guided tour of our planet, the solar system and beyond. He acquaints us with the formation of life, fossils, gymnosperms, bryophytes, dinosaurs, discovery of elements and compounds, nuclear physics, plate tectonics amongst so many other things. Keeping us in company through this guided tour are some incredible people who've shaped our existence in the planet in countless little ways. The writing is simple, crisp and humorous. I also liked his sense of approximation of things like the size of proton of distance of star amongst other things which are otherwise difficult to comprehend. It not only gives us a scale of things both minute and big but also helps us visualize them and bring them out of abstraction to real.

Short of History of Nearly Everything puts Bill Bryson in the league of illustrious science writers like Richard Feynman, JBS Haldane, Stephan Jay Gould, Desmond Morris, Carl Sagan, Issac Issimov. I think it is one book which will increase our appreciation things around and beyond. I wish, I had got this book when I was in Class XII.

One tear-drop...upon the cheek of time

2009-12-15T09:15:00.001-08:00

One tear-drop...upon the cheek of time, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

Visited Agra last Sunday.

ನಿಯಮಗಳಿಲ್ಲದೇ

2009-12-10T11:07:00.000-08:00

ನಾನು ಅವು ಹೀಗೆ ಇರಬೇಕು

ಎ೦ದು ಎಂದೂ

ಬಯಸುವುದಿಲ್ಲ .....

ಸೌ೦ದರ್ಯವನ್ನಾಗಲಿ

ದೇಶಭಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನಾಗಲಿ

ಅವು ಬ೦ದ೦ಗೆ ತಗೋತೀನಿ

ನಿಯಮಗಳಿಗೆ ಬಾಗದೆ

ನಿಯಮಗಳಿಲ್ಲದೇ ..........

As it is ....

2009-12-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

I define nothing.
Not beauty,
Not patriotism.
I take each thing as it is,
Without prior rules about
What it should be

Bob Dylan

To Good Guys Dead

2009-12-07T21:05:00.001-08:00

S C A R S OF H I S T O R Y, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D. Second world war bullet marks on a wall in Berlin.

To Good Guys Dead

They sucked us in;

King and country,

Christ Almighty

And the rest.

Patriotism,

Democracy,

Honor—

Words and phrases,

They either bitched or killed us.

--Ernst Hemingway

Then and Now 1 - Safdarjung Madarasa

2009-11-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

Last two hundred years have been phenomenal. Political boundaries were drawn and redrawn, we were able to travel at supersonic speeds, radio and the internet shrunk the world, new drugs were discovered, populations grew, megacities sprouted, man landed on the moon......... the list is endless; and you or anybody would not dispute that the rate of change over the last few years was exponential if the rate was linear for over 2000 years before that.

This series named THEN and NOW aims to look at those changes around us using photography. The work of Danieles, Samuel Bourne, Lal Deen Dayal, James Hunter, Basel Mission Fathers, Life archives and many others are in public domain. This series is a tribute to all these photographers. As Susan Sontag said in On Photography....the most grandiose result of the photographic enterprise is to give us the sense that we can hold the whole world in our heads -- as an anthology of images.

As a warm up to this grand project I have the Delhi monument Safdarjung Madarasa. The first photograph was taken by Samuel Bourne, the British Photographer in 1890's. You can see weed infested monument enclosure in the first photograph and the carefully restored monument in the second photograph.

Atithi, The Guest

2009-11-07T02:49:00.000-08:00

I found this video of the Kannada film, Atithi in videogirmit. In the backdrop of organized terrorism threatening world peace, Atithi tries to simulate the same situation at a micro-level by putting a terrorist and peace-loving doctor together under the same roof for a few days and examines the outcome of their complex interactions. 'Atithi' as the title suggest, means Guest. The film is about an un-invited guest, played by Prakash Rai who is terrorist. The film is set in a picturesque small malenadu village which is surrounded by mountains, creeks and greenery.

This post is for my friends who have not watched the film. 90 mins film (with English subtitles and commentary) has been shortened to 8.2mins. Do watch and let me know how you felt.

Atithi - The Guest - Movie (2005)

All roads lead to thee

2009-11-05T03:23:00.001-08:00

All roads lead to THEE !, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

This is one of my earliest images. It was taken with my cousins 3Mp Sony Camera. This pic was taken in K.R. Market bus stop ( notice the top of bus) from a bus.To the right, Descending Mysore Road Flyover and at the right Jama Masjid, Bangalore, Largest Mosque in Bangalore.

Dehistories 1 - ಹಳ್ಳಿ ಇಂದ ಡೆಲ್ಲಿಗೆ

2009-11-02T23:11:00.000-08:00

It’s been more than 2.5 years since I landed in Delhi. These 600 odd days have been eventful. It has been a struggle to discover Bangalore in Delhi and the ultimate realization of the meaningless of my quest.

I wasn’t really exited when I saw my name in the list of selected candidates. Honestly, I dint know how to react to it. Slowly with friend’s reactions excitement crept in. My university exams were on and I couldn’t concentrate on the exams. The rosy thoughts of Delhi occupied my mind. I had visited Delhi twice before. The sight seeing of a place as a tourist when you are made see the best of it leaves a strong impression of that place. Similar thing happened in me. I imagined myself going to film fests, plays, seminars, visit lots of places [courtesy Delhi’s location], and explore Delhi properly.

On the day of departure it was an odd feeling {a bit nice also} to be at the centre of everybody’s attention .Some of my friends and relatives had come to the railway station to wish me good bye. Shaking hands with each of them was like receiving ‘presidential guard’! I was neutral [lost somewhere deep within…] the day had passed so fast that I had little time to get emotional. I waved my hand from the window as the train left, and received many such waves from other side. Later I spent some time in recapping how the day had passed. A relative of mine cautioning against terror attacks, a friends admiration for Delhi’s girls , my grandmothers apprehension about Delhi’s weather and my mother’s about Delhi food all filled my thoughts until I slept . I had a funny dream that night about a friend of mine doing Shirsasana!

I reached Delhi on the Independence Day. A family friend was supposed to pick me up but he dint turn up. It was the first in the series of bouncers that were waiting to welcome me! I had lots of luggage and desperately needed somebody’s help. Since I had not got the hostel I also had to make my own arrangements for accommodation.

There is a song in the Kannada film Chinnari mutha called

“ ishtond jana illi yaru nannoru
Ishtond mane illi elli nammane
Elli elli elli , nammane? “

A song about a village boy’s anxieties and his predicament when he comes to a city where he sees millions of people and thousands of houses and wonders who were his and where his home was ……….

My state was similar to that!

“Elli elli elli nammane “

...........................................................................=>Next in Delhistories=My house hunting spree

Remaking songs ..... Did Jayant Kaikini plagiarise the lyrics of 'Anisutide'?

2009-11-01T07:53:00.000-08:00

This could probably be the most successful Kannada song of the last decade. It has been penned by admirable Jayant Kaikini. What I noticed recently was the first few lines of the song seems to be a translation of the Hindi Classic कभी कभी मेरे दिल में ख़याल आता है, See it for yourselves .

कभी कभी मेरे दिल में ख़याल आता है

की जैसे तुझको बनाया गया है मेरे लिए

तू अबसे पहले सितारों में बस रही थी कहीं

तुझे ज़मीन पे बुलाया गया है मेरे लिए

ಅನಿಸುತಿದೆ ಯಾಕೋ ಇಂದು

ನೀನೆಯ್ನೆ ನನ್ನವಳಿಂದು

ಮಾಯದಾ ಲೋಕದಿಂದ

ನನಗಾಗೆ ಬಂದವಳಿಂದು

The song deviates greatly afterwards. Do you think Jayant Kaikini plagiarized it, or is it just 'inspired' from Kabhi kabhi?

All is not well on the water front

2009-10-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

The post is about the two most vulnerable regions to Climate Change in India which are likely to go underwater sometime in the next century; the Sunderbans region in West Bengal and the Kuttanad Region in Kerala.

Kuttanad is the deepest region in India, situated below sea level. It is located in South Central Kerala and has a distinctive ecological and social landscape. It is sandwiched between the Vembanad Lake and the Arabian Sea. It is one of the very few regions in world where agriculture is practiced below sea level. It has earned the sobriquets, Rice bowl and Fish basket of Kerala. It is often listed amongst the best eco tourism destinations in the world, (Alleppy and back waters tourism).

Kuttanad -- Album

Sunderbans is an archipelago traversed by countless creeks, streams and rivers, consisting of the largest mangrove forest in the world. The area lies southeast of the city of Kolkata in the 24 Parganas District of West Bengal and is a part of the Gangetic Delta. It is shared between two neighboring countries, Bangladesh and India. It is perhaps the only place on earth that is threatened at once by cyclones, tidal waves, lack of fresh water, tigers, crocodiles and poisonous snakes. This coupled with the socio economic dynamics of the region gives it a very unique

Sundarbans--Album

IPCC predicts that by the end this century the sea level could rise by 0.8 meters. This has catastrophic implications to these two regions and beyond. Studies predict that a 0.6m increase in sea level could submerge the entire Sunderban region. Few good men would sit in Copenhagen later this year to decide the future of many people. Their actions and inactions along with ours (Carbon intensive urbanites) have strong implications to many people including the people in Kuttanad and Sunderbans who have, rising seas and hungry tides to face.

There is no energy crisis, only a crisis of ignorance.

2009-10-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

Last October, I had been to the manufacturing site of Solon, in Berlin.

Beauty

2009-10-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

ಜಗತ್ತು ೧೦೦ ಜನರ ಒ೦ದು ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ..

2009-10-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

ಜಗತ್ತು ೧೦೦ ಜನರ ಒ೦ದು ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದರೆ....
ಆ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ೬೦ ಏಷಿಯನ್ನರು,

೧೪ ಆಫ್ರಿಕನ್ನರು,

೧೨ ಯುರೋಪಿಯನ್ನರು,

೮ ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಅಮೆರಿಕನ್ನರು,

೫ ಅಮೆರಿಕನ್ನರು ಮತ್ತು

ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಪಸಿಫಿಕಿನ ಓರ್ವರು ಇರ್ತಾರೆ ಆ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ.

ಗಂಡಸರು ೫೧ ಜನರಾದರೆ ೪೯ ಹೆಂಗಸರು

೩೩ ಕ್ರಿಶ್ಚಿಯನ್ನರು, ೭೭ ಮತ್ತಿತರರು

೮೦ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಆಕಾಶವೇ ಸೂರು

೫೦ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಉಟಕ್ಕೆ ಗತಿಯಿಲ್ಲ, ಒಬ್ಬ ಹಸಿವಿಗೆ ಆಹಾರವಾಗಿದ್ದಾನೆ

೩೩ ಜನರಿಗೆ ಕೊಳತ ನೀರೆe ಗತಿ

೨೪ ಜನರ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗಲೂ ರಾತ್ರಿ ಬುಡ್ಡಿಯೆ ಬೆಳಕೇ ಗತಿ

೭ ಜನಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದ ಸವಲತ್ತಿದೆ

ಒಬ್ಬನು ಕಾಲೇಜು ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ

ಒಬ್ಬನಿಗೆ ಏಡ್ಸ್ ರೋಗ ಇದೆ.

ಇದುವೇ ನಮ್ಮೂರು.ನಮಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲದ ಉರು.

ಕ್ಯಾಂಟೀನಿನ ಗಾಜಿನಿ೦ದ

2009-10-25T06:26:00.001-07:00

PEEP-IN RESTAURANT, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

ಈ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನ ನಾನು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ವಿಶ್ವೇಶ್ವರಯ್ಯ Museum-ನ ಮಹಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೆಗೆದಿದ್ದು.. ಕ್ಯಾಂಟೀನಿನ ಗಾಜಿನಿ೦ದ ಇಣುಕುತ್ತಿರುವ ಈ ಕೋತಿ, ತನ್ನ ಹಸಿದ ಕ೦ದನಿಗೆ ಊಟ ಹುಡುಕುತ್ತಿರುವಬಹುದೇ ?

ಅಳಿದ ಮೇಲೆ

2009-10-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

ಅಳಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ಏನು ? ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಅನಾದಿ ಕಾಲದಿಂದ ನಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಕಾಡುತ್ತಲೇ ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಸಾಧು ಸಂತರು ಜಪ ತಪಗಳಿಂದ, ಸಾವಿನ ಮರ್ಮವನ್ನು ಭೇದಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಲೇ ಬಂದಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ನನ್ನ ಮೊದಲ ಲೇಖನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸತ್ತು ಬದುಕಿದ ಒಬ್ಬ ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯ ಪರಿಚಯವನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.

ಇವರ ಹೆಸರು ಲಾಲ್ ಬಿಹಾರಿ ಎಂದು. ಇವರು ಉತ್ತರಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಒಬ್ಬ ಕೃಷಿಕ. ೧೯೭೬ ಒಂದು ದಿನ ಅವರು crop loan ಗೆ ಅರ್ಜಿ ಹಾಕ್ಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋದಾಗ, ಅವರಿಗೆ ಒಂದು ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ಸತ್ಯದ ಅರಿವಾಯಿತು. ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರು ಮೃತರಾಗಿ ಎರಡು ವರ್ಷಗಳಾಗಿದ್ದವಂತೆ. ಅವರ ಚಿಕಪ್ಪ ತಹಸಿಲ್ದಾರರಿಗೆ ಲಂಚ ತಿನ್ನಿಸಿ ಇವರನ್ನು ಮುಗಿಸಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದರು. ಅವರ ಜೀವನ ಒಂದು Death Certificate ಇಂದ ಕೊನೆಗೊಂಡಿತ್ತು. ತದನಂತರ ತಬರ ಕಥೆಯಾಯಿತು ಇವರ ಜೀವನ. ತಾನು ಬದುಕಿದ್ದೇನೆ ಎಂದು ಸರ್ಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಬಿತು ಪಡಿಸಲು ಹೆಣಗಾಡಿ ವಿಫಲರಾದರು. ಅಮೇಲೆ ತನ್ನ ತಿಥಿಯನ್ನು ತಾನೇ ಮಾಡಿಸಿ, ತನ್ನ ಹೆಂಡತಿಗೆ ವಿಧವೆ pension ಗೆ ಅಪ್ಲೈ ಮಾಡಿದನು. ರಾಜೀವ್ ಗಾಂಧಿ, ಅಟಲ್ ಬಿಹಾರಿ ವಾಜಪೇಯಿಯವರ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಚುನಾವಣೆಗೆ ನಿಂತಿ ತನ್ನ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯನ್ನು ಮನವರಿಕೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಯತ್ನಿಸಿದನು. ತನ್ನ ಹೆಸರಿಗೆ 'ಮ್ರುತಕ್'' ಎಂಬ ಉಪನಾಮವನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡನು. ಆಗ ಅವನಿಗೆ ತನ್ನತೆಯೇ ಸುಮಾರು ನೂರು ಜನ 'ಜೀವಂತ ಶವಗಳು' ಇರುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯಿತು. ಅವರಿಗೋಸ್ಕರ ಮೃತಕ ಸಂಘವನ್ನು ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದನು. ೨೦೦೪ರ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಈ ಸಂಘದಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಮಾರು ಇಪ್ಪತ್ತು ಸಾವಿರ ಸದಸ್ಯರಿದ್ದರು. ಉತ್ತರಪ್ರದೇಶ, ಬಿಹಾರ, ಪಂಜಾಬಿನಿಂದಲೂ ಸದಸ್ಯರಿದ್ದರು. ನಾಲ್ಕು ಜನರಿಗೆ ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮ ಸಿಗಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗಿತ್ತು ಈ ಸಂಘ.

ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಿತ TIME magzine ನವರು ಇವರ ಸಂದರ್ಶನ ಮಾಡಿದರು. ಲಾಲ್ ಬಿಹಾರಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಶಾ೦ತಿಗಾಗಿ ೨೦೦೩ರ ಇಗ್ನೋಬೇಲ್ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಲಭಿಸಿತು. ಇಗ್ನೋಬೇಲ್ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ನೊಬೆಲ್ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ವಿಡ೦ಬಿಸುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶದಿ೦ದ ನೀಡಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಜನರನ್ನು ಮೊದಲು ನಗಿಸಿ ನ೦ತರ ಯೋಚಿಸುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುವುದು ಇದರ ಮೂಲ ಉದ್ದೇಶ. ಲಾಲ್ ಬಿಹಾರಿ ಅವರ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಪತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ರೀತಿ ಇವರ ಸಾಧನೆಯನ್ನು ಹೊಗಳುತ್ತ ಈ ರೀತಿ ಹೇಳುತ್ತೆ

'ಉತ್ತರಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಲಾಲ್ ಬಿಹಾರಿಯವರ ತ್ರಿವಳಿ ಸಾಧನೆಗಾಗಿ. ಒ೦ದು. ಸತ್ತ ನ೦ತರವೂ ಸಕ್ರಿಯ ಜೀವನ ನೆದಿಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ . ಎರಡು ಎಕಾ೦ಗಿಯಗಿ ಮರಣಾನ೦ತರ ಅಧಿಕಾರಶಾಯಿಯ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಹೋರಾಟ ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ. ಮೂರು. ಸತ್ತವರಿಗೆ ಸ೦ಘ ಕಟ್ಟಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಮುಕ್ತಿ ಕೊಡಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಈ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ.'

ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಏನ್ ಹೇಳಲಿ, ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲವು ಸಾಧ್ಯ ಅನ್ನಬಹುದಷ್ಟೇ ! .

Potsdamer platz - The place to be

2009-10-22T07:43:00.001-07:00

Berlin wall / Potsdamer platz, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

You can see a graffiti yukt Berlin wall and in the background a hoarding which says, Potsdamer Platz, The place to be.

Potsdamer Platz has a very interesting history. It was the busiest square in Europe in 1800s, First electric traffic lights were installed as early as 1880s, [such was the volume of traffic here itseems]. It was devasted in World War II air raids. Post war it was sealed off from the world as it was a part of 'no mans land ' between East and West Berlin.

There is an interesting scene in this film called Wings of Desire, (1987 Wim Wenders German movie Der Himmel). It was shot on the old, almost entirely void Potsdamer Platz before the Berlin Wall fell. In one scene an old man named Homer, played by actor Curt Bois searches in vain for Potsdamer Platz, but finds only rubble, weeds and the graffiti-covered Berlin Wall. This scene gives a good impression of the surroundings at the time during Cold War which are completely unlike what can be seen today.

Now its the heart of the metropolis, full with life. It contains Berlin's best malls, multiplexes and auditoriums; and to remain true to its historical claim to fame, lots of traffic!.

Critically Endagered !

2009-10-22T07:01:00.001-07:00

Reminiscent of an era gone by !, originally uploaded by N-O-M-A-D.

I had taken this pic of an old garage near Shivajinagar Bus Stand, Bangalore in 2005. I never knew that scooter garages could be so nice until I saw this old colonial building.

Last time when I was crossing Shivajinagar(2008) I just scanned around for this building, this building was not there. Brigade Group were building a commercial center there. We talk about species getting endangered. In Bangalore structures like these are critically endangered.

English is a phunny language, Isn't it ?

2009-10-19T01:55:00.000-07:00

This is a peom called 'The Chaos' by Gerard Nolst Trenité , Dutch author, traveler who wrote frequently for an Amsterdam weekly paper, with a linguistic column under the pseudonym Charivarius.

If you can pronounce correctly every word in this poem, you will be speaking English better than 90% of the native English speakers in the world. After trying the verses, a Frenchman is believed have said he'd prefer six months of hard labour to reading six lines aloud. Try them yourself.

The Chaos

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it’s written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation’s OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation (think of Psyche!)
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won’t it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It’s a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough,
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!

You must have noticed that The Chaos is written from the viewpoint of the foreign learner of English. In Hrishikesh Mukerjee's Chupke Chupke Dharmendra's character kinda reflect similar sentiments towards English language. Nevertheless it has become an international language and a necessity in a globalized world. If we do not know English today it would be our loss and not English's. what do you think ?

In Search Of Kurunji

2009-10-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

Kurinji (Strobilanthes Kunthiana) is a shrub which grows extensively in the shola forests of Western Ghats. It occurs at an altitude of 1800 to 2700 metres. It is a gregarious shrub characterized by its peculiar blooming pattern. It blooms once in 12 years. The flowers of Kurinji which are bluish purple in Colour are known to have given its name to the Nilgiris which literally mean Blue Mountains. During the gregarious blooming it forms a blue blanket around the Western Ghats. At present due to human interference it is restricted to a small stretch betweenMunnar and Kodaikanal..

When we came across this bit of information the idea of making a documentary film blossomed in our heads. When we further probed into the issue newer aspects started to emerge.

Kurinji was a symbol of love and romanticism in many Sangam poems.
There was an old ‘desiya raga’ called Kurinji.
There was a temple in Kodaikanal called Kurinji Andavar temple.
The Muduvar tribals are known to calculate their age based on blossoming of this plant.

We embarked on a journey to the ghats of Nilgiris. The idea was to verify the information we have got and to collect as much info as we can. We started our search from Munnar. We met the forest officer and got permission to trek Anaimudi, the highest peak of Western Ghats. Kurinji was known to thrive in the Eravikulam national park on Anaimudi. Only Rajamalai part of the park was allowed to the visitors. The trek was pleasant along the Kannan Devan hills. Even though it was early winter the weather was ok. Every purple flower seemed like Kurinji. We used to take photographs, collect samples and then proceed. It was already noon, we were still halfway, hungry and tired. My friend then spotted an animal gracing on the slope.

It was Nilgiri Tahr , an endangered animal of sheep family. The sight of the animal lifted our spirits. Within in a few steps we noticed herds of Nilgiri Tahrs gracing a shrub. The shrub was well distributed. It dint take much time to realize that it was Kurinji. The Nilgiri Tahr is known to enjoy a symbiotic relationship with Kurinji. The plant dominated the flora of that region. We dint see any gregarious blooming as such, but in patches. … The sun was setting. The only thing that made us descend was the rule which doesn’t allow any one to stay after 6 pm. The same evening we met a photographer who had first reported about the plant. He confirmed media reports about gregarious blossoming in 2006 and its 12 year cycle. He was particularly exited about the economic returns the gregarious blossoming would bring due to the tourists influx!

We then proceeded to Kodaikanal via Palani. Kodaikanal promised much. From Kurinji departmental stores to Kurinji travels Kurinji was every where, here. The next morning we went to Kurinji Andavar temple .As soon as we entered a Kurinji plant greeted us in the courtyard. Next to it on the wall, it was written in English Kurinji plant next bloom 2006. The temple is a recent structure belonging to the 30’s. It was built by an English lady. She used to come to this spot every day to have a view of Palani temple. Due to the mist she couldn’t view it for some days. Apparently lord Muruga came in her dream and asked her to build a temple in that spot. The temple has a festival once in 12 years coinciding with the gregarious blossoming of the flower.

We visited the natural history museum at Shembagnur (6 Km from Kodai) and Palani hills conservation council .both the visits was of very less use to us. Every one knew of 12 year thing but nothing more. … … we got to know very less about the tribal practices regarding blossoming. Although a person said that there was a tribe which gathers honey during this time which has medicinal value.

Back in Bangalore, a Professor at I.I.Sc said that the 12 year cycle is big myth .Anyway the documentary dint take off due to various reasons. Personally for us the search was an enriching experience. It brought out the invisible bond between various life forms. Long before J C Bose could discover that plants have life, in the hills of Nilgiris there was a flower which was much more than just FLOWER, and there were people who venerated it. Although the veneration is missing today, people are surely waiting to welcome it in 2006.

Tit Wit -1

2009-10-15T03:05:00.001-07:00

I think he is waiting for tomorrow's newspaper to declare him out

Harsha Bhogle during the infamous Sydney Test 2008 when, Michael Clarke thick edged to slip off Kumble and was still waiting for the umpire's finger to go up.

Keeping Murugesh's memory alive.

2009-10-14T02:17:00.000-07:00

It has been almost 100 days since we lost our dear friend Murugesh. Without getting sentimental I would like to share a few things with all of you. Few days back, Murugesh's father called me. He said

Murugesh was close to you all, I feel you knew him better than some of us. What were his dreams and wishes? We intend to do something in his name, I want you all to help us in this regard. We do not want any financial help here, you guys should take lead and help us keep his memory alive.

Murugesh in front of Kavimane, Kuppalli- This was a bizzare trip, planned post Poornachandra Tejaswi's death, We just left Bangalore in a bike without even knowing where to go, Mudigere or Kuppalli, by the time we reached Nelmangala, it was confirmed that Poornachandra Tejaswi's last rites will be conducted in Kuppalli, so we left towards Shimoga. Nothing was planned and everything was fun. Manu joined us in Tumkur in his trademark Kudka style.

Murugesh sipping coffee prepared by Manoharanna in Manoharannas room, Shivanahalli. In one of the umpteen number of visits we had to Shivanahalli. This photo was taken when we visited Shivanahalli, just before I left for Delhi.

On way to Shivanahalli

The ever smiling Japan Kulla with Pramod and Chetan

I came across this poem by Mary Elizabeth Fry accidently, I can not stop my self from quoting it here.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,; I am not there, I do not sleep.
: I am in a thousand winds that blow,; I am the softly falling snow.; I am the gentle showers of rain,; I am the fields of ripening grain.; I am in the morning hush,; I am in the graceful rush
: Of beautiful birds in circling flight,; I am the starshine of the night.; I am in the flowers that bloom,; I am in a quiet room.; I am in the birds that sing,; I am in each lovely thing.
: Do not stand at my grave and cry,; I am not there. I do not die.

Murugesh is not there, He did not die.

Death is the end of life and not relationship. He will continue to remain the friend he was. Murugesh's father intends to start this initiative( a charity or something like that) on Murugesh's birthday in January(23). We have around 70 days. We should chalk out a plan what we could do and how? We can have a google group to enable better communication.I humbly urge all of you to pitch in your ideas, opinions, availability etc in this initiative to keep Murugesh's memory alive.

Gold 'Kela' Awards

2009-10-12T01:50:00.000-07:00

Golden Kela Awards are given to the worst performance in the hindi cinema industry for acting, direction etc etc in India. It has been inspired from the Hollywood's Golden Raspberries. Golden Raspberries was created by John Wilson in 1980 as 'anti Oscars' awards to 'dis'-honour worst acting, direction, singing etc.

The Golden Kela awards have been constituted by Sundaas Film Institute, which is an unprofitable organization dedicated to the discovery and flushing away of excrement being passed off as films. This film institute has been founded by Anant Singh, President for Life and so far only member. So far the awards have been given only once in 2008. The awardees list include singer, actor, music composer Himesh Reshammiya bagging Worst Actor Male for his role in Karzzzzzz(Sorry: dont remember the exact number of Zs in the title), and his song Tandoori Nights from the same film has bagged the most irritating song of the year. Priyanka Chopra, filmfare best actress gets worst actor female for Dostana and Love Story 2050. The awardees list is given below.

• Worst Actor Male: Himesh Reshammiya for Karzzzzzzzz.
• Worst Actor Female: Priyanka Chopra for Dostana, Love Story 2050.
• Worst Film: Love Story 2050.
• Worst Director: Kunal Kohli for Thoda Life Thoda Magic.
• Worst Supporting Actor Male: Salman Khan for Hello.
• Worst Supporting Actor Female: Kangana Ranaut for Fashion.
• Worst Debutant Male: Harman Baweja.
• Worst Debutant Female: Anoushka Sharma.
• Bawra Ho Gaya Hai Ke Award: Ram Gopal Varma for Everything He Did.
• When Did This Come Out Award: Wafaa.
• Lajja Award for Worst Treatment of a Serious Issue Award: Deshdrohi.
• Insensitivity Award: Fashion.
• Exceptional Dialogue Delivery: Tusshar Kapoor.
• Dara Singh award for the worst accent: Katrina Kaif.
• Most Atrocious Lyrics Award: Anvita Dutt Guptani for Lucky Boy from Bachna Ae Haseeno.
• Most Original Story: Hari Puttar.
• Most Irritating Song of the Year Award: Tandoori Nights from Karzzzzzzzz.

I feel that the institute has overlooked some special artistic contributions in past year.Notable Ommissions include Emraan Hashmi, Fardeen Khan, Anu Malik and Rakhi Sawant. Lets identify their creative contributions and 'dis' honour them. Lets add some more...... ....

Vinod Kambli Award for the worst sports film: Harman Baweja starrer Victory.
Anu Malik Award for Original Music Score: Pritam ( Anu Malik lost it because he was busy judging Indian Idol, so dint have the time to copy music)
Title of the year: Tezaab, the acid (Please do not confuse this with Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit starrer Tezaab: this is a dubbed Telugu film)
Longest film of the year(in terms of distance): Bombay to Bankok {Unfortunately Chandni Chowk to China lost by 376 km}
Mentos Dimag ki Batti Jala De award: Ghajini
Best Science Fiction award: Jodhaa Akbar
Zee Horror Show award for the worst horror film: Phoonk
Spelling bee award for the worst spelt film title: Yuvvvraaj
Best Educational Film: Ek Vivah Eisa Bhi
Crime Master GoGo Award for the worst villain: Amitabh Bachhan for Babban in RGVs Aag.
.
.
Will be updated
You add some more ..........

Dilemmas of Development

2009-09-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

"This morning I came, I
saw, and
I was conquered”
- FD Roosvelt, While inaugurating the Hoover Dam

Tehri Dam dint really conquer the prejudiced 'me', when I went to visit it in 2007. We reached Tehri via Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dev Prayag.

Tehri Dam

Tehri dam is the fourth tallest earth and rock filled dam in the world and the tallest in Asia at around 840m. It is situated at around 650m above mean sea level at the confluence of Bhilangna and Bhagirathi river in beautiful tehri garhwal.

Tehri Garhwal

Tehri Garhwal Landscape

The word 'Tehri' comes from the sanskrit word trihari, which means place which can cure three kinds of sins; sins of the mind, of words and of actions. There is a recorded history of habitation in Tehri Garhwal for over two thousand years. Tehri was the capital city of the princly state of Tehri Garhwal . According to 1991 census, it had a population of 268,885 people. A dam was concieved across Bhagirathi in the early seventies. In 1986 an Indo-Soviet agreement brought Soviet expertise and aid of approximately $416 million to the project. In 2001 the German export credit agency Hermes guaranteed loans to Voith Siemens Hydro to provide generating equipment for Tehri.Construction began in 1978, cofferdam was complete by 1996. The project was complete in 2003.

All is not well in the waterfront. The reservoir has completely submerged the town of Tehri adding the prefix 'old' to it. 40 villages have also been submerged completely and 72 partially, 5200ha of agricultural land has been lost and over a million people have been displaced. The only reminder of the past, towers of Kings palace can be seen peeping from the water. The number of people displaced by dams is estimated at between 40m and 80m, most of them in China and India.

Tehri Dam is situated in the highly active Central Himalayan Seismic Zone. It is designed to withstand earthquakes of up to 7.2 on the Richter scale although experts predict that earthquakes of magnitude 8.5 or more could strike this region. This is the only major hydro project across Bhagirathi, If the dam were to burst, several major towns downstream of the dam with a total population of over half a million people could be wiped out. The chief engineer of the project whom we interviewed said that Rishikesh could be under water in ten minutes after the event. The dam has been carefully designed keeping all these risks in mind. Tehri dam is an earth fill dam shaped like a hill. The river is S-shaped near the dam and a substantial portion of the water pressure will be borne not by the dam structure itself but by the hillsides.

Benefits of the project:

The dam is expected to generate 2400MW of power and light Delhi, UP, Haryana.
Provide 270 million gallons drinking water per day to the metropolis of Delhi, Uttarakhand and UP states.
Provide irrigatation to over 900000 ha land in Haryana and UP.

Delhi is the capital city of India, UP and Haryana are densly populated agricultural states. All three are critical for India's growth. This summer Delhi reeled under severe heat which was made worse by power crunch. There were frequent power cuts. Power cuts at over 40 degree heat would make, even the most mildest of persons go violent. It was extremely frustating, I could not sleep the nights whenever there was power cuts. I spent the whole night cursing everyone right from the dog barking outside my house, my landlord to the chief minister. There were protests as well. All my activist tendencies melted in the heat. On the other the above mentioned states of North India suffered heavily because of failed monsoons. The government declared the event as decade's worst drought.

There was a popular anti dam struggle led by none other than Sundarlal Bahuguna. In 1978 a Committee to Oppose the Tehri Dam or the Tehri Bandh Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti (TBVSS) was formed under Chandi Prasad Bhatt. TVBSS succeeded in pressuring authorities to review the project on several occasions.

The project was abandoned in the mid 1980s after being sharply criticized on environmental grounds by a government appointed review committee. In 1987 the project was again referred to a committee of the Ministry of Environment to assess its safety and environmental and social impacts. This committee unanimously ruled against the project but the Indian government overruled its findings and restarted the project. After a 74-day hunger strike in 1996, Sunderlal Bahuguna forced the government to set up a review of the seismic, environmental and rehabilitation aspects of the project. The Hanumantha Rao Committee submitted its report and recommendations in 1997. The government has failed to implement most of the committee’s recommendations, especially those concerning rehabilitation. In 1992 environmentalists filed a case in the Supreme Court alleging that project authorities had not acquired the mandatory environmental clearance for the dam. The petition addresses environment, seismicity and rehabilitation issues. The court cited scientific uncertainity and permitted the completion of the dam. There is a dailogue in this Kannada film called Dweepa which dealt with similar issues of dams and displacement; The protogonist asks a government officer ''Sir, Is it fair to drown some people to help many ?" I don't really have the answer, Even I am benefitting from the Dam in countless direct and indirect ways. I think there is no clear demarcation of what is right and what is wrong here? It’s a very thin, blurred line which keeps shifting with time

Ends does not really justify the means.I think nobody would oppose the power or water but people would oppose the mode in which they are produced.We really have quite a few practical alternatives. Instead of going to one large multi purpose centralized hydro project, it would have been better to go for many mini hydro projects. Decentralized solutions with respect to use of renewable energy and watershed planning and management are never paid attention to. Measures should be taken to reduce transmission losses in power. Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) the 36th President of the United States once said A nation that fails to plan intelligently for the development and protection of its precious waters will be condemned to wither because of its shortsightedness. The hard lessons of history are clear, written on the deserted sands and ruins of once proud civilizations.

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water" - LORAN EISELY

2009-09-30T12:04:00.000-07:00

Only 2.5% of the world's water is not salty, and two-thirds of that is trapped in the icecaps and glaciers. Of what is left, about 20% is in remote areas and most of the rest comes at the wrong time and in the wrong place, as with monsoons and floods. The amount of fresh water available for human use is less than 0.08% of all the water on the planet. About 70% of the fresh water is already used for agriculture, and a report says the demands of industry and energy will grow rapidly. The World Water Council report estimates that in the next two decades the use of water by humans will increase by about 40%, and that 17% more water than is available will be needed to grow the world's food. I can not help but invoke Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Alone, alone, all, all alone
Alone on a wide wide sea!
And never a saint took pity on
My soul in agony

Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
S T Coleridge

Through the pages of history, A visit to Jewish Museum, Berlin

2009-09-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Some technical issues with formatting. sorry
Jacob Bronowski, the British mathematician, biologist, writer, presenter and great humanist is believed to have pleaded to the UN general assembly to keep the ruins of Hiroshima undisturbed. He felt that such a memorial would remind future generations about the horrors of nuclear warfare. Unfortunately his cry went unheard. Large investments very pumped in and Hiroshima was reconstructed.

I visited Jewish Museum, Berlin, last October. It is one such attempt to keep the tragedies of past alive. I got an opportunity to look closely into things which I had read in history books, things which had moved me when I had watched Schindlers list or read Anne Frank’s diary.

Jewish Museum, Berlin

It is a recent structure inaugurated in 2001. It was designed by Polish born American Architect Daniel Lebiskind., the architect who is designed the 9/11 memorial. It is a very thoughtfully designed structure and as architect himself puts it “its open for different interpretations”.

The museum has three axes, the axis of continuity, the axis of emigration and the axis of holocaust.the pic below is the junction for the axis of emigration and the axis of the holocaust.

Junction -- Axis of holocaust and Axis of Exile

The axis of the holocaust slopes gently upward to an empty, 24 meter high space called holocaust tower, it is unheated and lit only by natural light falling through a diagonal opening in the wall. It is interpreted as a space for holocaust victims.

Holocaust Tower

The axis of emigration opens to the garden of exile. Garden of exile is the only rectangular structure in the building, 49 columns filled with earth arranged in a square, standing vertically on a slanting floor. It is like a maze of sorts. Olive willows grow out of the columns (Olive being the symbol of peace?). The stones on the ground are angular. Here we are expected to walk alone.It is supposed to contain the uncertainties of going into an exile. The apprehensions of going into an alien land not knowing what is in store. The maze confused and left me with an odd dizzy feeling. I think thats what it feels when you go into an exile..

Garden of Exile

All along the axises there are photographs, personal documents and keepsakes that have been donated to the museum. If we were left with only 10 minutes to wind up everything we have and run for our lives, I think photographs would be one of the few things that we would take.

Gallery

Its rightly said that a photograph conveys what thousand words cant convey. Every photograph had an amazing story to tell. Stories of tragedy and hope. I have shared some such stories below.

THE SMUGGLED LETTER
At the age of 25, Hans – Peter Messerschmidt was deported from Berlin to Auschwitz. Shortly after his arrival, he managed to smuggle out a letter to a friend, in which he writes about the conditions of Auschwitz. Hans Peter Messerschmidt survived.

Smuggled letter

"The daily routine goes like this: 4 a.m. wake, Make beds( Straw mattress with 2 blankets) Get dressed(1 shirt, 1 shorts, 1 striped trousers, 1 striped jacket, 2 threadbare socks, 2 wooden clogs), enough to freeze in. Then breakfast, standing in open air: 1/2 loaf = 350 gm, 1 small piece sausage or margarine or cheese. 2 * a week 1/2 loaf long work time additional ration ( meat 200 gm per week). 6am roll call for about 4,00 prisioners. then march out to the different working places on the building site of the Buna wall belonging to I. G. Farbe"

IN MEMORY OF A FRIEND
These are the last photos of Alfred Tworoger. They are from an album his girlfriend, Marga Gussinoff, carried when she was deported. Marga, a Berliner, survived the Bergan- Belsen concentration camp and managed to save the album. The photo was taken in 1941.

Alfred Tworoger

Marga remembers “…. it was the only day we went out ‘wityhout wearing our star’…. very risky. We were yound, and dint know what the next day would bring …. We were lucky that nobody recognized us.” Alfred Tworoger took his own life in prison in 1942.

MY DEAR BOY !

In 1939, fifteen – year – old Gert Berliner went to Sweden on a children’s transport. In his luggage was his stuffed toy monkey. Gert’s parents, Paul and Sophie Berliner, remained in Berlin, and in 1943 they were deported to Aushwitz and murdered there.

Gert Berliner

In Novemeber 1941, Paul and Sophie wrote a letter to their son. Parts of it were censored – probably because they alluded to the deportations that had just begun. “I cannot write much [censored] terrible conditions I am. Daddy told you about the details. As long as we’re here, we’ll continue to write [censored] chin up. With God’s help, we’ll be reunited.”

In 1947, Gert Berliner emigrated from Sweden to the USA, where he became a painter, filmmaker and photographer.

JEAN HEINEMANNS’ NOTEBOOK
Jean Heinemann fled from Berlin to Paris in April 1933. In 1943 he was arrensted in Marseille and deported to Auschwitz. In the Jewarzno satellite camp he performed hard labor in brickworks until the camp was evacuated in January 1945. He survived the war and wrote his memoirs during a stay in a sanatorium in 1946. Jean Heinemann wrote down poems in this small notebook during his imprisonment in Jewarzono camp.

The Notebook

If we don’t use our physical and mental capabilities, we lose them. I notice in conversations that I have to look for words that i often used in the past but can’t remember now because I no longer use them ….. Life in the camp shrunk us physically and mentally.”

Axis of Continuity

The third and the longest axis is called the axis of continuity which is a long, confusing, and a never ending corridor. It takes us to various floors of the museum, showing various facets of Jewish life and society and gets you back to the exit. It is meant to represent the vitality of the Jewish society to withstand all onslaughts.

Voids
There are empty spaces in the museum which extend vertically through the entire museum called ‘voids’ which represent the absence of Jews from the German society. One of these voids contains over 10,000 faces made of Iron covering the floor, which is a dedication to all the innocent victims of war and violence by Isreli artist Meneshe Kadishman, who calls his installation “Shalekhet” in Hebrew, which means Fallen Leaves.Hope we don’t have such fallen leaves in future.

I visited The Pergamon museum a couple of days after I visited the Jewish museum. The Pergamon has the reputation of being one of the best museums in the world. It has artifacts from Greek and Roman era. I wasn’t that impressed by it. Everything seemed so artificial and fake; I couldn’t somehow identify myself with it. Although I am not a Jew, although I am not an European I could identify with the Jewish Museum. I feel, the trauma and struggles the Jews underwent are universal and not rooted in any particular geography.

The museum was inaugurated on September 11 2001, the day when the twin towers were blown up.Ironical isn’t it? History repeats it self if we don’t pay enough attention to it and we need more things like Jewish museum to remind us of the depths of human shallows and its possibilities.

Cricket, India and I

2009-09-30T01:09:00.000-07:00

Click on the pic to see an enlarged image.

This is a 1898 photograph from Udupi where some high school boys are playing cricket.

58 years after the formation of the first county cricket club Sussex. 54 years after the first ever international cricket game between the USA and Canada.34 years after the great W G Grace made his first class debut. 31 years after a team of Australian Aborigines toured England in what was the first Australian cricket team to travel overseas. 21 years after an England touring team in Australia played two matches against full Australian XIs that are now regarded as the inaugural Test matches.8 years after the constitution of official County Championship in England, in what is now known as the Golden Age of cricket, these boys, oblivious of all these things are playing cricket in kacche panche and topies just like Swami and his Friends

Lord Harris in his A Few Short Runs (1921) said, That cricket is going to stay in India there cannot be a shadow of a doubt; it has taken hold all over the country, and chokras can be seen playing in every village with any sort of old bat and ball that they can lay hands on. Lord Harris, as Siddhu would have said hits the nail on its head and cricket has not only stayed in India but has grown from strength to strength. Like countless Indians growing up in 90's, cricket had a very significant impact on my growing up.

My earliest memories of cricket is the 1987 world cup finals. I have vague memories of Australians going around the stadium and David Boon’s mush. Then I remember Austrailasia cup and Atul Bedade [ of all the people, I donno why]

I studied in a school called Holy Saint English School in Jayanagar, Bangalore. When I was in first standard we had an alumni of the school as our guest. He was a thin tall ‘uncle’ with large spectacles. I remember my grandmother telling me he is a cricketer called Anil Kumble. He had given us chocolates. After that it was a matter of pride for sometime to boast that I belong to his school or rather he studied in my school, whenever he came on TV.

Then there was Hero cup, Sachin Tendulkar’s magic over had snatched the victory from Kepler Wessels et al. The finals was on a Ganesh Chaturti day and India had batted first and had scored a mediocre total. We left for the puja place after some time there were fireworks around. I rushed back home to find that India had beaten the West Indies. Anil Kumble’s success in a way became my sucess. I boasted around saying “he is from my school.”

I really started following the game in Azaruddin’s era. Hero cup gave me an hero in Anil Kumble. Then came Rahul Dravid, whose batting style I desparately tried to imitate [partially successful].and was nicknamed Dravid in school.

I have done crazier things for cricket than any other things, will mentiona few here....

Stood in the rain watching match in a TV showroom
Prayed for people to get back to form
Running to the shop near school during breaks to ask for scores
Remembering people like Nolan Clark who debuted at the age of 47 for Holland in 1996
Making a FM radio from an electronic model set inside a soap box to listen to the commentry[while i was in boarding school where cricket was a taboo]
Smuggling sport star to the hostel
Doing extra things and homework early so as to get myself an extra serving of cricket during matches
Carefully scheduling a stomach ache or a head ache during key matches
Sssociating events with matches – I would remember things by associating it with cricket matches– like 2 days before the titan cup finals…. the day when Kambli scored a double hundred etc etc. ..

With all the fancy hype about T20, I wonder if this was the game that made me go crazy. I dont know, if I can identify with the game like the way I did after Kumble, Rahul and Sachin. I donno if cricket will be cricket or rather I donno if I am the same ‘I'
photo from Bassel Mission Archives video from Youtube

Mysore (1944) by R K Narayan

2009-09-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

This travelogue was commissioned by the then Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamaraja Wodeyar. It is dedicated to Sir Mirza_Ismail. Narayan travels all around Mysore state, the present day South Karnataka districts of Chickmagalur(Note: Kadur used to be the district headquarter when this book was written), Kolar, Banglaore, Shimoga, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Mysore. The book is filled with interesting snippets of the region, for example the present day Ramanagara was then known as Closepet after a British geologist Sir Barry Close (1756- 1813). Narayan's observations carry his trademark humour which makes it a very nice read. The book also contains an appendix which basically serves a travel planner.

This is not a book of facts about Mysore state. It is just a collection of impressions, descriptions, legends and historical tit-bits. Legends, atmosphere and historical anecdotes, are, really, as rich a source of information about a country as statistics of trade and agriculture.

R. K Narayan in the preface

Read it, for a guided tour of Mysore state; guided by none other than R. K. Narayan.

Complete book(146 pages)

download PDF(4.9Mb) from Archive.org

Field Trip

2008-04-04T07:33:00.000-07:00

Red and Yellow - Shades of Divinity

2007-08-25T05:21:00.000-07:00