Feast for Thought

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

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

The origin of fireworks / crackers (and their use during deepAvali) has become the next contentious issue. While the debate continues, those who wish to pause and think can ponder on these - 1. CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) site lists "Noise Standards for Fire Crackers". Unable to find regulations or emission standards. 2. There are regulations in other countries - see Consumer Fireworks  and Hazards and Regulations In recent years, newer toxic pyrotechnic compounds have been unleashed in the consumer fireworks market, without any checks whatsoever. All  religious, social and cultural practices were once environmentally sustainable. Now each of these practices, fasts and festivals have become convenient targets for 'sustainable' businesses, trapping citizens to vulgar outward displays and transient glee.  The climate change crisis is a valuable opportunity for the right wing government to lead the nation in reverting to sustainable and sensible practi...

(Predictions of) A good monsoon ought to cheer up a farmer, far more and far earlier than lesser citizens of a nation. After all, the monsoons are a sort of DBT from Nature to the farmer's soul. And the rest of the nation benefits indirectly. But what do we notice? Prediction of good rains cheers up stock markets, energises the brokers, adds to the disposable incomes of the elite, keeps up the GDP illusion... all this before the farmer can say ஏலேலோ ஐலசா 'Elelo ailasa'

If i hear just one more time the words: "India is growing at 7.6%, and it is the only bright spot in a year of global economic turmoil", i'll.... i'll... i'll know that the FM is somewhere in the vicinity parroting into a mike. ‪#‎ IndiaGDP‬ Here's a secret, Mr AJ - If you focus on the agricultural growth rate, your favourite 7.6% will touch the skies. Here's another secret, Mr AJ - IMF has called the bluff on neoliberalism! So rethink the kind of reforms you are drafting. At 7.6%, India is the fastest-growing economy or the best data fudger ‘Discrepancies’ drive GDP growth

A recent episode of this long-running TV series on Asianet featured Manju Warrier, a favourite screen persona. To a query about acting with Big B, she mentioned a small piece of info - To accommodate his long legs, Bib B sits on 4 stacked plastic chairs during breaks in shooting. i have been an ardent supporter of chair designs that feature higher seat-levels than the standard 18". In the same episode, Mukesh rightly used the words 'Gender determination' to convey an appeal against female foeticide. #Mukesh #ManjuWarrier #BigB #ChairDesign #GenderDetermination #BadaiBanglavu 

Ahead of Deepavali, our group housing society had completed a round of whitewashing of the stilt-parking area, and the internal faces of the peripheral walls. This had hidden all the randomly-designed paan -spit marks, accumulated over a few years. Residents must have hoped that the walls stay white for a good while, before a paan -chewer decides that enough is enough, and inaugurates a new round of auspicious-coloured designs on invitingly white walls. Aren’t you heartily sick of seeing your ‘brothers and sisters’ spit here, piss there, jump queues and signals, throw garbage, pluck flowers, jaywalk on the road, drive on footpaths, tease small creatures, shout news on TV? Are you entitled to speed up just because your car is more powerful? Is your time more important than the person awaiting medical care in an ambulance? Is it mere colour-coded artwork that the police have painted on roads and at traffic junctions? Article 44 of the Directive Principl...

The friendly neighbourhood cobbler, tailor, knife-sharpener, plumber, electrician and all other valuable roadside service providers are an endangered lot. We the conspicuous consumers are least concerned. When a household item needs to be fixed, we ought to give more than a fair chance to all these sustainable livelihoods – and ourselves – and avoid creating additional trash, a practice in which we have become amazing pros. The mixer-grinder jar’s lid comes with a smaller removable top, which is used to add water while grinding. When we went looking for the small part to replace a broken one, we found that we had to buy the whole lid. I’m glad we decided against buying the entire lid, because back home, we found two things that could do the job. One was the lid of an empty bottle of Eno, and the other a similar lid of a small asafoetida box. So now i have an endless supply of these lids, enough to start a small-parts business, and can compete with the original parts ...

Have you sat in a chair and felt - "Wow, this is comfortable!"?  Of late, we are spoiled for choice. We can sink into luxurious sofas, and lose ourselves in blissful sleep. You can plonk yourself down in luxury, and be counted among the couch potatoes. You can relax and sit back, looking around pleasantly as you await your turn in all sorts of foyers and lounges.  But if your knees have aged before you have, they put up all kinds of protests when it comes to getting off the chair. All those waiting-room chairs 'receive' you whole-heartedly, but seem to turn the other way when the time comes to 'return' you on your feet. You just can't get up from them gracefully; they are awful for older / weaker-kneed people. We invariably do not think twice about the chairs we see and use everyday, do we. For several months now, I've been looking for suitable seating that responds to a few simple specifications. - Sturdy enough for a senior citizen with ...