Orchestra pollution

Noise and music, both are poles apart. Yet, Orchestra Parties produce the former in the name of the latter.  More the decibels, grander they think it is. They appear to be tuned to...more

Deepavali at Rishi Valley

15 of us MNSites set out for the Rishi Valley School, which was our base camp. I was jerked awake and zombied my way to the car, which would carry me, my mother, Pritam uncle, Vijay uncle, Tara aunty and Shashank to Madanapalle. Amid discussions of where the Pitta had been spotted in Chennai, I zoned out to the sound of Iron Maiden.

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A Trained Eye

When we were children, every time we went on a train journey, we would look out of the window at level crossings and feel sorry for the poor people who lived in the middle of nowhere between the big railway stations.

After I married my tea planter husband almost 25 years ago, I've lived in that world of unimportant level crossings. Our tea garden is just one of the sights that can be seen on the train line between Delhi and Guwahati.

An Appeal To The Delhi Metro Rail Authority

Dear Sir,

I am a regular commuter of the Delhi Metro Rail services, and I must say that I find it to be a manna from the heaven for the Delhites. Every person from Delhi (and other parts of NCR) will unhesitatingly admit how his or her life has become significantly easier with the introduction of Delhi Metro service. The commencement of Delhi Metro service simply marks a golden chapter in the public transport infrastructure of the National Capital Region.

However, certain issues have already started raising their heads. And while these issues are not that serious in nature, nevertheless I will love you to take not of them and address the same, lest they turn serious in the future. More

Anjili, a tree of many uses

Which is the most used tree that is endemic to the Western Ghats of India? The answer is ‘anjili’. Other common names of this wood include ayini and Hebbalasu in Karnataka. In English it is called ‘wild jack’ or ‘jungle jack’. The botanical name is Artocarpus hirsutus Lam (Moraceae). More

The Key To Language Preservation - Speak It In A Liberal Way

The rapid globalization has resulted in an all-pervasive spread (or intrusion) of the English language. And it is a common knowledge that it has threatened the survival of a number of languages in the world. (However, the languages that are getting extinct or are on the verge of extinction are actually victims of inadequate speakers, and not of the “invasion” of the English language).

So how to address this situation? More

Of human-animal bondage!

Where ever we are posted, stray animals find their way home, so much so - that "dogs and cats are fond of him" better describes my life partner rather than "yes, he's fond of all non-humans."
In an earlier location, a cat adopted the house, and we were simply co-habitants that she happily put up with. More ....

Gender imbalance of a different kind

I watched a program on Asianet recently. The subject was very interesting and I wanted to see what the modern Malayalee thought of the same. The subject in question was that women felt unsafe in buses in Kerala.

The panel consisted of a few educated, articulate young ladies one of whom was a very well spoken actress. On the opposite side were not people who opposed the view, but men, mostly middle aged (and a few young guys too) who I observed were present only to oppose the view. Instead of this show being a discussion that concerns the entire society, it turned out to be a man vs women kind of a fight with the men opposing the view only for the sake of opposing. They had no concrete facts to support their argument and instead tried to dismiss the whole issue by trivializing it. It was almost as if, they opposed the ladies having a view point and more importantly a platform for airing it...more

"The Story of Electronics"

Here's the next story in this series - "The Story of Electronics".

Make 'em safe, Make 'em last, Take 'em back is a catchy enough jingle, but WHO is listening? More...

A slice of life

I like Art movies. I like art movies for its deliciously stark portrayal of real life. It’s a relief from commercial cinema that has no resemblance to real life. I find Art movies refreshing. The more stark the reality the better. It is like a purge, a purge from the one sided vista, commercial cinema brainwashes you with, whether it is patriotism, family relations, poverty, love, and relationships… anything and everything and the way it is shown.

For people like us, who live in concrete cages, Art movies are like a bite of real life...more.

Dasara Festival Doll Show

The festival of Dasara in our part of India is a very traditional one.  It is a time when all the toys and dolls go on show in our homes.  The festival usually comes in the end of September or early October. 

read on....

UID enrolment in Mysore

The UID enrolment process, far from being people-friendly appeared indifferent to them. One can’t understand why the enrolment agency can’t start work earlier than 11 a m. Railway reservation counters open 8 a m. So do some banks. Considering that UID enrolment in Mysore is time-bound (till end of December) wouldn’t you expect the enrolment centre to be more time-conscious ?...More...

Obama Visit: Sense and Nonsense

The naïve US policy, starting from the time of John Foster Dulles (Secretary of State 1953-1959) of ‘Brinkmanship’ fame, has placed that country in a peculiar situation. The American funding ($ 2billion even recently) is used by the Pakistan Army to fight effectively or not the extremists on the Afghan side and carry out terrorism against India....

White lilies of our balcony

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India Should Take Up “Roots Tourism” Seriously

As everybody knows, there is hardly any country without at least a moderate population of PIOs (People of Indian Origin). They are present in the USA, Canada, Europe, Caribbean Island countries (notably Trinidad &Tobago and Guyana), South East Asia (such as Singapore and Malaysia), African nations (like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, etc), Mauritius in the Indian Ocean region, Fiji in the South West Pacific region, and so on. And many of them have been staying there for various generations. This wide-spanning Diaspora provides India with a strong potential tourism market, and the Union Tourism Ministry may chalk out a specialized campaign to tap the same. More

Look who came calling?

A peahen lays eggs on our terrace or in the vicinity of our house each year. We have a lot of excitement when the eggs hatch and chicks jump down*. Thus begins the first adventure of their life: to jump across our boundary wall and into the fields. This time, we saw three chicks.



For more photos and the complete post, read here

Walking with Nizhal in Anna University

I went armed with my iPad. Why? Loaded on it was the Nizhal Siemens Gandhinagar Tree Guide, with more than 40 common trees of Chennai (all present in Gandhinagar, Adyar) identified via their fruit, flower, leaf or pod!

There were about 20 students of the college from the Youth Red Cross who came along with me. There were two other resource persons Latha and Yamini, who went to other parts of the large and green campus. These were the trees seen and talked about, along the western driveway just inside the main gate. This is the path I took.

Read On.

Because I love you, Papa

But then as she spoke of our simplicity, of how below all the complex chaos I create.... there was this intact love, and it stirred in me. Below the layered excuses of too many relationships to manage, too many hands to hold, too many friends to talk to, too many midterms to write, too many miles to walk, too many busses to take, it had always been there....More