Read about the research center National Institute for Research on Climate and Environment to be developed in Bangalore to work on climate change. A Great facility to have. No doubt. Our Union minister for environment says “With this India will demonstrate the whole world that we are serious about climate change”. True. But don’t we have other ways in which we can really show the world that we are acting upon climate change? Yes, we do.

India will have impacts like destruction of coastal areas, agricultural problems etc due to climate change. We are a developing nation and we have not yet figured out ways and established world class systems for immediate help and recovery help during calamities like tsunami. Our per capita carbon emission was somewhere around 0.25 tonnes in late 90s, it was 1.19 tonnes in 2006 and some articles raise an alarm saying our per capita carbon emission will be tripled (around 5.00) in 2030. Though this may be far less than the emission by other countries, the major contributors towards carbon emission, power generation, transport, (especially construction industry) are developing rapidly and we really need to become more serious about this.

But how do we put plans into action? Do we have wait until we develop a research center, send rockets to monitor green house gases, monitor forest cover and Himalayan glaciers and then act on the data and make plans?? No,, that will be really late. What is that we have in hand to execute right now? I don’t think we can change our energy strategy from coal-based to some other energy systems soon. We can put small and effective plans into place like,

1) Enforcing acts to prevent deforestation.
2) Camps to advocate people the effects of climate change
3) Create awareness, support and motivate acts like car pooling – though these are very small savings on carbon emission, but as always single drop makes an ocean.
4) Promote cultivation of wastelands.
5) And shout (literally shout, yes, the government has to make a lot of noise and create awareness) about energy conservation.

And what IS NOT energy conservation : Cutting electricity for 15 hours in villages, not providing them proper water and transport facilities, decrease in supply of fuels for cooking etc.We are a developing a nation and every citizen in the country deserves the right to use all the infrastructure and amenities needed. And we need to strike a balance.

Brown says, if countries around the globe miss the chance in Copenhagen, we may never be able to make it.. lets see what happens..

Hmm… blog has also become a place to pour out frustration nowadays!!! Looks like BSNL will have an impact on my whole personality and make me an emotional, angry young woman I have had so much bad experiences with BSNL in just a month of contact with them.

Those who read this…I would suggest you not to go for a BSNL connection, especially in Bangalore! It is better to remain disconnected from the rest of the world than to have a BSNL connection You are prone to high blood pressure, mood swings, extreme frustration (may be even heart attack, who knows ) if you are a BSNL customer Before you apply for a landline connection, ensure you already have a cheaper phone connection, because you may have to call so many people (starting from the line man to the deputy general manager or even principal GM) and follow up to get the connection done. If you dont know any higher official then forget about the connection the probability of anybody, who doesnt know to bribe or to influence a higher official, getting a BSNL connection is infinitesimal.

Ok. You luckily got one !! Don’t be pleased !! There is no guarantee for it to work!! It may even stop working in a week..I keep hearing about plans that BSNL has to address customer issues within 24 hours. But I lodge a complaint and ask when will it be addressed, I am told, “today is a holiday, tomorrow is also a holiday, there are already some problems” (i dunno the details)” so it may take a week..” May be what I heard was a myth !!
And every time I call the customer service center people shout at me or ask me to call somebody else!!

Now that I have poured out all my frustration, I am trying to figure out what could be the root cause of such poor service !! (Should this be called a service ??) Is everybody out there not working ? Isnt the Indian government worried about making more profit out of BSNL or even rectifying loss? I dont know if BSNL runs under loss, but I wonder if they are making handsome money, because customers like me run away from BSNL soon
Is it the guarenteed job that makes people tardy and complacent ? Should there be a performance based compensation and benefits?? (That will be a wonderful idea !!!)I dont know what makes this system so inefficient.
God save BSNL and poor customers like me !!!

சிற்றிலக்கியங்களில் எத்தனை புதுமைகள் வந்தாலும், புதினங்களை சாராத இலக்கியஙகள் எழுதபட்டாலும், புதினங்கள் வளர்ந்து கொண்டு தான் இருக்கும். நரசிம்ம பல்லவனையும், வீரபாண்டியனையும் வரலாற்று விளக்கங்களால் அறிந்து கொள்ள மட்டுமே முடியும், ஆனால் அவர்களை கற்பனை மூலமாக நம் கண் முன் நிறுத்துவது புதினங்களே. அப்படி ஒரு அற்புதமான எழுத்தாளர் கல்கி

பொன்னியின் செல்வனை இரன்டாவது முறை படிக்க நேர்ந்தது. பல வருடங்களுக்குப் பிறகு. எவ்வளவு அழகிய தமிழ். எத்தனை கற்பனா சக்தி. எத்தனையொ புதினங்களை படித்திருக்கிறேன். வந்தியத்தேவனை விட இத்தனை நேர்த்தியான ஒரு கதாபாத்திரத்தை படித்த நினைவில்லை. ஒரு காலத்தில் Dan Brown வரலாற்று புதினங்களை படித்தபோது எற்பட்ட வியப்பு பொய்யாகி விட்டது. கல்கியை விடவா ஒருவர் அற்புதமாக வரலாற்றை சொல்லிவிட முடியும். அழ்வார்க்கடியான் முதல் அவனை கடிக்கும் “வீர சைவப்பூனை” வரை அத்தனை நேர்த்தியான கதாபாத்திரங்கள். குந்தவை வரலற்றில் எவ்வளவு இடம் பெற்றிறுக்கிறாள் , எவ்வளவு ராஜ ராஜ சோழனும், ராஜேந்திரனும் அவளால் அரிவுறுத்தப்பட்டிருக்கிறார்கள் என்பது முதல் சோழ நாட்டின் வளம், பஞ்சம், உணவு, கப்பற்படை வரை அத்தனயும் கண் முன் நிற்கிறது. சோழ மன்னன் ஒருவனின் பெயரில் இன்னமும் Indonesiavil ஒரு கப்பல் பெயரிடப்பட்டுள்ளது என்பதை படிக்க நேர்ந்த்தது கல்கி எத்தனை அழகாக Indonesia வரை சென்ற அந்த கப்பற்படையை எழுதியிருக்கிறார். இன்னும் நான் படித்து முடிக்கவில்லை .. வியந்து கொண்டே படிக்கிறேன், படிக்கும்போதே எழுதுகிறேன்… தொடரும்..

“”அற்றார் அழிபசி தீர்த்தல்; அக்தொருவன்
பெற்றான் பொருள்வைப் புழி.”"

Yes, charity is what I am talking about !! I hardly had any idea of a big mafia abusing the fact expressed by the above kural , until I read ezham ulagam by Jeya Mohan !!
He is one of the best writers in Tamil who is able to write deep and wide!! Every word he writes to emphasize the undeniable truth comes as a bullet!! If you expect heroism, twists and big surprising events racing like a Bond movie then this may not be the book of your choice. The story flows like a stream, every now and then strikingly portraying a totally different world which we often ignore.

The story revolves around Velu Pandaram and many temples in South India(especially the ones for Lord Muruga)where his begger mafia operates.He buys and sells beggars and calls them “urupadi”. He treats them worse than cattle,but he still claims “நாம ஆருக்கும் ஒரு தீங்கும் செய்யல்ல”. The more physically and mentally challenged they are the more they survive in his beggar mafia.

Muthammai a lady with a single arm and a single leg is forced to mate with other physically challenged people to give birth to malformed children , who are sold at a very high price!! She says “எனக்க பிள்ளைய பதினெட்டாக்கும், பதினெட்டு , சப்ரிமலை படிபோல பதினெட்டு.’ கண்ணில்ல, கையிலயும் காலிலயும் ஒரோ விரலு மட்டும்தான், கூனுமுண்டு, மாறிலயும் வயித்தலயும் அடிச்சுட்டுல்லா கரைஞ்சேன்”. Ahmed, reading news paper while begging and informing fellow beggars about the recent events , erukku a girl who loves perumal (person who is like a watchdog for the beggars) madly just because he tied a nuptial knot to steal her away from a hospital, muthammai ,her son rajini kanth(a kid as physically challenged as her),kuyyan who claims to kill himself if he doesn get to eat “payasam” are all beautifully portrayed.

There is a mild humour that runs through out, among the beggars.That makes us feel that though they are “urupadis” to the world above them , they live their life as full as every other human being. Slowly we begin to feel like a part of their world enjoying their company.
unni aachi whose primary job is to gossip, kochan , Nayar stand as symbols for some evil characteristics that have been a part of man’s primitive behavior ever. The author has also mastered in nagercoil-tamil dialect.
‘Uripadi’s don’t have an assurance of the next meal , things that bother the middle class and upper middle class like pride , money , god , religion, society etc etc .. don’t even exist in their world !!! They live outside every temple,but the “deity” inside doesn’t attract them. They have their own deity “maangadi saami” , again a physically challenged beggar who sits amidst them and sings.

The author has also depicted their view on the world above them , how they look at us and even make fun !!
Survival is the only force that drives the ezham ulagam just like it drives every other life!!
The book also talks about the ill effects of institutionalizing “religion and god” and in turn commercializing devotion which is yet again a pure form of love. Pothi who is a priest in the temple says “இங்கே பாருடே பண்டாரம், இது ஆறடி கல்லு, பத்து நானூறு வரிசமாட்டு பலரும் கழுவி சந்தனம் போட்டு பூ போட்டு கும்பிடுதானுக. நமக்கு இது தொளிலு. உனக்கு முத்தம்மை, எனக்கு இது. “

The success of the novel is clear when you finish it , you feel like every other character in the novel is questioning you how far you have understood mankind and life’s longing for itself !!!

This is the number of parties contesting the forthcoming elections in India !!!
I was shocked to see these many parties contesting !!! Does the growing number of parties indicate anything positive about the functioning of democracy in India ? No.I don’t think so.We are in for more surprises , If somebody takes a survey of the amount of money spent vs the number of votes , or if someone takes a list of the number of freebies announced by every party !! Is this a healthy democracy to have so many parties contesting an important election?I don’t know.
May be this is how democracies have worked in the past and shaped themselves.India has a long way to go. I truly believe in the power of democracy and our nation!!!

I happened to read an article by Gnanavel(titled the same way) on the remains of war.Here are some excerpts…

The author goes to the refugee camp in Rameswaram and finds Rathinavel, a victim of the cruelest aspects of war.
He lived with his wife , and four children happily, in SriLanka. He had three daughters and a son,(whom he claims to have been blessed by
Lord Muruga of Kathirkamam.)And the child did look like his avatar , resembling how Lord Muruga was described , in beauty and intelligence.

His wife , on the middle of a lonely night was raped by the soldiers of the army. The next morning he could only see her dead , hanging herself.
He decided to leave the country and sold his house for a much cheaper price and using the money obtained , gets on board on a boat with his four children.They were nearing rameswaram , and before they could reach , the boat stuck and they were told to swim for life.
His three daughters didn’t know to swim , nor could he save them.He finally decided to save at least his son as his daughters told him they would go to their mother.He grabbed his son and swam for a long time , and realized the shore was far away. His son became unconscious , nor could he carry him and swim anymore.He had no other go than to leave his son , to save himself.When he left him and moved forward , he reached the shore in 5 minutes.
Then , he realized, he could have carried him along a little more and went back to water , searching for his lost son , in vain.The war has thus crushed the family of six into only one.Had he not lost his mental balance , he would have killed himself as well.

The author narrates Rathinavel’s story, and strongly puts forth the cruel faces of war. He says , “Soldiers who die become patriots, rebels who die become brave hearts, but the people ??”.War is always a crushing force , one which is trying to hoist the flag of victory over the innocent people’s dead remains.

I got a chance to understand completely and appreciate the terms that were puzzling me earlier , like “string theory” , the eleven dimensions , unification of forces and so on.I grabbed a copy of The Elegant Universe by Brain Green.Thanks to Sridhar anna.

It started with discovery of gravity by Newton and went on to describe the effort taken , then on by the physicists to know the mind of God.It was so elegant in style and narration that it easily made even laymen understand the mind of Albert Einstein,and his thirst towards the unification of forces.
And how he could not just digest the degree of unpredictability discovered by Quantum mechanics and he said ,”God does not throw dice!!”.

I wondered at the amazing work by physicists like , John Schwartz , Michael Green and Edward Witten (who unified the five different sting theories which were existing and created the M theory).The strings (open ended and closed ended) , branes , parallel universes , collision between them etc were amazingly pictured. I was always not able to fully comprehend the extra dimensions and this video made a lot of effort to make people comprehend it.It talked about , the circles representing an additional spatial dimension that is curled up within every point of our three dimensional space and the six dimensions needed for the super strings to vibrate.One more video which helps in understanding the tenth dimension is here.

Will CERN or Fermilab be able to discover the S particle , the escaping graviton ? Will string theory be proved right ??Will it end up to be a waste of wonderful mathematics and physics over twenty years ?? God knows !! But , we are all blessed to live in an era where we have awesome physicists who try to comprehend the mind of God !! And we are gifted with resources to understand and appreciate their work !!Whether string theory succeeds or not , it will always remain a fascinating idea to me!!!

Yesterday was a day of lessons!! I had been to the railway station , to send my aunt off.I reached majestic after a really long journey (just as usual).. cursing Bangalore traffic.I was almost blaming everybody in Bangalore Development Authority for letting it expand like madness.

Then after reaching the station ,my next list to be blamed started There was crowd , just as expected.The station was quite horrible , with the railway tracks being public dustbins , wash areas and what not!!And adding to the list, there was no place to sit.And waiting rooms as usual were full !!The train came a bit (not very late though)late. There were no charts pasted with names.The train doors were not closed(letting the rats go in ).It didn’t look like it was cleaned(I was expecting it to be cleaned up because this is the source station).Nor could I analyze much as there was no light through out the train !!!

Some how I managed to find her seat using the mobile torch and sent her off.
Only when I walked back , I saw the ticket inspector and realized I hadn’t obtained the platform ticket Then my mistake struck hard on me !! I went on to pay the fine , I was shocked to know it was 250 INR , for a Rs.3 platform ticket !! I went on to check that up with the station manager and he confirmed that the amount levied was correct!! I paid and came back , nobody to be blamed anymore for my own mistake
I came back home and again a mistake struck hard I had kept the bathroom tap open when there was no water and when the water was supplied it was flowing off The tank could have been almost emptied !!
Ok , here goes my lesson , lets learn to turn the mirror inward and see our own mistakes , including making the railway station dirty , and using our own vehicles when there is enough public transport available!!Man makes the society , and he has to make it what he wants it to be !!
I would quote Jk again ” I am the world and the world is me !! “

Here is an interesting article from Sci Am , suggesting the existence of a pre-bang universe ,which would have imploded and then exploded to form the Universe we live in…

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=big-bang-or-big-bounce&SID=mail&sc=emailfriend

I recently read an article on Martin Luther King and the power of love against injustice that he quoted , written by Mihir Shah.The author had thrown light on the prevailing economic inequality , hatred and injustice and probed so many questions on arriving at a tangible solution.

According to a survey by the World Bank , the income level of people who formed the lower 60% economic class of the world dropped down by 10 % , and that of the top 10% raised by 50 % over a period of hundred years or so.Now this shows the growing inequality more evidently than anything else could.

He says hate and injustice have always prevailed and are growing.He suggests , Martin Luther King’s Agape – the pure redemtive love a weapon against injustice.This great activist’s suggestion of the power of love , reminded me those of JK’s ideas on love.

King says “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love “.And there will be justice only when there is no Power for the sake of power.Such power without  love is abusive and love without power is sentimental and aneamic.

There are conflicts, blockades to reach the justice , but conflicts have to be considered as problems seeking solutions and not as war yielding victory of one over the other.The author says , the greatest failure of the 20th Century’s economy was to find out an alternative to Capitalist society that would be implemented efficienlty to curb injustice.True, we have a long way to go as long as we are ready to face hard questions and bind together to produce tangible answers!!