Alliance

time 3.00pm today
venue 10-6-4 bungalaw st
50yr old gentleman--can i see the doctor?
Me--sorry he wont see people on sunday afternoon
Gm--can i see his father?
Me--Sorry he died 15yr ago
the expression on his face --Bewildered
Gm--I brought an alliance for the doctor
Me-Sorry the doctor has a 6yr old grandson


It is for the DEntist who lives next door
The address given to him was Doctor opp RK kalyana mandapam
How do you like it?

Potential/Achiever/Disappointment

He/She has a lot of potential
He/She achieved a lot
Flipside
I am disappointed with his/her performance
He/She does not use all the resources at hand

These are some of the comments I hear(some attributed to me, some to others)

What do the active bloggers think about these comments?
Does one have to toot their horn constantly and be counted as an achiever
or be content to flow under the radar and be branded a non-achiever?
(Assuming they have really accomplished something)

My thoughts to follow after I hear from the regulars/elders :)
Younger ones can chime in too if you want to take on the big guns...


PS: No.... this is not about Krups/Me
just saw her promotion post and yes should toot your horn on a promotion :)

Promotion

I just got promoted to Director of Product Management at Rainmaker Systems today. Birthday was Srinivas's and I got the gift :-)

All in all Rainmaker has been a good company for me. Transition from Engineering to Marketing, Title change, two promotions, one when joining a grade above, and another now, a relaxing quarter with part time employment which helped get my weight and health under control. This worked out great, even if there were a few uncertain times with the whole downturn, coming close to a lay-off, surviving somehow and navigating some pretty turbulent times in the company history.

I have taken on a pretty big challenge over the next few months, moving our company into doing business in Latin America and Europe, a very valuable experience for my career in the long run!!!!!!!!!!

I will actually share some of those details in the blog, so you all can appreciate the challenges in conducting business oversees.

Prushta Tadanam--Danta Peedanam

You know what it means?
A kick on the ass breaks the teeth.
How? Unrelated?
Telangana effect has given wings to land prices in and around Kavali.
Chidambaram on 9th sent them skyrocketing and the Srikrishna committee has pulled them back a bit. 's death and aftermath have pushed them up again.
Hozzat!!

Foul, Foul, Foul.......

Since it looks like I am the only person holding the opposing point of view, I will cede the last word to amma and move on to a different and equally controversial topic.

I am furiously busy trying to close a customer deal this week, so hold your horses for a couple of days in anticipation of the new topic.

DEVELOPMENT--AT WHAT EXPENSE?

Yes. If it were not for the curiosity ,inquisitiveness and INNER URGE of the human being, we would have been still living in caves, eating raw meat.Nature has been dynamic and still it is.We may stop research for lack of funds or personnel etc etc, but in nature it never stops .That is why there are so many genera ,species, rudiments and vestiges. But what we are worried about is the lopsided ,selfish,inhuman development with no compassion(man is a rational animal)and with least concern about the consequences in the future which his PROGENY are sure to face.
Here i will give you an example from our profession. Cancer is nothing but an UNCONTROLLED growth of a NORMAL tissue .It grows at such a fast pace, that it CONSUMES the energy and growth potential of all the other tissues and finally the person succumbs to it .I read at KRUPA's house--"it is not the big that eat the small but it is the fast that eat away the whole ." THAT is what is happening today.

On a lighter note.............

I just watched My name is Khan and I have learned that where helicopters and mechanized boats fear to tread, Shah Rukh Khan fearlessly jumps in......

Final Word

I will take the opportunity so graciously offered by SVK, and share my last thoughts.

First of all, Coffee house, paan and kurtas.... really!!!!!!!!!!! Churchill Club or the Bohemian Grove ( talk about old boy clubs!!!!), I could accept, or have you not read my whole discourse on flaunting assets :-)

There is no black and white between Good consumption and Bad consumption.... Any thing and everything causes pain to some and gain to some. Goods that are good today become bad tomorrow. Without fossil fuel consumption, the transportation industry and the current "flat earth" would have been a distant dream. Aren't fossil fuels "natural products"? When humans invented steam engines, did they know or see what environmental impact they would have? Is there any guarantee that the alternate energy sources would not prove damaging tomorrow?

We only know what is wrong today. We can never eradicate problems. Did 50 years of independence prove a panacea to India's ills? New problems supplant old ones. There is never a silver bullet. We might think that we are growing beyond survival of the fittest, but at the very basic level, IT IS the underlying and guiding principle. Nature IS about competition AND symbiosis.

As much flak as I might get for it, "There is no good or evil. There is only power and those too weak to seek it". There is no Evil in the animal kingdom. The entire human society is created to protect the weak. But the animal rears its head at the first available chance. As society designs laws to protect the weak, the strong find new ways to exploit. This does not mean accepting Status Quo. It means accepting the inevitability and existence of a continued struggle.

I remember a study in Freakonomics about Children's names. They percolate from the rich, to middle class to poor. By the time the poor adopt those names, the rich would have moved on!!! It is the same. As gem studded fireplaces become common, the rich move on to, perhaps "mud-huts".

Nature has a way to balance out excesses. Human race has not yet reached the tipping point. Nature is mightier than man. Whatever we do may lead to the destruction of man, but not nature.

And why not glorify Bill Gates? Is he not as worthy as Galileo, Newton or Aristotle? Admitted, he stood on the shoulders of giants, but hasn't everyone? While not being completely responsible for internet revolution, he personifies it, much like Pasteur or Hippocrates.

My final word, Man is an Animal and is ruled by the Animal Laws..........

Feedback on blog

Gauri, who is Poonam's sister-in-law (Neeraj's wife), follows this blog and sent me this feedback about our recent animated discussions.

great going singampallis ...

i loved last few posts...

i m a great fan of this blog for

1. its complete democratic nature

2. responsible usage of that space (inspite of its democratic nature)

3. participation from elders.. someday i would love to meet SLN.. tell him, i admire his ability to take a stand and articulate it clearly and positively without getting emotional about.. it

4. the length and depth at which the topics get discussed.. again interestingly people use their discretion there too!!

On behalf of the Singampallis, Thanks, Gauri :-)

Birds of Bannergatta

Poonam and I went on a nature trail just outside Bangalore (15 KM from our home) this AM.Spotted several birds and butterflies. The variety of birds you see is just amazing.

Land Birds:

Ashy Prinia

Brown Shrike

White Breasted Kingfisher

Small Blue Kingfisher

Indian Robin - Male and Female

Oriental White-Eye

An unidentified Harrier

Unidentified Lark

Pied Bushchat

Common Iora

Spotted Owlet

Asian Koel (male and female)

Golden Oriole

White Cheeked Barbet

Purple Rumped Sun Birds , Male and Female

Brahminy Kites

Pariah Kites

Little Bee Eater

Rufous Treepie (could only hear this)

Water Birds

Common Coot

Pond Heron

Cattle Egret

Medium Egret

Little Grebe

Small Cormorant

Tern

Spot billed Pelican

Butterflies

Common Jezebel

Common Crow

Blue Tiger

Crimson Rose

Some snaps from the web:

-Spotted Owlet

-Oriental White Eye

-Small Blue Kingfisher

-Common Iora

Response to response...phew!

Darwinism, Keynesian economics, Philosophy: This is now settling along predictable late night college discussion lines. All we need to do wear white kurtas and start spitting paan-juice on each other, and we would be right at home in Calcutta's India Coffee House:-)

Are Darwinian theories, Laissez Fair economics and keeping up with the Joneses the only realities that matter? Is there something like good and bad, or just good 'goods' and bad 'goods'?

17th Century western economies flourished because of slave trade and labor - is that wrong or just a sensible merger of market economics and Darwinism?

Was Xanthippe right? Was Socrates just an old fool looking for wisdom, when he should have been looking for riches? Was his contribution of no value other than to obtain obscure Ph Ds?

Gandhi and Nehru were supremely talented people who could have said exactly the same things that you contend and made themselves rich beyond measure-they could have been the Joneses with whom everyone else had to keep up. After all, are not untouchability, indigo slavery, usurping land, all manifestations of the 'survival of the fittest'? Why characterize those as unacceptable, spend your life in prison, get shot so that your descendants can have gemstone fireplaces?

Should we even revere these cranks? Isn't Bill Gates a better deity, the pinnacle of Darwinian evolution, being the swashbuckling tradesman that he is?

The truth about capitalism:

“Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.”

That was J. M. Keynes, father of modern economics. The reality is that governments do not really follow Keynesian principles. Instead of efficiency, they practice externalizing of costs- in other words, someone else pays for your excesses, while we window-dress them with economic parlance. The 17th Century achieved success by externalizing labor costs through slavery. The US externalizes social & environmental costs by outsourcing mining and chemical industries to India. We, the urban elite of India, externalize the cost of our orgies by destroying our ecology and transgressing the rights of the poor.

Definitely, let us have democracy and capitalism- let us defend the rights given to folks under the constitution that so many people painstakingly put together. Let us account all cost properly and then protect capital.

And yes, things were worse in India earlier- but the failure of an earlier generation need not be our precedent. It is not like Gravity, inevitable and inescapable. And what India had in the past centuries was not power, but wisdom (also other cruelties, of course). Let the balance of power shift to China, but let us keep our ancient wisdoms.

The truth about the environment: And as for the environment, we are so out of touch with it that we cannot distinguish between evolution and destruction. If we venture from our cities and study nature, we would then see the enormous intangible value that nature has- and I am not talking economic benefits here. A passivity based on a belief in the immutability of Darwinian laws is like being a policeman at Jalianwala Bagh, unable to exercise his individual judgement as he bends to the laws of the state.

Unlike what our bowdlerized Darwinism tells us, the reality of nature is more about cooperation & symbiotic living than about competition. And that is what we should be focusing on.

OK, with that I shut up, and Krupa, you can have the last word, unless someone else wants to jump in.

Response

Good, nothing better than a nice family argument to bring out the long posts :-) It would be even more fun if more people joined the fray...........

First: For nanna's arugments
Define "Ruin Earth". It is ultimately survival of the fittest. If a species is extinct, let the cause be the crash of a meteor, rising atmospheric temperature or overfishing,the Darwinian process of natural selection is in play.

Building precisely on your point that nature would return, is it beyond the realm of probability to witness the emergence of a species capable of surviving the altered conditions?

In fact, I would argue that it is human hubris to assume we, of all species, are so uniquely designed that we could control the direction and the destiny of the earth by our actions. Just like the undersea bacteria living the near the geothermal vents, we are an insignificant spec in the biodiversity of this planet and are simply performing our role, continuing the natural evolution.

Would it lead to the extermination of the human race and the rise of another super predator? Or to a genetically evolved set of species capable of surviving the next "fire age" similar to the ice age? If billions of Earth's history is any indicator, a single species CANNOT ruin earth.


To Anna's point of Progress or Lack there of:
Was India better 10 years ago than today? Would you trade the "progress for a few" to "progress for none"? The divide between rich and poor is not an Indian phenomenon. It is a HUMAN phenomenon. And believe me, we hear the same rich-poor divide debate EVERYDAY, even in the so-called developed nations.

Capitalism and democracy may not be the ideal solution, but they are the best of all evils. Or an authoritarian society such as China, progressing across all walks of society, at the expense of your rights and liberties, be preferable? And if the ultimate destiny is to end up as US, would an average Indian reject the living conditions in India if they were exactly like US? Would one argue India 20 years ago is better than US today? Is an unemployment rate of 8% as in US, preferable over 15% in France, a socialist country? I am not saying it is the best, I am saying it is the least worst.

And with a history of only 50 years to shape her own destiny, compared to the 400+ years for US and Britain, what is so special about India that it can escape all the growing pains these developed nations went through and chart a completely different path to success? One might argue, India is an ancient civilization with thousands of years of history, but pardon me, the world is not the same it was thousands of years ago. Balance of power always shifts, to the species / race that can adapt to and adopt the current conditions (hello, Mr.Darwin). The once mighty roman empire, the empire on which sun never set, United States and our generation could witness the mantle pass on to China.

I can't recall who said it, but I like this quote, "Remember, you are unique. Just like everyone else."

And coming to the point of consumption, why the human drive to consume, to achieve? What is achievement? Why is it needed?

For animals, the ultimate prize once basic needs such as food and shelter are met, is the right to procreate. Combining one's genes with the choicest genes of the opposing sex. The fittest survive by passing on the gene that makes them successful, whether being the fastest at escaping predators, or being the best at making money, which, in the current phase of human race, is the measure of success. Ultimately, man is but a rational animal. Rational, yes, but still an animal.

And how does one attract the mate of the opposite sex? By showing off assets. Much like a peacock fanning it feathers, he drives a Porsche. She wears a Prada. Or he buys a 4 crore house. But what if you already have a mate? Marriage is a social custom, designed to protect the weak. The ANIMAL is always on the lookout for a better mate, be it the male or female. Even if we give consideration to the marital fidelity, how to instill the drive to evolve, and succeed further, in one's progeny? If you live in a 4 crore house, they might aspire for a 6 crore house. By living in a 2 crore house, they might aspire for only a 4 crore one, already falling behind in the genetic race.

And as the "success gene" is passed on, is it any different from the process of evolution that rich are getting richer? Of course, there are always mutations, such as Bill Gates and Paris Hilton, both for the better and for the worse.

Consumption is driven by evolution.................... As Indians move along the line of evolution, adapting to the current world, they consume.

Yesterday roman orgies, today US consumerism, tomorrow it could be Chinese excesses, but one thing for sure, we would always try to keep up with the Joneses, damn them!!!! But for them, we would all be happy and the earth would be saved. Go forth and destroy all Joneses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vandana Siva

Life seems to be just a series of coincidences. Today, I attended a lecture by Ms Vandana Siva, a very prominent environmental activist ("One of the 5 heroes of the green century" - TIME Magazine) - and the topic was 'Food Security and Climate Change'. How is that for a coincidence! :-)

An extremely articulate and well informed lady, she made some telling points about the green revolution and the BT products. She talked about her experiences of the Chipko movement, among other things. A few points:

- Mono-culture, promoted by the green revolution and 'modern' farming techniques, is not sustainable. Or put another way, diversity is the nature of reality. All lives survive more on cooperation, not competition.

-Once applied, this mono-culture lens now colors more and more aspects of our society. She cited what is happening in Mumbai (Mumbai is only for Maharashtrans) as an example. A very apt anology, I thought- witness the Telengana movement too, and so many others.

- Traditional Indian farming techniques are the bedrock of the organic farming revolution of the world. Sir Albert Howard, father of the organic farming revolution, learnt them in India. He was sent by the Brits to teach our farmers on how to improve yield, but instead they became his teachers. See the link for corroboration.

- 2 lakh farmer suicides in the last decade, which is more than the earlier decade. So much for economic growth! She attributes this to the Green Revolution. Her first book 'The violence of the green revolution' is about this.

-More specifically, input costs have reached a level where agriculture doesn't let the farmers make ends meet. Inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides that were not needed to be purchased earlier.

- Her foundation, Navdanya, trains farmers on organic techniques. She says that these techniques give the farmers 10 times the income he gets from current techniques

-Whatever she described of the GM process was spine-chilling. A bit too technical for me to replicate correctly

-Finally, 'we are what we eat'. Every time we eat, we vote. If we vote for organic foods, the farmer does better, the environment does better, we are healthier. Win-Win-Win.

Progress- or is it?

Good rebuttal, Krupa :-). Let me address your points specifically.

Western style Capitalistic Progress: I am sure by Progress, we mean progress for the majority. Here are some stats that debunk our progress:

India was the 2nd fastest growing economy in the world in the last few quarters, despite the financial crisis. It has been a top performer on this count in the last 5-6 years. So on economic indicators, we are doing good.

On social indicators:

-134 out of 182 countries on the Human Development Index. This is the same rank in the last survey of 2006

-65 among 84 countries on the hunger index. No change since 2007

-114 of 134 on the Global Gender Index (inequality to women). No change again

-This is a good one: On the Health and Survival index, India ranks the last at 134

-121 out of 134 on the educational attainment index

I can add a few more. And let us not think it is a common reality of developing countries. On the Gender Index, Sri Lanka ranks 16, Bangladesh (a much poorer, Muslim country) 93.

So we do great on economic indicators, but poorly on others, and don't really improve over time. Clearly, the GDP growth is only increasing the economic divide. And the best part is that as we pull tribal lands and give them to mining companies and IT parks, we tell them: ' this is for your own good- you will see the trickle down effect later'.

And what is the end point to all this progress? The US is a good indicator, having adapted this model much earlier: A country that has the maximum per-capita emissions by a large margin, a horrendous budget deficit, unemployment and high health costs. That is despite their large per-capita natural resources, unlike India.

GM: While there are long term philosophical implications of the like that Babai posted below, I was more specifically talking about the process for adapting Brinjal, which seemed to be obviously flawed, as you also seem to think. Don't know too much about the rest of the GM food to comment. In general, it seems like playing with forces that are too powerful, even if you hold in balance the good that they may do.

'Rampant' 'US style' Consumerism, Indian Style: I think this can be felt only if you live here. There is a set of flats coming up in Bangalore that are going to sell for 4 crores each. Apparently, the apartments have fireplaces (in India!), that are decorated with gemstones. Even if you don't consider this extreme example, the general trend that you see here is a quick adaptation of wasteful practices from the West, by rejecting centuries old sustainable practices. We haemorrhage paper napkins by the millions in toilets now, when just 5 years back, we survived on hankies. Now they have gone ahead and introduced them in trains! Can you imagine the waste? We use paper cups for coffee, when we had the good old tumblers for so many years. And let us not forget the most astoundingly stupid invention of them all: sugar in 10 gram sachets.

When you take consumerism one scale higher, you get a plan to replace hills in the Western Ghats with townships, destroying a biodiversity hotspot overnight (google for Lavasa City). It is like building Condos in Yellow Stone National Park.

So what is rampant consumerism as opposed to our parents' times? Our generation's consumerism comes at a huge cost to poor people and the environment. And unlike the US, a rich country, our wealth comes as a stark contrast to the utter poverty of others.

'Rampant' 'US style' Consumerism, US Style: Just see any of those global warming videos and this would be evident. For example, the US is just one 2 countries in the entire world that has not ratified the Kyoto protocol. This is a whole topic by itself.

Necessities,Comforts and Luxuries

That is what economists classify the wants as and not as stated.

AND Economists have been the bane (not Harry Potter's ilk) of the planet.

What is life?
If you live happily and destroy the planet, make species extinct and ruin the earth--is THAT GOOD LIFE?

We'll concede that Borlaug was good--so where does that lead us?
Next statement in Darwin's theory---food security leads to proliferation of the species leading to struggle for existence.

We are already seeing it --with more than half the population lacking food security NOW.
We need more high yielding BT crops--so that we have more progeny--so that we will need more improved varieties in 20 yrs from now.

Is it not funny to see the USA say that India and China are the cause of world food crisis?
The argument is that the middle and poorer sections of these population are eating more now 'cos their incomes have improved. Thus causing shortages!!!

So, development should be limited to the chosen few you see!

Let the world go to its doom slowly. Like the Lemmings, let the populations decimate themselves and then let the Phoenix of Humanity rise again.

Man is an insignificant thing in this universe--his scientific development apart--Let him not destroy the earth.

There is no need for a 3 bedroom house for which you need to cut down trees or smelt iron.
No need for 100 dresses where the climate is going to make you uncomfortable if you wear any.
If your ancestors utilised 2% of the earh's resources, you need not utilise 75% and doom your progeny.
No need to run ACs to cool yourself while heating the atmosphere outside! No need to utilise all the fossil fuel NOW NOW. By consumerism, we donot mean what you are wearing or eating-though it will illustrate the point more forcefully.
Consuming all the resources of the earth!!!
You dont need 3 cars for 3 people. May be not even one!
You dont need 3 ACS, 3 Fans, 3 leaky faucets etc.

But all this is academic only--It is the big bucks that control the world and Monsanto will return --like nature.
I can say much more abt Krupa's arguments but won't, 'cos I am feeling lazy, lethargic but will say this much--as long as it is not defying nature, it is okay.


Live as close to nature as possible and not defy her. You van never conquer her.

Let me remind you of what was said much much earlier.--"You can drive out nature with a pitchfork, But she will return".

Is progress bad?

While I agree with this particular instance of BT Brinjal, where adequate testing in isolated conditions need to be carried out further on the safety concerns, especially considering the fact that this effort is championed by a corporation intent on profit, I just want to raise the opposing viewpoint here.

Can we say all genetically modified foods are bad and one must always consume natural foods only?

What would have happened to the millions of children that died drinking unpasteurized milk, consuming it in its natural state. During the early days of pasteurization, how could anyone know it was safe and effective?

Where would our food security be without Norman Borlaug and the green revolution? Is crossbreeding to create a disease resistance strain credited with saving a Billion lives, destroying the natural harmony?

Are we better off dying from SmallPox, Polio or any number of diseases we found cures for? If we are prolonging the life span of people through Bypass surgeries and chemo-therapies, and expanding the population, how can we expect the "natural" processes to continue to provide us at the same rate? If we want to live in harmony with nature, should doctors exist? To control the population should we force limits on fertility, in an unnatural way?

By banning pesticides and letting crops grow "naturally", are we helping or harming the average farmer already struggling to make a living?

What do you define as RAMPANT consumerism? Is a house with single room enough? How can we judge that a house with 3 rooms is acceptable but a house with 10 rooms is excessive consumerism? If you are able to afford a kg of sweets everyday, and you like them and eat them, are you a consumerist because there are hundreds of others who could be fed 3 square meals with the amount you spent on the sweets.

Is a wardrobe of 20 acceptable and 100 excess? How many clothes does one need? Gandhi survived with just a Dhoti, while Nehru, coming from a princely family, was obviously spending a lot more on his clothes. Does this make him any lesser as an individual?

One of the basic economic principles is Needs & Wants......... And the hierarchy of necessities, conveniences and luxuries. Where would mankind be if everyone stopped at needs? The level of wants at which happiness/satisfaction arises differs for individuals. Where does good consumerism end and bad one begin? Bhutan might be saying the same thing about India as India says about America. Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged!!!!!!!!!!!!

For people from my grandfather's generation, my parents generation were profligates. For my parents, our generation is going to dogs. Every generation thinks the same of the next one.

Things are never black & white. There are always shades of gray in life..................

De-evolution

BT vankaya vanti koorayu
pankajamukhi Madonna vanti bhaaryamaniiyun
Bill Gates vanti daivamu
Saddamudi vairi vanti rrajunu kalare.
it is an unbridled, unwaranted, blind APING of the west that our country is going through now(apes are physilogically and anatomically near humans. so the experiments are on the gullible lot)
Yesterday, I was startled to watch a couple of kids of the age of Aditya (a boy and a girl) exchanging handshakes calling each other "darling" on the occasion of valentines day.
On the deceitful pretext of hgh yields,these genetcally modified crops are cropping up now.
It s a myth.
Our country is accoladed for its philosophy of simple living ,high thinking and austerity. This so called development is not real.
Man should live in harmony with nature, not defying it.
IT brought economical "doom" but B.T will bring "dont know what."
The slogan now must be "save mankind but not earth". Earth has gone through many a tumult and survived.
Unless the mankind awakens soon, humans will face the doom of what dinosaurs had faced.
I do not know whether a word like de-evolution exists but what we are going through now is certainly the reverse of evolution.

Bt Brinjal: A narrow escape

To continue the earlier debate on this topic, I at least am breathing a sigh of relief at the narrow escape on BT Brinjal. Whatever I have read just makes me wonder why it required so much debate in the first place. Consider the facts:

1. All tests carried out by Monsanto or Monsanto funded public institutions

2. Review of the tests by most independent observers call them inadequate

3. Tests were all the more critical in this case because

a) this would have been the 1st commercialized genetic vegetable in the world (Soya & Corn are processed before consumption). So we were truly to be the G. pigs

b) Brinjal is a particularly risky vegetable to pick, as there is a high risk of toxicity apparently

4. Brinjal is apparently a vegetable that originated in India (didn't know that!) and introduction of BT Brinjal would have put thousands of years of natural and human selection of Brinjal sub-species at risk. This also brings to question the need for BT Brinjal...there is enough of the natural product

5. Comparisons with BT Cotton and its 'success story' seem to just strengthen the case against BT Brinjal. The pest resistance, which was the raison de' etre for going the BT Cotton way, has come down (or at least caused enough doubt) and yet, the farmers have to buy seeds every year from the company, at increasing prices. The most diabolical of ideas, the terminator gene which prevents seed use from the plant, is the reason for that. It is a wonder this company is allowed to do what they do!

6. Of course, the most chilling implication of it all is cross-breeding. How much ever one may wish for BT to remain exclusive, it would naturally mix with other, natural varieties of Brinjal, and these sharks would then sue the farmers for using part of the BT technology, however unintentional. Monsanto has actually sued people in the past, on this basis

The scariest aspect of all this is the deliberation and debate which preceded this blindingly obvious decision. It is like the crew of the Titanic having a long, cold-blooded debate about whether the large looming object in front of them is an iceberg or not.

Whew! Most of my conclusions are from this link, in case anyone wants to look for themselves.

http://csm-fanaa.blogspot.com/2010/02/bt-brinjal-as-farmer-and-consumer.html

Any opinions, for or against, specially from the farmers in the blog?

marriage day

many happy returns of the day to madhurima and sasidhar by viswambabai and family

happy 1ST anniversary

to Madhurima and Sasi!

HBD Sarada

Many happy returns of the Day.

washington dc

hum hum hum! all sun and shine when i went there.

Outing to Hebbal Lake

Every first Sunday, there is an outing to Hebbal Lake in North Bangalore- which was today for this month. It was the usual rich experience:

1. Cycled up and down, which is a 60 KM round trip

2. Among others, met with Subbu, a senior ornothologist, who has been doing this for the last 30 years

3. There were a lot of kids too- heartening to find them away from their Ipods and X-boxes. Amusing to see a boy of Aditya's age thumbing through a thick Salim Ali Field Guide.

4. Saw the usual brilliant collection of birds:

-Pond Heron

-Gray Heron

-Large Cormorant

-Asian Koel (Female)

-Common Sandpiper

- Tickell's Flower Pecker

- Purple Rumped Sun Bird

- Little Egret

- Common Swallow

- Rose Ringed Parakeet

- Jungle Myna

- Greater Coucal

- White Throated King Fisher

- Purple Heron

- Blythe's Reed Warbler

- Black-Headed Ibis

- Northern Shoveler

5. Of these, the Kingfisher, Ibis and Shoveler were really brilliant. The Shoveler comes from Siberia. Pics below (from the net).

Driving Miss Daisy

I was watching this movie yesterday, again. Although it is classified in a comedy genre, it is much more than a comedy. Its a drama set in the backdrop of the racial prejudices and stereotypes of the American South in the sixties, but handles the relationship between an old and crotchety white lady and a simple yet stubborn black man in a very elegant manner.The director takes you through the subtle changes in the relationship between the two, showcasing both the strengths and weaknesses.

Jessica Tandy is superb as Miss Daisy and Morgan Freeman portrays Hoke, the chauffeur with an ease few actors could achieve.

Definitely a recommended watch.

Links to Follow

Over the recent few months, I have come across a few websites that are about a different India than we read about in the newspapers. Here are some of them. They are well worth a visit, and perhaps you will also become regular visitors like me.

PointReturn:

I can best describe this as the equivalent of Gandhiji's Phoenix Farm. PointReturn is the singlehanded attempt of a 65+ year old Gandhian, Mr D. V. Sridharan to convert an abandoned land of 17 Acres outside Chennai into a self-sustaining, nature rich bounty. It is his attempt to show by example that the way forward for Indian should be through sustainable, farm centric ways and not through urban GDP driven development (hence the name PointReturn: The point is to return to nature). Besides the courage and enterprise required to do something like this, he is also gifted with an excellent turn of phrase. So his progress reports are well worth tracking.

http://goodnewsindia.com/pointreturn/online/home/

He is also on Youtube and Twitter.

GoodNewsIndia.com:

Before PointReturn, the same gentleman had spent several years reporting positive trends in India through his website http://goodnewsindia.com/. To quote, the website was about 'News from India : of positive action, steely endeavour and quiet triumphs ~ news that is little known'. He used to travel to the unknown corners of the country and highlight the stories of quite heroes in his inimitable style. Because of PointReturn, he doesn't update that site any longer, but the old stories are still there and all of them are awe-inspiring.

Fun, yeah:

Have an IIT-M Senior and IIMC Peer called Sriram. He was actually the 'LORD' of my IIMC batch, which is an honorary title given to the best man of the batch (It is not a voted position: The Lord is always nominated by the earlier Lord). The Lord is kind of the unofficial leader/don of the batch.

A few years ago, he inexplicably quit a promising corporate career to join Akanksha foundation, an NGO in Mumbai. Incidentally, he has now left the NGO and started living at PointReturn with his wife. He blogs regularly on a variety of topics related to grassroots India, and writes well. It is a young man's perspective, and yet not about the usual obsessions of movies, eat-outs, cars and gadgets.

http://csm-fanaa.blogspot.com/

India Together:

An online magazine that covers matters of development and policies in depth. It stays away from the pressures of circulation and ad revenue and thus focus on in-depth coverage rather than accommodating the interests of the largest common denominator. Regular contributors include P. Sainath, who regular readers of the Hindu would know to be the columnist for agricultural policies and realities (author of award winning book Everyone loves a good drought) and other senior journalists.

http://www.indiatogether.org/

ZenRainMan:

S. Viswanath, a water, rural hygiene and sustainability expert writes regularly on Water conservation for the Hindu in Bangalore. He is also the co-founder of the architect firm who are building our eco-friendly house in Bangalore. Although a writer, he is a better video journalist. He makes short and absorbing videos on a variety of topics. You can view/subscribe to them at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/zenrainman#p/u

Well, that is it. Please post your opinions on SH if you happen to visit any of these.

And Happy Birthday Sasanna

Happy Birthday Mrudula!!

my topic

thank u. my topic was bionic eyes.sorry for the late reply.

Booo Hoooooo Hoooooo

Amma left for India today.