Lasting Impressions: It is Everywhere - Short Story

Lasting Impressions: It is Everywhere - Short Story: She was fed up of the fever. It had gone undiagnosed for more than a week, but tapered off after she swallowed some antibiotics.When it recu...

Lasting Impressions: Are We Really Against Corruption?

Lasting Impressions: Are We Really Against Corruption?: Am I a cynic? I don't know. I should join in the applause to the way the average Indian Middle Class has risen up to the occasion and joined...

Birds Drop Dead

"Birds began falling out of the sky" This is from a book on Iraqi Kurdistan, 'Love in a Torn Land'. The use of chemicals to kill Kurdish people in the nineties resulted in not only mass murder of the people but also of animals and birds. 

This post is several years too late, and except the one who goes through the trials, it is difficult to understand the angst the people felt under the heartless Iraqi regime. But the book brought tears to the eyes, for what we call "victims" are people too - feeling the emotions as we do. Of love, fear, pain, hunger...

What is saddening is that the book will never be irrelevant. It could be Jews, Kurds, or even Kashmiris... the world is always at war,  and this book will never be irrelevant.

"Panchi, nadiya, pawan ke jhonke

Koi sarhad naa inhe roke"

These lyrics from Refugee are a reminder that boundaries are a very human creation. Boundaries that separate not only lands, but hearts too. While we try to destroy each other, killing mercilessly, indiscriminately, it is nature that becomes a victim of crossfire between the warring factions. And then to rebuild from scratch...

There is so much beauty around us. If we are blinded to it and don't look beyond ourselves, beautiful birds and animals may become part of folk lore: "Once upon a time..." Provided, man is still left to tell such stories. Provided he still remains a human being, and not just a beast grabbing and snatching.

Anubavangal: Porulaathaaram irunthum manathil ethu thaaraalam? ...

Anubavangal: Porulaathaaram irunthum manathil ethu thaaraalam? ...: "நான் நமது நாட்டு தலைவரின் சுதந்திர தின பேச்சை நான் கேட்கவில்லை. ஆனால் ஹிந்துப்பத்திரிகையில் தலைப்பு படித்தேன். லஞ்சத்திற்கு எதிரான போராட்டத..."

Social Entrepreneurs

They are highly educated, have worked in MNCs, and have a high earning capacity. Continuing in their professions would no doubt give them a good bank balance, a luxurious lifestyle and the title "high flyers".

But they chose to use their capabilities for sustainable development of rural India, to address the problems faced by the people in the villages. While one is addressing the need for reviving agricultural land (Harnessing Rural Power), the other started a company to address the dearth of power in rural areas by using their natural byproducts such as rice husk (Power to Rice Belt).

Passion, vision, courage to experiment and take risks, perseverance and a deep desire to set right  the lopsided development of the country - these goals drive their business models.

There are many today who have thrown their cushy jobs away to become social entrepreneurs. Talking to them and writing about them reinstates one's faith in mankind. For every 10 news items of destruction, there are probably a few of regeneration. Hopefully, more such regenerative forces will spring up in the coming years to give a fresh life to mother earth.

Energy Conserving ACs

Two Sundays back, an article I had written Star cooling, trim bills, appeared in The Hindu Retail Plus. Someone called me and pointed out that most people don't look at the star rating but only at brand and tonnage. So wasn't my article redundant?

But that's precisely my point. We go for the externals, and yes, branding is important for assured quality no doubt. But as individuals, by being aware of our consumption of electrical goods and buying those products that consume less is important. While it may not matter much if your bills are already lower, but, for instance, I know someone whose electricity bill is Rs 9000 for two months. That made me whistle (badly)! I think such people at least should start bothering about conservation and buying products that consume less.

BEE - Bureau of Energy Efficiency is coming up with ratings now for laptops. It already has ratings for a range of electrical products. Let's contribute our bit to the environment and buy products that conserve energy.