Training on the Tools of Governance

Training+on+the+Tools+of+Governance

My news: ‘Bio mining' garbage for compost

Bhavani Bio-Organics Pvt. Ltd. has been dredging into portions of an estimated 45 lakh tonnes garbage in Autonagar, L.B. Nagar, Hyderabad, dumped over a period of two decades to convert it into bio-compost. The entire garbage has been compacted to reduce fires, and foul smell was reduced after steps were taken to drain out the leachate.Compacted garbage is injected with air through perforated pipes and microbes with constant tossing and turning for a few days to convert it into the mineral rich compost. Eight unique blends are being manufactured to suit different soils and crops. Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (NFCL) has recently picked up a five per cent stake in this firm. The plant running with a capacity of 120-300 tones a day has no water connection and runs on generators. The firm recently started a plant at Pune and has plans to operate in 11 other cities. Naresh Kumar, MD of Bhavani Bio-Organics ventured into garbage management with support from persons like noted environment activist Almitra Patel and others.

(this is an abstract of the article, ‘Bio mining' garbage for compost by

V.Geetanath

e-karshak - the mobile applications picking up momentum

I chanced to stumble upon another nugget of information while looking for Sugunamma's article in the eenadu archives - e-karshak a mobile application to monitor fertilizer distribution. In this system, the mobiles of representatives of fertilizer companies, distributors and retailers will be equipped with a special software. West Godavari district additional joint collector Miriyaala Seshagiri Babu developed this system. It is also going to be helpful for farmers and is going to be implemented soon on a trial nasis in the Tanuku Mandal of West Godavari district and will be linked to Kisan credit card service. Original artcle at http://www.eenadu.net/archives/archive-13-9-2010/panelhtml.asp?qrystr=htm/panel15.htm

SUGUNAmma surpasses in SRI vari saagu

The default channel in our house is Bhakti channel, but during a family get together our folks were surfing channels and I chanced to see this news item - One woman farmer, Sugunamma got highest yields in SRI cultivation (Sri vari saagu)and was selected as one of the participants to attend a seminar in USA and immediately I thought that it should be posted on my blog. I tried to memorise this and my own name came to my mind as a convenient mnemonic.


The following day one of my friends called me and informed me about this Sugunamma and that an article about her appeared in EEnadu's Vasumdhara page. Thanks to her! I now have a link to more information. http://www.eenadu.net/archives/archive-13-9-2010/main4.asp

She could get an yield of up to 80 kg/acre with SRI system of rice cultivation.

SUNNAN comes in many colours

I came to know about SUNNAN solar lamps through one of my translation/validation assignments. No wonder it caught my fancy - it comes in cute colours and has no cables attached. Another reason I liked it is that it is portable. Gives a lot more flexibility. But the reason I am posting it here is the social cause associated with it.

For every SUNNAN lamp sold, IKEA Social Iniative donates a lamp to UNICEF and Save the Children, to distribute to children in India and Pakistan to help them play, read, write and study after dusk. So far, over 500,000 lamps have been donated.

SUNNAN lamps combine low energy LED technology with solar cell panels. Since there’s no need for electricity it can be used anywhere indoors. The panel needs to be charged for 9-12 hours in the sun to get three hours of full lamplight.

“Dilemmas in Agriculture: A Personal Story”

Thanks to the author of the article, "Naren's last testament" featured in Hindu, for letting us know about this committed individual and the inside account of organic farming, that is most authentic.

“Dilemmas in Agriculture: A Personal Story”. We persuaded Uma [Naren's wife]to update the volume, and add a few personal notes. The little book is ready and published by Vasudheva Kutumbukum ( kutumbukum@gmail.com). It is rich with wisdom and gentle insights about the predicaments of rural life in India today, but what makes it significant is that it is based on their own journey. The narrative begins in 1987, when Naren decided to leave his well-paid job in a Bank to return to his ancestral village Venkatramapuram in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, for a ‘life of organic farming and social work' - The author says and adds that it is "a passionate — even desperate — plea to save the Indian farmer from hunger, pauperisation and despair".

Kulsum Sayani

“Each one, teach one”, one of the most effective schemes to promote education today was popularised by a woman few remember, but who was a pioneer in the field of adult literacy in India.

Kulsum Sayani's name might not ring a bell for many but her life and work are truly remarkable ...Her experience made her a part of several committees, ....But it was in spreading the word on education that she is best remembered. ...Her days are a mad rush of dashing to schools to enthuse children into teaching adults and her nights are spent dreaming up new schemes of literacy."...Another literacy initiative she initiated was reading out aloud. School students were encouraged to gather friends and adults and each one had to read out aloud. This, she believed, was necessary to improve the confidence and interest of neo-literates. ..."

- excerpt from Many facets of an activist by
DANISH KHAN Source:http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/08/15/stories/2010081550330500.htm

(I must try this reading aloud technique with agricultural magazines)

Cadambi Minakshi

Hey! This photo looks familiar!...looks like my mother.. rather like her in those college photographs. The same expression!! I looked intently at it ...tears clouding my eyes. As I read further the similarity continued, my mother's subject also being history. The mention of Prof. Nilakanta Sastri in the article brought back the memories of my mother talking about the eminent scholar with great reverence.

"Minakshi was an authority on Pallava history, a respected archaeologist and the first woman to get a doctorate from the University of Madras in 1936. Her scholarship was profound and her accomplishments astonishing. If only death had not come cruelly quick, when she was just 34 years old, Minakshi would have uncovered more of the precious past and be as well remembered as her teacher Prof. Nilakanta Sastri, the doyen of South Indian history" - excerpt from a tribute by A. Srivathsan.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sundaymagazine/article571477.ece

I thought that I should send this news clipping to her, but was wondering if the idea was foolish. And then the next paragraph in the article cleared by doubt. It says:
Minakshi maintained a calico covered scrapbook with ‘made in England' inscribed on it. “Mother and daughter collected every piece of paper that had anything to do with the latter; newspaper clippings, letters, manuscripts and invitations,” explained Mahalakshmi Gourishankar, a 75-year-old relative of Minakshi, who generously shared the book.

Just then my husband called saying that he was with my mother and if I had to say something. I asked him to buy and give that day's Hindu to my mother. He did and returned with an article on Stevia in Eenadu Sunday magazine! My mother warning me indirectly to cut down on my sugar intake...?!!

Antariksha Shaamtihi

This independence day I attained freedom from a hurried morning cooking routine. I could spend two long hours reading each article in the Hindu at length. I found many articles interesting that I thought should be posted on my blog. The list got longer as I was turning to each page. I remembered the proverb `Kotta BichchagaaDu podderagadu'. Since I started the my news feature on my blog only the previous day I was rather extra enthusiastic about it. Usually what seems to be very important in the first instance ceases to be so with the passage of time. But this time although not very directly related to my current interests I could not do away with two great personalities of yesteryears..sorry decades! But should I clog my blog with all this stuff! Why not!! When so much of wasteful content over internet is polluting space and mind! Let postings about these great souls cleanse the cyber space. Let peace prevail. Antariksha shaamtihi!!!

What you throw is what you get

I threw some knowledge! And I got three raw papayas!!
There's nothing great about these Three Papayas. But there were a couple of things that were nice about this papaya episode. The episode: our watchman has sent these three papayas to me through my maid. He is a farmer-turned-watchman (rural-urban migration). His farming instinct makes him plant some useful plants around our residential complex. We don't pin too much hopes on the produce but we find them handy for our children's science projects and for Vinayaka Chaturthi patri puja. Today morning he found these three papayas severed from the tree and had sent them to me. I was delighted to see the three papayas because:

* He remembered that I once told him that raw papayas are edible and serve culinary purpose.
* He bothered to send them to me. These days maids and watchmen have become highly commercial. Time is money for them and they can't afford to waste a minute. He could have easily dumped them somewhere.
* Anything related to food and agriculture, they are reckoning me. My ideas are finding acceptance.

But when he knows that a raw banana is culinary, why didn't he use it? What is not there in culture is not easy to imbibe. Perhaps people need a demo/workshop. No, I am not going to give one to them. It won't help many. I would rather wait for some formal project to popularise nutritious underutilized species, particularly tree species like papaya, drumstick and Sesbania. Naakoka project kaavalenu...

People, Places, Pictures and Projects

When it was time to renew my subscription to Hindu daily, I just reminisced how the stories it carried enlivened each day in the past 6 months. It was a quick 15 minute escape into my world. More than the ephemeral news stories, there were interesting places which I would like to visit, books I would read and people whom I would like to meet and projects I would like to work for. Now and then I managed to rummage through them and retrieve items of my interest. I believe some of them might be interesting to others as well. Nevertheless, my own blog is the best place to store these clippings and go over them once in a while.

My News: People, Authors, Books

Driven by passion, not their degrees
Rashmi Bansal connects the dots, giving MBAs-turned-entrepreneurs a miss

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/07/28/stories/2010072850400100.htm

"A contemporary Indian author of instant recall thanks to her first non-fiction work, Stay Hungry Stay Foolish, Rashmi loves to tell us stories of entrepreneurs who've chosen lesser known paths.

Her first book encapsulated case studies of MBAs-turned-entrepreneurs. Her second, Connect the Dots, tells you why MBA is not a pre-requisite to be a successful entrepreneur."

Rashmi herself is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad. She reflects, “MBA was just an experience; it helped as a personality changing and building experience rather than the first step to find a lucrative job,” she says. Rashmi banked on her experience of writing for newspapers and started a youth magazine, JAM (Just Another Magajine). Through Connect the Dots, she intends to make youngsters think if they really require the big investment called MBA. The book chronicles success stories of 20 entrepreneurs in different age groups from different parts of India. 

“We often hear people wondering how any business can flourish in Bihar. Interestingly, I found Satyajit Singh whose business of the makhana fruit and its products has helped many farmers in the region. Today, he is the President of CII in Bihar. Then, there is Kalyan Varma who traded a lucrative IT job for a career in wildlife photography (reminds you of Madhavan's character in 3 Idiots?),” she says. The choice of stories, Rashmi explains, is a mosaic where heads of Rs. 500 and 300 crore empires are placed against individuals. “Not everyone heads a company with 10,000 employees but can still have interesting, inspiring stories. There's a young woman who has a hand-made paper business, where the paper came from elephant dung!”

Safflower - Traditional preparations

Satthemma fondly recalls traditional Safflower recipes and recreates the backyard charm in our balcony. I didn't notice the gentle crackling sound of the safflower seeds being pounded by the long wooden pestle, until my son came running to see what sound it was. Once my attention was drwan I found it very musical and very... natural! Like the earthen shades there seem to be earthen sounds too.

Stevia & Safflower Team up for Tea

Dr. Sandhya Shenoy adds sugar to our safflower tea! A sweet person she is...an apt contribution to our herbal delight. She adds - Stevia (  Telugu name - madhu patri) . We had been trying safflower tea with various combinations - sugar (least recommended), honey and misri (కలకండ)  and dates powder. For the first timers, we were adding only sugar so as not to mask the true flavour of safflower. But we are looking for a better alternative. And when Sandhya passionately narrated her tryst with Stevia, ...we got the missing link for a perfect complete herbal tea. Stevia leaf powder could just be added to the tea with the same ease as that of sugar. Stevia , a boon for diabetics ... is also good for others since it is better if people can cultivate the habit of using it instead of sugar - disaster preparedness!!

Safflower's new Avtar

Ever since I adopted Safflower as my candidate crop for trying out various KMS approaches, I am on the prowl for nuggets of knowledge relating to safflower and Voila!!! Safflower is engineered to produce pharmaceutical products like Biosimilar Insulin and Apo A1 Milano, and food ingredients like Chymosin.

SemBioSys Genetics, a Canadian company based in Calgary, Alberta announced that it has produced human insulin in transgenic safflower, by inserting a human insulin gene into a safflower plant. The technology has led to the recovery of human insulin as the plant grows and seeds develop. The transgenic safflower was engineered to express an oleosin-human pro-insulin protein exclusively in its seed. Pro-insulin is the precursor to insulin which is converted into a type of insulin called SBS-1000. Tests have indicated that SBS-1000 is identical to human insulin. Existing commercial insulin production methods typically rely on yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) or bacteria (Escherichia coli) that were genetically engineered to produce synthetic human insulin. These organisms are grown in large, steel bio-reactors and then insulin is extracted and purified for final formulation. The company says that it can produce one kilogram of insulin per acre of safflower production, which is enough to supply 2,500 patients for one year of treatment and that the world's total insulin demand in 2010 can be met by less than 16,000 acres of safflower crop. The company claims that this breakthrough in plant-produced insulin have the potential to fundamentally transform the economics and scale of insulin production. In that case it is certainly going to transform the economics and scale of production of safflower crop too.

The company has also modified safflower seed lines to express Apolipoprotein A1 and its variant Apolipoprotein A1 (Milano), collectively referred to Apo A1, which is a next-generation cardiovascular drug that targets the removal of atherosclerotic plaque from arteries. As a major component of the high-density lipoprotein complex ("good cholesterol"), ApoA-I helps to clear cholesterol from arteries. ApoA-1 Milano is a naturally occurring mutant of ApoA-I, found in a family descended from a single couple of the 18th century. Discovered by accident, the mutation was found to be present in about 3.5% of the population of Limone sul Garda, a small village in northern Italy. It has been traced to a mutation in a single man who had lived in the village in the 1700s and passed it on to his offspring. ApoA1 Milano was first identified by Dr Cesare Sirtori in Milan, who also demonstrated that its presence significantly reduced cardiovascular disease, even though it caused a reduction in HDL levels and an increase in triglyceride levels.

SemBioSys has extended its plant-based technology platform to non-pharmaceutical products as well and signed an option agreement with The Instituto de Agrobiotecnologia Rosario S.A. (INDEAR) based in Rosario, Argentina for producing Chymosin from transgenic safflower. Chymosin, also called rennet, is a natural enzyme used in the production of cheese obtained originally from calve stomachs. Bovine chymosin is produced nowadays recombinantly in E. coli, Aspergillus niger var awamori, and Kluyveromyces lactis as alternative resource to the one from the cows. SemBiosys says chymosin is significantly cheaper to produce using its proprietary plant expression system which is versatile, scalable and cost effective  offering compelling economic advantages relative to traditional sources of chymosin enzyme.

Crop Biofactories Initiative, a  joint venture between CSIRO and the Grains Research and Development Corporation, is developing of genetically modified safflower to deliver important fatty acids and oils for the chemicals industry as potential replacements for petrochemicals in the manufacture of industrial products. CSIRO chose safflower as its first biofactory platform crop because it is hardy, easy to grow, widely adapted and easily isolated from food production systems. It is widely adapted to Australian production regions; and has flexible production timing with potentially continuous supply scenarios.

The much neglected promising crop of the past is getting reincarnated as a profitable pharmaceutical and industrial crop of the future!
 

The incredible Safflower and its innumerable uses

Safflower looks like a conflation of Saffron and Sunflower. Traditionally, the crop was grown for its flowers, used for colouring and flavouring foods and making dyes. But for the last fifty years or so, it is being cultivated mainly for its seed, which is used as bird feed and also for extracting edible oil. About 60 countries grow safflower, but over half is produced in India, mainly for the domestic vegetable oil market. Chinese use safflower florets in medicine as a blood herb. Safflower flowers are sometimes used as an adulterant for Saffron and hence referred to as "bastard saffron" or "false saffron". Safflower oil is also used in painting in the place of Linseed oil. The flowers are used as cutflowers and in dry flower arrangements. Tender stems and leaves are edible and the mature stems are used in particle borad making.

Safflower, having innumerable uses has another incredible fact to its credit - it is drought resistant!! It has a strong tap root which enables it to thrive in dry climates. It can be a boon for poor farmers of drought stricken areas, but awareness is the limiting factor. Even people who are familiar with the crop are reluctant to take up safflower, as they are not prepared to take the "pain" of its cultivation. Its leaves are spiny! But the good news is that several non-spiny varieties are now available for cultivation. Solar Petal collectors are also being developed.

I found this crop very interesting and the challenge is that of `knowledge sharing' among different stake holders along the value chain (which is almost non-existant at the moment). Both producers and consumers need to be familiarized with Safflower's production and uses. Herbal tea made out of Safflower petals is very good for health. The dried flowers are also used as a natural textile dye. Natural dyes derived from plants are not widely used in industry but oflate they are gaining significance world wide because of naturality and fashion trends. Now the task is to spread the word across and link farmers and consumers. Even urban people might try this crop on their real estate plots as safflower is very hardy and doesn't require much care. It could very well be the beginning of mainstreaming agriculture.

You are the Policy Maker! How eco-friendly can you make your birthday?

You are the policy maker for your birthday and you have the full one year to conceive, contemplate and collect all that you need to make it a greeeen grand event. You also have year after year to make it greener and greener with each passing year.
Not celebrating a birthday is I think the most eco-friendly option. But why not take the day to champion the cause and showcase a day’s lifestyle that is in tune with nature. The possibilities are endless. There are innumerable ideas and tips on celebrating eco-friendly birthdays.
http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/2007/06/13/eco-friendly-birthday-party/
My protocol of a most eco-friendly birthday embraces changes in the venue, decorations, menu, cutlery, fun activities and most importantly, the gifts and the return gifts.
Be it a nearby park to which you and your friends walk down or a zoo to which you go cycling, it is the venue that sets the stage for the deviation you intend. Celebrating your birthday with grandparents at native villages is also a good thing to do. Sanctuaries, resorts, rivers and oceans, hills and mountains, valleys, deserts and the like are of course perfect locations. Even when you make it indoors, innovative decoration makes all the difference. A rich variety of leaves, flowers, feathers and shells adds color and life to a party. For example, Heliconia is a spectacular plant to make colorful festoons. In fact, it is when I first saw the Heliconia inflorescence that the idea of eco-friendly birthdays occurred to me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heliconia_pendula1.jpg


Using such plants and flowers for decoration and having fun activities based on them could bring people closer to biodiversity. Children might find it more fascinating than the plastic toys to which they are used to since their childhood and the older generation might get a chance to reconnect to their nostalgic childhood. Fighting with Gulmohar (Flamboyant) stamens was no less exciting than beyblade fights and decorating a palm leaf puppet was no less engrossing than dressing up a Barbie doll.
Biodiversity based menus are a perfect fit for birthdays and children will slowly learn to develop a taste for the real good natural food. Asking a local organic store to organize a demo on a birthday is a win-win option. Choice of cutlery alone can make a huge difference, by just avoiding the plastic tumblers, plates, spoons and other disposable items. Edible cutlery presents an excellent alternative, especially when you are partying in natural environs, you needn’t have to leave the garbage around.
http://www.startupdunia.com/india-startups/go-green-with-edible-cutlery-2220
Even the theme of the birthday could be biodiversity. Asking people to recognize the seeds, flowers and leaves of unconventional and underutilized species could be a very meaningful fun game.

It is certainly an entertaining way to get to know the rich biodiversity and celebrate this year’s theme of the World Environment Day (WED) - ‘Many Species. One Planet. One Future.’ which focuses on the central importance to humanity of the globe’s wealth of species and ecosystems, and supports the UN International Year of Biodiversity.
http://www.unep.org/wed/2010/english/blogging.asp






Gifts and return gifts could be the most thoughtful ones that reflect your taste, passion and ingenuity with which you had collected them throughout the year. Traditional wooden toys, toys made of recycled or eco-friendly materials are ideal. Seeds, plants and pets are even better. Seeds – icons of beginning can very well mark the beginning of a birthday celebration in the form of plantable invitation cards. When it comes to invitation and greeting cards, the eco-friendly ones offer a stiff competition to their conventional counterparts.
http://www.custompaper.com/invitations.html

Every Book its Reader

…says Dr. S.R. Ranganathan’s third law of Library Science.



I was struck by this picture while going through the LIESA Magazine (Now Farming Matters). It looked very familiar. The rear side of the apartment complex in which we live looks very much the same and the garden is somewhat similar to another place close by. It seemed to be the `real version’ of what has been hard wired in my mind for years, except that I envisaged more number of trees in the place of vegetable plots and a pond in the place of a glass house. Personally permacultural designs appeal to me more than the conventional rectangular plots of crops and nurseries.

This Cuban Urban Farm picture reevoked my tryst with City farming. It has of course been lurking in the corner of my mind ever since Chintu planted mint, which appears like a green dot from my balcony. I had been looking for an opportunity to encourage him and coax him and others to try out more. Now there is something concrete in my hand to approach them - an inspiring picture. I was sure that they would relate it to themselves … and I am right!


LEISA Newsletter got new readers (viewers?!).

The Farming Instinct

Chintu, the 8 year old school boy takes to growing mint in absolutely harsh weather with the blazing sun baking the bare ground and temperatures soaring as high as 42° C. He is born into a farming family but he is raised away from farms in an urban settlement. His parents and even grand parents moved to Hyderabad in search of non-agricultural occupations leaving their 5-acre farm in Warangal district and bequeathing behind the culture and knowledge associated with it. Fortunately, the farming instinct seems to run in the family and somehow surfaces in Little Chintu.

Agriculture in urban areas is not considered to be an appropriate proposition, at least in terms of returns-on-investment. Many do not bother, and even those who do bother do not venture. It is more than just economics. It is a culture and it is the spirit that matters! And this is what exactly little Chintu displayed, however humble or modest the attempt is. In my opinion, the direction is more important than the magnitude. If we insist on the magnitude the direction may be throttled.

Crows in Cages

Pindas are offered to crows during the funeral rites and also on death anniversaries (taddinam). If the crow comes and eats the pinda, it is believed that the atma of the person is satiated. If otherwise it means that the person's atma is unhappy and he/she has a wish to be fulfilled. It is a great source of unhappiness if crows fail to eat the pindas. But where to find a crow in metros? We tried to convince ourselves that pigeons are the city versions of the country crows. When the priests came to perform the masikam (monthy ritual), they told that even crows are for sale, specifically for these occasions, @ Rs. 1200/crow along with the cage. (I see a business oppurtunity there?) The crow is caged, made to eat the pinda and then let go off. What is the fate of that crow then?

Funeral rites and eco-concerns

The funeral rites brought me closer to nature than ever before. Most of the rites were performed in the open. We had to spend most of the time outdoors as we were to observe a sort of religious seclusion. We were not supposed to use any footwear and walked barefoot on sand and stone and had to dwell along the river bank like people in the early civilization.

The priests were quite environmentally conscious and were careful enough to separate the 'darbha' (Imperta cylindrica, a kind of grass with sharp leaf blades) and throw it on to the bank instead of allowing it to get into the river water, showing concern to aquatic life.

During the shradhha karma three rice balls (pindas) are made to impersonate the three immediate ancestors.These pindas are either fed to a cow, offered to aquatic beings in rivers/lakes or burnt. Most often they are mixed in river/lake water. In Rajamundry it was not a problem, but Hyderabad, we decided to burn the pindas, as neither cows nor a good water source was available in the neighborhood. Our priest advised us to mix them in the nearby pond as he has done the same thing last year for someone in the neighborhood. But this year most of the pond is eutrophicated and the water got dirty. With this a discussion on the water bodies in Hyderabad upsurged.

Since decades the priests had been offering pindas to aquatic creatures in water bodies located in different parts of the city but now they find these water bodies missing one by one, year after year, in the much altered topography of Hyderabad. [no] Thanks to the real estate boom in the recent past. The pindas are basically made from cooked rice. But whatever is cooked in the house that day - the ceremonial 4 curries and 4 chutneys, dal, payasam etc. are also added to the cooked rice in small quantities. But one thing which is compulsorily cooked but not added to the pindas is `vada' (made of black gram dal and deep fried in oil). Vada is supposed to harm aquatic organisms. Likewise when the pindas are fed to a cow, vada is included but payasam is excluded. Any scientific explanation?

Serving the Soul

I was all set to take charge of my aged father-in-law, reading `how to take care of aged' blogs & sites and by not accepting any new job contracts. He was to come to HYD around 20th Feb. But destiny was different. I had to travel to Rajamundry on 17th ... to be part of the elaborate rituals for his journey to heaven.

His own cute house in Rajamundry was certainly a better place for his departure with his friends - innocent looking squirrels and a variety of birds on the mango and jack fruit trees bidding farewell, and his grand children paying homage with hibiscuses from his own garden.

Articulate priests and artisanal washerman (washer couple!) took charge of the rest. I had to do several `things impossible', wear the saree in a traditional manner, take a dip in the holy waters of river Godavari, cook in an earthen pot on the river bank with firewood. To my own surprise I could do everything with ease. Thanks to our priest whose instructions were very clear and he literally provided `context sensitive help'. To me the whole exercise seemed to be like a well designed e-learning module. No wonder, we later learn't that the priest has been a faculty in Mechanical engineering. Although he entered this profession rather reluctantly, he now finds it spiritually satisfying and initiated even his sons into it. In fact I was also quite enthralled with the numerous concepts and terms and wished for a TOR to build a concept map for religion.

My memorable moments with Mr. Srinivas

This is the most memorable moment. Mr. and Mrs. Srinivas enjoying my poem. (was it really a poem? Now it doesn't seem so. But at that time it was more than a poem. Very much exciting. One of the ingredients that made a very simple get-together a wonderful event for every one of us!)

Here is that poem (?!)


Oops! Not legible. I would try to post a better version asap.

People who make us happy...

...when they are with us are the ones who make most unhappy when they part. It was a shock to know that Mr. Srinivas is no more. He is just 61. We took his longevity for granted, just as we take his kindness for granted. So unassuming! So very helpful!! No formalities...I could just be myself.

...He shared my arboretum dream. He always wanted to buy some land. It sounded as though he is going to buy it, to plant whatever I wanted. Thank God! At least we talked about it. Now I realize the true meaning of what some books would say - lead each day as though it is our last day. But what about our dreams, ideas and aspirations? For that matter - fears? They seem to be null and void when fate usurps all of them. Until that time we ought to have them as props to get through our lives!

Mainstreaming Agriculture - the first step

Agriculture is a culture not an occupation. It should be integrated into ones life style. I admit that it is not easy. Even a watering a plant in a balcony is difficult. But people are doing many difficult and impossible things, if they are convinced. It is rather a question of will than way.

Agriculture should be weaved back into the cultural fabric of people. This could be the first step!

Figuring out FOAF

When I chose not to join AME, I decided not to join any other formal job. If it is not this, nothing else kind of attitude. I took the risk of remaining a housewife but was planning to do something. I tried a few things I liked - greeting cards, handmade paper, city farming and even voice over, but didn't venture actually.

It was time to settle somewhere and I could convince my husband to buy a flat in an area close to the Agricultural University and other related institutes. Although distant, ICRISAT is also quite accessible from that area. My idea was to stay close to those institutes so that I remain in touch with my friends and profession.

I was rather an early bird to that place. There were already a couple of senior scientists in our apartment complex, but I could only elicit sympathy for having left a decent Government job. There was no professional knowledge sharing.

I joined the other women in the flat and we did many wonderful things, if not in the magnitude but in the spirit! More about it in another post..

I continued attending meetings and conferences and was getting some assignment or the other, because I was visible. Slowly my classmates and friends started flocking in the same locality. Friends of friends, relatives of friends, neighbors of friends - got to know more and more about people, projects and events. I could attend the alumni meeting...so thrilling it was! And more recently the `Say NO to BT brinjal' campaign.

It is exciting to know something different, yet relevant every now and then. Not that every idea or thought takes a concrete shape immediately ...

It took me seven years to discover the artists in the neighborhood. I could guess in the very beginning, when we joined our flat that some artists live in the next street, as I could see a different kind of clay, broken pieces of castings etc. on the road. I was asking several people about it but in vain. Years later, I stumbled upon them when my daughter joined clay modeling classes in summer with my new FOAF connections.

FOAF connections, as the FOAF Project puts it, "FOAF lets you share and inter-connect information from diverse sources, move it around, and use it in unexpected new ways."

So I am trying to figure out how this works to help me expand my network without actually taking much of each other's time. But I don't know how `on-line ready' my friends are!

Bookmarking the Bookmarks

It looks that I am getting lost in the bookmarks. Unless I bookmark them here I might lose track of them, because this is one place I would surely return.

Bookmarks...I always loved them more than books. The 15 x 5 cm greeting card which I used as a bookmark comes to my mind. Why didn't I keep it? Perhaps we should waive our vow, "I will not accumulate stuff in the house" when it comes to things that are close to our heart.

I would try making a few bookmarks with the tailor waste that I had accumulated. Thank God I didn't discard it yet.

Bookmarks, old and new are fascinating!

The Alchemist ...

...still haunting! I liked it in toto.. In fact it is not liking, it was a sort of self-identification. It was possibly because I didn't read many books or I happened to read that book when I was really ready to read something. Not exactly! The other books I came across didn't appeal me and I didn't even continue reading beyond a few pages.

...there is something that is very similar about the book and myself. Although I did not like the idea that I am similar to something that is just fiction, I have to admit that it is true! Dreams, Destiny, Universal language ...exactly my kind of stuff.

I cherish many sentences therein, but I don't have the patience to read it again, so I pick up those particular sentences I like and put them here, of course, with some concept classification. Habits die hard! A new kind of Content Indexing? Or perhaps very old...a concordance!


Dreams:
Dreams are the language of God p. 13

Whoever believes in dreams also knows how to interpret them p. 112

People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they will be unable to achieve them. P. 136-137 [I very much deserve my farm house dream. It might appear now that I may not achieve it at all. But I am waiting and watching for something to really happen! The Universe has to conspire to help me - the book says "When you want something , all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it" p. 23. I trust it. It happened to me thrice before.]

Never stop dreaming…follow the omens. P. 64

“No heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity. p. [137 ?]

Why don’t people’s hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams? ..Because that’s what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don’t like to suffer p. 138

[There appears to be some contradiction in the above two sentences. Did I understand it right? But in experience, both are true. Suffering seems to be a continuum. We do suffer because of having dreams and at times, if not always, it is literally an encounter with God and with eternity. It is my form of worshiping God!]

There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve the fear of failure. P. 149 [also the fear of Success. May be I wish that it remains a dream and do not want it to become a reality. The moment it becomes a reality, it ceases to be a dream. Not only that the charm is lost, it becomes a burden. Dreams should never become true? I didn't join my dream job with AME because I didn't want to shatter it with real world problems]

I am not wrong ... the following sentences in The Alchemist also say something similar. That is why I liked this book. It is in tune with me.

I am afraid that if my dream is realized, I ‘ll have no reason to go on living p. 57

He had worked for an entire year to make a dream come true, and that dream, minute by minute, was becoming less important. May be because that wasn’t really his dream .may be it is better to be like the crystal merchant: never to go to Mecca, and just go through life wanting to do so. P.66 [Is it true with my farm house dream? It is hurting! I still have hope. Better late than never!]


The desert is a capricious lady, and sometimes she drives men crazy – p. 74
Arms are as capricious as the desert, and if they are not used, the next time they might not function. P. 113 [!? earlier it is compared to a capricious lady?)
In the desert disobedience means death p. 74
But the desert is so huge and the horizon so distant, that they make a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent. P. 76 [I remembered watching the sea from the ship (from Bombay to Goa in 1986)and the very next sentence in the book was this..]
Whenever he saw the sea, or fire, he fell silent, impressed by their elemental force. P. 76
Once you get into the desert, there’s no going back, said the camel driver, “And, when you can’t go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward. The rest is up to Allah, including the danger. – p. 81 [yeah! true with marriage and kids and partly with profession as well!]
Maybe God created the desert so that man could appreciate the date trees, he thought. P. 91
The dunes are changed by the wind, but the desert never changes. That’s the way it will be with our love for each other. P. 102 [I change flavors in Complan but never the complan, in good old days. But now it is Coffee - jars changed by offers]

Here and there, he found a shell, and realized that the desert, in remote times, had been a sea. P. 104

He had heard people speak of mirages, and had already seen some himself. They were desires that, because of their intensity, materialized over the sands of the desert. P. 105
This time the desert was safe, and it was the oasis that had become dangerous. P. 105
If I could, I’d write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence. It’s with those words that the universal language is written – p. 73 [Even I have tales to tell about luck and coincidence. I very much agree that the universal language is written with these words]

They believe that if they have to know, someone will tell them about it. It happened many times before. But this time the person is you. P. 109

When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I’ve discovered things along the way that I never would have seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve. P. 137

..That’s the point at which most people give up. It’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon” p. 139

The boy remembered an old proverb from his country. It said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn p. 139

Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time. (an Arab proverb) p. 164
Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it’s all written there. ..Maktub- p. 77
Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own. p. 16
When someone sees the same people every day,…they wind up becoming a part of that person’s life. And then they want the person to change. P. 16
People say strange things, the boy thought. Sometimes it is better to be with the sheep who don’t say anything. And better still to be alone with one’s books. They tell their incredible stories >at the time when you want to hear them. P. 20

Anyone who interferes with the destiny of another thing never will discover his own. P. 143

Simplicity:

It’s the simple things in life that are the most extra-ordinary; only wise men are able to understand them. P. 15

Master Work could be written simply on an emerald. But men began to reject simple things, and to write tracts, interpretations and philosophical studies. P. 133

When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed p. 141 [I don't know why I felt like putting this sentence under simplicity but somewhere I am convinced]

Incidents - dangerous and disastrous:

One day, the earth began to tremble, and the Nile overflowed its banks. It was something that I thought could happen only to others, never to me. P. 79 [I felt exactly the same way when earth trembled during Latur Earth quake and When we jumped out of the Burning Gautami Express]

All this happened between sunrise and sunset, the boy thought. He was feeling sorry for himself, and lamenting the fact that his life could have changed so suddenly and so drastically. – p. 41 [It reminded me of my Father's death. Everything was over in a single day! I have the same feeling whenever I see a road accident]

a Dash of ash ...and a Dot of silver!

...to enliven a beautiful pink saree. Taking respite and retreat from routine with hobby ideas. Fabric painting is a sure way of reducing weight. Yes! You don't feel like going into the kitchen at all!
It is an ideal off-season occupation. Not only for me. Even for the farm women. It could be a good source of non-farm income for them and we can support them by buying/marketing! After all, such goods are not as perishable and as bulky as their farm produce!

Yet another edible wild plant ...

I came to know of this just by accident. It is none other than our bright pink flowered coral vine. It's tubers are edible!

Its common names include Bellsima, Chain-Of-Love, Confederate Vine, Confederate-Vine, Coral Bells, Coral Creeper, Coral Vine, Corallita, Coralvine, Dilngau, Flores Ka'dena, Hearts On a Chain, Honolulu creeper, Kadena De Amor, Love Chain, Love-Vine, Mexican Coral Vine, Mexican Creeper, Mexican-Creeper, Mountain Rose, Mountain-Rose coralvine, Mountain-Rose Coralvine, Queen's Jewels, Queen's Wreath, Queen's-Jewels, Rohsapoak, Rosa De Montana, Sandwich Island Creeper