My Incubating Ideas!

As the new academic year is approaching, it is time for me to draft my own syllabus for the year and hence I took a re-look at my incubating ideas. With the Internet stage set for regional content, I considered my Telugu_Agriculture_Content ideas first.

Ready ...One ..Two..and Go!

**First ever Bibliographic Database of Agricultural Literature in Telugu **

I had actually started building it and I wanted it to be formally launched at S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati, during our Alumini meet. But that Alumini meet didn't happen to date. I cannot incubate the idea any further and I am announcing it right here.


**"English to Telugu" and "Telugu to English" Dictionary of Agricultural Terms, with thematic arrangement.**

It is going to be a hybrid between a thesaurus and a dictionary.

This has been my idea since 2-3 years, and it has become partially real, with me getting the AGROVOC translation project. (people say watch your ideas, they become your actions. It turned out to be true). But this assignment was slightly different from what I had in mind. It was more like `AGROVOC in Telugu' rather than a `Thesaurus of Agricultural Terms in Telugu'. So, now I would take up the second one and I plan to include the regional and dialectical variations as well.

I propose to bring this out in two versions - a Concise Print Version and an elaborate & interactive Online Version. Since, I do not need any software support for the first one, I am starting it right away. It is going to be a handy reference tool for NGOs, Press and particularly to Scientists for their Radio & TV programmes and for their Farmer's meetings. The most probable user would of course be myself and I can speed up my translation assignments.

**Microblogging**

My distant, if not remote vision is that it forms the basis for microblogging (via mobiles) among farmers across continents. So that is another thing I dream of! To get farmers bitten by the `Blogging' bug.

And of course there are my regular seasonings - Puzzles, Posters, Parody songs, Puppet shows etc. to garnish these farmers' blogs.

**Animations and TV programmes**


Once I open this Pandora's box of `My ideas', two `jacks-in-the-box' are certain to pop up (1) 2-D animations showing the progress of a disease/damage, pest-predator interaction etc. and (2) the last but not the least idea is to have a TV show - `Raitu Mahila' with Suma style of anchoring.

Urban meets Rural!

ISRO facilitated Video conferencing between ICRISAT and AMS for DD national video recording program on 11^th July, 2008. The VC started at 11 am on 11^th July, 2008. The concept of Drought vulnerability maps was explained to the farmers of AMS by Ms. Priyanka. Farmers were encouraged to speak about the prevailing drought conditions and the measures they are undertaking to combat drought. Ms. Supriya explained the Vermicomposting procedure to the farmers.


Participants discussed the growing concern for issues relating to `drought', `climatic change' and `global warming'. It was felt that drought is not just the problem of farmers any more and that even urban people have to pay a price for it. Farmers are suggested to take up non-farm income-generation activities in order to supplement their income during the periods of crop-failure as well as to invest in infrastructural facilities like drip-irrigation. Urban people need to be encouraged to buy these products to support the cause.

The session went on well particularly because of the interactive elements included. Farmers solved the Think-out-side the box puzzle! The puzzle itself was introduced slowly building suspense and was first given in a more familar Rangoli (a pattern drawn on the floor/ground comnnecting dots) format. However, they couldn't recognize Mickey mouse - world's most recognized symbol. Probably the younger generation would have recognized it.