Go Yo(gaga)

21st June 2015 – is to be engraved in golden characters in Modern Indian History, as International Yoga Day was celebrated on that day. It turned out to be a blockbuster hit across the globe, observed in nearly 192 countries spread over all continents. People from all walks of life, the ruling and the ruled, the rich and poor, transcending  barriers came in unison, to make this event a grand success.

An ancient Indian art / science, dating over millenniums, that emphasizes on physical and mental wellbeing made an electrical appeal on humanity and won  universal recognition is indeed a matter of pride for every Indian and anyone imbibed with Indian ethos and interested in Indian culture. Yoga is believed to be a Panacea to many ills plaguing mankind. It is indeed a crowning glory for Mother India who has given so many inventions to the world, with yoga being  a  priceless  contribution.

Accolades are due to our Honourable Prime Minister Sri. Narendra Modi, whose interest and involvement made it possible and get this rightful recognition to yoga.. Eclat to yoga and plaudits to Sri. NaMo and the hundreds of thousands of gurus, teachers, volunteers whose dedication earned the celebrations a place in the Guinness Book of Records. It was a wonderful spectacle to see a sea of humanity at New Delhi’s Rajpath with Prime Minister Modi leading the gathering with vivaciousness. A deserving fete for a dedicated feat.

Similar events were held across the length and breadth of India and abroad. That it was even observed at the icy peaks of Siachen Glacier and on the decks of Indian warships goes to prove its reach.  ( Reported in the Malayala Manorama of 22^nd June 2015 ).

This is indeed an eye opener to millions of people, to realize the importance of yoga and the benefits it would confer on them on all parameters – mental, physical and psychological.  An already renowned Indian art got rejuvenated and reverberated in distant lands, ushering an era of physical health, mental compatibility and peace, which are dearly lacking and clearly sought after now. In fact it is the need of the hour. The  newspapers rightly reported that the “ World went Gaga with Yoga “.

The Government of India should be lauded for taking a policy decision of introducing yoga in educational institutions as part of physical training sessions, so as to make the future generations healthy, happy and composed.  May it get proliferated and be proselytized so as to convert the earth into a haven of peace.

Jai Hind.

                                                                        =======

P.S – Unfortunately reservations against the observance of yoga day, citing religious reasons were raised by a punitive section due to ignorance. There were immature comments from some politicians too. The answer to all those who voiced apprehensions clearly lies in the article “ Yogadhinam Islamica Virudhamo ? written by Dr.Shahana, a Doctor at the Al Shifa Naturopathy and Yoga Holistic Healing Centre at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu,   featured in the “ Mathrubhumi “ newspaper dated  21st  June  2015. 

Killer Roads

The news of the tragic, untimely demise of young software engineer  Giridharan Lakshmanan in a freak accident at Chennai was unbelievable and shocking. That an energetic, promising life has been so cruelly cut short by fate is very difficult to comprehend. The magnitude of the tragedy gets multiplied by the fact that he was to become a father soon.

Such unforeseen, unfortunate   happenings   force  us  to  travesty of   faith –  in God, in the system, et al.  That  the  youngster  had  to  lose  his  life  totally unaware  in  full   public   glare    for   absolutely   no  fault  of   his, heightens   the  sorrow  and  aggravates  the  pain.  A heavy  scaffolding  fell on the victim and even  wearing  helmet  could  not  save  his  head.

Callous  and  careless  attitude, inefficient work  execution  by  the officials,  workers  of  the  Chennai  Metro  Rail  Project  has  snuffed  out a  life  bubbling  awith  energy  and  efficiency,  like  chaff  before the wind. No   words  of solace can  console his elderly parents,  relatives  as the loss is irreparable  and  irretrievable. Who  would  ever  expect  that death  can  stalk  and  strike  a  person  so suddenly  throwing  the  family  off   the  hook,  by   shattering   their  hopes   and  happiness.  Incomprehensible   indeed.   

Law  should  not  spare  those  persons whose indifference and negligence gave  way  to  this tragedy  and   must  land   on  them  in  the strongest  possible  manner,  so  that  such  lethargic  work  execution   is  done  away  with   and  eliminated.  Statistics   say  that over 1,50,000 people lose their lives on Indian roads every year -  an alarming,   astounding  loss.   Probably we may ingloriously   lead   the   world  in  this.  They   are   attributed   to  human  errors  or  rashness  or both. 

On hearing such news, I get cross with the Almighty for being so heartless, when He is eulogized as the embodiment of kindness and compassion.  How can He have the heart to snatch such a life when scores of elderly,  afflicted with ailments  are  yearning  to  call it quits. Et  Tu  Dei.

Such   painful  events  go  to  demonstrate   the  uncertainty  of  life.  We should only thank our stars on returning home safe every day. Presently human existence has not only become difficult but has also turned out to be fragile. In such an emergency it collapses like a pack of cards.

                    

May the departed young soul rest in peace and the heartbroken,  beleaguered  parents  be  given   sufficient  strength  to  bear  this deluge.                        

                                                          ======

Shaping India as a Nation

Politics is the art of ruling. Modern democratic institutions, their interpretation, application and practice are the brainchild of the British, who incorporated and introduced the same to all those areas where they had an influence either through colonization and / or respect through their master brilliance and creative mind.

It was easier for them to inject democratic values, institutions and make their writ run large and free in all the countries which were subjugated by them militarily, and  which took a reasonably long time to come out of their colonial yoke.

                                                           

While getting to understand and putting into practice the art of democratic governance was a difficult affair to many fledgling nations, after becoming free, given varied reasons ranging from political, socio-economic, cultural and religious parameters, India proved to be an exception, by having a smooth transition from colonization to democratic adaptation and governance were concerned. Throwing away the pangs of partition way behind, India started governing itself rather very comfortably on the democratic platform, and has carved a niche for itself as being reverentially called as the “ :World’s Largest Democracy “, a coveted name and position, which is being eulogized by friendly countries and envied by fretting nations..

The credit for evolving India as a single nation should prima facie go to the British, who achieved the same through sustained and steadfast colonization, spread over a couple of centuries. What was a messy conglomeration of divisive and warring states during the initial stages of English advent into the country, was slowly formulated into a single entity. It should be said that without entertaining any bias, every Indian should first and foremost thank the British for making us a single nation, by structure rather, than by spirit. ( which is unfortunately lacking, to this day ). Leaving alone personal prejudices, this could not have happened but for the British spreading their tentacles to every nook and corner and effectively subjugating and colonizing us. If not, we would have ever so many Angas, Vangas and Kalingas on all directions, with each group fighting with the other, as a Kartavyam.

Rather ultra nationalists may lunge at me for giving undue credit to the British as they are accused of introducing the concept of “ divide and rule “, thereby pitching one group of people against another, on religious, regional and linguistic lines. May be true to some extent, as what was tried as a crude via media to prolong their rule in India, eventually paved the way for its partition. But we should shamefully accept that the same yardstick is being put to use with all force by our politicians towards fostering their political career and aspirations, so as to cling to power.

But, it should be dispassionately accepted that but for the British, India would not have attained a decent united shape – as a first step. After partition, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Iron Man of India, played a pivotal, dynamic role in uniting ever so many principalities into the Indian Political Map, to whom all laurels are due.  But for his vision and determination, Bharata Varsha would not have assimilated ever so many linguistic regions into one and attained its present geographical shape.

We have stood the test of time, vagaries of nature, hostile intentions, aggressive postures of neighbouring nations, corrupt governance, bureaucracy, political upheavals, and still emerged relatively unscathed, charting a continued sustenance. The fact that Indian talent is recognized and sought after all over the world, more particularly in the developed West goes to prove our prowess. That Indian brains have been harnessed towards achieving dynamic scientific advances, pioneering space research among the league of developing nations,  mastering the nuances of software technology are tell tale examples of our vitality. 

With vibrating  young  manpower and  clear, conscious governance, India will emerge as a superpower in the future, the symptoms are seen assiduously at present.

Jai Hind.

========

                                                                               

Beat the Heat

The summer of 2015 turned out to be the hottest one in recent times, with the Indian peninsula getting literally baked. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, the Central Indian states and the Northern cow belt states experienced furnace like conditions, with the first two provinces getting special treatment from the Sun God. The sweltering heat took a heavy toll on human and cattle lives, the highest in over a decade or so. Normal life got paralyzed as people were forced to stay indoors to escape sun-stroke.

It  is  a  known  fact   that  summer  will  be  harsh  in  most  of  the  Indian states, (  to  the  exception  of  Kashmir  valley  and  the  North Eastern states ), but  this  year  it  was  harshest,  with  temperatures  soaring  over  46 degrees, a  feature  quite  common  in  the  Gulf  and  other  Middle Eastern countries, which  have  desert  landscape.  Given  the drought situation  and  acute  water  scarcity, life  got  extremely  difficult  for  the  common   man,  especially  for  the  rural  folks, who  are  dependent  on  agriculture and  livestock for  their  sustenance.

What  is  the  reason  for  the  unprecedented  heat  wave?  What triggered  it to  this  unbearable  level?  Is  it  because  of  global  warming,  holes  in  the ozone  layer or the El Nino effect?  Whatever  be  the  reason,  the  situation  is  grim  and  serious  for  mankind  to  rise,  realize  and  rectify.

Though  an act of God / Nature cannot be questioned,  we  can  definitely make  an  earnest  attempt  towards  making  this  earth  a   better  and   greener place to live in - climatically.  Emphasis  should  be  laid  on  the  word “WE”,  as  this  initiative  must  take  the  form  of  a  collective  movement, than  an  individual  effort.  The   more   perfect  coinage  would  be “ war footing “.  Of course, every  individual  should  contribute and actively participate  towards  making  this  noble  venture  a   grand  success.

The  slogan “ Grow   more  trees “ has  been doing  the  rounds  for  many  years  now.  It  is  true  that  the  Government and  social service organizations, educational  institutions do their bit towards  promoting  afforestation  by  organizing  tree  planting programmes, at  regular  intervals,   but  the  end  result  has  not  been encouraging.  

Positive  signs  are  emerging  with  corporates’  entering  the  fray  in  a  big  way,  thanks  to  the “ Corporate  Social Responsibility “  concept.   This  entails companies of  select  category  to  spend  a  fraction  of  their  net  profit  towards  promotion   of  education,  arts,  medical care, social  and  cultural activities, environment protection and so on.  Given  their  infrastructure  and  monetary  resources, companies  can  bring  a   phenomenal   change  in  environment  protection, forest  development.  An  annual  report  of  a  leading  Indian  Industrial  House  for   the  year  2015 states  in   its   Corporate  Social  Responsibility  Reporting  that  the  company  has  planted  nearly  five  lakh  saplings  during  the   year  under  review, and  a  total  of  17  lakh   saplings  have  been  planted  since  its  inception.  A  commendable  effort  and  achievement  indeed!.  Kudos  to  them.   They  have  verbatim  adopted – “ Vruksho  Rakshati  Rakshitaha “ meaning “ You protect the trees and the trees will protect you “

The “ Go Green “ theory  has  found  favour  with  some   builders,  project  developers  and   it   is  catching  up  fast.  If   this  momentum  picks  up,   it   may  usher  in  a  refreshing, revolutionary  change  in   the  future  years.  Installation   of  solar  power  units  in  many Government buildings, and  industrial  units  are  encouraging  signs.  Harnessing  natural  resources  and  adopting   non-conventional  energy  sources  is  slowly  but  steadily  growing.

Tree  planting  must  form  an   integral   part  of   any  Government, academic  and  corporate  event.  All  political  parties  must  go  for  mass  tree  plantation  on  important  occasions, and  extol  their  members  to   protect  nature   in  a   big  way.

In  a  film  crazy  country  like  India,  all   the  reel  world  stars’  should  also  pump  in  their  might  towards  increasing  the  green  cover.  Instead of  spending  lavishly  on  birthday  parties,  they  can   take   the   lead   in tree   planting  and  also  distribute  saplings  to  their  fans and  public  so  as  to  make  their  areas  wear  a  green  coat.  Some  stars  are  actively  involved  in  this,  and  deserve  appreciation.

So  a  clarion  call  is  made  to   all   citizens -  do  whatever  small    you  can towards conserving nature, preserving natural resources, promoting green cover  by planting  as  many  trees  as  possible,  and  bring  about     another  “ Green Revolution “,  so  that  the  earth  becomes worth  living  for  the future  generations.  With  unison, collective  effort  and  thinking,  this  is  not  a  Himalayan  task.  Rather  it   will   be  an   easy   and   enjoyable  one. 

We  can  be  sure  that  with  lakhs  of   trees  being   grown   all   over   the country,  the  temperatures  are   likely  to   come  down   next   summer.  Let   us   get   down   to   business  right   earnest,  with  the   monsoon  approaching   soon.  The  bugle   has  been   sounded,  and  may   the  decibels  increase  to   a   crescendo.  Make  this  a  reality  and  the  Rain God  will  never  skip  His  itinerary  or  take  a  detour,  but  will  arrive  on  time,  bringing  prosperity  and  happiness.

To conclude,  this  article  should  not   be  construed  as  a  sermon or interpreted  as  a   plain,  easy  piece  of   advice   of  an  amateur  writer.  Just  to add credence  to the saying – “ One  should  practice  what  one  preaches “,  some  saplings  were  planted  at   our  apartment  complex  and also  in  front  of  my  office  premises   on  World  Environment  Day.  We have   got  afflicted  with  “ green  fever “.  Let  it  spread  as  an  epidemic.

                                                ========