A rainy day in Pondicherry (India)

The month of November is known for rains in Pondicherry or most of east coast owing to formation of low depression in the Bay of Bengal. Interestingly the rainy seasons for us is a very conveneint one since the rains do not last longer and one can wait a bit and it will get over with. Maybe that is why most people do not buy umbrellas in Pondicherry. Of course, we get some intense rains in the year but it is hardly for 15 or 20 days in a year which anyhow prevents you from going out. 

Our problem are not due to the rain per se, but more due to lack of planning for those few extreme events of rainfall as original storm water drains have been downsized, encroached upon or even sold off by vested political personalities with the support of corrupt revenue officials. Why extreme events? Even a small 10-minute rainfall can cause flooding in the streets of Puducherry and there are specific streets of Puducherry like the Anna Nagar (near Indira Gandhi Statue) which remain flooded days together even after a moderate to heavy rainfall of say 20cm

But these visuals are from a short spell of about 10mm rainfall over 30 minutes which has given a beautiful wet and shiny texture to the ground and the grass and other objects and the already bloom lilies appeared lit from inside with the beautiful hazy sunshine from above. (Visuals from Sri Aurobindo Society, No.11, St.Martin Street, Puducherry-605001, India)

I like the  monsoons than any other season as it brings us the necessary rainfall to keep the life supported, sustainable and much needed respite from the heat, the dust and the pollution. If at all, we were a bit more ecologically evolved, almost all our problems would have beautiful solutions!!!

 

 

Learning to swim and other memories..

When we think of our childhood, we become nostalgic. The way you grew up in your home, the day you spend time, your school, the village life etc. etc. 

I was borne in a joint family and we were five children - me the third. I remember even today those early years before I started going to school. We were taught at home - all basic writing, reading, the Gunakoshtam or the multiplication table etc. Sathyalayam - that was the name of our house in Thottekad, Pulpatta about 8 km from the nearest town of Manjeri. We had a beautiful little pond in our home. As children we had to learn swimming and the usual practice is that you are pushed into the water when you are just about 3 years old. You drink a lot of water (of course the pond water was much better in quality than what you get through municipal supply these days) and you somehow start to swim. Thachi (my maternal grandmother's elder sister) had taught all of us swimming. I still remember my sister being pushed into the water and when she came up all frightened and gulping water, Thachi gave her a slap and said it will prevent from being afraid of the near process of drowning.. 

On a rainday in November...

 

This is November and it is supposed to rain sometime this month in Puducherry. When I say it is "supposed" to rain, I mean that as for rains in Puducherry, nobody can be certain when the rain will start on will end. Rainy season in Puducherry - or for that matter- along the east coast, it all depends on formation of a low depression in the Bay of Bengal. One can say, it might rain in Oct-Nov. 

And so it rained .. quite nice, heavy rainfall.. Beautiful climate, all wet and cool. One has to learn to enjoy these rains. Because, it is these rains that bring water to us. Beautiful monsoon. 

Experimenter-farmers - It is time to change.

Farmers are experimenters, entrepreneurs, researchers, producers and they take lot of risks. But still they continue to struggle because of our capitalistic design of the way economy is made to work. They are not able to fix the price for the products that they produce, and hence the decisions are made by agregators, middlemen, and rich corporates. 

It is time that the system change. 

 

Mindblowing nature at Nilgiris

 

Recently I had been to Nilgiris district, Tamilnadu as part of an exposure visit and also went to the PRF Paniya Colony near Erumad, which is close to the Kerala boder. People speak Malayalam, Tamil in this region, and what was exciting was the fresh and cool nature with an overnight rain that has washed the flowers and leaves clean and giving them an extra coat of nature-green. 

The sun and its random flavours!!!

An evening in Nilgiris . We started walking in the evening along with our friend Mr.Saravanan who works with the Nilgiris Adiwasis Welfare Association (NAWA) and the evening sun was quite a thing to watch.. Finally it got beautifully masked by distant silver oak trees creating a beautiful dash of colours and patterns. 

 

Random Shots..

 After a long gap, I took out my camera.. it had some issues, but after some cleaning, when I tried out some random shots, it came out quite ok. Not bad for such an old camera.. It has stood with me for quite some time now.. Canon SX50HS. 

Here are the shots..These are from my office which Sri Aurobindo Society located at No.11, St.Martin Street, Puducherry, India. 

Wonderful Wednesday...

 All days are beautiful.. be it the first day - Monday or a Sunday.. Every day is special, different, have a character of its own. Just happened to capture some random images today morning.. Water, flowers, colours etc. 

This is April and is COVID coming back again?

India has seen a considerable decline in Covid-19 cases, while the world is seeing another possible wave led by Omicron subvariant BA.2. Though there are recent reports of new Covid cases in Delhi and other cities and even three new cases in Puducherry, the general public is already asking "What? Covid? That's long gone".. 

At least in Puducherry, almost 80% of the people are already off the masks, and no social distancing or any other symptom of any precaution. Even the police on traffic duty are off the masks. The public meetings are common, with large crowds and no maks for almost 90% of the audience. 

But are we really out of danger?  Are our vaccination coverage good enough? Do children - most of whom are yet to be covered by vaccination out of danger?  We still do not know. Let us hope any new wave, even if it occurs, wont be like the second wave that ravaged across India in May 2021. 

(Image courtesy, the New Indian Express)

World Immunization Week 2022

 Every year the last week of April is observed as the Wold Immunization Week and so it starts today. 

World Immunization Week, celebrated in the last week of April, aims to highlight the collective action needed and to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease.

For this year, the main focus is Long life for All. This year, it is even more important because of the ongoing pandemic among the fear of a fourth wave of the Corona virus which started in 2019 and still ravaging across many parts of the world. At a time, when the cases became zero in Puducherry, today's update (25 April 2022) from Puducherry says, three new cases have been reported. We need to be more vigilant in preventing another wave. 

I see that the masks have disappeared except for a few here and there. 

Borrowing the words from WHO site https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-immunization-week/world-immunization-week-2022, 

A Long Life for All is not a promise, it's an ambition. 

Because everyone deserves a chance at a fulfilling life.​

One where we're free to pursue happiness. ​

And look back without wondering "What if?". ​

Vaccines have been indiscriminately saving lives since 1796.

The first Smallpox immunization was a fight back against disease.

For the first time, it gave everyone a chance.

And hundreds of vaccines later,​

Across two and a quarter centuries.

Billions of people have lived longer lives.​

Grown up to become firefighters. Doctors. Musicians. ​

Fathers. Mothers. Brothers. Sisters.​

Vaccines might not get credit for that first kiss.

That winning goal.​

That special day.​

That final hug.

But their worth isn't just measured in doses given. ​

It's in minutes given back.​

And lives prolonged.​

Vaccines provide opportunity and hope for all of us to enjoy ​a more fulfilling life. ​

And that's something we should all be fighting for.​

Vaccines, in the pursuit of a long life well lived.​

#LongLifeforAll