shhh....

 

A mere concidence????

I remember very vividly when Saleem bought the music casettete of Lagaan and was playing on his system. All of our wing mates were ensconced in his room and listening to the track, 'ganana ganana gan...' when all of a sudden, literally out of the blue, there was a huge downpour. It's not very ususal that you get rains in Chennai during the month of August that too when the sky had been pretty clear the whole morning. But it rained to the pleasant surprise of one and all. The same thing happened in the month of January when we were playing the song after a long time. This may sound slightly superstitious to you but you can't dispute a fact......
posted by Hash at 6:02 AM

 

It's hot...

The heat wave conditions in Andhra Pradesh have been a cause for serious concern with as many as 1,200 people succumbing to the inclement weather. Most parts of the state have witnessed temperatures above 45 deg c with Kothagudem recording the maximum of 52 deg c. Compounding this problem is the absolute scarcity of drinking water in many regions, besetting the government authorities with a herculean task of providing relief. The people are already frustrated with the scorching heat and the lack of basic amenities is not making things any easier. The state is already reeling under the situation brought about by last year's drought and any delay in the setting of the monsoons this year is going to make matters worse. The IMD proclaimed that the South-West monsoon, on which much of the agriculture depends, will set during June 8 -10. But not many people are convinced with the forecast of the department as their past record is not really very good at speculating. There are many instances where the Mets went wrong, that too by a huge margin. Even they have lost confidence in themselves and wish fervently that the rains do set in early to cool the flared tempers. But the early setting of the monsoon alone will not solve the problem. It has to be consistent throughout the period unlike last year where the whole month of July went dry after hopeful bursts in June.
More than fifty years after the independence we are still relying on the vagaries of nature. India has been lucky through most part of this half-a-century with the rain gods smiling on it more often than not. But a nation which dreams of becoming a superpower cannot rely on fickle elements for its very survival. Alternatives have to be found and quickly before it's too late. Sometime back there was a proposal to revive the 'Interlinking of Rivers' project. Debates are still raging on the economic viability of such a massive project, wherewithals to complete the task, the effects on the environment, social ramifications that will crop up etc. This is a tedious and dirty discussion but one we can't escape. With the ground water levels also going alarming low an expedient has to be found and the onus is on the government to take up the debate with seriousness. Other short-term options like rain-water harvesting should also be given a look in. Politicians should come above their narrow party affialitions to work together for the benefit of the common man. However, this is easier said than done. The situation is nothing short of a calamity and people who matter have to heed this call.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Hope the Indians don't disprove it.
posted by Hash at 5:49 AM