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Random thoughts from Mumbai

D.Dhanuraj I was reading about life and its philosophy today morning. I wonder how beautiful this life is! (I am not the first person to say this J )What we do, what we learn, perceptions and imaginations........... a lot. Sometimes one may feel that this is a holistic nocturnal journey one is having on the earth. I happened to read about a person in Cochin who did a PhD about life before birth. It seems that he could say about what we were doing in the previous lives (if someone believes in it !). The perception about life varies from religion to religion but classics in every language and continent are same in the sense that they adore the beauty of life. Emotions and feelings at different ages are in sync with the evolution of the human race of different times. War and peace are images of the ugly and the beauty of life. Sometimes I wonder what makes a human being to get closer another fellow being. What prompts it to happen? Theories say there are many reasons; some may agree and s

Hartal and a street vendor

by D.Dhanuraj Today morning, I was speaking to our vegetable vendor near my home. When I asked for the fresh pieces, he started discussing , yesterday’s strike. Knowing my interest in politics, he started asking; “are we living in a democratic country or not?” I was not sure what he was referring to. Then he showed me a basket of rotten tomatoes and mangoes. It was shocking site for me since he is a medium level vendor who makes a living out of that. When I asked him what had happened; he was so angry for the strike called yesterday. He had gone to Ernakulum market on Monday to buy vegetables and grocery to sell it on Tuesday. He was told that there was motor strike only. so he bought on a regular basis. Yesterday morning, when he opened the shop, he was asked to shut it by the local politicians who support the strike. He had no other way except accepting their muscle power. He keep on narrating what happened to the nearby shops that include hotels, restaurants, grocery shops and

Random thoughts

Dhanuraj One of the early lessons that I learnt in my geographical classes is the description of Malabar in different contexts; north of Shornur to erstwhile Madras Presidency. I always believed that from Shornur onwards to north of Kerala, the region has a rich culture, tradition and uniqueness. I wonder why Wayanad is still not discussed in a Malayali life unlike many other places of Kerala. Manathwady, Sultan Bathery, Vythiri, Kalpatta – it looks like a question how many cities we know in China? I could smell and stand up to clean water, air and environment in the last few days. Awesome we say !! I can’t even forget Malabar cuisines. What worries me is that this region is still backward in terms of accessibility and infrastructure. No wonder if any one criticises me for anti environmental writings; no it is not my intention but to say, there are opportunities to be explored in this part of the country. We don’t mention any of the towns mostly in our future Kerala

Random thoughts

Dhanuraj It has been an exciting experience for me to spend some time with tribal group and share their thought processes. We were taken to a visit ADIYAR group 5 km from Kerala – Karnataka boarder. Though it was a live demonstration of how community radio works in the tribal areas, my attention was with the plight of Adivaasis. I do blame myself to use the word Adivaasis as I believe in the cultural and social connotation this word entails. Years after years, they are living in utter penury and dilapidated conditions. One of the striking story shared was all the tribal households are marked as APL category when the new ration cards are issued in late last year. Though I don’t believe in the PDS, I find them the real time consumers and the most needy community. Unfortunately that is where they are deceived by the government machinery. They had lands and now they are taken over by others, they had Non timber forest products and now none, BPL cards are reissued as

Random thoughts

D.Dhanuraj One of the early lessons that I learnt in my geographical classes is the description of Malabar in different contexts; north of Shornur to erstwhile Madras Presidency. I always believed that from Shornur onwards to north of Kerala, the region has a rich culture, tradition and uniqueness. I wonder why Wayanad is still not discussed in a Malayali life unlike many other places of Kerala. Manathwady, Sultan Bathery, Vythiri, Kalpatta – it looks like a question how many cities we know in China? I could smell and stand up to clean water, air and environment in the last few days. Awesome we say !! I can’t even forget Malabar cuisines. What worries me is that this region is still backward in terms of accessibility and infrastructure. No wonder if any one criticises me for anti environmental writings; no it is not my intention but to say, there are opportunities to be explored in this part of the country. We don’t mention any of the towns most