Water conservation

On Friday, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in California for drought. While we just exclaim upon the absence of rains during the winter, the farmers and fire-fighters are on high alert. It is not the first time that the state declared a drought emergency. California has a climate prone to occasional dry spells. Though agriculture uses 80% of our water, we can do our bit by reducing water consumption voluntarily.  Here are some doable tips for water conservation:

1. Cut shower times. Avoid using the bath tub.
2. Repair leaky faucets. 
3. Don't let the water flow while you brush or shave
4. Set you load to proper size while doing the laundry. 
5. If you own a lawn, time your sprinklers
6. Cover your pool, to prevent loss from evaporation.

Also read:
How will the drought affect agriculture in California
100+ ways to conserve

 More tips

We need true leaders

'Rajat Gupta, a native of Kolkata, India, was orphaned as a teenager. After earning an engineering degree, he moved to the United States after receiving a scholarship to Harvard Business School. He then landed a job at McKinsey, the elite management-consulting firm. In 1994, at age of 45, Mr. Gupta was elected the global head of McKinsey, the first non-American-born executive to run the firm.'

-Excerpt from The New York Times

He was India's first poster boy at Wall Street. Now, he is convicted of Insider Trading. ( U.S. v. Gupta, 11-cr-00907, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan))


Why would a millionaire value money more than his reputation? Guess I'll never know.

But it should come as no surprise. In recent years, it has become quite the fad: business and political leaders are making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Even in well-respected financial firms [Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs] , you are taught to be ruthless and are judged only by your contribution to the bottom-line, relationship-building and integrity have allegedly taken a back seat. Business Ethics is a class you take in B-school for an easy A. Then toss back those books and ideas and focus on the race. Only the thrust to grow higher can take you places. No need to check if your roots are firm in the grounds- if you are compromising with or forgetting your fundamental values.

Gordon Gekko said 'Greed is good.' But greed can never be good. It clouds your judgment and makes you a coward. Greed makes you want to have things you might not be able to have if you are righteous. And even if no one else knows, you will know it in your heart, and you will loathe yourself for it.

Call a Northeastern 'Chinki', be jailed for 5 yrs in India

Ok, 'Chinki' is a racial slur. So is Bong, Gujju, Gulti etc, but it makes sense because NE women with mongoloid features are statistically more prone to certain crimes against them in mainland. I don't think it will make life any easier for them, but any step is good. I am cynical about the implementation though.

India is rushing towards a state of cacotopia in the guise of social equality. Political and industrial godfathers with the wrong motivation and reservation based on caste(instead of merit) are two major things that need to be corrected. What ppl choose to call each other is not a concern, if the feelings are the same. Maybe folks will learn to call 'chinky' under their breath now. Would be foolish to assume that they can erase that word from the vocabulary of the common man. It will take generations of conditioning to learn to respect differences. The MHA has done it to clear their conscience. Nothing more.

The Ground Floor

Couple of days ago I saw a story  (watch video) on CBS 5 news where children go to school unplugged. The first graders shuck corn and build a garden, while fourth graders explore the philosophy behind Celtic knot drawing. Personally, I feel that you can not protect something you feel disconnected from, so the first lesson in every school should not be just A-B-C or 1-2-3 but also the bond we share with our environment.

I was reminded of a conversation with my mother-in-law where she lamented that technology has made us lose touch with nature. She opined that youth today are so engrossed in their iPods, their music and their world that they forget the world around them. They miss out the chirping of a bird or the beauty of a day. I remembered the first day I stopped paying attention to people- the day I got excited about having Internet in our home for the first time. She had a point there.

I agree that technology can be put to good use- to gather information, to dissipate new ideas, like this Google ad asserts:



But I too, like many others, spend most of the day making love to my laptop. Of course, some of my best friends are the ones I video-chat with over Internet because they live far away, and I miss having face time with them.

A song from arguably the first Bengali rock band - Moheener Ghoraguli(est 1975) plays in my mind:

পৃথিবীটা নাকি ছোট হতে হতে

Satellite আর Cable-এর হাতে

Drawing Room এ রাখা বোকা বাক্স তে বন্দী

...

ভেবে দেখেছ কি ?

তারা রাও যত আলোকবর্ষ দূরে

তার ও দূরে

তুমি আর আমি যাই ক্রমে সরে সরে

(Has the world shrunk and been held captive by satellite and cable in the drawing room idiot box? Have you thought about it? Slowly, we drift apart from each other further light-years than the stars.)

I also understand the importance of isolation for creators- how crucial it is to incubate ideas and live in your own world for days till you complete the composition.


Most days, I choose to get out from my third floor apartment, get into the elevator only a few steps away, and switch on the ‘P’ for Parking Garage; blissfully ignoring the ‘G’ for ground floor. And of course, my destination is air-conditioned and so is my mode of transport. On days that I am feeling extremely adventurous, I go out for a walk in the park in front of my house. I marvel at the vignette of the mountains drenched in fading red rays of a setting sun and take pleasure in watching several activities: owners bring out their pets to play, new mothers take out their babies in strollers, visiting parents or families walk together sluggishly, a few men and women play soccer, and a determined, athletic person does his daily rounds of jogging.

I watch them while I sit on a bench or stretch –depending on the time of the evening. Then I go to the gym, promise myself to go to park more often, and forget all about it afterwards. Technology is a beautiful thing. It has done wonders to the way we communicate. But like our daily requirements of dietary fiber, we need our basic daily dose of ground floor trips where we step out of our comfortable corners and walk on the face of the earth, albeit on a paved footpath. Weather permitting.

Divorce in India

Irretrievable breakdown of marriage made ground for divorce

NEW DELHI: The cabinet Thursday approved an amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act to make irretrievable breakdown of marriage an additional ground for divorce.

"This would provide safeguards to parties who file petitions for grant of divorce by mutual consent but who wilfully avoid coming to court thus causing harassment to the other party," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

She said the amendment would be effected through the Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 which would be tabled in parliament.

-The Economic Times

Historic data suggests that India had the lowest divorce rates in the world 1.1% (11 in every 1,000), significantly lower than countries with 50% divorce rates. (Sadly, the CIA Worldbook also cited the infant mortality rate of India as 64.9 deaths/1,000 live births as opposed to 6.76 deaths/1,000 live births in US.)

Years ago, I saw two donkeys tied at their feet. I couldn't imagine how they grazed and how the waywardness of one couldn't effect the other. I was young, but resolute enough to pledge that I'll never let myself be in a relation like that.