Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays took on a new meaning for me when open space started, and have taken on a still newer meaning ever since the dratted exams loomed in the not so distant future.
so this is basically a request for an update as to whats been happening at the 'work place'. paint me a pretty picture the rest of you hues!! i really wish this rut would end and the beginning of the week would resume its usual fun self!
special message for megalakshmi: i totally understand now why you were so worked up about the dates of the sessions..
don't keep me waiting on the news/gossip/learning!!
janhavi
Monday, October 15, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
On Global Warming
1).When wet garbage i.e. organic matter is simply thrown away; it releases methane into the atmosphere which is twenty times more dangerous than Carbon dioxide- try recycling this waste through composting and a person’s gardening needs are taken care of, not to mention the soil is replenished with Nitrogen content.
2).Simply switching off the mains of Television sets and Computers at night reduces up to 10% of a house’s power consumption.
3). Turn off your vehicle’s engines at traffic signals that require you o stop for more than 10 seconds. It can reduce 20% of your car’s daily emissions of Carbon dioxide.
These are just a few of the many things an individual can do to reduce Global Warming.
When the former Mayor of Pune, Mrs. Vandana Chavan came to give us a discourse on Global Warming and Climate Change, it was not just the scientific dimension to the seriousness of this environmental hazard (for more – Watch “An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore) but also to emphasize the Power of ONE. The Power of ONE to initiate, conserve and heal.
Mrs. Chavan is part of a campaign called ALERT- a citizen’s initiative to a better Pune. She is an advocate by profession, and confesses that she has “no scientific degree on Environment.” But it was after her visit to a Conference in Montreal on Global Warming in 2005 that she knew that it was ‘her duty’ to spread this message.
The slideshow was a detailed yet lucid presentation – informing us on how India shall be the worst affected by Global warming, why the spread of diseases through mosquitoes shall be more potent due to rising temperatures and how the planet is slowly losing valuable species that are known to sustain life on Earth.
Our session concluded with what was most important – what we could do? Buy CFL lamps, segregate organic garbage, use carpools, recycle plastic … the list could go on.
In fact the session not only put back the little knowledge into our minds, it gave us a ‘renewed energy’ and outlook to do our bit towards this cause.
The message is clear, the blog is short – but believe me what we do ahead to follow shall go a long way – for it is not our thoughts here, but our actions that shall count.
By - Chiteisri Devi
2).Simply switching off the mains of Television sets and Computers at night reduces up to 10% of a house’s power consumption.
3). Turn off your vehicle’s engines at traffic signals that require you o stop for more than 10 seconds. It can reduce 20% of your car’s daily emissions of Carbon dioxide.
These are just a few of the many things an individual can do to reduce Global Warming.
When the former Mayor of Pune, Mrs. Vandana Chavan came to give us a discourse on Global Warming and Climate Change, it was not just the scientific dimension to the seriousness of this environmental hazard (for more – Watch “An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore) but also to emphasize the Power of ONE. The Power of ONE to initiate, conserve and heal.
Mrs. Chavan is part of a campaign called ALERT- a citizen’s initiative to a better Pune. She is an advocate by profession, and confesses that she has “no scientific degree on Environment.” But it was after her visit to a Conference in Montreal on Global Warming in 2005 that she knew that it was ‘her duty’ to spread this message.
The slideshow was a detailed yet lucid presentation – informing us on how India shall be the worst affected by Global warming, why the spread of diseases through mosquitoes shall be more potent due to rising temperatures and how the planet is slowly losing valuable species that are known to sustain life on Earth.
Our session concluded with what was most important – what we could do? Buy CFL lamps, segregate organic garbage, use carpools, recycle plastic … the list could go on.
In fact the session not only put back the little knowledge into our minds, it gave us a ‘renewed energy’ and outlook to do our bit towards this cause.
The message is clear, the blog is short – but believe me what we do ahead to follow shall go a long way – for it is not our thoughts here, but our actions that shall count.
By - Chiteisri Devi
On Superheroes
We have all dreamt of being superheroes. Even if it was not a recurring fantasy, our childhood imagination would have perceived the sheer power and awe of being one.
How did I see it? Perhaps, as a chic woman with a perfectly toned body in the smartest of clothes who is a combination of physical strength, mental agility and the knowledge of all that surrounds me. Every relic, myth, religion, scientific and historical fact, Geography, Earth sciences, Maths, Weapons and Ammunition, even the Psychology of the opponent would be at my fingertips. I’d see myself being adored, loved, and even lusted for by many.
Yet it is strange how I forgot that even superheroes had homes, had families, had friends and also had to ‘battle’ with the mundane, yet ever challenging tasks life never prepares us for!
It’s was Sunday evening and I decided that I shall try to make the stir fried babycorn in the microwave, after all the recipe seems to be pretty simple. I mix all the ingredients required and suddenly realize that ‘1 tomato ‘cut into thin strips’ must also be added. I stare at the tomato and wonder how this is supposed to be cut. I proceed in a manner which I presume to be correct. Soon, there is this huge blob of some semi-solid red mass lying between my hands and I somehow manage to scoop it into the dish and put it into the microwave.
I see that my finger got a tiny cut in the process, and between cursing away, washing my hands and waiting anxiously for the food to get cooked, I ask my self why I never tried learning this earlier. When learning has been my sole desire for the past twenty years, how did I overlook this – cooking, tidying up after a mess, balancing time and all my ‘meaningless’ ways to let the very same time, pass.
I prize myself for being my mother’s daughter and my grandmother’s grandchild. I like to think I am less dependent and hopefully more responsible than the others esp. amongst my peers. (After all, I hear “Omigod! You live all alone- how do you manage?” at least every day.) I wish to be like Ma someday, to be able to handle a home, a family, a job etc so efficiently that nobody can deny that she is a perfectionist. While I would slouch in front of the TV and she would return from a hard day’s work, (that includes screaming at least five times a day to get the most incompetent staff to work) I would ‘sweetly enquire’ if I could join her for an evening cup of tea. Now I wonder why I never did learn how to make that tea, arrange the tray, wash the remaining dishes within five minutes- whereas Ma would do this and yet patiently listen to whatever silly thing I was saying!
I sometimes ask her – How do you do it? How does one multi-task without breaking down into a torrent of excuses, emotions and tears? Bear in mind, that there is no trace of her office disposition once she comes home. Her answer is always the same – “You just do it because you have to!”
And, suddenly I realize why the superheroes I imagined do not exist. Superheroes and Mothers have one thing in common – Responsibility. However, while the former is often glorified, the latter is often ignored. While the responsibility borne by the superheroes becomes their power, the responsibility borne by our mothers becomes their virtue.
While we never see our “superheroes” and dream of meeting them or being them, we meet our heroes everyday but never see them as they truly are- Our mothers, our heroes, our responsibility.
Our chance to become the very superheroes we dream of lies in an ability to first recognize them, then understand the enormous responsibility that they bear with those smiles and finally, to learn “how to do it!”
By - Chiteisri Devi
How did I see it? Perhaps, as a chic woman with a perfectly toned body in the smartest of clothes who is a combination of physical strength, mental agility and the knowledge of all that surrounds me. Every relic, myth, religion, scientific and historical fact, Geography, Earth sciences, Maths, Weapons and Ammunition, even the Psychology of the opponent would be at my fingertips. I’d see myself being adored, loved, and even lusted for by many.
Yet it is strange how I forgot that even superheroes had homes, had families, had friends and also had to ‘battle’ with the mundane, yet ever challenging tasks life never prepares us for!
It’s was Sunday evening and I decided that I shall try to make the stir fried babycorn in the microwave, after all the recipe seems to be pretty simple. I mix all the ingredients required and suddenly realize that ‘1 tomato ‘cut into thin strips’ must also be added. I stare at the tomato and wonder how this is supposed to be cut. I proceed in a manner which I presume to be correct. Soon, there is this huge blob of some semi-solid red mass lying between my hands and I somehow manage to scoop it into the dish and put it into the microwave.
I see that my finger got a tiny cut in the process, and between cursing away, washing my hands and waiting anxiously for the food to get cooked, I ask my self why I never tried learning this earlier. When learning has been my sole desire for the past twenty years, how did I overlook this – cooking, tidying up after a mess, balancing time and all my ‘meaningless’ ways to let the very same time, pass.
I prize myself for being my mother’s daughter and my grandmother’s grandchild. I like to think I am less dependent and hopefully more responsible than the others esp. amongst my peers. (After all, I hear “Omigod! You live all alone- how do you manage?” at least every day.) I wish to be like Ma someday, to be able to handle a home, a family, a job etc so efficiently that nobody can deny that she is a perfectionist. While I would slouch in front of the TV and she would return from a hard day’s work, (that includes screaming at least five times a day to get the most incompetent staff to work) I would ‘sweetly enquire’ if I could join her for an evening cup of tea. Now I wonder why I never did learn how to make that tea, arrange the tray, wash the remaining dishes within five minutes- whereas Ma would do this and yet patiently listen to whatever silly thing I was saying!
I sometimes ask her – How do you do it? How does one multi-task without breaking down into a torrent of excuses, emotions and tears? Bear in mind, that there is no trace of her office disposition once she comes home. Her answer is always the same – “You just do it because you have to!”
And, suddenly I realize why the superheroes I imagined do not exist. Superheroes and Mothers have one thing in common – Responsibility. However, while the former is often glorified, the latter is often ignored. While the responsibility borne by the superheroes becomes their power, the responsibility borne by our mothers becomes their virtue.
While we never see our “superheroes” and dream of meeting them or being them, we meet our heroes everyday but never see them as they truly are- Our mothers, our heroes, our responsibility.
Our chance to become the very superheroes we dream of lies in an ability to first recognize them, then understand the enormous responsibility that they bear with those smiles and finally, to learn “how to do it!”
By - Chiteisri Devi
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