Between the lines and around too

VISION IN ACTION - IITian walks the ta...

RAM Krishnan understands the me-chanics of water and its effects. Oora-nis have to be rejuvenated and pro-tected, he says. “The moment you bring in waterto a village, you bring in food sec...read more...

INVESTING IN WATER

2008-09-15T19:08:00.001+05:30

INVESTING IN WATER

In north Tamil Nadu, small waterbodies in villages are called kulams orkuttais. In the south, they go by thename ooranies. Lots of them havealready been encroached upon, whilea few have been...read more...

About you - JOURNEY MATTERS

2008-09-15T18:55:00.001+05:30

About you - JOURNEY MATTERS

WHAT happens if onewakes up at 6.30 a.m., rush-es through the morningchores, newspapers, break-fast, to office throughheavy polluted traffic,thentelevision, dinner,latesleep with a grudg...read more...

MAKING TRAVEL EASY About you

2008-09-08T14:20:00.001+05:30

MAKING TRAVEL EASY About you

IF at all our state of fitnessand health are really put toa test, it is during travel. I amon a tour of the Himalayasnow, as I write this fromHaridwar, the city of bliss,and I discovered t...read more...

About you - Energy overload

2008-09-03T13:58:00.001+05:30

About you - Energy overload

WHEN our we make lifestylechanges by keeping fit withgames, sports and Yoga, regu-lating our food habits by eatinghealthy , adopting an attitude ofcompassion towards society atlarge and wi...read more...

About you - Breathing in energy

2008-08-25T18:56:00.001+05:30

About you - Breathing in energy

EVERY part of the body, so
insignificant when seen collec-
tively, but gets all the impor-
tance when taken one by one.
This time it is the sense organ
of smell – the nose and all that
it connec...read more...

IAS officer Sheela Rani Chunkath honoure...

2008-08-20T22:01:00.001+05:30

IAS officer Sheela Rani Chunkath honoure...

“I buried my child and did off with her
as soon as she was born,” said Ragini
(name changed) at a video shoot in Madu-
rai. That was in 1995, a time when the
practice of female infanticide had soc...read more...

About you - A vision of clarity

2008-08-18T23:10:00.001+05:30

About you - A vision of clarity

Swahilya
Writer and speaker on
human resources
(http://www.swahilya.blog
spot.com)

EYES are the windows of the
individual. The most empower-
ing part of an indiv...read more...

About you - For that glowing skin from w...

2008-08-11T23:11:00.001+05:30

About you - For that glowing skin from w...

Swahilya
Writer and speaker on
human resources
(http://www.swahilya.blog
spot.com)

IT is the largest portion of your
body, yet without emphatically
stating so be...read more...

About you - Healing a broken heart and b...

2008-08-04T23:32:00.001+05:30

About you - Healing a broken heart and b...

THE heart is a physical organ
in the body, but when a surgeon
operates upon it, he will not be
able to show something called
love or hatred to which the or-
gan is associated. Nevertheless,
word...read more...

Your health and fitness is an internatio...

2008-07-28T21:47:00.001+05:30

Your health and fitness is an internatio...

THE burgeoning healing ther-
apies and systems of medicine
that has a strong component of
invisible quotients of mind and
energy of the participant and
the healer is now the subject of
an intern...read more...

Relax on the wheel and breathe through a...

2008-07-21T22:54:00.001+05:30

Relax on the wheel and breathe through a...

ONE experience for us every
day that can be really nerve-
wracking is the time we spend
on the road, driving, riding, go-
ing by bus or just endlessly
waiting in the bumper-to-
bumper traffic in...read more...

When life’s lessons are instant and cons...

2008-07-14T22:07:00.001+05:30

When life’s lessons are instant and cons...

THIS universe is indeed an
open book of life, almost like a
university with many depart-
ments of knowledge. May be
that is the reason why they both
share most part of their name.
Stress can rea...read more...

Fitness page

2008-07-07T23:52:00.004+05:30

Each week I post the Fitness page from the Chennai City edition of The New Indian Express, on this blog. I try my best to get the page across to readers who wish to read it, but in vain as I find it difficult to simply post the page here. I have carried the links to the text file of the main articles. Hope it is accessible to readers.
About You, Beauty and Health, Hatha Yoga

INSTITUTION - A unique path to wholeness

2008-06-30T22:43:00.001+05:30

INSTITUTION - A unique path to wholeness

C
“YOGA for everything!” This is how S. Sridharan,
Managing Trustee of the Krishnamacharya Yoga
Mandiram (KYM) explains the possibilities with Yoga
through their institution in Mandaveli. Founded ...read more...

UB+ve - A must have universal blood group!

2008-06-23T23:43:00.003+05:30

IF there is one thing that can make or break our life situations on a moment-to-moment basis – it is the unseen factor of our self, called thought. Many a book has been written and innumerable words have been spoken on just this one factor called mind, which is nothing but a bundle of thoughts.
There are many words that are commonly used to refer to a successful mind – centred, focussed, will power, balanced, cool. If someone is successful in their life, they have consciously or unconsciously harnessed their mind energy in the direction of success. If someone feels that they are down in the dumps, a failure, depressed, then the reason is nothing but that the mind that has been distracted into splinters that they do not have it with them to focus on the present moment.
To understand the power of distraction, we can look into the meaning of the word traction.
Traction is the process of using weights to set right displacement of bones. With application of energy in a focussed manner distressing situations can be set right. Conversely distraction happens when , the mind, which has to be focussed on being in the present moment, is often saddled with the worries of the past or anxieties of the future. So it is not available in the now. To do any work, it is important to be in the now. Have you ever tried sending the tip of a thread through the eye of a needle? It is a simple task, which requires total concentration. The eyes should clearly see the tiny passage. Else the thread will often separate when it touches the metal on the needle instead of the space between.
When total focus and concentration in the present moment is required for a simple task as threading the needle easily, one can understand the oneness of intention for other tasks like writing, reading, listening, understanding, physical activity, playing games.
Our success is solely dependent on this one aspect of oneness of purpose and concentration.
To talk of a focussed mind is easily said, but achieving such a state requires some training, effort and practice. There are many ways to this, but one sure way is through the breath.
Swahilya Writer and speaker on human resources (http://www.swahilya.blog spot.com)
IF there is one thing that can make or break our life situations on a moment-to-moment basis – it is the unseen factor of our self, called thought. Many a book has been written and innumerable words have been spoken on just this one factor called mind, which is noth- ing but a bundle of thoughts. There are many words that are commonly used to refer to a suc- cessful mind – centred, focussed, will power, balanced, cool. If some- one is successful in their life, they have consciously or unconscious- ly harnessed their mind energy in the direction of success. If some- one feels that they are down in the dumps, a failure, depressed, then the reason is nothing but that the mind that has been distracted into splinters that they do not have it with them to focus on the present moment. To understand the power of dis- traction, we can look into the meaning of the word traction. Traction is the process of using weights to set right displacement of bones. With application of en- ergy in a focussed manner distress- ing situations can be set right. Con- versely distraction happens when , the mind, which has to be focussed on being in the present moment, is often saddled with the worries of the past or anxieties of the fu- ture. So it is not available in the now. To do any work, it is impor- tant to be in the now. Have you ever tried sending the tip of a thread through the eye of a needle? It is a simple task, which requires to- tal concentration. The eyes should clearly see the tiny passage. Else the thread will often separate when it touches the metal on the needle instead of the space be- tween. When total focus and concentra- tion in the present moment is re- quired for a simple task as thread- ing the needle easily, one can un- derstand the oneness of intention for other tasks like writing, read- ing, listening, understanding, physical activity, playing games. Our success is solely dependent on this one aspect of oneness of purpose and concentration. To talk of a focussed mind is eas- ily said, but achieving such a state requires some training, effort and practice. There are many ways to this, but one sure way is through the breath.

Swahilya Writer and speaker on human resources (http://www.swahilya.blog spot.com) (June 23, 08).

Acupuncture

2008-06-23T23:11:00.003+05:30

http://epaper.newindpress.com/Articletext.aspx?article=23_06_2008_356_005&mode=1

Published on June 23 2008 ,Expresso Page 6
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ACUPUNCTURE - Drugless therapy to keep your Yin and Yang in balance

digg_url = 'http://epaper.newindpress.com/Default.aspx?

C MITHRA is just over two years old. She has been declared hundred per cent deaf since birth and doctors suggested a cochlear implant. But her parents chose acupuncture rather than subject her to surgery at a tender age and now there is a medically certified 30 per cent improvement in her hearing.
What is the magic of acupuncture that brings so many people narrating wonder stories of a normal blood pressure or sugar, reduction in body weight, disappearance of migraine, strengthening of ligaments or vanishing kidney stones? Dr. M.N. Sankar, Chief Acupuncturist at the Hi-Cure Acupuncture Centre says this is not as an alternative healing method, but a native system of drugless therapy called Suchi Veda. His clinic functioning from T. Nagar is frequented not just by patients who have lost all hope of cure from a very critical condition of their disease.
Ask him about acupuncture’s role in fitness and the doctor says that’s the reason why China, Russia and Australia win more medals in sports! Particularly in China, acupuncture is a sports medicine which helps to tone muscles, improve vitality and balance the hormonal bio-secretions by tuning the right en ergy points. There is also facility for quick healing of ligament tear, spine dislocation, shoulder, neck or knee pain and repairing of tissues.
The system has to do with the Yin and Yang or the masculine and feminine energies in every human being. When they are in balance, there is health. More of Yin or more of Yang means disease.
Overpowering by either Yin or Yang means death. When the energy is in excess or deficient, bi-metal stainless steel needles tipped with copper are used to directly receive cosmic energy and send it to the affected parts along the energy channels of the body. This leaves the person refreshed and sometimes dozing off too! Many a time, a patient coming for treatment of one disease such as ligament tear or high pressure, end up reporting a cure for many other problems that they had such as fibroid, blood pressure, thyroid problems or ulcers that vanished after treatment. “Acupuncture has several positive side effects,” the doctor says.
Acupuncture has the same five-element philosophy, as does Ayurveda where the body, which is a miniature version of the Universe, is composed of five elements such as Fire, Earth, Air, Water and Wood. Thus the ailments are interconnected. Less energy in the gall bladder may result in a weak heart. Tuning the gall bladder points will avert a heart ailment and strengthen weak ligaments too. It is this interconnectedness that makes a patient suffering kidney failure to experience suffocation of the lungs. “In the event of an epidemic threat in China, the Government advises the public to tune in the relevant acupuncture points,” the doctor who had his M.D. Degree in Acupuncture from the Shanghai University, says.
Tradition of ornaments: Piercing the ears and nose is traditional Indian acupuncture. The ornaments are not just for beauty, but to trigger the vital energy points in the system.
The view of acupuncture is that no organ – whether the uterus, gall bladder, appendix or kidney should be removed as every organ has a vital role to play in the body’s function. This is no empty dream, but has been a proved possibility for a number of patients who have witnessed it in their lives.
—Swahilya mswahilya.soulmate@gmail.com
C MITHRA is just over two years old. She has been declared hundred per cent deaf since birth and doctors suggested a cochlear implant. But her parents chose acupuncture rather than subject her to surgery at a tender age and now there is a medically certified 30 per cent im- provement in her hearing. What is the magic of acupuncture that brings so many people narrating won- der stories of a normal blood pressure or sugar, reduction in body weight, dis- appearance of migraine, strengthening of ligaments or vanishing kidney stones? Dr. M.N. Sankar, Chief Acupunc- turist at the Hi-Cure Acupuncture Cen- tre says this is not as an alternative heal- ing method, but a native system of drug- less therapy called Suchi Veda. His clin- ic functioning from T. Nagar is frequent- ed not just by patients who have lost all hope of cure from a very critical condi- tion of their disease. Ask him about acupuncture’s role in fitness and the doctor says that’s the rea- son why China, Russia and Australia win more medals in sports! Particular- ly in China, acupuncture is a sports med- icine which helps to tone muscles, im- prove vitality and balance the hormon- al bio-secretions by tuning the right en- ergy points. There is also facility for quick healing of ligament tear, spine dislocation, shoulder, neck or knee pain and repairing of tissues. The system has to do with the Yin and Yang or the masculine and feminine en- ergies in every human being. When they are in balance, there is health. More of Yin or more of Yang means disease. Overpowering by either Yin or Yang means death. When the energy is in ex- cess or deficient, bi-metal stainless steel needles tipped with copper are used to directly receive cosmic energy and send it to the affected parts along the energy channels of the body. This leaves the person refreshed and sometimes dozing off too! Many a time, a patient coming for treatment of one disease such as liga- ment tear or high pressure, end up re- porting a cure for many other problems that they had such as fibroid, blood pres- sure, thyroid problems or ulcers that vanished after treatment. “Acupuncture has several positive side effects,” the doctor says. Acupuncture has the same five-ele- ment philosophy, as does Ayurveda where the body, which is a miniature version of the Universe, is composed of five elements such as Fire, Earth, Air, Water and Wood. Thus the ailments are interconnected. Less energy in the gall bladder may result in a weak heart. Tun- ing the gall bladder points will avert a heart ailment and strengthen weak lig- aments too. It is this interconnectedness that makes a patient suffering kidney failure to experience suffocation of the lungs. “In the event of an epidemic threat in China, the Government advis- es the public to tune in the relevant acupuncture points,” the doctor who had his M.D. Degree in Acupuncture from the Shanghai University, says. Tradition of ornaments: Piercing the ears and nose is traditional Indian acupuncture. The ornaments are not just for beauty, but to trigger the vital energy points in the system. The view of acupuncture is that no organ – whether the uterus, gall blad- der, appendix or kidney should be re- moved as every organ has a vital role to play in the body’s function. This is no empty dream, but has been a proved pos- sibility for a number of patients who have witnessed it in their lives. —Swahilya swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com

The New Indian Express

2008-06-21T22:20:00.003+05:30

I have been writing regular columns and articles in two pages of Expresso, the Chennai city supplement of The New Indian Express. For those who do not have access to the particular edition of the newspaper, I will continue to post the lead article and the About You columns in the Fitness page that gets published every Monday and Zenith columns and other articles in the Satori page of Expresso every Thursday in my other blog http://www.soulmatemedia.blogspot.com

This link is to a column on managing pain.

The New Indian Express

Himalayas

2008-06-08T00:34:00.004+05:30

Each story that I write or wrote for the newspapers I worked were done as a meditation. But there are many reasons when at times, the energy that I put in, does not find expression as a published article in the newspaper. I thank God, that I have a blog! Instead of pressing publication somewhere or the other, I thought I would publish them myself on the blog that's meant exclusively for all my between the lines writings. So here it goes.

******

Alone in a crowd - A serendipitous journey to the Himalayas

This is my third visit to a different part of the Garhwal Himalayas. The verdant mountains, waterfalls, snow-capped misty peaks and the swift river gurgling several miles below..each time the experience has been mystical and deep, just like the silence of the mountain peaks and the depths of the Ganga. A sudden thought took me to Ukhimath, a village in the Rudraprayag District of Uttarakhand, 4,600 ft above sea level. Its landmark feature is that the deities of Kedarnath and Madhyamaheshwar – two of the Panch Kedars, closed for six months in winter due to heavy snowfall – are worshipped here at the Omkareshwar Temple. Besides this feature, Ukhimath is like any other Garhwali village with its myths, legends and some history too. It was a journey shrouded in mystery and serendipity, as each day unfolded with its own charms, surprises and miraculous encounters that have left me with hundreds of friends and a lasting love for this tiny village. Gaining courage from my last experience of an unplanned journey to Badrinath and Kedarnath the previous year, I took off the same way this year by the Chennai-Dehradun Express. In two full days, I reached Haridwar in the foothills of the Shivalik range, from the hustle and bustle of metropolitan Chennai. I just made a casual call to Swami Vibhu of the Paramarth Ashram in Haridwar and since that moment, I was received like a guest. It was a whole tranquil day I spent at Haridwar, watching the sunrise on the still waters of the Ganga at the Dharma Ganga Ghat, past the cabbage and raddish fields of the Ashram. I also met with Swami Chinmayananda Saraswathi, a former Minister of State for Home in the NDA Government and the managing trustee of the Swami Sukhdevanand Charitable Trust. Sipping tea in the lawn on the bank of the Ganga, watching the sunset followed by the ritual Ganga Arati, he spoke to me about the country's need to protect the Ganges. "Sarith Samudranscha Hare Shareeram," he said, quoting in Sanskrit to say that we are living in the body of God and it is our need to not disturb nature, but use her gently. At the Bharat Mata Mandir, with a claim to fame of being the only such temple in India, I got a taste of what I have read about often – religious fundamentalism. I was wearing a kurta with 'Om' written in Devnagari script all over, assuming that it would be a proper outfit for Haridwar, revered as a Mokshapuri – a place for salvation! One visitor at the temple hauled me up for wearing Om on a dress that reached up to my knees. He said that I was disrespecting 'Om' this way and told me to go and change it immediately. I tried explaining that it was made by Khadi and I had nothing to do with it. "Do you know the value of 'Om'" he threateningly asked me many a time, walking along with me floor after floor in the temple! "Yes, I do!" I told him, extricating myself from the scene quickly. After a breakfast of toast and tea the next day, Swami Vibhu dropped me at the Haridwar Bus Adda to take the one Himgiri bus to Ukhimath. The bus weaved through scenes familiar to me by now, mountains upon mountains, villages, towns, the twirling waters below now called the Bhagirathi, the Alaknanda, the Mandakini, the Kali Ganga….many names for the one Ganga. It was 6.45 p.m. and it was dark when the bus reached Ukhimath. I knew that there is the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, Government rest house available for tourists. But when the stop came, I didn't get off as it was lonely and dark. I wondered if the bus would stop next at Ukhimath market, it was not to be. "Bharat Sewashram Sangha," the conductor announced. "Will I get a room here?" I asked him as the name appealed to me somehow. I didn't think much after that and got off. The bus left me in the darkness and continued further ahead. If at any time the Upanishadic prayer 'Twameva Mathascha Pitatwameva,' meaning the Universe is my mother, father – had any appeal, it was now! I walked cluelessly into the Yatri Nivas, lugging two shoulder bags, a backpack and a handbag. A red paint on the wall of the sixth floor just above ground level read – Office, Mandir. I walked into the Mandir where a Vishwa Shanthi Homa was in progress. Nothing could be a warmer welcome for one shivering with cold, than walk into the smoky room with a fire burning! One Partho came out and said I had to wait till the havan was over. Brahmachari Sudhir who was in charge of the Ashram there asked me for an identity card as the Ashram rules did not permit a woman staying alone without a letter of recommendation or identity proof. I gave him my visiting card instead and the deed was done. I got a room, which I knew would have a beautiful view when I woke up in the morning. "We have a school Swami Pranavananda Vidya Mandir. The students are first generation learners. You could drop in for the assembly in the morning. The children will be happy to see you," he said. Anyway, I was a traveller without an agenda. So I agreed. A good night's rest in the warmth of a room with beds, thick blankets for a weary traveller that I was, was nothing but a blessing and I cherished every moment of it. I woke up to chants of the Bhagavad Gita, played from a tape through speakers connected on each floor, around 7.30 a.m. And as I thought, it was a view that would inspire a poet to write a poem, an artiste to paint, a philosopher to contemplate – a breathtaking scene of the mountains of Ukhimath, the snow-clad Sumeru peaks of Kedarnath, the Mandakini flowing beneath a bridge some two kms down the forest below at Kund. Two weeks rolled by, talking and listening to the students, trekking, taking morning walks through the village, climbing up the Bholeshwar Temple, having tea served to me by Phalhari Babaji (his diet is just fruits and milk), walking in the snow at Dugalbhitta in a surprise excursion with the teachers of the school, journeying to Kali Math and Gupt Kashi nearby. I bought two mementos – a pen stand and a wastebasket made of ringal by villagers of Bhanj at the Dev Bhumi store. I carry with me pictures and fond memories of many a loving village heart I met there. Back home, it feels as though I spent a month visiting my native village.

For an unstructured holiday: Holidays can be unstructured too and places like Ukhimath with a sparse population and not as frequented by tourists in the off season unlike many other places in the Garhwal Himalayas, provide such scope for simply being and drinking from nature's liesure. The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam offers rest house facilities with dormitory beds ranging from Rs. 60 to cottages up to Rs. 450. The Bharat Sewashram Sangha has a unique seven storeyed building with double and dormitory rooms. There are numerous cottages, rest houses and rooms near the Omkareshwar Temple which is famous for the Ushamath – Usha Anirudh Vivah Sthal, where Anirudh the grand son of Sri Krishna married Usha the daughter of Banasur in this place. Besides the Bholeshwar Shiva Temple at Ukhimath, the other places nearby are Guptkashi, Kalimath, Kotimaheshwari and Ruch Mahadev, Deoriatal – a lake that reflects the snow-capped Choukhamba, Chopta and Dugalbhitta for a view of snow, Tungnath – the highest of the Panch Kedars and Chandrashila, Karthik Swami, Kedarnath, Madhyamaheshwar and Badrinath are accessible from Ukhimath. In summer, the snow clears up to give a colourful picture of rhododendron, pine and deodar forests. Wild animals such as leopards, bears and jackals may also be sighted at times. The weather is cool throughout the year and thermal wear, gloves, woollen cap, sweater, shawl and a torchlight are a must to carry. Accommodation may be easily available in winter which is off-season. In summer, from April to October prior intimation is required to book accommodations as the most number of tourists visit then.

Picture Caption: Trekkers on a snow trail at Dugalbhitta, near Chopta towards Tungnath.

Himalayas

2008-02-18T08:09:00.010+05:30

Mountains ho!

I love mountains and my friend George Breed calls me Yamabushi, Japanese name for Mountain Spirit. The sight of snow-clad peaks, wooded trek routes, circuitous paths leading to a lone temple up a mountain, surrounded by silence and the clouds gives me a high and I can write and speak no end about them.
I can never say what happens there, but each time I visit, for just a week or ten days, there's material enough to write for a book with exclusive photographs of nature's grandeur and several articles published in The Hindu, the newspaper I continue to write for.
My visit is often a call. And soon the preparations are on, arrangements made and I am ready to go with my backpack and thermals. I wish to travel around the mountains of the world and I know they are all going to make me feel the same - the breath of rarefied air, nipping cold, moving mists, silvery snow and green topped mountain slopes. When I come back, there is sheer experience and loads to tell those who wish to listen!
Metro Plus, Young World , Sunday Magazine, my first trip, story ideas spring, wellness and trekking, snow walk.
- Swahilya Shambhavi.
(Picture: Snow-covered slopes of the Himalayas with sunlight trickling through the deodar trees at Dugalbhitta near Tungnath last December.

A view of the Grand Canyon, USA taken by Aravind Venkataraman, an avid ski enthusiast who also loves to trek in the Grand Canyon. I have a strong belief that the Canyon, which is more a mountain from the basement will have the same feel for me as the Himalayas. I look forward to visiting there sometime.)
(Maha Shivaratri, Patanjali Yoga Sutra, Bhagavad Gita, Vignana Bhairava Tantra, Indians in Chicago, swahilya.soulmate@gmail.com)

On light and the sun

2008-01-22T04:49:00.000+05:30

Light on Pongal Day

Thai Pirandal Vazhi Pirakkum

I had the opportunity to celebrate Pongal in Chennai and then at Chicago in the other end of the world. I celebrated as everyone did in memory of the light of the sun. There was the kolam with white powder and red mud, a design of a chakra resembling the sun at the open space outside the house where I kept the bronze pot tied with the tuber of turmeric, hot with the cooked Chakkara Pongal. In Chicago, watching the Pongal Kalai Vizha celebrations by the Chicago Tamil Sangam at the Aurora Balaji Temple, it hardly felt I was in a place that was culturally, socially, environmentally and climatically different from Chennai!

Thai Pirandal Vazhi Pirakku is a proverb in Tamil. I subscribe wholly to the truth, on which I did some scientific research too in my own capacities! There is a certain period of the year, when the sun is at its peak of activity and really at its peak, once in 11 years, called the Solar Maximus. The flare winds of the sun throws up the largest during that time. The Universe is so beautifully interconnected that the expansion of one object, causes an impact on another. When the activity of the sun is high, there is more light energy in the air. The energy of light helps humans to think better, rather brightens up their consciousness. And when the brightening up happens, they are able to come up with brilliant ideas and solutions for problems that they couldn't figure out what to do about till then. That's my understanding why they could have said the way is born in the month of 'Thai.'

An article that I wrote in The Hindu on Light on Pongal Day! The photo is children singing Vande Mataram and other songs to celebrate the Pongal Kalai Vizha under the auspices of the Chicago Tamil Sangam at the Aurora Balaji Temple.

- Swahilya.

Organic Farming

2007-08-09T23:00:00.001+05:30

Organic Farming: Sri Lankan Experience

It was a refreshing journey to Galaha and a rejuvenating experience to visit the farm of Gami Seva Sevana, an NGO in Sri Lanka's Kandy, run by Ranjith De'Silva. He not only uses bio-gas from cow dung, but also has an organic farm by preparing compost and bio-pesticides and fertilizer and also vermi wash. He trains NGOs and government officials alike in Sri Lanka on the art of organic farming.
"The soil has become tired and fatigued. The only way of rejuvenating it is with natural manure," he strongly believes.

http://www.hindu.com/seta/2007/08/09/stories/2007080950251600.htm

http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/08/02/fea14.asp

Ranjith De' Silva explaining the process at his organic farm in Galaha.

All Work...

2007-06-09T23:39:00.000+05:30

... and no space to play

A life where there is no space to move one's limbs freely. Growing up in a city where there's absolutely no place for a cheerful game of hide and seek, catching, lock and key, kho kho, wild running, cycling without fear of being knocked down by a trailer or just walking briskly on the pavements without bumping on a tree trunk or a telephone pole or an electricity pillar box.
These situations are a luxury to dream of in Chennai, particularly a far fetched dream for residents of North Chennai.
The idea behind highlighting such issues in the newspaper is not because, the very next day, Governments will swing into action (I'll be only too happy if that is the case!) or because people will immediately realise the importance of happy feet, lithe bodies and a dynamic mind that sports, physical exercise and workouts can endow, but because - somewhere in the few minds that read this - the seeds of awareness will be sown and take its own time to germinate when the environment is conducive.
So I wait to see that day when I can walk on the road, as if it were my home, rest under the shade of a tree in a bench as if I were sitting down a while in my drawing room, walk without fear down the avenue with tree-lined pavements as if I were walking through a thicket in my own backyard and greet people on the road with a smile - as if I were meeting my own family, friends and relatives. Like James Michener said in his autobiography - I wait for the day the world sings along with me - The World is My Home.
*****

Meeting Personalities

2007-06-03T14:15:00.000+05:30

Interviews for Meet

The Meet column on Sunday in The Hindu has been my favourite space where I have pursued several intersting people for an interview. It has been in a wide and varied field beginning from Prof. Sultan Ahmed Ismail, the Managing Director of the Ecoscience Research Foundation. A champion for the cause of vermi-composting of organic wastes, he is an advocate of segregation of wastes at source and organic farming.
There have been interviews of the Veena maestro Kalpakam Swaminathan - who at around 86 years of age now - stands a lone sentinel for Veena, the National Instrument of India. Then there has been another interview of P.S. Ramamurti, Secretary of The Egmore Samskrt School, for his efforts in conducting Bhagavad Gita chanting competitions for the past 50 years.
Cooks Sanjeev Kapoor of Khana Khazana fame, Prof. of Nutrition Chandra Venkatasubramanian and much recently Jacob Aruni for his research on ancient Kongunadu and other recipes of India, have been featured on various occasions.
Prof. Ramani Narayan of the Michigan State University, had appeared in one of the Meet interviews for his pioneering research work in introducing bio-degradable plastics in the Harita-NTI in Chennai.
Bordering on the area of spirituality and human resources management have appeared interviews of Sunanda Parthasarathy and Swami A. Parthasarathy who frequent Chennai to give their lectures on the Bhagavad Gita.
I stumbled on Rev. Jegath Gaspar Raj as a Catholic priest who had a penchant for studying the Tamil Saivaite text of Tiruvasagam and that was a meet interview that appeared much before the release of an audio album titled Tiruvasagam in Symphony by Isaignani Illaiyaraja. There was also an interview of S. Tatwamasi Dixit, founder of the Ojas Foundation on the occasion of his winning the Maharishi Badarayan Award.
The meet interview that appeared today was on Dr. Asana Andiappan who was recently in the news for demanding the appointment of trained Yoga teachers.
There may be many that I have left out and many many interesting personalities that I still look forward to meet and write about.

North Chennai

2007-06-03T13:55:00.000+05:30

The Neglected North

My career in journalism began with an article in the Indian Express about the woes of North Chennai. My first byline story was on how lorries and trailers were being repaired on the road, abutting residential buildings at Royapuram. And since then North Chennai has had an abundant presence in my articles in The Hindu also. Several issues - the public campaign on not allowing Kattupalli, a verdant ecosystem in Minjur to be converted into a petro products park, the sea erosion at Ennore and Royapuram, the problems of environmental pollution from coal and iron ore dust, the dumping of garbage along the north Chennai coastline, the need to remove encroachments, the changing face of North Chennai when a Corporation Commissioner M.P. Vijayakumar spearheaded an initiative when J. Jayalalitha was the Chief Minister, to green and beautify pockets of the city.
But neglect of a place is a vicious circle that no amount of writing or an external force can break. The desire for a change has to come from within the people. The change can happen only with a certain self-realisation of the situation one is caught in, a realisation of one's rights and demanding it and also a realisation of one's responsibilities. And so a revolutionary change is possible only when the residents of North Chennai rise together in one voice and force to demand their right to better livelihood.

Ecology

2007-05-29T23:05:00.000+05:30

Solid Waste Management

I have covered many topics in The Hindu and my pet area of writing has boiled down to Solid Waste Management. If there is any single solution to the problems of health and hygiene that the country faces, it is so simple - source segregation of wastes by the individual and efficient SWM by the Government. I practice it at home myself and there can be nothing simpler and convenient than this - drop all the day's bio-degradable wastes in a container, paper, plastics and glass separately. These are all individual wastes that can be thoroughly recycled. The only wastes that will finally go to the dumping ground are the non-recyclable hazardous wastes.

But it is also my realisation that the simplest are the most difficult to practice. The reason I discovered, the human mind likes to put in a lot of effort to achieve something. It can settle down for simple and cost-free solutions. The Indian mind finds it the most difficult habit to surrender to the rule of law. And the politicians want their votes in tact. So they do not want to step forward to take any creative measures to solve problems such as garbage management as imposition of rational ideas might make them lose the favour of the masses. And so the vicious circle continues.

It took a tsunami and destruction of hundreds of human lives to know the important of protecting the coastline against the vagaries of nature. I do not think the country should wait for a similar catastrophe, till it addresses the most important issue of composting its bio-degradable wastes and recycling the non-biodegradable ones.

One of my articles on lack of solid waste management that appeared in The Hindu.

Photo: The mangroves of Pichavaram have served as a natural protective cover in breaking the waves of the tsunami and weakening its force.

Yoga and Humanity

2007-05-26T18:43:00.001+05:30

Yoga in the Media

Yoga has fascinated me for many years now and has been the subject of many articles in The Indian Express and The Hindu. My personal touch with Yoga, began when I wrote about how a programme by the Isha Yoga Centre transformed the lives of prisoners in the Coimbatore Jail.

Later I met around 70 prisoners in the Coimbatore and Madurai Jails, with permission from the State Governments to see for myself, the transformation that Yoga can cause.

I began to personally practise Yoga, by the turn of this millennium and I have continued to this day. I can't think of a life without Yoga anymore.

With several articles in The Hindu about several aspects of Yoga including Pranayama, Asana, Meditation, for stress relief, concentration, for students, for efficient administration, road safety - I discovered that there is not a field of life that is not touched by Yoga. I personally believe that practice of Yoga at the individual and the collective level is one stop solution for all problems ailing society.

While many countries abroad have made it a multi-billion dollar industry, in India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, its usefulness is not understood fully.

The Tamil Nadu State Yoga Association today staged a novel protest. Led by its president, the 80-year old Hatha Yoga master, Asana Andiappan, the Association wants the State Government to appoint trained Yoga teachers in its proposed project to teach Yoga in Government schools from the next Academic year.

They also want a Council to be set up to grant accreditation to Yoga therapists and practitioners.

- Swahilya.

Caption: Members of the Tamil Nadu State Yoga Association standing in Ekapadasana or Vrikshasana, pressing their demands on Saturday morning.

Something more

2007-05-25T16:05:00.000+05:30

Something more to say...

With an experience of writing for the past 15 years in leading newspapers of the India - The Indian Express and now The Hindu, there's quite a lot that I have to say on issues - Education, Environment, Civic Awareness, Solid Waste Management, Art, History, Culture, Politics, Tourism, Human Resource Development.
Awards in Animal Welfare Journalism from Exnora International and the Rotary Award for Vocational Excellence given for my coverage on Environment and Ecology in the State of Tamil Nadu, have come by my way. Here is a space for me to plumb deeper into the ocean of journalism and publishing.

It is all in that's fit to print of course, but the printed space is limited and so I shall explore into cyber space with photos, stories and links to my articles in The Hindu. - Swahilya, Senior Reporter, The Hindu.