Category: English

  • Clean will win

    Clean will win

    Whenever we take a step outside of our home for work or to socialize, we are in for an obstacle race with heaps of garbage while we walk around. This is the scene in and around every Indian city to a bigger or a smaller extent. However, I had witnessed the two ends of the cleanliness spectrum in a place which is divided only by a boundary wall. I was visiting the amazing country of Bhutan. When you enter Bhutan by road through West Bengal, Jaigaon is the last town on Indian side. 

    The feelings which overwhelm me when I take this name are of shame and disgust. Jaigaon lives on, in and around hills of waste. Heaps of plastic, paper, vegetable waste and what not are laying around at almost every metre of all roads. It was monsoon when we drove through the place. Mud and muck only added to this misery. However, as soon as you turn and cross the border gate, into Phuntsholing, you are hit by a 180 degree contrast to this situation. Roads are spotless, air is fresh, vehicles stop for pedestrians who are crossing only over zebra crossings. It’s just a perfect picture.

    Why now? 

    If we consider the current situation, this habit of cleanliness comes out as a very important point to focus on. Spread of COVID-19 is not directly related to this particular waste situation. However, it still puts us at risk of all the other illnesses as immunity is already gone for the toss. Fortunately, there is no other outbreak of other communicable diseases during this pandemic. When everyone thinks of the word environment, they can only imagine lush green forests, clean air and flowing clean streams. When we abuse these lush greens, flowing freshness and lively blues, our next generations are at risk. However, if we ignore what is in and around our neighbourhoods, roads etc., we are at far greater risk of losing the agencies to work, produce and enjoy life.

    Cleanliness is the key

    Social hygiene is the basic reason behind the spread of vector borne diseases like Malaria, Chikungunya, Dengue, etc and waterborne diseases like diarrhea, dysentery and Typhoid. Solid waste management, and public sanitation facilities like public toilets should function like a well oiled machine. Keeping the neighbourhood clean and sanitized is our shared responsibility. Citizens can’t put the whole responsibility on the local government.

    “the municipal corporation doesn’t send trucks every night throwing garbage around the city. It’s us, the citizens who continuously keep littering around the city.”

    Rightly said by my senior colleague Lawrence Siddhartha Benninger, at CDSA

    and voila… we have huge piles of garbage stinking around almost every corner.

    We all are definitely running a race here. But it’s in our own hands to choose the track on which we should run. If we do not straighten our act, we are racing towards poor health, high morbidity rates and a bad environment. However, if we strive for safe, healthy and prosperous lives for ourselves and for them who will follow after us, then the only message to follow will be, “Clean will win”

    Adi’s Journal
    June 2021

    This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter

  • Timeless Treasures – Book Review

    Timeless Treasures – Book Review

    India now boasts itself as an IT hub of the world. However, when I was growing up it was a different situation. The book turned page as the name Infosys emerged on the horizon of the “tech” field of India. At the beginning of the new millennium, it had grown to a leading company in the IT world where every IT enthusiast aspired to work at. I remember my engineering days where my fellow students kept looking towards Infy to come for campus interviews. Their Mysore training campus was something they used to lookout for. It had a big clout back then. I am sure that it still carries the same one.

    Why am I remembering all this?

    The reason behind all these memories, I recently came across one fabulous short book set in the Infosys Mysore campus. Timeless Treasure by Padmini Chilappagari is a tale of three college friends who got placed in Infosys through campus placement. The story shows us the glimpses of the famous five-star training campus of Infosys Mysore and all the fun it has. 

    This autobiographical novel is very crisp and short. Padmini entices us with just enough pinch of love and romance and keeps us glued to the screen till we finish the book from cover to cover. I managed to get this one through in just a couple of hours. She has managed to keep it so simple and real that you can’t even guess which part is her real experience and what she has imagined for the story. It won’t surprise me if  we see her novels on the shelves of stores with some amazing publisher’s tag soon!

    Book Blurb:

    “Priya, Myra, and Arjun are three college friends who are hired by the IT giant, Infosys Ltd. For all the college hires of Infosys, it is mandatory to be trained at the Mysore campus for a few months before posted to a job location. Thus, the trio end up on the amazing campus which spans over 350 acres. Read on as the three friends experience good days, bad days and discover life like never before.”

    About Author:

    A software engineer with a passion for reading, writing and blogging, Padmini has grown up reading books. She is inseparable from them. Writing comes as her second love only after reading. She writes to express herself and set her soul free. 

    Timeless Treasures by Padmini Chilappagari

    My rating ★★★★✰ (just one star less from whole five only because it is too short!)

    You can get your copy here. It’s FREE!!!


    Want to know more about my favorite books? Checkout my bookshelf.

  • Ziro Valley – A Heaven from North-East

    Ziro Valley – A Heaven from North-East

    North-Eastern India is blessed with the sheer beauty of nature. Small towns and villages snuggled in valleys of Himalaya are little heavens on earth. Today we are visiting one such heaven in Arunachal Pradesh. Ziro Valley, a heavenly town in Lower Subansiri District.

    About Ziro Valley

    Ziro is a district headquarters of Lower Subansiri District. It is one of the oldest towns of Arunachal Pradesh. Rice fields surround this small yet beautiful hill station. The town of Ziro is nestled between a cluster of beautiful pine trees. This plateau is at an altitude of 1500 m above sea level. As a result, Ziro is full of a distinguished and rich flora and fauna and its biodiversity. This makes it an ideal destination for nature lovers. Thick forest covers this entire region and is a home to tribal people.

    The ApaTani tribe which calls these lands as their home is not a nomadic tribe, practicing permanent wetland agriculture. This is very different from the prevalent jhoom farming. Other than wetland farming, they earn their livelihood by making handicrafts and handloom products. They worship nature gods. The tribe is known for their colorful culture with various festivals. Apa Tani people have vibrant traditional village councils called bulyañ. This has made Ziro Valley a good example of a living cultural landscape where man and environment have harmoniously existed together in a state of interdependence even through changing times, such co-existence being nurtured by the traditional customs and spiritual belief systems.

    Gallery
    • Ziro Valley Festival Photo by Sandro Lacarbona Copyrights CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
    • Paddy fields at Ziro – Photo by Ashwani Kumar – Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Ziro valley in summer season Photo by Arunachal2007 Copyrights CC BY-SA 4.0

    Tourist attractions

    The major tourist attractions of Ziro are the green serene Talley Valley, the hillock Ziro Putu, Tarin fish farm, the tall idol of Shiva Lingam at Kardo. ApaTani people celebrte several festivals namely the Myoko Festival in March, the Murung Festival in January and the Dree Festival in July.

    Ziro is also known for its outdoor music festival. First festival happened in the year 2012. Members of the ApaTani tribe host this festival. Festival celebrates the independent music scene of India. Festival is celebrated on two stages, Donyi(Sun) and Polo(Moon), constructed by local artisans and made almost completely of bamboo. As a result, it is noted to be one of the most eco-friendly festivals in India employing locally sourced material for the infrastructure. The festival has a zero plastic policy and encourages attendees to be responsible for leaving behind no waste.

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘Z’ challenge. “Z is for the Ziro Valley, Lower Subansiri, Arunachal Pradesh”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Yamunotri – Birthplace of the River Yamuna

    Yamunotri – Birthplace of the River Yamuna

    Indian culture puts rivers at the place of goddesses and worship them. India People celebrate every river and worship them. Today we are visiting the birthplace of one of the holiest rivers in India, Yamunotri: Birthplace of the River Yamuna.

    Personification of River Yamuna Photo by I Sailko Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0

    Stories of the Yamuna

    According to Hindu beliefs, there are many stories associated with this river. These stories are in connections with many gods like Shiva, Surya, Krishna etc. River Yamuna is mentioned several times in the Rigveda, Atharvaveda, Aitareya Brahmana, Shatapatha Brahmana and many Puranas. Goddess Yamuna beares other names as Yami and Kalindi. Yami is a twin sister of god Yama, the God of Death and daughter of the sun god Surya. These relations gave her the name Yami and Yamuna.

    However, for the name Kalindi, there are many stories. One of them is related to lord Shiva. Distraught by the death of his wife Sati, Shiva wandered the whole universe. The god of love Kamadeva shot Shiva with the arrow Unmadastra, that made Shiva restless and excited.  He jumped in the river Yamuna to overcome his urges. While bathing in the river Yamuna, the river turned black because of Shiva’s sorrow and unfulfilled desire. Another story describes the story of the banishment of serpent Kaliya in the Yamuna. As the black serpent entered the river, it turned black.

    Shrine of Yamunotri

    Shrine of the River Goddess Yamuna is situated at an altitude of 3,291 metres (10,797 ft) in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. You can reach the shrine by hiking on several routes. One of them starts from Janaki Chatti and a couple of them goes from Hanuman Chatti. This temple is a part of India’s Chota Char Dham pilgrimage. The temple of Yamunotri got destroyed twice by snow and floods. However, after every incidence, people rebuilt the temple again. Maharani Guleria of Jaipur re-built the Yamunotri temple in the 19th century. There are two hot springs near the temple. The temple and place opens every year on the auspicious day of the Akshaya Tritiya and continues to be open till Yama Dwitiya in Diwali.

    Yamunotri Temple built by Maharani Guleria of Jaipur in the 19th century- Photo by JediPro Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘Y’ challenge. “Y is for the Yamunotri Temple, Uttarkashi”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Xuan Zang Memorial Hall – Honoring the travelling wisdom seeker

    Xuan Zang Memorial Hall – Honoring the travelling wisdom seeker

    Medieval India attracted a lot of foreign travelers from all around the world. They documented their experiences in chronicles for the coming generations to read and enjoy the travelling experience in both time and space through their eyes. Today we are visiting a memorial hall built in honor of one such traveler. Xuan Zang Memorial Hall built in Nav Nalanda Mahavihara.

    Japanese painting of Xuan Zang from Kamakura Period

    Story of Xuan Zang

    Xuanzang, commonly known as Hiuen Tsang in India, was a Chinese Buddhist traveller, travelling through India in search of the ultimate wisdom that India has to offer. He travelled extensively across the length and breadth of the subcontinent. Xuan Zang came in from Khyber Pass and travelled south-eastwards visiting Stupas and Viharas around Peshawar, Oḍḍiyāna, Ruins of Taxila, Kashmir, places in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and then crossed the River Yamuna and reached Mathura. He continued his travels until he reached Nalanda with some local monks. He stayed in Nalanda studying about buddhist philosophy for about two years. During this time, Xuanzang studied logic, grammar, Sanskrit, and the Yogacara school of Buddhism. 

    After this, he started his journey south and travelled towards Andhra Pradesh. He visited viharas at Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda and studied more about Buddhism. He continued traveling to Nasik, Ajanta, Malwa; from there he went to Multan and Pravata before returning to Nalanda again. After a short stay in the area of Sylhet, Kamapura and Prayag, Xuan Zang returned to China via Khyber pass through Kashgar, Khotan, and Dunhuang. Chinese people celebrated his return after 16 years with a great procession.

    Story of the memorial

    Bhikkhu Jagadish Kashyap, the founder Director of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara first proposed the establishment of a Memorial Hall as a symbol of Indo-China friendship dedicated to the great Monk, scholar Ven Xuanzang. He believed this memorial will serve as homage to Xuanzang’s spirit of freedom and quest of knowledge. Hall was established on the southern bank of Padmapushkarni Lake in 1957 where the Government of India received the relics of Ven. Xuanzang along with an endowment for the construction of the Xuanzang Memorial Hall and some Chinese Buddhist texts.

    There were repeated requests for renovation. Even various plans were drawn. However, only in 2007, renovation and reconstruction of the memorial is done. Today we can see a renovated and refurbished memorial hall housing these relics and texts. Hall shows a mix of Chinese and Indian architecture with classic sloping curved roofs with blue tile. People believe that curved lines ward off the evil spirits who only travel in straight lines. Rich red color depicts joy and happiness and keeps ghosts away. Chinese and Indian cultural elements are woven in the building and they create a peaceful environment.

    Xuan Zang Memorial Hall Nalanda – Photo by Tabish Q –
    Copyrights CC BY-SA 3.0

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘X’ challenge. “X is for the Xuan Zang Memorial Hall, Nalanda”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.

  • Warangal Fort – Capital of Kakatiyas

    Warangal Fort – Capital of Kakatiyas

    During the 12th century, Kakatiyas from Telangana rose to power and established their empire. Kakatiyas ruled from the Fort in the city of Warangal. Today we are visiting the ruins of this Warangal Fort.

    From the history book of Warangal Fort

    In 8th century, Warangal was under control of Rashtrakutas. Later in 10th century Western Chalukyas ruled the city. In 12 century, kakatiyas rose to the power in Warangal. Historians, Archeologists consider that Ganapatidev started the construction of early structures during his reign from 1199 AD-1262 AD. It continued under the authority of his daughter and successor Rudramma Devi. Prataprudra II fortified it further. Historians consider his reign as the Golden Age of Kakatiyas. 

    Armies of Delhi Sultanate kept bashing and battering this fort repeatedly. Kakatiyas paid heavy tributes to the Khilji Dynasty including the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond. During the subsequent siege Tughlaqs of Delhi Sultanate sacked the capital fort and plundered and destroyed it. Later this area was under the control of the Musunuri Nayaks, Bahmani Sultanate, Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda and later under the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

    Gallery

    Ruins of the old glory

    Central part of the fort complex is now declared as an archeological zone which is marked by gates on all four directions. This Kakatiya Kala Thoranam is a classic ornamental gate of Kakatiyas. The ruins of the fort complex are scattered all around the site. These ruins show the ornamental engravings of lotus buds, looped garlands, mythical animals, and birds with foliated tails. They don’t contain any religious symbols. As a result, they remained unharmed during the destruction by invaders. The great Svayambhu Shiva Temple of Kakatiyas is in ruins. The outdoor museum exhibits wall slabs, brackets and ceiling panels of the temple. 

    Kush Mahal, a rectangular public hall, stands in the archeological zone. Delhi Sultanate built this hall in the 14th century after they conquered the fort. Each side has 6 arched openings in the hall. Once it had a timber roof supported by arches. It has a scenic view of the entire complex. In the southern side of the archeological zone, there’s a big water tank with a single large rock outcrop called Orugallu. It gives the name Warangal to the city. There’s a small temple built on the tank. There are several small temples and tanks scattered around the complex.

    I am participating in the A2Z challenge with Blogchatter and this is my take on the ‘W’ challenge. “W is for the Warangal Fort, Warangal, Telangana”. You can find my other posts from this challenge here.