STORY-RUSSIANS

RUSSIANS

Railway friendship is purely casual and short lived. When I saw some European ladies , I fust enquired where they are going.

When they found someone who spoke English, they smiled enthusiastically.

“We are from Russia ; we have heard of India . Occasionally we come here and go back with curiosities like the wooden elephant . Now we are bound for Kochi , “ said the tall lady who seemed to be their leader. They were four young girls ; only one could speak fluent English. We were in Kerala express. They were happy because there is someone who knew the place. We were in Andhra region. After we wished good night , we all went to sleep. Next day I told them:”I am to get down at Trichur ; if you like to see my home , come with me. I stay in the country side .” They all chorused yes and we got down at the station . The break journey was got recorded by the station staff and we came out and hired a taxi.

I sat in the front seat and directed the driver to my house. The ladies began speaking loudly, as we were passing the land around Kanimangalam . It was all in Russian but it was their admiration , I guessed. When we reached home , my wife came out . Seeing the women She murmured some curse , but smilingly acknowledged their namasthe with folded hands . I showed them the guest room , where they could keep their luggage and refresh themselves. I then went to the kitchen to help my wife in preparing break fast.

“I have heard of such women whom we cannot trust. They may be prostitutes or pick pockets . Who knows? We must inform the police.”

“Oh! Dear, do not panic. I can see from their face that these are not such type.”

By this time they came to the kitchen and we served them dosa stuffed with a mixture of onions and potatoes cooked together.

“Oh Rama , we have never tasted such break fast . Thank you very much.”

My wife who can understand some English , was pleased.

Then I took them to see my estate . I showed them the big pond.

“If you know swimming you can take bath here . Of course , the water is not deep. No outsider comes here. You may go about naked.”

They all laughed and I withdrew.

After wards I led them to see the upstairs room , which is a big hall .Our house is very old with tiled roof. They saw it with curiosity. When they saw the adjoining room , where huge earthen jars and bronze vessels for cooking food , their wonder knew no bounds. “Why do you need all these?”

“When there is a feast, we have to prepare food for all guests. We bake a huge tripod with bricks and put wood pieces in it and fire it. The huge cauldron is placed over it and filled with water and rice.”

“You eat rice always?” “People here do not like nothing else. I was in the army and like chapathis made of wheat.”

“We would like to participate in a feast.”

“My son’s marriage is due in January next; we shall invite you.”

“Sure , we will come.”

Then we went to Cherpu and bought a wooden elephant, three feet tall , costing forty thousand . She was very pleased. I forget her name , Tanya it is . I noted down the address.

I accompanied them to Kochi and after seeing the Marine drive there , they became excited. “You know we live inland . The sea is seen only in TV.” We enjoyed boating .

Our journey onwards to the south was by bus via Alleppy where we stayed in a house boat. Then Kanyakumari where three oceans meet. Tanya kept a diary , noting all things and finally returned to my house. When the time came for their departure , Tanya became pensive:”I like to buy land here.”

“If you are serious , I shall make enquiries. The plot on our left is for sale.” She promised to inform , after consulting her husband. She paid all expenses and gave me fifty thousand as ‘guide’s fee.

I tried to refuse but she insisted:”Without you , they would have cheated us.” Indu also came to the airport to see them off…

True to her word , Tina came to attend my son’s marriage. He had worked in Russia for some time and knew their language enough to understand it. He could speak a few words.

Tani came with her husband , because he was interested in buying the land . She went about all over the place , accompanied by my son. Seeing them speaking in Russian , the guests were surprised. She wanted to taste the sweet pudding , while in the kitchen outside. The cook obliged her.

Then she came to us , where her husband was talking to me in English . We discussed the land deal. When I mentioned the price as fifty lakhs , he thought it cheap. He wanted more land , as many of his friends were eager to settle in Keralam. Tani had written her tour notes and circulated it among friends.

In short , I was instrumental in securing land deals in crores and I got a handsome amount as commission.

When Tani left this time , we had become thick friends. She whispered in my ears , when none was near us:”You are too cute Raman; I want to do it here and now…”

TRAGEDY OF LIFE

Life is like a canoe. But we cannot remain in one place in the sea, because it goes on moving constantly at the same speed. If we do not know the direction, we may never reach anywhere!
Everyone is alone. Others may come close, but not enter our canoe. Often it hits a rock and tumbles; but never sinks, except in the final moment.
The elders may guide, but finally one has to decide. They are lucky, who reach an island. We cannot land, we can only direct the vessel along channels in the land.
Another point is that we may never go back. Having seen a beautiful spot, we may wish to see it again. Alas! It will be a dream only.

POORAM FESTIVAL -<a href=’http://www.blogsurfer.us

For most of us, pooram is a festival of elephants, beating of drums and fire works.
Actually, it is a meeting of Gods and Goddesses. Here each God is highly individualistic. Each has his own paraphernalia of menials etc. Some own elephants to carry them from place to place, during the festival season.
En route, they receive paddy from their tenants, as most of them owned land.
During the meeting, they greet each other, for which the elephants are trained to do it with their trunks, folded as question mark (?)!
The drummers and warriar who holds the lamp, have to travel for hours every day during the ten days, beginning with the day the flag mast is erected, and ending with its demolishion by the elephant. It is interesting to note that no glag is attached; in the North, every temple has a saffron flag, triangular in shape, fluttering from the top of the building.

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF MALAYALAM MONTH OF THULAM=’text/javascript’ src=

There is a hill near Shoranur Railway station in central Keralam, called Rayinellur.

Today, on the first of Thulam, thousands of devotees climb up the hill to have a darshan of Devi, believed to have been worshiped by the famous lunatic of Naranath, a son of Vararuchi, the wandering Brahman, whose tribal wife gave birth to twelve sons, each one of whom was brought up by people of different castes, because the woman was forbidden to look after her children, and, each one became famous in his vocation.

The lunatic used to roll up a huge stone, all the way up the steep hill and then push it down. He would watch the stone come down crashing along the bush and shout with glee: HA HA HA.

He may be mocking the futility of life. Every one is pushing up the hill, not knowing what else to do.

During this time, it rains and it is very fifficult to go up the steep hill. I slipped once or twice. The large number of devotees, many quite aged as myself, did not bother about it When we reach the top, we can enjoy the scenery, it being tall and the only hill in the area. The greenery is monotonous (to me), as everywhere in this land, one can see only trees. Some times I yearn for the large expanse of land in Rajasthan, with hardly any shrub!

The descend along the gentle slope is is easy; but the narrow path allows only movement in single file, occasionally blocked by those ascending the hill.

Today my heart is at Rayinellur.

GLITTERING GOLD

Ever since its discovery, Gold has attracted women and adventurers alike.

The GOLD RUSH, in which White men practically ran for it in Alaska, in North America is part of history. The law enabled any one to dig the soil and take gold. In India, if I find gold, while excavating my own land,  I must hand it over to the Government.

Even the religious book Bhagavat Puran speaks about the Lord Krishna decked in gold ornaments from the head to the heels! Women wear it even inside the petty coat where no one can see it!

If a woman is offered free gold ornaments, as much as she can physically carry on her body and walk ten miles, she will probably carry a weight of ten KG and fall dead on the way!

Our  Kerala State has the maximum number of jewelry shops per square mile in India. The film idol Mohanlal, selling “Malabar Gold” is the most popular ad in TV channels.

When you buy gold, it becomes a dead investment. Now you can deposit it in the bank and earn interest. Or, give gold and borrow money at cheap interest rate. This I learned, while trying to raise money for building my house in rural Keralam, at Chathakudam.

No wonder robbers prefer gold, as women offer easier target.

TIGER POPULATION

The forest staff at lower level are in collusion with poachers.

The money spent in looking after tigers in various sanctuaries are a waste, so long as  poaching cannot be stopped. W e spend money in various shemes for protecting tigers and poachers sell them, making huge profits.

This fact has to be clearly understood.

Can the Government ever ensure the safety of the tigers?

What is required is protection of the forests, including the trees and land.

OIL EXPLORATION IN THE DEEP SEA BED SHOULD BE BANNED

The recent explosion near the American coast, in the gulf of Mexico, has raised several questions, not only about the environmental hazards, but also about the very idea of exploration in the deep sea.

My theory is that the crust of the earth is a huge pressure cooker, the steam under very high pressure circulating the whole area below the ocean bed, through thousands of channels. It comes out in the form of hot springs (some are 416 degree C) or volcano or causes earthquakes, when the pressure becomes too high

When you try to make a hole in the bed, you are creating an artificial volcano. The strata between the oil well and the steam zone may be either thick or thin. So long as it is sufficient to prevent a link up between hot steam and the oil well, we are safe. As there are any number of steam channels, there is every likelihood of the steam forcing into the oil well, causing an explosion. This is probably what happened.

On the land we can at least try something or at least burn away the oil. Nothing is possible under a depth of 10.6 KM.

So banning oil exploration below the sea bed is a must.

The presence of oil indicates that forests were there, billions of years ago. How can trees grow in the deep sea? Of course, any form of life like fish, sea animals etc. (both animal and vegetables) can get converted into oil, but only under high pressure. So the question remains: how did it get under the sea bed?

CHURNING OF THE SEAS

Hindu mythology is rich in content and variety. For everything, there is a parallel.

It is said that suras and asuras decided to churn the sea, to obtain nectar (amrit, eating which one gets eternal life), like house wives churning milk for butter.

Well, God is continuously stirring the sea with the help of ocean currents, hot and cold, sweeping the whole length and breadth of the oceans. Each current is thousands of times bigger than the continental rivers, both in volume and sweep. This way, the saltiness and the temperature of water in the seas, the world over, is maintained fairly constant.

Then the volcanoes and hot springs disturb the sea, when billions of tons of water are thrown into it. The ocean bottom is thus whipped up, throwing sand up from the bottom of the water. How else, do sands come in the sea shores? If water is not pushed down continuously from the bottom of the ocean, to the interior of the earth, as described in my book GLOBAL WARMING IS A MYTH,mean sea level will rise every day.

During volcanic eruptions (there are thousands of volcanoes in the sea), magma is thrown up from the interior of the earth.

In short, unlike the continents, the three dimensional contour of the seas get transformed into different shapes, almost every day! This may be the explanation for the debris of vegetable and animal life forms getting underground, where it is subjected to the high temperature and pressure required for formation of coal and gas.

OIL COMPANIES SHOULD GIVE COMPENSATION

The oil companies doing exploration and mining of oil, should pay compensation to the nations of the world. All such activities should be banned. Do not play with fire.

A RAILWAY STATION NAMED AMALANAGAR

It is only a walkable distance from Thrissur (Trichur) railway station; one can easily reach there from Amala hospital, for which this railway station was allowed, following representations from the people.

The station became operational in 1990 and was abandoned in 2002.

There is already a suburban station at Poonkunnam. It is not possible to allow stop at every point, especially the line through Thrissur being very congested.

For providing the railway station, the hospital authorities gave 20 cents of land to the railway. It is reported that almost 1.5 acres of land here is lying un-utilized. Anti-social elements are happy to use it.

Railways should function without political interference. That is the lesson we must learn from this sorry state of affairs.

TRANSPORT REVOLUTION

Man used to travel in search of better prospects and commerce. It is difficult to guess why early men migrated from his native place.

Comparatively modern men traveled for commerce. The famous silk route is an example.

Water offered the easiest medium for transport. Climb on to any floating piece of wood and row forward.

As the whole continents were covered with forests, it was difficult and dangerous to travel along the interior of vast continents. Grass lands offered better chance. As water transport was slow, carts drawn by horses were invented in later centuries.

Railway trains drawn my steam engines were a grand success. It offered quicker transit for a number of people at a time. When it was first suggested that wagons could run on steel rails, common people wondered how  these rails could be laid for great distances!

Simultaneously, steam ships solved the problem in water transport. Earlier sailing ships were handicapped, whenever the wind stopped. Nothing could be done for days together.

Resistance was a great problem for both water and land vehicles. So man turned to the air which has least resistance. From aeroplanes traveling on wind cushion to jet planes, using a old theory of” action and reaction” was a big leap forward!

Man is never satisfied. So he looked higher into outer space. The space shuttle is ideal as it cuts time to a few minutes, compared to the long tedious hours you have to spend, in traveling from the Old to the New World. But it is too early to book tickets for a seat in the shuttle!

INDICTMENT OF GUJARAT GOVERNMENT

The Experts’ Committee set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, in its second interim report, has indicted the government machinery for its egregious failure on almost all aspects studied, according to The Hindu.

It is no surprise. The Sardar Sarovar project on the Narmada river has been continuously opposed by Medha Patkar and her associates, not only on grounds of environmental damages, but also because of the miserable condition of the villagers who were forced to evacuate their land and houses. Most of them are still to be resettled.

Ultimately the whole dam will become redundant, like most other huge dams all over the world, as pointed out by various reports, but the government has no eyes to see it.