Gandhi Bandha (ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಂದ)

Play: Gandhi Bandha (ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಂದ)
Language: Kannada
Duration: ~90 minutes
Genre: Drama
Rating:  Must watch.
Troup: Ranga Mantapa
PW: Dr H.Nagaveni
Director: Smt Champa Shetty.

Dr H.Nagaveni 

Gandhi bandha is a book by Dr H.Nagaveni that narrates the social situation in 1920-1939 when Mahatma Gandhi's movement on untoucability was at its peak. The massively researched novel is about the social customs between the villages of Kulai and Hosabettu in the coastal town of Mangalore. 

The novel was published about 18 years back. The novel revolves around many delicate and orthodox (read dogmatic) interactions between many castes in the the village of pre- independent India. 

The novel received considerable flak from the caste groups particularly the Vishwakarma (Gold smiths)  community when the novel was introduced as a text book in the Mangalore university few years back. 

An abridged and shortened version of the novel is made into a brilliant play by the Ranga Mantapa troupe. I was lucky to see the brilliant performance yesterday at Rangashankara. 

I must have watched many many plays in many theaters in Bangalore. I have seen people giving standing ovations (Mostly to comic plays). But nothing like the one for "Gandhi Bandha". It was an intense play with a few comical anecdotes. Every one in the theater stood up for the brilliant play and brilliant direction (By Champa Shetty). 

It is a play set in coastal karanataka in the backdrop of the Mahatma's salt sathyagraha, about a powerful brahmin family's young widowed daughter. The interaction of the family with the members of the village and the delicate social message from the 'unseen' Gandhi makes a powerful script. The awesome performance called for a standing applause. 

The main protagonist of the play is Draupadi, a young widowed daughter of a powerful orthodox brahmin, Hebbar. Drawing wisdom from shastras ,scriptures and Hindu customs, the Hebbars will be treating Draupadi with utter ridicule. Reduced to hopelessness, Draupadi will be leading a disgustingly restricted life. 

Soon she meets Adrama, a muslim bullock cart driver from the same village. Both fall intensely in love with each other. But they fear social reactions. Hebbars dogmatic beliefs reduces Draupadi to further haplessness and ridicule. But the couple decide to bite the bullet drawing courage and wisdom from Mahatma's teachings. 

Thanks to Gandhi's influence which will be creating waves in the socio-religious fabric of India, barring the Hebbars and the Muslim clergy,  the village by and large accepts the marriage between Adrama and Draupadi. But Draupadi's happy days will be short lived. She will lose her husband at the peak of the civil disobedience movement in a police lathi charge . She will be expecting at the time of her husband's death. 

Still unseen, Gandhi's influence would have gripped the village. Villagemen and women will rally behind Draupadi. Having lived most of her teens as an outcast and with a second marriage with a muslim short lived, Daraupadi still finds sympathy and courage in the village. She continues her stay in the village with her son both actively taking part in Ghandi's freedom and socio-religious struggle. 

The best part of the script and direction is that the figure of Gandhi will never appear directly. Gandhi's presence is shown in the behaviour and decisions of the people of the village. Gandhi's critics are soon brought into the page by his followers; again by the latter's behaviour via-a-vis Draupadi. 

Champa shetty brings in the local customs and ceremonies of coastal tulu speaking Karnataka into the narrative ;Kampala and Bhoothakola to depict the milieu and the interaction of the social classes during these ceremonies. 

The play very vividly depicts the socio-cultural setting of a typical hierarchical society. The play has many other characters like the Hebbar's servants, the Bhoota, the village merchant, the drum players and so on. The nuances of the strong orthodox brahmin's attitude towards his villagemen (and woman) is very sensitively depicted. The dogmatic socio-religious customs is very critically put forth. The marriage woe between a Hindu and a Muslim moves the audience beyond words.  

It is a must watch for anyone interested in theater, art, history, sociology or just pure entertainment. 

Cauvery, Mysore, Ravi and Kannada

"Namma Mysooru"

Last weekend , that is 8 December 2012, i had been to Mysore with my wife and my mother to attend a wedding. It was a bundh (Shut down in protest) in the city of Mandya that day on account of the cauvery river water dispute. The news was that the highway connecting Bangalore and Mysore is blocked near Mandya. The state transport department had suspended operations in that route. My neighbour's driver who is from Mandya advised me that even the other route via Kanakapura which touches Mandya is also blocked. He strongly advised me not to venture in particularly when my wife Sheethal is having such a big plaster on her left leg (Ligament tear and fracture). My mother was also a little worried and was hesitating. 

View Larger Map              The route to Mysore 

But we were in no mood to cancel the trip. My intuition said that there would be no problem in the journey. I decided to go ahead with the trip. But i decided against the main highway via Ramnagara, chennapattina and Mandya. Instead we took the Kanakapura road which connects to Mysore via Malavalli and Bannur.

Near Malvalli 

We left at about 1300 Hours and drove towards Kanakapura. I was driving on the Kanakapura road towards Mysore after a very very long time. The road was quite empty and quite scenic. It was pretty cool and we enjoyed the drive. Though slightly longer, this road was easier and more enjoyable than the state highway 17 . State highway 17, though broader and four lane has more traffic and chaotic at peak hours. So, though by serendipity  choosing Kanakapura road (partly NH 209) to reach Mysore proved to be a blessing in disguise.

Heart-felt Homage to the donkey 

There was absolutely no disturbance anywhere on the road. In fact, we did not even find a Karnataka flag on the road. Bannur which falls in the Mysore district had a few policemen standing at a junction. But for this we could not find any security anywhere all the way till Mysore.
I was even greeted by a group of young men near Bannur when i stepped out of my car to take a picture. The picture was a condolence poster put out by the villagers for a donkey which had left them recently for the heavenly abode. The villagers were true animal lovers who had taken so much pains to put out a poster for the departed soul (of the donkey) on the village bus stand.

Sheethal on the horse cart (tonga) with a broken leg. 

We reached Mysore by 1700 hours after a relaxed drive. We freshened up and left for the wedding reception. After a nice meal at the wedding, we drove towards the city. It was about 2045 hours when we reached the Mysore palace. The palace was closed. I was just standing near the temple outside the palace when someone spoke to me in Hindi. I ignored him but he continued to speak in Hindi. He was the horse-cart (Tonga) owner. He continued saying "साब  मैं आपको 50 रूपए में एक चक्कर कटवा कर लाता हूँ! सुबह से कोई कमाई नहीं हुई है और घोड़े को चारा भी नहीं मिला है साब, इसलिए एक चक्कर थो कटवा लीजिए!"( Sir, since morning i have not had any business , at rupees 50 i will give you a ride around the palace, please come).
I could sympathize with him but at the same time was little annoyed. He was speaking to me in Hindi in my hometown Mysore in front of the symbol of contemporary Kannada culture, the Mysore palace.
I was quick in my response.  I told him that i would respond to him only if he talks in Kannada.  After-all he was a kannadiga. He said he had to speak in Hindi to attract customers. Most people visiting the place are from North India. Nevertheless , i had to turn down his offer since Sheethal had a plaster on her leg with two ligament tears and a fracture. Sheethal was however interested. The guy inspired Sheethal and Sheethal made the bold attempt of getting on the Tonga.
We went around the place in the horse-cart. I could recollect my younger days when my father used to take us in the horse-cart (Tonga) from the Mysore bus stand to CFTRI (Where my uncle worked as a scientist.)
We came back and again bumped into a specimen who wanted to sell "Peace of Mind" Compact disks in Hindi. He got a mouthful from me and i did turn down his offer without a second thought.

Sheethal and Amma at Holiday Village, Bangalore 

We went home for the night. The next day we attended the wedding. Our hosts at Mysore were happy to see Sheethal attending the wedding with a "fractured leg". After relaxing for a while, we set out to Bangalore by 1530 hours.

We again chose the Kanakapura road since the bundh was extended by a day. Again there was no disturbance anywhere on the road and absolutely no Policemen anywhere.

It was a pretty tiring drive since it quickly got dark and i had to drive on an undivided road with high-beam lights flashing on my eyes from the opposite direction.

I was tired of driving. It was a very long time since i had dined out with my mother. So Sheethal and me thought that it would be a good idea to go to holiday village, a resort off the Kanakapura road for dinner. I have been there many times and i quite admire the ambiance over there.

Ravi from Varanasi 

But this time, the food and the service both were pathetic. It was horrible. Nevertheless, there was a Karaoke at the resort by an artist named Ravi . He was singing very well. His numbers were  only  Hindi. He was also taking requests from the guests. I could see a few Kannada speaking crowd as well.
I have this habit of requesting for kannada songs at public spaces. I have done it many times at many different places like Pizza hut, cafe coffee day and at Malls.
I was pretty sure that Ravi would not take my request. I had also made up my mind for some rebellion. I walked to him and asked him for a Kannada song. Sheethal and my mom were looking at me with a little awe.
I spoke to Ravi in Kannada. Ravi told me that he was basically a Hindi singer and cannot sing Kannada well. But he promised me he would try. He could not read Kannda.

To everyone's surprise , the next song that he started was a popular Kannada number "ಮಿಂಚಾಗಿ ನೀನು ಬರಲು ". He sang it pretty well and also dedicated it to me.
His pronunciation was quite poor. But he tried very well. One must appreciate his spirit and attitude. He was reading the lines from his laptop. He had got his kannada songs with English script.
Ravi has in fact composed and sung kannada jingles for a popular gold store "RR Gold palace". Ravi is basically a science graduate from Varanasi. He has set up his company "Jeni event professionals" in Bangalore. He is a full time artist and entrepreneur.


Though he could have done a better job with his Kannada pronunciation  i gave him a standing ovation for his spirit and his customer care attitude. His effort was applauded by the other guests as well.  He promised me to sing another popular Kannada melody "ಮುಂಗಾರು ಮಳೆಯೇ" form the super hit movie "Mungaru Male" .

We left for home soon after Ravi started his next melody but not before wishing luck for Ravi for his ventures.

There are many many people like Ravi who genuinely make an effort to learn the local language. People like him need to be encouraged.

It was a memorable trip to the royal city of Mysore via the country side roads where we could find  from Animal lovers to Hindi speaking vendors in Mysore palace to kannada singing artists at the resort.

Limping Honeymoon Express ;-)

At Manipal Hospital; 26 June 2012 

The day was 4 of November 2012 when i tied the knot to Sheethal. We got engaged in early June and most our courtship was over the phone since she was staying in New Delhi. Immediately after our engagement , i was hospitalized for some severe infection. This episode of my hospitalization was variously described Drishti or Nazar ( ದೃಷ್ಟಿ ). So my mother did take out the drishti with salt, lemon, spice, chilly etc :) 

Sheethal visited me once in July and i made a visit to Delhi during the horrible humid days of September. We did get a little personal time together in these two visits. 

However, one question that almost all my relatives and friends were asking me during the couple of months before marriage was about the honeymoon. Our answer was that we will think about it after marriage. 

Just a month before the marriage, i developed a pain in my left pre-molar tooth. My local doctor could not diagnose the trouble and i also ignored the problem.For good one month or so , i was using only my right part of the mouth. Sheethal meanwhile was consulting a dentist in New Delhi for some cosmetic treatment. But due to lack of time she could not complete her treatment. 

When you know you are in "Safe" hands 

Finally the D day arrived. I was actually carrying my tooth X-ray in my kit. I showed it to my brother in law (who is a professor and a practicing dentist in Davanagere)  on the day of my marriage. He immediately told me that i need a root canal treatment . But it was not an emergency and I could get it done anytime. 

I ignored the problem further. We made a quick trip to Delhi for Deepavali. On my return back to Bangalore, before we could contemplate about honeymoon, I fractured the same tooth. So I set out to Davanagere with my wife, brother , sister-in-law and cute little naughty niece. On our arrival to Davanagere, my sister Roopa served us delicious meal and took me to her clinic where i was given the first round of root canal treatment. I returned home and Roopa suggested some treatment to Sheethal as well. So both of us set out to the clinic by evening where we were given preferential VIP treatment by my Sister and brother-in-law. Meanwhile, my bother and sister-in-law went out for a round of awesome Davanagere benne dose (ದಾವಣಗೆರೆ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ದೋಸೆ). 

Davanagere Benne dose 

So it was late evening by the time treatment for myself and Sheethal began simultaneously in two different chairs. Sheethal had to get a new bridge and crown built and some cosmetic treatment as well. I had to get next round of treatment for the root canal. My sister Roopa is a practicing dentist for over one and a half decades but it was the first time she was treating her brother. Sheethal's treatment took a little longer than mine and she had to undergo a little pain because of hyper sensitive tooth. By the time she could breathe easy, i complained of a little pain in my front tooth and my sister was in no mood to ignore it. The diagnosis called for another root canal. So it was past 10 PM when my brother-in-law started the root treatment for my other tooth. It was a special case and my tooth had turned really bad and had become hyper-sensitive. So after a couple of anesthetic injections, my treatment began and went on for almost an hour. I returned back to my sister's house by 11:15 PM with an almost numb mouth.  After all the treatment, myself and Sheethal could only hear stories about mouth watering benne dose. 

Chitradurga fort 

We returned to my sister's clinic the next day but not before having three helpings of benne dose EACH. Sheethal had to sit through another session for tooth measurements. My sister completed the job and told us that we have to return to Davanagere in a weeks time for my cap and her crown. 

Emu bird at Adumalleshwara mini zoo,chitradurga 

We left Davanagere by 3 PM after an awesome meal which included my favorite Gulab jamun, Davanagere delicacies like menasinakayi bonda, hathi kayi and mandakki puri  (ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ ಬೋಂಡ , ಹತ್ತಿ ಕಾಯಿ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂಡಕ್ಕಿ ಪುರಿ ). 

We set out to Davanagere again on 26 November via Chitradurga. We enjoyed the drive and the durga fort. We climbed the fort though it was pinching hot. We saw a mini zoo located up the chitradurga hills (we were the only visitors there). 

After a refreshing glass of Sugarcane juice, we set out to Davanagere. We reached Davanagere by about 3 PM and my sister was waiting for us with an awesome meal. My brother-in-law took us to the clinic right after lunch to fix my cap. We returned home for a game of cricket with my nephew Sammith. My treatment was over. But Sheethal had to return for some additional  treatment. It was quite a long process. So i took a stroll around the clinic when Sheethal was undergoing treatment. Sheethal finished her treatment by late evening. We returned home for a refreshing meal.  We had finally finished our quota of dental treatment. Two root canals, one cap and one filling for me. Crown, bridge and one filling for Sheethal  My sister and brother-in-law made sure that we did not experience any significant pain during the entire process.  It is a good feeling to be treated by your sister and brother-in-law. 

At Kunduvada Kere with  Sister Dr Roopa and BIL Dr Shashikanth 

The next day we went around the Davanagere city. Myself, Roopa, Sheethal and brother-in-law Shashikanth took good helpings of benne dode and open dose. Shashikanth took us around the city showing us city administration offices, colleges and other places. One special attraction was the Kunduvada kere, a major lake in the city which gets in supply by the Tungabhadra river. The lake supplies drinking water for approximately half the city. It is a tranquil lake, a treat for morning walkers. 

We drove back to Bangalore on the 27 November via Tumkur. Meantime, we had decided to go to Munnar after 15 December for our Honeymoon.

Kalyani at Bhoganandishwara Temple 

One of my projects was scheduled to start at Doddaballapur from the 3rd of December. On 29 December, Sheethal also joined me for a site visit. After the visit, we planned to go to a temple at a village called Manchinbele in Chikkaballpur district. For our misfortune there was a local strike there and my car was not allowed into the district limits. 

So we decided to go to Bhoganandishwara temple located in the foothills of the Nandi hills. It is a tranquil place with a beautiful Kalyani. I have been there many times but it was the first time for Sheethal. 

Ligament tear. 

We had to meet few friends on the way back. We decided to meet at Esteem mall where destiny had something in store for us. We decided against McDonalds and went up to the food court. We were joined by my friend Kiran and we were walking down the stairs after lunch. I was walking ahead of Sheethal. It is when Sheethal slipped a stair. When she was just about to hold on to me, i put my foot down a stair and she could not hold on to me. Her entire body weight fell on her left ankle and it got very badly twisted by more than 90 degrees.  Unable to bear the pain, tears started rolling down her cheeks and the ankle badly swollen. 

McDonalds came to our immediate rescue with an ice pack. After relaxing there for about 20 minutes we drove to the orthopedist. The initial X-ray showed no fracture but two severe ligament tears. Sheethal was advised rest and physiotherapy for a week.
So for a week, we visited the physiotherapist everyday. Sheethal could hardly move, she had to use a walking stick for support . Physiotherapy was a very painful experience for Sheethal. She was almost in tears on a few ultrasonic treatment sessions.
We visited the orthopedist after a week (i.e. yesterday, 6 December).The orthopedist is a very famous man who treats the 'who is who' of the Indian cricket team.  He was surprised to see Sheethal limping. Sheethal was still under severe pain and could hardly move. So the orthopedist advised another X-ray. To everyone's surprise, the X-ray showed a fracture in the ankle.

The doctor after contemplating a bit, advised Sheethal to go for a fiber cast around her ankle. The cast has to be in place for 4 weeks. The only silver lining about this cast is that Sheethal can move around a bit easily now without much pain. She no longer needs to use the walking stick. In-fact i took Sheethal for a Kannada movie yesterday evening. She could manage pretty well in the crowded multiplex. But Sheethal complaints about severe irritation inside the cast.

The doctor has advised Sheethal to resume her normal activities without too much strain on her ankle. So as i write this, we are contemplating a trip to Mysore tomorrow to attend a close friend's wedding. But for our bad luck, there is a Mandya bandh tomorrow (on the cauvery water dispute) . We will have to wait and see till tomorrow if the luck turns in our favour.

So it has been a little over a month since i tied the knot to Sheethal. Our Honeymoon dreams are still in the air. Our train had not moved beyond Davanagere.

I am signing off wishing speedy recovery for Sheethal  Hope our Honeymoon dreams come true sooner than later :).

Infinite possibility !!

Mark Inglis

On Monday, 8 October 2012, i attended a talk by Mark Inglis at the prince of whales lawns at the Taj west end, Bangalore. The occasion was a dinner hosted by the chairman of Mindtree, Subroto Bagchi .
I am not connected with Mindtree in any way. Though the dinner was a Mindtree event, it was very nice of Mr Bagchi to invite me to join him.

Mindtree has recently done some re-branding and their new tagline reads "Welcome to possible" . So, i think there was no better way other than to host Mark Inglis to flag off the new wave of aspiration and inspiration.

Mark Inglis is a living testimony to the age old saying "Where there is a will, there is a way". He is the world's first double amputee to climb the world's highest peak, the Mount Everest.  His story , that he succinctly put in about 70 minutes was full of determination, Passion and above all compassion and humility.

Mark Inglis encountered his ill fate on top of Mount cook in Newzealnad (world's sixth highest peak, 649.00M) at the age of 23. Mark Inglis and his fellow mountaineer Philip Doole were on top of Mount cook when a powerful blizzard pushed the duo into a 4 feet tall ice cave in sub-zero temperature for 13 long days. They had to survive the snowstorm for 13 days with just 5 biscuits. This encounter with the mountains landed Mark Inglis with severe frost bites so much so that both his legs had to be amputated. Mark had shed 31 kilograms in those 13 torturous days. As mark said, every second of the 312 hours that he spent on mount cook, his only thought was "How to survive" .

This encounter with destiny did not stop Mark from attempting more adventures. His love for cycling fetched him a silver medal (Which he carries with him) in the para-Olympic games in Sydney.  This success rekindled his love for the mountains. He set his eyes on mount cook again. He designed and fabricated his own artificial legs (aluminium) that took him on top of mount cook again. Once on top of mount cook, the only other peak in sight for the mark was the majestic Mount Everest.

Aluminium limbs would not work in his expedition to mount Everest. So mark designed carbon limbs. Armed by the new limbs, after 47 days of climbing, Mark was on top of the Mount Everest in May 2006.

Mark is a walking example of another age old adage "look at the opportunities and not at adversities".  He says,with artificial limbs, one cannot get frost-bites. What an attitude!!

On top of Mt Everest 

Mark lost his middle finger of his right hand on his way back from the Everest. Mark wittily added that the finger would have come handy while driving in Bangalore traffic.

Mark had an unfinished job at the base-camp of the Everest on his way back.  He had carried with him an additional pair of artificial limbs. That was for his friend who had lost his legs two decades back. Mark fitted the new limbs to his Sherpa friend. As mark said " Watching his friend walk on the new limbs was more satisfying than standing on the roof of the world."

The entire gathering listened to Mark with awe and applause. It was just impossible to believe that  there was a man in front of us with a pair of aluminium limbs who had climbed the highest peak in the world . As someone remarked, he just climbed it "with his mind".

In addition to his love for the mountains, Mark runs a charitable trust "Limbs4 All". He is also a regular speaker and a owner of an energy drink company.

Mark's story was an inspiration for the gathering who listened with rapt attention in the tranquil lawns . All in all a great evening spent with brilliant company.

"Be More than equal to your next mountain"

.

Interpretations...

Few years back , Winter of 2008 to be precise, i drove to the beautiful hills of kodikanal with best buddies Kiran S.R and Girish Koppad. It was one of the most memorable drives for me. Kiran had come home to India for a vacation. We always make it a point to hit the road whenever he comes to India. We left in the afternoon to reach Dingigul by midnight. The next day we drove to Kodaikanal. 

It was a memorable drive for various reasons. Apart from the beautiful hills and great time with friends, that was one of the first road trips where we discussed philosophy. We had a great lengthy discussion on what is life and why is life and what we end up in life and why for we end up with what we end up? We discussed relationships, failed relationships , desire, marriage , old age  etc. All through the discusion we were accompanied by the magical voice of Sri Vidhabhushan singing naa donakadarenu. 

Many events in early 2008 had got me thinking about what life is all about. I still have no answers to all my questions and i am far far away from even getting a hint for the answer. Anyway i am not writing here about the questions and contractions that has engulfed me for the last few years. 

In the process of my eternal search for truth rather virtual truth , i got introduced to the beautiful world of Kannada literature. (i call  virtual truth because i am not sure if there is really something called as "truth"). 
I got a chance to listen to the great works of stalwarts like Kuvempu, D.R.Bendre, Pu.thi.Narasimhachar, Dr G.S.Shivarudrappa and Gopalakrishna Adiga. Though i have not read anything much about these great men, i am thrilled and mesmerized by the depth of their thought and eloquence of expression. 
I made a couple of trips to Kupalli, the birth place of Rashtrakavi late Dr Kuvempu. Located in the beautiful theerthalli taluk, Kupalli is a must visit for any art or nature lover. I made a trip to Sadhankeri to the house of Varakavi late Dr.Daa.Raa.Bendre. I also visited Pu. thi Naraimhachar's house in Melkote early this year.  

Almost all of the above great men talk about life in general. For example, Dr Dattatreya ramachandra bendre writes "ರಸವೇ ಜನನ  , ವಿರಸ ಮರಣ, ಸಮರಸವೇ ಜೀವನ It roughly translates as "Struggle for harmony through conflict is life" .  Gopala krishna Adiga writes very beautifully that "ಇದು ಬಾಳು ನೋಡು; ಇದ ತಿಳಿದನೆಂದರೂ ತಿಳಿದ ಧೀರನಿಲ್ಲ; ಹಲವುತನದ ಮೈಮರೆಸುವಾಟವಿದು;ನಿಜವು ತೋರದಲ್ಲ !" which roughly translates as "Look, this is life, and no Brave man, despite his claims, has found what life is all about. It reveals myriad intoxicating games, but it won't reveal the truth".

Before i proceed, I must put a disclaimer here that i am no writer or commentator on literary works. I am only trying to put my thoughts with my very limited knowledge and very myopic outlook towards life.

It is very very difficult to dwell to the depth at which these great men think and write. Particularly for laymen like men who have no knowledge about philosophy or literature, it is very difficult to understand the writings of these great men.

Gopala Krisha adiga

Few months back while i was listening to the songs of kuvempu, i found a strange contraction in his view about beauty. I have already written my observation with my limited understanding.  As i have written earlier, it may not be a contradiction after all. It may be just my lack of understanding. 

Few days back,i was listening to a superb piece of poetry by Gopala krishna Adiga. This is the famous "ಯಾವ ಮೋಹನ ಮುರಳಿ ಕರೆಯಿತು" . The poetry goes like this 

   "ಯಾವ ಮೋಹನ ಮುರಳಿ ಕರೆಯಿತು 

ದೂರ ತೀರಕೆ ನಿನ್ನನು

ಯಾವ ಬೃಂದಾವನವು ಸೆಳೆಯಿತೋ
ನಿನ್ನ ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ಕಣ್ಣನು

ಹೂವು ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಚಂದ್ರ ಚಂದನ
ಬಾಹು ಬಂಧನ ಚುಂಬನ
ಬಯಕೆ ತೋಟದ ಬೇಲಿಯೊಳಗೆ
ಕರಣಗಳದೀ ರಿಂಗಣ

ಸಪ್ತ ಸಾಗರದಾಚೆ ಎಲ್ಲೋ

ಸುಪ್ತ ಸಾಗರ ಕಾದಿದೆ

ಮೊಳೆಯದಲೆಗಳ ಮೂಕ ಮರ್ಮರ

ಇಂದು ಇಲ್ಲಿಗು ಹಾಯಿತೇ

ವಿವಶವಾಯಿತು ಪ್ರಾಣ ಹಾ!

ಪರವಶವು ನಿನ್ನೀ ಚೇತನ

ಇರುವುದೆಲ್ಲವ ಬಿಟ್ಟು

ಇರದುದರೆಡೆಗೆ ತುಡಿವುದೆ ಜೇವನ

ಯಾವ ಮೋಹನ ಮುರಳಿ ಕರೆಯಿತೋ

ಇದ್ದಕಿದ್ದಲೆ ನಿನ್ನನು

ಯಾವ ಬೃಂದಾವನವು ಚಾಚಿತೋ

ತನ್ನ ಮಿಂಚಿನ ಕೈಯನು

ಯಾವ ಮೋಹನ ಮುರಳಿ ಕರೆಯಿತು
ದೂರ ತೀರಕೆ ನಿನ್ನನು ".

The more i listen to this poetry , the more i am drawn into a strange internal philosophical conflict. In a nutshell, the poetry talks bout futility of desire.  But there is no much clarity on what exactly is desire. The concept of "Desire" is subject to countless interpretations depending on which side of the philosophical school you belong to. 

I am not going into my views on desire but i will try and articulate my views on one paragraph from the above poetry which has landed me in a strange contradiction (or confusion?). The paragraph goes 

"ವಿವಶವಾಯಿತು ಪ್ರಾಣ ಹಾ!
ಪರವಶವು ನಿನ್ನೀ ಚೇತನ
ಇರುವುದೆಲ್ಲವ ಬಿಟ್ಟು
ಇರದುದರೆಡೆಗೆ ತುಡಿವುದೆ ಜೇವನ !! " 

In the overall context of the poetry, this paragraph can be subjected to two different interpretations. 

The poet may be trying to say that  Life must be all about leaving what one has and try to search for something what he does not. (That may be truth or a higher calling). That is, a man must look for attainment of higher goals and not long for short term worldly pleasures. 

Another interpretation is that , Life is all about foolishness of ignoring what is present and enjoyable and chasing a futile desire.  That is the poet may be trying to say that a man's life is wasted in his search for something out of his reach at the cost of what he has at his hand. 

But mostly accepted interpretation is the latter one. Looking carefully at the overall context of the poetry, the second interpretation is more appropriate and plausible. 

However, for me there is a confusion since many times i tend to believe that the first interpretation is true and that is what human life must be all about. 

Anyway this is food for thought for me.. 

Before i sign off, my next blog will be about the talk i am  attending tomorrow by  the world's first double amputee mountaineer Mark inglis who climbed the Mount Everest by his mind. 

  "ಯಾವ ಮೋಹನ ಮುರಳಿ ಕರೆಯಿತು "

For ideas, Sky is the limit

Today i had an opportunity to listen to Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of atomic energy commission on the subject "Development of solar energy in India" at J.R.D.Tata auditorium in National institute of advanced studies, Bangalore. 

This was the second time i was attending the talk by Dr kakodkar. The first talk was on the subject "Energy security in India" delivered in the faculty hall at IISC, Bangalore. 

The first talk was little above my head since it was very technical. But today's talk was put in very plain language which anyone could understand. 

I will not be going much into the details of the talk. In brief, the talk touched upon the present stage of research in solar technology in India. Dr Kakodkar spoke about the need to have a consortium of R & D people in India working on solar technology. He spoke at length on his current project of setting up three experimental standalone 5MW solar power plants. Each power plant would use a different technology. 

Dr Kakodkar talked at length on the need for more research and collaboration of industry and academics to deliver a robust technology which would be "field ready" in less than two to three years.

I have picked up some numbers from his talk. What i will try and do now is to put those numbers in perspective in the overall context of energy scenario in India and argue out a case for enterprising individuals in the country.  

Today, on an average for people connected to power grids, the power available in India is approximately 700 units (KWh) per year. It is needless to say about 350 to 400 million people in India are still not connected by state power grids. 

If we look at the developed countries, the per capita availability of power is in the range of 3000 to 5000 units per capita per year. To be precise, for North America and western European countries, the availability of power is about 5000 units per capita per year. 
If we have to catch up with the developed world, our production capacity must increase by atleast 7 times. So assuming that our population stabilizes at about 1.6 billion by the year 2017 and if we have to supply at the rate of 5000 units per capita per year , we have to be produce about 8 trillion units (KWh) of power per year. 

These numbers are up for debate as Dr Kakodkar himself admits. Do we really need 5000 units per capita per year? This is the land of sadhus, ashrams, sanyais, yogis and above all Mahatma Gandhi. So is it not over ambitious to be aspiring at these huge numbers? Does it not lead to over-consumerism? These are complex and sometimes philosophical questions which we will try to address at some other time. 

But if we have to be competitive and if we have to push up our human development index close to 1.0, it is inevitable that our power production must atleast quadruple within a decade.  

But the next inevitable question is; At what cost do we want to increase our power production? Cost not only in monetary terms but also environmental and societal costs. We cannot depend on coal only for two primary reasons. Firstly at 8 trillion units per year, the coal reserves in the country will be empty in about 12 years. Secondly and more importantly, power production by coal is very unclean and will have a very huge negative impact on environment and public health. Nuclear technology is a very complex and controversial technology. It may take several years to realize its full potential if at all we decide to adopt it. Since many countries including the developed ones are moving away from nuclear power and since the safety aspects of nuclear power plants are not completely answered, it is unlikely that in India, we will see nuclear power in a big way. 
So that leaves us with hydro power and a host of other renewable energy technologies as an answer. 

Does it mean that few big multi nationals and a host of new companies and a plethora of enterprising individuals will innovate, manufacture, commission and run renewable energy power plants that will make India energy secure in the near term? looks unlikely; let me substantiate. 

We have little more than 8 years to go for the year 2020. If we have to be a developed nation by 2020, we have to increase power production by leaps and bounds. Even to reach 3000 units per capita per year by the year 2020 looks like a gigantic task. (please note that the state of Goa without even a single power plant is able to supply 2000 units per capita per year) 
The bigger challenge is to get about 400 million people who are presently disconnected from the grid into the ambit of state power grids. Its an engineering challenge by itself to reach the far flung areas in remote hills, deserts and snow clad mountains. 

So where is the case for young enterprising individuals? 
In my opinion there are a plethora of technologies that can be taken to the field very quickly without reinventing the wheel. Let me list them down and at the end i will substantiate how it is financially viable and sustainable for start ups and individuals. 

1. Stand-alone small solar power plants : These are small off grid structures which can be commissioned and maintained by little trained staff and can generate up to 500 KW of power. This is sufficient for small villages. 

2. LED based solar lights : These are already popular and costs are sub 2000 rupees. In bulk production, it costs even cheaper. These lights can be assembled and marketed locally. Lights of about 3 W LED powered by solar power can light up a small room for about 6 to 8 hours a day. 

3. Solar water pumps: This technology is not field ready as of now. But if one can design and implement DC motor run solar water pump in a cost effective manner, it can be a very lucrative business model and also a great help to the farmers.  However, capital subsidy is a must from the government since at present many state governments give power free of cost to the farmers. 

4. Micro-hydro power plants : These are also popular and can go a long way in production and distribution of power in a de-centralized way. Most civil and Mechanical engineers know the kaplan wheel. A cost effective design can help in production of power from small streams. It is estimated that in the state of Arunachal pradesh, the production capacity from micro and mini power plants is to the tune of 50,000 MW. Not even 1/100th is harnessed as on today. 

5. Bio-mass power: On available renewable, risk free technologies, bio-mass power is only next to hydro power in terms of production costs. It costs little over 2 rupees per unit for power production from dry bio-mass. Growing of bio-mass itself is a big business opportunity. Pelletizing and processing of bio-mass is another business opportunity. 

There are plenty of other ideas in the area of bio-mass, solar ,wind energy and hybrid models that are simple and "field ready". As kakodkar puts it very nicely "Sky is the limit for ideas" . 

But why are these technologies not implemented rapidly? There are certain systemic problems associated. Most important among them is lack of "Entrepreneurial spirit". In India, we celebrate this spirit and rightly so. We have one of the best companies in the world. 
But what is lacking is the motivation among start ups to move away from cities. Most of the above technologies are relevant in rural and off-grid areas. We need people who can set up bases in rural areas. Commission, implement and maintain plants in the hinterlands of the country. 
There are issues relating to proper information and skills for the entrepreneurs. But this is being addressed by many conferences and by many online courses. 

But where is the case for a start up? It is quite straight forward. Established companies cannot move out from city centers because of huge over head costs. It is also not financially viable for them. So its easier for a start up or an enterprising individual to either set up units or even market renewable energy solutions. 

All these are easier said than done. But with determination and some struggle to start with, these are achievable. 

So can a burst of entrepreneurial drive at all parts of the country make us a developed nation by 2020? No, in my opinion. We will still need huge power plants and very high capital infrastructure to realize 8 trillion units in near future. 

What i am essentially trying to argue is that there is a huge gap in supply and demand of power and there are plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs of any size to pitch in and narrow the gap. Government and private companies are working towards bridging the gap. So there are many schemes by the government to encourage entrepreneurs and many venture capitalists are ready to invest in the energy sector (of any scale). So it is the right time to cash in.