Hampi - Bengaluru 2010

Visiting Hampi was at the forefront of my mind for the last several years. Even though not exactly too far away, Hampi is practically unknown to most Keralites. So, when a tour to Karnataka was planned, Hampi was the natural choice of destination. To make it more enjoyable to the kids in our midst who wouldn’t be too enthusiastic to revise their history lessons while on vacation, we decided to put in two days in Bengaluru city and Wonder la. We boarded the Yeshwantpur Exp at 9.30 pm from Aluva station on Dec 15, 2010.

Day 1: Dec 16, 2010

The day broke with an overcast sky and a slight drizzle. The taxi travel from Yeshwantpura to Majestic where we intended to stay was unbearably slow with traffic jams. It took 20 minutes for the car to even venture outside the railway station premises! We stayed at Hotel Mayura at 16, Tank Bund Road as it was a budget hotel without any claim to any extra frills.

Our lunch was an unpleasant endeavour at Kamat Café (not Kamat hotel, which is of the same management). Carelessness was the master at this poorly frequented restaurant. There was a dead insect in one of the plates and the casual manner in which the management took it shows this is nothing new to them. The food was unsavoury and we were ‘fed up’ with this restaurant.

We went straight to Vishweshwaraiah Museum of Science and Technology. Any trip to Bengaluru, particularly with kids, wouldn’t be complete without a trip to this shrine of science and technology and one of the best in the country. Mokshagundam Vishweshwaraiah was a notable engineer, scholar and statesman of India. He had received the Bharat Ratna in 1955 and every year, 15 September is celebrated as Engineers’ Day in India in his memory. The museum was setup in 1962 by the central government. Spread over four floors, it displays hundreds of scientific showpieces, most of them with working models. It took 4 hours for us to have even a cursory glance of all the exhibits. One full day won’t be enough for the serious student here. Another ‘sweet’ remembrance associated with the museum is the sweet guava mixed with masala which can be had from the entrance for just Rs. 10! We munched them to our hearts’ content.

A quick visit to Lal Bagh was the only thing possible in the waning day. This park is the botanical garden in Bengaluru and was commissioned by Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore in 1760, but his son, Tipu Sultan completed it and now occupies 240 acres of land. There is a watch tower on a central hillock built by Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru in the 16^th century, which provides a superb skyline view of the city. The gneiss (a form of granite) on which the tower is built would’ve been the same in the times of Gowda five centuries before, but the skyline obviously would’ve been different.

Day 2: Dec 17, 2010

We hired an Innova to travel to Wonder la in the morning and return by the evening. The nightmarish travel through the traffic clogged city streets is nothing to cherish. It took almost 90 minutes to cover the 30-odd km to Bidadi on Mysore road. This is an amusement park promoted by the Kerala-based V-Guard Group. It is the second theme park of the management after Veegaland near Kochi and has been operational since October 2005. It has 53 dry and wet rides. It is delight for children of all ages, including some grey-haired ones! However, as compared to Veegaland, the dry rides are a little too violent and the wet ones a little too cold. Even though the water is claimed to be kept at 28 deg C, the assurance was felt more on paper. It was very cold sometimes and the heater booths provided some relief. We had to leave the park at 4.30 pm as we had a train to catch at 9 pm.

After vacating the hotel and a having a quick dinner, we were ready to go to City Railway station. Even though the hotel was diametrically opposite to the station with the Kempe Gowda bus station in the middle, the auto drivers demanded exorbitant sums to reach the station. So we hired one auto rickshaw to carry all the luggage and the rest of us walked across the bus stand. Due to the heavy traffic block, the rickshaw came ten minutes later than we arrived. It was almost time and we literally ran into the Hampi Express which departed on time.

Day 3: Dec 18, 2010

The train dropped us at Hospet at 7.15 am, half-an-hour late. We took auto rickshaws to travel the 13-km to Hampi. Since we’d already arranged with our hosts in Hampi despatch these vehicles, the rate was already fixed at Rs. 120. Whenever you intend to board these vehicles, always bargain with the driver in advance, otherwise the experience would be very unsavoury.

Northern Tower of Achyutaraya Temple

Half-an-hour later, we occupied our designated rooms at Padma Guest House in Hampi. There are no hotels in Hampi and these homestays labelled guest houses are the only alternate option. After having a quick breakfast, we explored the Sacred centre in Hampi. A walk along the Bazar towards the east brought us to the Monolithic Bull, which is a monolithic statue of Nandi, the mount of Lord Shiva. The statue is symbolically placed as to face the Virupaksha temple, where the deity is Lord Shiva. The heap of gigantic boulders in the backdrop provide good photo opportunities.  A trekking path across an outcrop of Matanga hill brought us to Achyuta Raya’s temple built by King Achyutadeva Raya, brother and successor of Krishnadeva Raya in 1539. Though it was designed on similar lines to nearby Vittala temple, it won’t bear comparison with that superb building. There were only a very few tourists there at that time, all of them foreigners so we had the temple to ourselves. The cloister-like verandah running all around the inner courtyard with its carved pillars provide breathtaking background for pictures. We walked along the Courtesans’ street (Soolai Bazar) which was the red-light area in the 16^th century accommodating 16,000 sex workers as described by Portuguese merchants! There is a Pushkarini (pond) on the left used as a bathing pool by the dancing girls. The street led us to Varaha temple at the other end.

We continued the trek east and reached the Purandaradasa Mandapa. Purandaradasa was one of the most prominent composers of Carnatic music and is widely regarded as the ‘father of Carnatic music’. He signed his compositions with the pen name of ‘Purandara Vittala’ and about 1000 of his songs are still extant. Purandara Dasa traveled extensively through the length and breadth of the Vijayanagara empire in the middle of the 16^th century, composing and rendering soul stirring songs in praise of god. The Purandaradasa Mandapa is a small open pillared pavilion on the banks of the Tungabhadra which was teeming with tourists.

Stone Chariot at Vittala Temple

Just after 1 pm, we reached the Vittala temple which was our destination, and is at the pinnacle of Vijayanagara architectural beauty. It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the form of Vittala or Vithoba. The temple construction was begun by Krishnadeva Raya in 1513 but was never finished nor consecrated and historians think that the work was stopped in 1565 by the sacking of the city. Tradition, however says another story that it was built specially for the famous image of Vittala at Pandharpur in Maharashtra, but that the god, having come to look at it, refused to move, saying that it was too grand for him and that he preferred his own humbler home! In front of the main temple is the stone chariot of the god which was believed to be monolithic, but is an illusion, owing to the supremely fine joints between the stone pieces. The stone wheels once turned freely, but years of turning has badly damaged the axles so that it is now stationary. This stone chariot is sometimes considered as the symbol of Hampi. We trekked back to our rooms by 3.30 pm and rested for two hours as all of us were very tired by then as the walk in the terrible sun had sapped our strengths.

Coracle ferry on the Tungabhadra River

At 5.45 pm, we moved to Hemakuta hill which offered a panoramic view of Hampi village, though not as magnificently as from Matanga hill. The sun had already set and the dilapidated stone monuments looked surrealistic in the crimson afterglow. A visit to Virupaksha temple ended the day for us. This temple is still in use and there is an entry fee of Rs. 2 for tourists, as the locals seem to be unaware of such a fee. A hefty camera fee of Rs. 50 was displayed, but since the counter was already closed, we entered without a ticket and was not stopped by anybody. A circuit through the inner courtyard completed the visit. After dinner, we peacefully retired to our rooms.

Day 4: Dec 19, 2010

Sunrise over Matanga Hill

Since we hadn’t visited Matanga hill which is the highest point around Hampi which offers a panoramic view of this idyllic village due to lack of time for sunset, it was decided to climb it in the early morning to see the sunrise. But the climb was reported to be too steep to undertake in the poor early morning light, we settled with the Hemakuta hill nearby Virupaksha temple. The sunrise was beautiful and picturesque, but nowhere near as enchanting as we saw in pictures of it taken over the Matanga hill. Also, there is a disgusting side to an early morning walk on the Hemakuta hill. The villagers, both men and women use this hill as an open-air latrine and it would be better not to go too near the boulders. An awareness campaign must be promoted by the local governing body to put an end to this nauseating practice. Just think of a UNESCO world heritage site at which human excreta is to be found at the foot of every boulder on a prominent hillock!

We hired autorickshaws for the whole day and went to the Royal enclosures beginning at Queen’s Bath. This is a square building in the Indo-Islamic style of architecture and on the outside, it is a particularly plain and uninteresting structure surrounded by a narrow moat. In the centre of the building is a small tank, or swimming bath.

Mahanavami Dibba

A short walk brought us to Mahanavami Dibba inside the Royal Enclosure which was called the ‘House of Victory’ because it was built by Krishnadeva Raya on his return from his victorious campaign against the King of Orissa in 1513. There are a considerable number of these stone platforms or basements of buildings among the ruins in the citadel most of which are not identified accurately. There are two stairways to the top of the Dibba, decorated with carvings of elephants, horses and a host of other things on both sides. A finely constructed stepped tank stands on the side of the platform, which is kept in fine condition by the authorities. A public bath is situated on the extreme edge of the enclosure.

There is an underground chamber on the northern side of the Dibba. Originally, this chamber might have been an underground shrine provided with a procession path around the deity. This is approached from the ground above by a narrow passage. Cleaning works were going on during our visit and we couldn’t enter inside. A little to the north of this structure is the large platform known as King’s Audience Chamber. It is the largest basement of a building among the ruins inside the enclosure. It was originally a very large and many-pillared durbar hall with one or more storeys above it. It was burnt down in 1565 by the devastating army of Muslim sultans in the Deccan.

Black stone pillar at Hazara Ram Temple

Just outside the Royal enclosure is the Hazara Rama temple. It was a private place of worship of the kings. It was also begun by Krishnadeva Raya in 1513. It was dedicated to Lord Shriram and the bas-reliefs on the walls and pillars of the shrine depict incidents from the Ramayana. There are four particularly beautiful and highly polished black stone pillars inside the central hall. The shrine chamber which once housed the magnificent idols of Ram is now empty, silently crying out the barbaric pillage which took place in 1565 when the city was sacked. Those who visit Hampi cannot leave but with a regret which rises from the heart at the ruthlessly devastating carnage the invaders had carried out in this magnificent city.

Lotus Mahal

Walking to the Zenana enclosure, we bought tickets for entering it. There is a modest fee of Rs. 10 for Indian citizens and Rs. 250 for foreigners. Why the foreigners are fleeced in such a way for entering a UNESCO world heritage site is difficult to understand. In the centre of the enclosure is the ruined basement of the Queen’s Palace. There are two quaint watch towers on the north and south sides of the enclosure wall. The finest building, which still exists intact is the Lotus Mahal in the centre of the enclosure. The Elephant Stables are situated just outside the Zenana enclosure on the eastern side. Archeologists differ in opinion about the true use of this building due to the absence of iron rings or bars to chain the state elephants. It was already 1.30 pm and we returned to Hampi Bazar for lunch. On the way some other ruins were glanced upon, but since time was in short supply, they couldn’t be explored in detail.

Sunset at Tungabhadra Dam Reservoir

At 4.30 pm, we vacated the Padma Guest House, bidding farewell to Hampi for the time being and went to the Tungabhadra Dam and Gardens, which is the largest dam in Karnataka is located about 5 km from Hospet and 18 km from Hampi. The dam has 33 spillway gates and all these gates will be opened on August 15, to mark India’s independence and will be a splendid sight. The sunset on the top of the dam is a breathtaking sight. For security reasons, visitors are not permitted on the dam. You can view the reservoir and sunset from a small garden near the dam. A good garden at the foot of the dam is a nice place to spend some leisurely moments. We left the garden at 6.30 pm and went to Hospet railway station to catch the Hampi Express back to Bengaluru. There was heavy rush of tourists on the platform and the train came half-an-hour late.

Day 5: Dec 20, 2010

A full day on train! We alighted at Bangalore Cantonment and boarded the Intercity Exp to Ernakulam just in time as the Hampi was late by 45 minutes. At the end of a hot day, we alighted at Aluva at 5 pm.

Travel

We travelled mainly on trains which generally ran on time. The maximum late running was of 45 minutes, which didn’t upset our schedules. Local sight seeing was on taxis and autorickshaws. We hired a Qualis for Rs. 1400 and an Innova for Rs. 1600 for eight hours in Bengaluru. A full day sight seeing in Hampi along with a trip to Tungabhadra dam and Hospet railway station was charged at Rs. 500 for an auto rickshaw which we suspect to be on the higher side. The figure was arrived at after hectic bargaining which started at Rs. 700. We met a very helpful and cooperative auto driver at Hampi named Raghavendra. Though by nature prone to bargain with a large amount, once the rates are finalised, full cooperation was extended unlike some really roguish auto drivers in Kerala. His mobile number is +91-9483422485 and he is willing to extend a helping hand to anyone who calls him.

Accommodation

Stay in Mayura Hotel was a bit unsatisfactory. Being a budget hotel, the facilities are rather limited with the condition of the bathrooms leaving much to be desired. Hot water is only available for 2 hours in the morning. We are not sure whether we’d stay here again in future.

Padma Guest House in Hampi was a real cheat. Charging Rs. 1200 for a mediocre room with erratic hot water supply is simple day-light robbery, but seems to be the norm in the so called guest houses in Hampi. There were no furniture in the room except the bed and the TV stand. You have to sit on the floor to write something. There is no telephone in the room and most importantly, the bathroom window is removed in most of the rooms so that anybody on the corridor can have a peep inside. When we complained about this to the Mr. Sagar, son of the proprietrix, he very graciously provided a blanket to cover the window! Privacy is not an issue which bothers the owners of Padma Guest House. Hot water was freely available when you didn’t need it like noon and early afternoon, but was impossible to get in mornings and evenings. Again we complained to the owners who promised to deliver us one bucketful of hot water in our room in 10 minutes, which never came. Moreover, if foreigners are staying in other rooms, there is little chance that your needs will be addressed. He even advised not to make much noise as there are foreigners at other rooms. Paying the same amount as the others and still treated as second-class customers is not an easy thought to stay with. It is better to avoid this ugly place and we won’t be staying here in the future.

Food

As noted earlier, it is better to avoid Kamat Café (not Kamat Hotel, which was good) in Bengaluru.

There is a nice little eating spot in Hampi. No restaurant is worth its name in Hampi, but Pallavi Hotel in Bazar just opposite to the iron gate which leads to bus stand is an excellent place to have food. Reasonably priced and very tasty, this family-run business of Mr. Shivaiah is a place we’d recommend. The name of the hotel, unfortunately, is painted only in Kannada. There is a peculiar thing to note about all the hotels in Hampi. There is no such thing as a wash-basin anywhere. They’ll provide you a mug full of water for washing your hands and mouth which you’ve to do facing the main road. There is no other way.


It is better not to select week-ends for exploring Hampi, as the place will be literally swarmed with school children of all ages during these days. It is nice to watch these little kids rampaging and roaming about the place, but your precious photo opportunity will be spoiled! 

Books

If you are serious about visting Hampi and understand her monuments, it is worthwhile to come prepared with some background knowledge of the Vijayanagar empire, its architecture and the ruins. The following are some good books on the subject.


1. The Forgotten Empire - Robert Sewell (The first book on Vijayanagar, published in 1900)
2. Vijayanagara - Burton Stein   (Reviewed in Sapientia Semita)
3. Hampi Ruins - A H Longhurst (This is a must have, Reviewed in Sapientia Semita)
4. Court Life Under the Vijayanagar Rulers (Reviewed in Sapientia Semita) 

China – Aggressor on all fronts?

Liu Xiabao

Our northern neighbour – China – is a very sensitive country which readily moves to aggression both verbally and by other means if applicable. The latest tussle is regarding India’s diplomatic participation at the Nobel peace prize awarding ceremony at Oslo on Dec 10, 2010. With Chinese premier Wen Jiaobao due to visit India on Dec 15-17, the Chinese threats hinted at having undesirable consequences on the dignitary’s visit. The Indian government dillydallied for some time in the usual fashion of the Manmohan Singh government, but took a brave and commendable decision at last to attend the ceremony citing that the function was a multilateral one and there were no bilateral issues with China related to the Indian ambassador’s presence during the meeting at Oslo, Norway. China vehemently protested belittling India as a ‘former colonial country which is incapable of taking decisions independently’. Some comment! That too, coming from a nation which doesn’t even know what democracy is and in which the people are simply mocked at by Communist party bosses!

Tiananmen Square Massacre

But why China was so upset over a simple ceremony? The Nobel committee decided to award 2010 peace prize to Liu Xiabao, who is a Chinese dissident, serving a 11-year prison term in an undisclosed prison in China. His crime? Advocating for democracy, no less! He campaigned to allow multiple parties to compete in the elections, which the dictatorial communists are not willing to concede! In China, the Communist party is the sole political group allowed to contest elections, and the people are allowed to vote only for them. With 100% of the votes garnered by the Communists, this party and the Chinese electoral system itself is a blotch on human civilization. Xiabao’s crimes are compounded by his participation in the Tiananmen square student protests in 1989 in which about 5,000 of the unarmed students who were demanding democratic rights which the people in India take for granted, were brutally massacred by the Communist-led People’s Army. The blood-curdling moment involved trampling of students under the slow moving battle tanks which transformed the protest into pulp (literally!).

And what right China has, in demanding friendly terms from India? It is a known fact that China resorted to nuclear proliferation when it transferred the technology to Pakistan to prop it up against India. All of Pakistan’s missiles were given or developed with China’s technology. Recently, it started a practise of stapling visas to Kashmiri people, without stamping it on the Indian passports held by them, in an effort to demarcate Kashmir as a disputed territory and questioning India’s suzerainty on the state. With such big-brotherly attitude, the Indian ambassador’s presence at the Nobel award ceremony came as a sweet reprisal. China may try to learn something about diplomacy for the time being!

Endosulfan - Who Is the Real Culprit in Kerala?

This heart rending image of a deformed girl from Kasargod district in Kerala, India brings to our notice the stark realities of indiscriminate and excess use of hazardous pesticides without the least concern for the well being of people inhabiting near the plantations. Northern Kerala is particularly suited for the cashew crop, which was introduced in India by the Portuguese in 16^th century from Brazil. Since the climate is ideally suited for the crop, it has struck deep roots in the Kerala soil and has become as much a Kerala crop as pepper. This small state on the western coast of India is notorious for its communist ideals which are still advocated fiercely, often with physical force by its adherents. No wonder, most of the large industries in Kerala are state-owned and managed (most often) by illiterate and corrupt politicians, but that’s another story. The Plantation Corporation of Kerala is a state-owned enterprise in the agricultural sector, whose sole job is to produce rubber, cashew, oil palm and such crops and sell the products. In 1976, the corporation decided to employ Endosulfan in its cashew estate on the hills nearby Padre village in Kasargod district of Kerala. Like how they did in their rubber plantations, the corporation used the new, and highly toxic pesticide using helicopters. The villagers of Padre draw water from four streams, Kodenkeri thodu, Swarga, Pathadka and Badiyaru which run through the plantation. Naturally, the water became toxic and the unsuspecting public drank it leading to severe health, neurologic and reproductive complications, with the image of the child being a minor one of them. We’ll find more serious deformations and diseases among the other members of the village.

Several studies have documented that endosulfan can affect human development. Researchers studying children from Padre have linked endosulfan exposure to delays in sexual maturity among boys. The researchers compared the villagers to a control group of boys from a demographically similar village that lacked a history of endosulfan pollution. Relative to the control group, the exposed boys had high levels of endosulfan in their bodies, lower levels of testosterone, and delays in reaching sexual maturity. Birth defects of the male reproductive system including cryptorchidism (the absence of one or both testes from the scrotum) were also more prevalent in the study group. The researchers concluded that "our study results suggest that endosulfan exposure in male children may delay sexual maturity and interfere with sex hormone synthesis."

Endosulfan (chemical name - hexachlorocyclopentadiene) is a highly effective pesticide, developed in 1954 by Hoechst AG, now Bayer CropScience. Current annual world production is 12,800 tons, out of which 8,500 tons are produced in India by three players, Excel Crop Care, Coromandal Fertilizers and the state-owned Hindustan Insecticides. 4,500 tons are for domestic use and 4,000 tons are exported from India. It is no wonder why the government of India strongly resisted attempts in international fora to include the pesticide under the Stockholm protocol which attempts to restrict the use of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP). With more than two-thirds of the world production at home, who would let that money go? Moreover, one among the three companies is a state-owned one with all profits going to the government alone.

The Plantation Corporation has long since stopped aerial spraying of Endosulfan. The last such application of pesticide was in 1991. Since it is clear that the hundreds of people who had lost the reason for existence and have become preys of a chemical disaster which could be compared to the tragedy at Bhopal in 1984, are the victims of an industrial disaster, they must be compensated accordingly. Nothing can bring their happiness and well being back - those are irretrievably lost – but still, an enlightened society have what are available to them to give to those poor wretches, money and medical care.

So what is the solution to ensure that such incidents don’t happen in future? Is it the ban on Endosulfan? Absolutely not, by any means! Any chemical, with pesticides in particular are highly toxic and should be handled with utmost care. In this present case, the indiscriminate aerial spraying was the culprit and the company which did it must pay dearly for the lives it has devastated. Surprisingly, the Plantation Corporation has managed to go scotfree by giving a pittance because it is a state-owned enterprise! The communists, who are ruling Kerala at the moment is spearheading a campaign to ban endosulfan, like the chemical was the culprit. The people who hold Doe Chemicals which acquired Union Carbide after the Bhopal tragedy responsible for the gas disaster are mum on the role of Plantation Corporation of Kerala. Being a state-owned company, does it confer the right to mercilessly extinguish the light in the lives of people? And why ban Endosulfan, when the real criminals escaped and are running agitations against the chemical? If a car kills a person in an accident, who is responsible, the car driver or the company which manufactured the car? Such simple logic is lost on those who go out like herds following a long since discarded political system in the world.

When Monsanto came out with Bt Brinjal, which claimed that pesticides were not required for the crop (Endosulfan is the most widely used pesticide for brinjal cultivation), these same people opposed that too! They seem to have gone blind with the outdated political philosophy they seek to propagate. Kerala seems to have no wayout from this political quagmire, as all the political parties here are centre-left, with almost similar ideologies and action plans.

A Bad Day for Airbus A380

 The damaged engine of Qantas flight in Singapore

A Qantas A380 Super Jumbo Jet flying from Singapore to Sydney developed engine problems 15 minutes into the flight, while flying over Indonesia's Batam Island yesterday, Nov 4th, 2010. The engine nearest to the fuselage developed serious problems and exploded, ejecting a portion of the cowl midair which fell on a residential area down below. Even though the plane could operate with the remaining three engines, the pilot decided to go back to Singapore's Changi Airport as a safety measure. After the plane touched down in Singapore, the engine closest to the fuselage on the left wing had visible burn marks and was missing a section of plate that would have been painted with the red kangaroo logo of the airline. The upper part of the left wing also appeared to have suffered some damage. No one among the 440 passengers and 26 crew suffered any injury. The issue gathered so much international attention mostly because the plane was A380 which is the latest wide-bodied passenger jet. Just an year back, on Sep 29, 2009 a A380 of Singapore Airlines flying from Paris to Singapore developed a fault on one engine after two-and-a-half hours into the flight forcing a return to Paris.

Qantas has landed its entire fleet of six A380s pending detailed enquiry. This is a significant number, as there are only 37 planes of this class operating worldwide. The A380 comes with a choice of engine by the client, with the options being Trent 900 of Rolls Royce and GP7200 of General Electric - Pratt & Whitney joint venture company, with most of the customers opting for Rolls Royce. A similar engine, the Trent 1000 which was being tested on Boeing's DreamLiner 787 jet exploded earlier this year, raising fears about the airworthiness of the superbly modern and technically advanced Trent series engines. Rolls Royce need to address these issues in right earnest and allay the fears. The Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. has declared that it could announce restrictions on flying A380 if Airbus can't allay fears on its turbines. The bad press for its star model is spelling trouble for the beleaguered European aircraft manufacturer, owing to the huge developmental cost of this doubledecker aircraft, which has run into 12 billion Euros (Rs. 75,000 crores!). The order book is also not scintillating by any means. The total orders fell from 85 in 2001 to just 4 in 2009, though it has jumped to 32 in 2010, all of them from Emirates Airlines. The sale is dismal in USA and Japan, probably due to severe pressure from Boeing.

 A380 makes its debut landing at Hong Kong

With a take off weight of 544 tons and a wing area of 845 sq.m, this engineering marvel can carry 853 passengers in its all economy class (or 525 persons in three-class structure) double decker fuselage powered by four engines. Its cabin has an area of 478.1 sq.m, 49% more space than the next largest airliner, Boeing's 747-400. Its design range is 15,200 km and a maximum cruising speed of 900 kmph (Mach 0.85). It will be disheartening to all people rooting for human progress in the skies. More than Airbus or Rolls Royce (whose share prices dipped due to the incident), any setback on the flights of these dream jet would be a blow to global engineering itself. This does not mean that we should push the issues under the carpet. On the contrary, all safety issues should be promptly sorted out and the airliner be put in service without any hitch. Any knee-jerk reaction, like Qantas' grounding all its A380 fleet would help only to spread panic which is unwarranted. Let reason prevail!

Consumer Protection Links

This post is dedicated to provide links to consumer protection as advertised by concerned agencies. 

1. If the fine print doesn't match the bold-lettered claims:

When you go through the 'conditions' which apply, the offer may not be as tempting and beneficial as it appeared to be. So, the next time you see an offer/festive period bargain deal, check the hidden aspects under star ("conditions apply").

For online complaint filing, log on to: www.core.nic.in or call 1800-1804566

Consumers can call:

National Consumer Helpline: 1800-114000 (Toll free from BSNL/MTNL lines)

011-27662955, 56, 57, 58 (Normal call charges apply) - 9.30 am to 5.30 pm mon-sat

Illustrious days ahead for Indian science

Indian ministry of Environment and Forests has finally accorded sanction to the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) to be built in the Bodi West Hills (BWH) in Tamil Nadu. The project will be implemented in the reserve forest area with minimal damage to the tree cover. The primary goal of the observatory is to study the properties and interactions of weakly interacting, practically massless subatomic particles called neutrinos. Neutrinos are produced abundantly in nuclear reactions like in the sun, supernovae and as such, but thanks to being massless, it simply passes through earth and sun, making it difficult to detect. Billions of neutrinos stream through our bodies every second, yet only a handful will be scattered by our bodies in our entire lifetime. That’s why they are often called ‘ghost particles’.

Schematic of Neutrino observatory under Bodi West Hills

The neutrino was proposed by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930, but it took 26 years to detect it experimentally. In 1956, Frederick Reines and Clyde Cowan found evidence of neutrino interactions by monitoring a volume of cadmium chloride with scintillating liquid near to a nuclear reactor. Reines was jointly awarded the Nobel prize in Physics in 1995 for this work. There are three types of neutrinos, named electron-neutrino, tau-neutrino and muon-neutrino. They are denoted by the greek letter v (nu) and are affected only by the ‘weak nuclear force’, one of the four fundamental forces in nature. Raymond Davis Jr. and Masatoshi Koshiba were jointly awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics; Davis for his pioneer work on cosmic neutrinos and Koshiba for the first real time observation of supernova neutrinos. The detection of solar neutrinos, and of neutrinos of the SN 1987A supernova in 1987 marked the beginning of neutrino astronomy of which the INO to be installed in India is a part of. The detection and study of these tiny particles assumes significance when we consider the fact that even though possessing a very small mass, the enormous number of them makes the total mass a prominent place in the study of the evolution of the universe.

Detection of neutrinos is one of the most technically challenging activities in science. Because they are very weakly interacting, detectors must be very large to detect a significant number of them. They are often built underground in order to isolate the detector from cosmic rays and other background radiation. The overburden provided by the earth matter is transparent to neutrinos whereas most background from cosmic rays is substantially reduced due to their absorption by the earth. The INO will be built in a cavern set in massive charnockite rock (group of igneous rocks found in South India with those in Tamil Nadu known to be the hardest). The cavern will be excavated by drilling a tunnel of 2 km in length under the peak designated as 1589 so that there is vertical overburden of about 1300 m. The minimum vertical cover required is 1000 m to filter out unwanted radiation. The actual site is 2 km from Pudukkottai, 14 km from Bodi and 110 km from Madurai.

Location of the observatory which will be beneath the peak

The primary research instrument will consist of a 50,000 kg magnetized iron particle physics calorimeter with glass Resistive Plate Chamber (RPC) technology as the sensor elements. A prototype of the INO detector with 14 layers, measuring 1m x 1m x 1m is already operational in the VECC, Kolkata. The 35 ton prototype is set up over ground to track cosmic muons. In 2008, INO started a graduate training program leading to Ph.D. Degree in High Energy Physics and Astronomy to deal with the shortage of particle physicists. The Primary goals of the INO are the following.

1. Unambiguous and more precise determination of Neutrino oscillation parameters using atmospheric neutrinos.
2. Study of matter effects through electric charge identification, that may lead to the determination of the unknown sign of one of the mass differences.
3. Study of charge-conjugation and charge parity (CP) violation in the leptonic sector as well as possible charge-conjugation, parity, time-reversal (CPT) violation studies.
4. Study of Kolar events, possible identification of very-high energy neutrinos and multi-muon events.

The INO includes nearly 90 scientists from 25 institutions, with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) as the nodal institution. The construction is expected to start in 2011 and the first module of the detector will start taking data by 2016. Immediately after that, the subsequent modules will be constructed. The present cost estimate is Rs. 1200 crores (US $ 273 m), including Rs. 950 crores (US $ 216 m) for the facility and the remaining for providing infrastructure arrangements.

There are four major neutrino detecting laboratories in the world: Sudbury in Canada, Soudan mines in the USA, Kamioka in Japan and under the Gran Sasso mountains in Italy. The first two are located in mines and house relatively much smaller detectors than the other labs that are accessed by a road tunnel. One of the earliest laboratories created to detect neutrinos underground in the world was located more than 2000 m deep at the Kolar Gold Field mines in India. The first atmospheric neutrinos were detected in this facility in 1965. The lab was closed due to the closure of the mines. So, India is very much experienced in this field.

With such a state-of-the-art subatomic lab, India can confidently step into the high-energy nuclear research arena dominated by CERN. It’s high time that India build a particle accelerator comparable to the Large Hadron Collider and put Indian science at the forefront of world science. We can hope that this INO will be the first confident step India makes in scientific world after a long time of hibernation.

Victory for Engineering and Technology

October 13, 2010 was just an ordinary day for most people, but for the 33 miners who were trapped inside the San Jose gold and copper mine in Chile, it was the day of deliverance, when they awoke from a nightmare which lasted 68 days. On Aug 5, a mine shaft caved in 300 metres below, blocking the escape route of the people working down under. New cave-ins in the following days made the rescue effort difficult. 17 days later, a drill probe reached the emergency shelter area 624 metres below, to which the miners attached a hand-written note saying that "All 33 of us are well inside the shelter." Once contact was established, food and life support systems reached them and they were kept on tenterhooks as the rescue effort was first estimated to be a long drawn-out one which threatened to go until Christmas. Chile stood solid behind the rescue efforts and experts from about a dozen countries were called in to support the effort. NASA's help to keep up the morale of the people trapped in humid and lone conditions truly helped.

On Aug 29, the miners first talked to their relatives from a radio telephone which reached the shelter and several days later, could establish video conferencing and enjoy Chile's soccer match. A powerful drill started on Sep 19 and reached the miners on Oct 9, ending the stalemate. Four days later, all of them were rescued using a capsule named Phoenix. Luis Urzua, who was the shift boss emerged last on the line, creating a Guiness record for the longest underground stay.

This was a great feat for Chilean engineering and technology. They've brought out their best and pleasantly surprised the world by their steadfast determination to bring their colleagues back to life. I'm sure, if this incident had happened in China, they'd have been entombed alive in the deep mine. China is notorious for the languid safety in its mines and the scant regard it holds for the lives of its workers! As per mine safety reports, in 2004, there were 6,027 mining deaths in China whereas in the U.S, only 28 died. Even in India, only 99 workers perished in the same year. Every death is a permanent blotch on the image of the industry, and no effort should be spared to implement new technology and safe practises to bring the workers back to ground level safely.

The long night is past, for the Chilean miners and a new dawn awaits them. How many of them will be willing to go back to mines for a living? They had had the scare of a lifetime during these 68 days and the civil society should ensure that they be given alternate employment in which such a harrowing experience is not likely to recur.

Ayodhya: Let Rule of Law Prevail

Sep 30, 2010 was a special day for India. From the morning itself, anticipation and a bit of anxiety was in the air. As people moved about their daily lives more or less normally, the question spontaneously popped up when people met together was this, “What would be the outcome of Ayodhya verdict today?”. Yes, the nation awaited the decision of the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad Highcourt with bated breath.

Ayodhya was a political and religious hotspot for centuries. Ever since Babar, the first Mughal emperor destroyed the temple of Ramjanmasthan at Ayodhya and constructed a mosque there in 1528, the location was coveted by both parties. Regular Hindu worship started in 1949 as the building was virtually left vacant by the Muslims, without any form of Islamic worship. Ayodhya assumed ominous proportions in the 80s when the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi allowed the laying of stone (shilanyas) for a new temple there. Communal passions ignited both parties to take a hostile view of each other. Massive construction movements spearheaded by the Hindu organisations succeeded in 1992 to tear down the disputed structure and erect a make-shift temple. Large scale communal violence erupted at several places in North India in the wake of the demolition, laying waste the lives of hundreds of innocent people of both religions.

The government led by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao awoke with a start from the complacent slumber and took stern action. It dissolved the Uttar Pradesh assembly led by the BJP and banned its sister outfit, the RSS. The onus of deciding on the fate of title suits of the disputed site came on the shoulders of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad Highcourt. After decades of legal ramblings, the court came out with the final verdict today.

The Bench, consisting of Justices Sibghat Ullah Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and Dharam Veer Sharma ruled on their majority verdict the following points.

1. The portion under the central dome of the disputed structure is indeed the birth place of Lord Ram (Ramjanmabhoomi).
2. The disputed structure was built by Babar after demolishing a massive Hindu religious structure as attested by the Archeological Survey of India. Since the destruction of a religious place of worship violates the tenets of Islam, it was not a mosque.
3. The disputed site should be split into 3 parts, the part where the idols of Ram are located is to be given to a trust for the upkeep of Ram temple. One part is to be given to Sunni Wakf Board and the third part should go to Nirmohi Akhara.
4. The Sunni Wakf Board’s plea for upholding title on land was dismissed.

Well, the legal battle is over and the judgement is out. It is clear that the verdict doesn’t please both sides. This itself is an indication of the impartiality of the judges. The Hindu Maha Sabha declared that they are not happy with the decision and the Sunni Wakf Board said they were disappointed with it. Perhaps, this may be the ideal outcome a secular country can hope for! Neither party came out as the sole victor. We should not dwell too much on the past and the court simply couldn’t have put the clock back by ordering a reconstruction of the disputed structure. India should start from here and make the court’s order a shining piece of adoration in its onward march towards the goals of harmony and brotherhood.

Does this ungrateful country deserve aid?

2010 has been a severe year of Monsoon in south east Asia, particularly so, in Pakistan. Flash floods and landslides caused by rains hit north-western Pakistan and Pak-Occupied Kashmir on July 29^th. The situation worsened further in the next two weeks, with death toll exceeding 1600, rendering 15 million people affected by it. The loss to crops were so huge that the economy is expected to slump by about 2% this year.

International aid has been pouring into Pakistan ever since the grave situation existing in the North was disclosed to the world by western media. Pakistan is too proud to accept incapacity which would rather let its people die silently in the flood than the world knowing the pathetic state it has come to be. Based on the statistics provided by NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) of Pakistan dated Aug 21, 2010, a total of US$ 526.3 million has been pledged. The category wise distribution is as follows – Western nations US$ 321.4 m (61.1%), Muslim nations US$ 153.43 m (29.2%), International aid including U.N. US$ 27 m (5.1%) and Asian nations US$ 24.41 m (4.6%). One thing comes out in stark contrast – the Muslim nations have virtually let their brother to his fate in this hour of crucial need. Those nations which control the enormous middle-east oil revenue has not even bothered to offer some assistance. An ordinary Pakistani considers the U.S, U.K and other western democratic nations as evil and lends moral support (at least) to extremist elements vowed to crush democracy and unbelievers. But the hard facts paint a totally different picture. Pakistan has received the lion’s share of its aid (65.7%) from unbelieving Kafirs, who are guided by the principles of philanthropy and compassion. Pakistan’s bosom friend China has pledged only a paltry sum of US$ 9 m (1.7%). China, which aspires to become the world’s greatest financial power by 2030 is undisturbed by the grave living conditions of the flood victims so that not even a considerable sum is offered. Read this along with Pak’s arch enemy, India’s offer of a preliminary aid of US$ 5 million, which is not even mentioned in the list put together by NDMA mandarins sitting safely and comfortably in Islamabad. Pak has categorically refused to accept aid from India and demanded her to route it through international channels if she want it to be accepted by her haughty and irresponsible neighbour.

One of the Pakistani street protests against democracy and western nations.

Pakistani religious leaders trample upon the national flags of India, U.S. and Israel during protest rallies which are routine there.

Pakistani resentment against the West goes back to the Muslim experiences of the Crusades in the 11^th century! Needless to say, such deep rooted hatred is not going to subside any time in the conceivable future. Such ill-conceived political notions colour every aspect of Pakistani response. The world viewed with horror the gruesome beheading of the American journalist, Daniel Pearl with a blunt knife by Muslim terrorists. Even now, Taliban has threatened the western aid workers with death. It is an open secret that the common folk in Pakistan support these extremist outfits in general, otherwise how can you account for the truth that the top brass of Al Qaeda, including Osama Bin Laden can stay peacefully in that country? Extremist elements threatened the head of U.S.Aid in Pakistan with death and he fled for his life. Just think about the sarcasm!

Now, reverse the tape to October 2005. A severe earthquake of magnitude 7.6 in the Richter scale jolts most of the Pak-occupied-Kashmir, killing 73,000 people, injuring 100,000, rendering millions homeless. International aid flowed then also. Based on the Wikipedia article titled ‘International response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake’, we gather that a total of US$ 991.3 million was collected. The category wise contribution turns out to be Western nations US$ 454.9 m (45.9%), Muslim nations US$ 434.5 m (43.8%), Asian nations US$ 51.81 m (5.2%) with China delivering US$ 6.2 m (0.62%) while India gave US$ 25 m (2.52%). We see the same picture as we saw in 2010! It is the western and other democratic nations pledging the lion’s share of aid to a country desperately in need of it.

Look at these telling stories! We are shocked to see the monstrous ingratitude of the Pakistanis. While literally eating from the outstretched hands of helping nations, most of them western, these people feel no compunction to plot against them, help those who destroyed the World Trade Center, masterminded the bombing of the London subway and the Madrid train blasts. Pakistan still harbours Osama Bin Laden, Al-Sawahiri and other Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders. Aren’t these people instructed to imbibe a feeling of gratefulness to people who helped them when it was most urgently needed? How can they articulate Jihad against those hands which fed them when they were starving? How can they make widows and orphans in the West and India who were building roof for their own women and children in the troubled times? Only a demented and degenerate nation can be oblivious to the people who helped her in her hour of need. We can be absolutely sure that once they come out of this trouble, they’ll immediately switch off all memories of the help they obtained and again switch on the propaganda of jihad and violence. No wonder this rogue of a nation demonstrates to what level a theocratic state can stoop. Does this nation deserve aid? Shall we feed them by donating our hard earned money, only to get bombs and missiles in return, when they are healthy again?

Donate liberously and help children like this to return to their homes and live happily.

The answer to the above question is Yes, indeed. The world should be guided by compassion, empathy and sharing. Numerous children are suffering and starving there in the cold, flooded districts of Pakistan. The Islamists who rule them won’t be helping them, they would be too busy with their rhetoric and ugly warmongering. All religions of the world stress on kindness to the weak and atheism also is guided by philanthropy. So, in who’s interest it would be to deny them aid? They are our brothers and sisters, suffering in that forlorn country. We must help them and strive to ensure that they go back peacefully to their homes and continue their lives happily.

Julia Roberts' New Act of Comedy

Julia Roberts, often called America's Sweetheart has claimed in an interview that she has converted to Hinduism. Aged 42 and winner of the Oscar for Erin Brockowich, she is one of the leading figures in Hollywood. She says that she has been so spoiled with her friends and family in this life and wants to be something quiet and supporting in the next birth! She learned the basic tenets of Hinduism while shooting for the film 'Eat, Pray and Love' in India.

I had a hearty laugh after reading this news item. She says she had learned about Hinduism. Some learning! Probably she is not aware of the basic feature of Hinduism, viz. the numerous castes, some upper, some lower, some in the middle. To which of this caste she has converted into? Without caste, you are not a Hindu, as per the learned Brahmins who interpret religious law even now. I think she has been fooled into the spiritual mumbo-jumbo while in India, whose cultural burden we Indians always bear on our shoulders. Most certainly, she has not heard of many villages of India where lower-caste people are not even allowed to come near the upper-castes. They are not allowed to take water from government-built public wells and their children are still not allowed to attend schools. Sati, the practice of widow-burning when the husband dies, is still practised here and there, occasionally. Even otherwise, we Hindus consider those women who consensually commits suicide on the death pyre of their husbands as semi-divinities who are to be adored. We are easily swayed by superstitions and rumours! Some years back there was a news item which spread like wildfire on the sub-continent. People fed milk on a spoon to the idols of Ganapati and observed with wide-eyed wonder the milk seep into the idol through surface tension.

We Hindus live in a self-hypnotised world. We believe that India had a glorious past in which we surpassed all other countries. Some people even say that ancient Indians developed aviation, had knowledge about string theory and uncertainty principle and had known that there was water in the moon! Not even with tons of salt can you stomach some of the craziest ideas. The fact that nobody else in the world pays a iota of attention to these semi-lunatic claims doesn't deter the diehard enthusiasts. Its a tough task living with a level head in India now.

So, Ms. Roberts, what among these interested you so much to denounce the religion in which you were born and brought up? Or, is this one of your newest acts of setting the fashion? We'd have preferred you to stay the way you was, but a bosom friend of India and our culture. Yes, our culture, even though illogically glorified by some of us, is nonetheless great! We'd have liked to see in you an ambassador of the good will which is to flow from the fountainhead of our age-old traditions and way of life. But, converting to our religion was the last thing we'd have preferred you to do. We'd have gladly and proudly accepted you into our fold, even if you are a Christian!

Kerala becomes India's Afghanistan

.

Prof. T J Joseph (right) is now in a serious state after his palm was cut off by extremists

July 4th, 2010 would be a sad day for Kerala to remember. A group of extremists attacked Mr T J Joseph, a former college professor at Muvattupuzha in Kerala, India when he was returning after Sunday prayers at church and chopped off his right palm. The reason? Three months back, he prepared a question paper for an examination in which there was a question defamatory to, as these extremists say, Prophet Mohammed. Right at the time of the exam in March 2010, there were widespread protests outside Newman College, Thodupuzha, where he was employed and the management suspended him from service and apologized for the misconduct. The professor too apologised for the mistake. A criminal case was however filed against him for inciting communal passion and he was arrested by the police a few days later. In the meanwhile, as he was absconding, the police took extreme measures to hunt him down including cruelly torturing his son so as to pressurise him to surrender. How this could happen, how an innocent boy could be punished for the crime committed by his father, in a democratic country is difficult to fathom. Talibanisation of Kerala society seems to be going at a fast pace as the Muslim terrorists have started imposing Sharia punishments in public. The spineless marxist government in Kerala who are bent upon devising more and more schemes for appeasing the jihadis for the votes they will bring don’t take the issue seriously. Two persons have been arrested so far, but the charges filed against them are bailable and they are expected to come out soon. The first Sharia punishment in Kerala is to be noted clearly as undoubtedly more are to follow.

Still, the marxist government is in the final stages of setting up an Islamic style bank which won’t accept or pay interest to or from the clients. Public money is being wasted on such projects which don’t have any resonance with the majority of the people, even among most of the Muslims too. The outrage on the barbaric act is loud and clear, but the Islamic organisations are again following their ambivalent stance. These associations always demand that the circumstances which lead people to terrorism should be investigated, but are curiously silent about the most obvious fact, fanaticism of which they themselves are not absolved. Kerala has become a haven for terrorists as the Kerala government is still hesitant to arrest and hand over Mr Abdul Nasser Madani, one of the accused in the Bangalore serial blasts case. This man is being protected by an armed group of supporters and the sight of the police remaining helpless spectators in front of his office complex is heartbreaking for people who believe in democracy and rule of law. He may be guilty or he may be innocent, but it is for the court to decide and nobody, however powerful should be above law. But these basic tenets of democracy has no place in Kerala now and the communists themselves are not staunch supporters of democracy. They adhere to it, because it suits them best for now. I had decided earlier not to write anything except soccer in this 'holy' month of football, but this was a little too much to leave without comment.