Apr Jun 2010
by Jayawant Bharadwaj
How a small group of people can deal with the economic, ecological and social realities connected with building water consciousness in a community.Water supply to citizens is supposedly the duty of Governments and municipal corporations. Yet there are enough indications today that very soon many communities and neighbourhoods would have to manage it themselves – protecting their sources of water, regulating its usage and treating…
by Durga Sitaraman
Today, more than ever before, education needs to be for the future, not only for the present or the past. Education also needs to focus on real life, rather than only on text books and exams.The Indian Education System, especially the school system is much talked about these days. The CBSE (Central Board for Secondary Education) which has made the board exams optional at the…
by K.C. Raghu
There is a saying that if your only tool is a hammer, then every problem you come across will look like a nail.Scientific solutions seem to concentrate on redesigning the problem perspective. The nature of solutions at our disposal is changing the definition and the scope of problems. Ready as the scientists are with technological solutions, problems are found for which they can be applied.…
by Nalini Jayaram
Mankind’s intimacy with nature and his quest for beauty seem to have been food for the soul since time immemorial. The ability to visualize, to imagine, to use one’s head and hands and feel intuitively about forms of nature and materials around us has led to expressions which are diverse, and has resulted in rich craft traditions all over the world.
We certainly appreciate handcrafted…
by Vinod Sreedhar
Life is best enjoyed when lived fully, when we participate wholeheartedly in it, when the inevitable passage of time is filled with daily doses of fun and joy; and life becomes enjoyable when relationships are rooted in trust and love, and when the income-generating work that we choose to engage in makes play look contrived in comparison.I know, I know… utopian, most would say, with…
by Partap Aggarwal
‘Quaker’ is just a nickname. The real name of Quakers is ‘Friends’, collectively called members of the Society of Friends. George Fox founded this movement in 1650 in England. He experienced enlightenment after persistent, quiet contemplation and taught his followers that they did not need organized church or priests between them and God, for He was within all of us. Quakers meet on Sundays for…
by Pooja Nayak
In recent years, there has been a serious disconnect between the consumer and the farmer. By the time we finally consume food, not only has it travelled a lot from the plot to the plate, but it has also undergone so many modifications that what we finally get is a mere ‘product’. Many of us would have hardly met or chatted with someone who grows…
by Roy Jacob
The transition from software in Texas to growing food in Wayanad is teaching important lessons on Nature, life and happiness.After puddling a bund in preparation for transplanting rice and taking a dip in the river nearby, I feel great! There’s nothing like some good, creative, physical activity to get me going. Watching the rice plants growing so lush in the nursery gives me immense joy.…
by Vandana Shiva
Seed monopoly, patenting and arm-twisting by large transnational corporations in cahoots with government policies are engendering a new colonialism where we are losing our right to food sovereignty. The fact that 6 TNCs are controlling 60 to 80% of seeds, grain processing and trade in food crops is definitely leading to the disempowerment of the farmer as well as the city-dweller.Several scientists and thinkers today…
by Seetha Ananthasivan
Milk, which was considered the perfect food, has now fallen from its pedestal.In India, the land of Krishna, the cowherd-God, milk is sacred. Milk is used for worship in temples and as offering at prayer time in homes. Milk is equally venerated in other countries – notably the US and Holland, where the per capita consumption is the highest in the world.We have been coaxed…