Accuse me of 'Yellow' Journalism (of 2, 4-biphenyl aceto carbonyl kind!!)
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
Wow! or Yuck! That's the response, depending on whom you are with. I am talking food colors. You know, those difficult-to-pronounce chemicals that lend color to the topping or substrate they are added to? Sure you do! Whether juices, cola, tutti-fruity toppings on cake, brightly-colored candy, or colored Easter eggs, colours are a must.
Just the other day, I had the shivers (actually, numbness in my fingers) after hurrying home in 100+ temperatures and eating some 'pista ice-cream' (Of course, that might be weakness from walking too fast). Pista ice-creams must still be doped a livid green (lest consumers mistake it for strawberry ice-creams doped a bright pink or rose depending on manufacturer! Color blindness must be more common than I presumed!). As inexcusable as they are, food colors purport to enhance the visual image of the product. You mean there is something worse? Why, Yes! Time and again, I have noted the stupidity of juice tetrapacks containing color additives. Why in the world would anyone add color to juice that the consumer sips without even looking at? Would any marketing executive answer that? Perhaps I have turned woolly with age? Perhaps the color additive aids in digestion?? No? Hmm, Does it help India overcome the 'Hindu rate of GDP growth'?!!! Can I make a million by selling colored water (before anyone turns green with envy)? To top it all, and as if pesticides and insecticides are not enough, we must also be poisoned by waxy 'surface-enhancers' and colors on vegetables. I was stunned when my wife showed me the greeen-color from washing fresh peas obtained at the local vegetable shop. What next? A 'Low Low Price - Inorganic' section to complement the 'organic produce' section at your local produce shop?
Apparently, we haven't learned the lessons despite, literally, pouring millions of dollars in to research on cancers, endocrine disrupter and the like (Public health policy? Pray, what is it?). Isn't it strange that we abandon the rich colors of nature and cause cancers while seeking to re-invent them? The fact that colors have been classified in to I, II, or III permitted classes does little to abate cancer risk among the public at large from consuming them. Doesn't it strike you as strange that a society so far ahead in knowledge of the causes and cures of diseases permits the use of carcinogenic artificial colors when vegetable-based natural colors can be manufactured at minimal incremental cost – a cost that is dwarfed by what we pay for treating cancers. I wonder what it takes to reverse industries that produce and market products that hurt public health (since campaigning on the basis of 'No More Carcinogenic Artificial Food Colors' is unlikely to win votes, especially in an inflationary economy!)?
Some yellow journalism of the Agent-Orange kind?
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION!
WE DON'T NEED NO EDUCATION!
(Hey Teacher, Let Those Kids Away; they are enrolled in an expensive tutorial!)
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
India is a strange land. Despite all the hue and cry about equal opportunity and equal-access, schooling remains distinctly and unabashedly inequitable. The vast majority of government schools and schools funded by the local Corporation/Municipality serve the masses and generally represent the lowest rung in terms of resource availability and quality of teaching. Then, in order of increasing quality, there are government-aided schools, convent schools, private schools and international schools. While schools are required to, and indeed, favor students from within their locality, the fact that school quality and property prices are correlated, implies that good schools are located in pricey residential localities. Unstated is the fact that good schools are for the children of the rich (or exceptionally intelligent poor who have the time and means to ferry their child to the school located in a different precinct). After all, birds of a feather flock together (and the poor are afflicted with communicable diseases). Convenient excuse!
And what goes for education in ordinary schools is nothing short of an abomination. Schools do schedule subjects, activities and exams, but the emphasis, and even the intent, is on remembering just enough to tick off the right answer or answer T/F and secure a grade that satisfies both the Principal and the parents. Did the child really comprehend what was taught? Did she think about the material and learn from it? Were the questions repeated from the class work or home work notebook to ensure a high grade? Do students use the library (Does the school even have a library and what is its annual budget)? No one cares, and I mean, surprisingly, most parents as well. Children who correctly answer questions on hygiene at school care two hoots when it comes to observing them at home. After all, they remembered to answer correctly only because they were made to write it 5 times over. 'Hit the books' is now archaic. Check out your practice exam instead! Isn't that a troubling sign of the malaise in our education system? Schooling is more a formality in the business of money-making than a journey of knowledge that readies the child to win his future. Little wonder we have entrance examinations following matriculation and senior school public examinations. And what do parents do for their wards? Send them to expensive tutorial colleges! Why, it is not uncommon to find students enrolled simultaneously in a school/college (for the 'formality' of a formal degree) and a tutorial college (to secure a rank in professional course entrance exams). Of course, the tutorial colleges make no bones about their purpose. They ensure success by calling upon the services of college lecturers who find it more remunerative to earn their livelihood at the tutorial than in the lecture room boycotted by students! Bottomline: 12 years of schooling, and even a medical/engineering seat, but with little or no learning, originality, creativity or discipline or for that matter, appreciation for books, knowledge and perfection. (Much to my chagrin, employers are already lined up for these students before they put in their applications for professional courses!) Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of the education!
Well, Quo Vadis? (Where do we go now? Where do we go now? Hmm, where did I hear that?) How about a 24-member National Commission for Rehabilitation of the Educationally Disadvantaged? Or a Quota for the 'Schooled yet Backward Class'!!! But Seriously, shouldn't we put the horse before the cart? How about a joint parent-teacher evaluation of the child's progress so parents have a stake in their child's progress and so the child learns to behave and read at home? Why not include student and parent evaluations of teacher in determining their salary raise? Or a 'Parent Appreciation Lecture' program that enables parents to lecture students in an area of their choice on a weekly basis? And, a 'school ladder' program that encourages the truly intelligent, talented and hard-working among students by granting them 'school upgrades' irrespective of their financial or social background?
Now, that would do a whole lot of good!
ps: Shall we instead sing 'maine chand aur sitaaron ki tammanna ki thi; mujh ko exam me passing grade ke siwa kuch na mila....????!!!
(Hey Teacher, Let Those Kids Away; they are enrolled in an expensive tutorial!)
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
India is a strange land. Despite all the hue and cry about equal opportunity and equal-access, schooling remains distinctly and unabashedly inequitable. The vast majority of government schools and schools funded by the local Corporation/Municipality serve the masses and generally represent the lowest rung in terms of resource availability and quality of teaching. Then, in order of increasing quality, there are government-aided schools, convent schools, private schools and international schools. While schools are required to, and indeed, favor students from within their locality, the fact that school quality and property prices are correlated, implies that good schools are located in pricey residential localities. Unstated is the fact that good schools are for the children of the rich (or exceptionally intelligent poor who have the time and means to ferry their child to the school located in a different precinct). After all, birds of a feather flock together (and the poor are afflicted with communicable diseases). Convenient excuse!
And what goes for education in ordinary schools is nothing short of an abomination. Schools do schedule subjects, activities and exams, but the emphasis, and even the intent, is on remembering just enough to tick off the right answer or answer T/F and secure a grade that satisfies both the Principal and the parents. Did the child really comprehend what was taught? Did she think about the material and learn from it? Were the questions repeated from the class work or home work notebook to ensure a high grade? Do students use the library (Does the school even have a library and what is its annual budget)? No one cares, and I mean, surprisingly, most parents as well. Children who correctly answer questions on hygiene at school care two hoots when it comes to observing them at home. After all, they remembered to answer correctly only because they were made to write it 5 times over. 'Hit the books' is now archaic. Check out your practice exam instead! Isn't that a troubling sign of the malaise in our education system? Schooling is more a formality in the business of money-making than a journey of knowledge that readies the child to win his future. Little wonder we have entrance examinations following matriculation and senior school public examinations. And what do parents do for their wards? Send them to expensive tutorial colleges! Why, it is not uncommon to find students enrolled simultaneously in a school/college (for the 'formality' of a formal degree) and a tutorial college (to secure a rank in professional course entrance exams). Of course, the tutorial colleges make no bones about their purpose. They ensure success by calling upon the services of college lecturers who find it more remunerative to earn their livelihood at the tutorial than in the lecture room boycotted by students! Bottomline: 12 years of schooling, and even a medical/engineering seat, but with little or no learning, originality, creativity or discipline or for that matter, appreciation for books, knowledge and perfection. (Much to my chagrin, employers are already lined up for these students before they put in their applications for professional courses!) Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of the education!
Well, Quo Vadis? (Where do we go now? Where do we go now? Hmm, where did I hear that?) How about a 24-member National Commission for Rehabilitation of the Educationally Disadvantaged? Or a Quota for the 'Schooled yet Backward Class'!!! But Seriously, shouldn't we put the horse before the cart? How about a joint parent-teacher evaluation of the child's progress so parents have a stake in their child's progress and so the child learns to behave and read at home? Why not include student and parent evaluations of teacher in determining their salary raise? Or a 'Parent Appreciation Lecture' program that enables parents to lecture students in an area of their choice on a weekly basis? And, a 'school ladder' program that encourages the truly intelligent, talented and hard-working among students by granting them 'school upgrades' irrespective of their financial or social background?
Now, that would do a whole lot of good!
ps: Shall we instead sing 'maine chand aur sitaaron ki tammanna ki thi; mujh ko exam me passing grade ke siwa kuch na mila....????!!!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
MLMs - Pyramids of Hell?
PYRAMIDS OF HELL?
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
This won't be the first time that I am accused of exaggerating trends and conclusions. It's not that exaggeration comes naturally to me. It's more the motivation behind it. In a world that leans right at twice the angle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, every issue, every manipulated rule risks destroying the future that our forefathers built for us with their sacrifice and with the dint of their morals and hard work. Besides, in a society that does not care for the left, complaints, suggestions and warnings are not heeded for months, sometimes years at a stretch. Also, many man-made rules, objects and structures – vehicles, buildings, policy promulgations last years, even decades once put in place. Is it not, I ask, prudent then, to anticipate ruinous designs of the right and make the public, policy makers and watchdogs aware of potential negative consequences ahead of the damage? After all, it will still take months and years for the matter to be resolved, if at all!
Today, my thoughts are focused on Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) companies. Typically, such companies operate through a pyramid of consumer-salesmen who both consume the MLM's product-line and build their own sub-pyramid of consumer-salesmen – the idea being that the pyramid grows larger as new members build their sub-pyramids, bringing profits to members in line with one's position in the grand pyramid. Nothing wrong with that per se. After all, many MLMs have survived and even flourished over the decades. Some MLM members are spectacularly successful and wealthy. So where is the catch?
Good question! Whether owned by its members as a co-operative or listed on the stock market, these consumer-(owner)-salesmen have an incentive to propagate their pyramid since their income increases with the size of the pyramid under them. The incentive to grow exponentially is not a problem in itself since the growth likely comes from displacing conventional market shopping. The problem comes about when an MLM produces an array of household goods and services that more or less make up the entire consumption basket of the average household. If these goods and services happen to be higher in quality than those available in the market (as needs to be for the MLMs to differentiate themselves and survive in the market), then, we have a situation in which exponentially greater amounts of higher quality products are produced to satisfy an ever-expanding pyramid. The problem is, these high quality products typically use more (higher quality) inputs and/or generate much higher environmental releases than normal products. As income increases, so does the quality of products consumed as consumers move to a higher lifestyle. That's even more emissions and waste. Now factor in population growth in the developing countries and what you have is environmental hell.
Now consider what happens when MLM shareholders scream for higher returns. Seeking to reduce costs, MLMs shift their manufacturing plants to developing countries with lower labor cost, lax environmental regulations (and even a decade-long tax holiday as the icing on the cake to ward off competing developing countries) Exaggerating I may be, but what does the trend portend for the future? More number of consumers consuming pyramids of higher quality goods and services to enlarge their income and satisfy the EPS growth required to obtain market returns from the MLM stocks? With larger volumes of higher quality products comes more environmental releases – to air, water and land. As the consumption pyramid grows so do pyramids and bubbles of environmental wastes. Don't get me wrong. I am not against MLMs. But someone's got to logically anticipate the outcomes given consumption patterns and incentives facing manufacturers and shareholders on one hand and the competition for foreign investment among developing countries on the other. With the developed world clamping down on CO2 emissions and the developing world holding out against any global warming controls, the 'leakage' of CO2 emissions will soon turn in to a krakatoan gas bubble as these firms shift to and ramp up production in developing countries.
Seems implausible? Here's your excuse. Chant together!
Exaggeration, thy name is Prasad Rao!
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
This won't be the first time that I am accused of exaggerating trends and conclusions. It's not that exaggeration comes naturally to me. It's more the motivation behind it. In a world that leans right at twice the angle of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, every issue, every manipulated rule risks destroying the future that our forefathers built for us with their sacrifice and with the dint of their morals and hard work. Besides, in a society that does not care for the left, complaints, suggestions and warnings are not heeded for months, sometimes years at a stretch. Also, many man-made rules, objects and structures – vehicles, buildings, policy promulgations last years, even decades once put in place. Is it not, I ask, prudent then, to anticipate ruinous designs of the right and make the public, policy makers and watchdogs aware of potential negative consequences ahead of the damage? After all, it will still take months and years for the matter to be resolved, if at all!
Today, my thoughts are focused on Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) companies. Typically, such companies operate through a pyramid of consumer-salesmen who both consume the MLM's product-line and build their own sub-pyramid of consumer-salesmen – the idea being that the pyramid grows larger as new members build their sub-pyramids, bringing profits to members in line with one's position in the grand pyramid. Nothing wrong with that per se. After all, many MLMs have survived and even flourished over the decades. Some MLM members are spectacularly successful and wealthy. So where is the catch?
Good question! Whether owned by its members as a co-operative or listed on the stock market, these consumer-(owner)-salesmen have an incentive to propagate their pyramid since their income increases with the size of the pyramid under them. The incentive to grow exponentially is not a problem in itself since the growth likely comes from displacing conventional market shopping. The problem comes about when an MLM produces an array of household goods and services that more or less make up the entire consumption basket of the average household. If these goods and services happen to be higher in quality than those available in the market (as needs to be for the MLMs to differentiate themselves and survive in the market), then, we have a situation in which exponentially greater amounts of higher quality products are produced to satisfy an ever-expanding pyramid. The problem is, these high quality products typically use more (higher quality) inputs and/or generate much higher environmental releases than normal products. As income increases, so does the quality of products consumed as consumers move to a higher lifestyle. That's even more emissions and waste. Now factor in population growth in the developing countries and what you have is environmental hell.
Now consider what happens when MLM shareholders scream for higher returns. Seeking to reduce costs, MLMs shift their manufacturing plants to developing countries with lower labor cost, lax environmental regulations (and even a decade-long tax holiday as the icing on the cake to ward off competing developing countries) Exaggerating I may be, but what does the trend portend for the future? More number of consumers consuming pyramids of higher quality goods and services to enlarge their income and satisfy the EPS growth required to obtain market returns from the MLM stocks? With larger volumes of higher quality products comes more environmental releases – to air, water and land. As the consumption pyramid grows so do pyramids and bubbles of environmental wastes. Don't get me wrong. I am not against MLMs. But someone's got to logically anticipate the outcomes given consumption patterns and incentives facing manufacturers and shareholders on one hand and the competition for foreign investment among developing countries on the other. With the developed world clamping down on CO2 emissions and the developing world holding out against any global warming controls, the 'leakage' of CO2 emissions will soon turn in to a krakatoan gas bubble as these firms shift to and ramp up production in developing countries.
Seems implausible? Here's your excuse. Chant together!
Exaggeration, thy name is Prasad Rao!
Monday, June 11, 2007
BE WARNED! HILL TOPS, LAKES AND WATER-FALLS BELONG TO HINDUS!
BE WARNED! HILL TOPS, LAKES AND WATER-FALLS BELONG TO HINDUS!
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
I was appalled by the news about the Andhra Government granting TTD exclusive rights to seven hills on religious grounds. The decision smacks of religious impropriety committed by the majority religion on minorities and various other users of the region. The seven hills region is an evergreen forest area that finds the favor of several classes of users – students, trekkers and wilderness-enthusiasts, geologists, wild-life enthusiasts, botanists, and vacationers apart from local residents. The fact that the majority Hindu community usurped every hill top, water fall and lake in the country, constructed a temple and appointed a 'God' to it does not mean that other users or members of other religions should be excluded from enjoying them. In fact, and to the contrary, the government should recognize the multiple classes of uses and users of the region and explicitly enjoin any one class of users from claiming exclusive right to the region. The decision to trust the TTD with all rights to the seven hills - though ostensibly to avert religious conflict - is perhaps intended to force minorities and non-religious users to 'suck' and seek permission – a thoroughly unnecessary step that will involve the TTD in matters as diverse as academic research, commercial activities, personal enjoyment, and so on. The Ordnance will turn the area in to a quasi-independent religious entity with quasi-sovereign powers to exclude those whom the authorities deem 'incovenient'. Is that the intent? The decision reflects the political power wielded by wealthy religious organizations belonging to the majority community. This is contrary to every tenet of secularism and democracy. It does not bode well for the future of India as a democratic, secular state. It can only open doors to religious extremism from excluded sections of our society, putting the peace and security of our democracy at risk. Be forewarned!
I ask the Government of Andhra Pradesh to rescind the decree and instead constitute a more comprehensive authority, the Tirumala Hills Development Authority, responsible for the holistic and integrated development of the seven hills. TTD could operate under the auspices of the THDA. The THDA would be responsible for ensuring freedom of entry and legitimate use for all user classes besides ensuring sustainable resource exploitation of the region. The alternative is a divided society constituted by religious bigots claiming jurisdictional superiority where dissenting opinions are steamrolled by the majority. Sometimes, the true test of intelligence is introspection, self-judgment and self-policing. Surely, there are sane heads in the majority community who will stand up for justice? Don't tell me they too are a minority?
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
I was appalled by the news about the Andhra Government granting TTD exclusive rights to seven hills on religious grounds. The decision smacks of religious impropriety committed by the majority religion on minorities and various other users of the region. The seven hills region is an evergreen forest area that finds the favor of several classes of users – students, trekkers and wilderness-enthusiasts, geologists, wild-life enthusiasts, botanists, and vacationers apart from local residents. The fact that the majority Hindu community usurped every hill top, water fall and lake in the country, constructed a temple and appointed a 'God' to it does not mean that other users or members of other religions should be excluded from enjoying them. In fact, and to the contrary, the government should recognize the multiple classes of uses and users of the region and explicitly enjoin any one class of users from claiming exclusive right to the region. The decision to trust the TTD with all rights to the seven hills - though ostensibly to avert religious conflict - is perhaps intended to force minorities and non-religious users to 'suck' and seek permission – a thoroughly unnecessary step that will involve the TTD in matters as diverse as academic research, commercial activities, personal enjoyment, and so on. The Ordnance will turn the area in to a quasi-independent religious entity with quasi-sovereign powers to exclude those whom the authorities deem 'incovenient'. Is that the intent? The decision reflects the political power wielded by wealthy religious organizations belonging to the majority community. This is contrary to every tenet of secularism and democracy. It does not bode well for the future of India as a democratic, secular state. It can only open doors to religious extremism from excluded sections of our society, putting the peace and security of our democracy at risk. Be forewarned!
I ask the Government of Andhra Pradesh to rescind the decree and instead constitute a more comprehensive authority, the Tirumala Hills Development Authority, responsible for the holistic and integrated development of the seven hills. TTD could operate under the auspices of the THDA. The THDA would be responsible for ensuring freedom of entry and legitimate use for all user classes besides ensuring sustainable resource exploitation of the region. The alternative is a divided society constituted by religious bigots claiming jurisdictional superiority where dissenting opinions are steamrolled by the majority. Sometimes, the true test of intelligence is introspection, self-judgment and self-policing. Surely, there are sane heads in the majority community who will stand up for justice? Don't tell me they too are a minority?
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Twenty Things To Do When Your Train Is Delayed At Basin Bridge
Twenty Things To Do When Your Train Is Delayed At Basin Bridge
Yesterday (or was it the day before), on our way back from Yelagiri, as at innumerable other times, our train, the Brindavan Express, or as I not so fondly term it, the 'Can of Sardines' Express was again stuck at Basin Bridge (200 meters from Chennai Central terminus, for those strangers to Chennai) – and not for the lack of a platform to receive the train. Whine we did. Then an idea struck me. Why not think of twenty wildest things that one could do while waiting for that final lap to freedom - a la 'Roxanne'?
Here's the list:
1. The obvious: Sleep!
2. The official: Write a letter to the Railway Minister, have a fellow passenger purchase a stamp from Chennai Central PO and drop the envelope in the RMS coach attached to the train.
3. The ridiculous: Begin writing a thesis!
4. The hopeful: Cut vegetables for dinner!
5. The stupid: Walk over to the station master and ask him to switch the signal on.
6. The imperious 'Rambo' act: Hijack the train and barge in! (Hey, I watched that movie!)
7. The exaggerated: Take out a rail roko dharna
8. The business-minded: Arrange a train-side presentation for the client
9. The romantic: Start a love affair with the girl who wouldn't look your way, much less talk to you.
10. The statistical: Predict the average wait-time based on train frequency and track density.
11. The economist's: Compute the loss to exchequer from those who skip office the next day.
12. The angry: Sue the railways for sweaty clothes!
13. The silver-lining: Thank God for not holding up the train behind a goods train whose driver was last seen at the track-side dhaba!
14. The hypochondriac: Compute the time before dehydration sets in on emptying the water bottle. (Will the Railway Emergency Van have precedence over outgoing trains?)
15. The miserly: Hope the train is delayed until morn when the taxi reverts to its normal rates!
16. The feminine: Argue about the pros and cons of rescheduling the beauty salon appointment versus attending the PTA!
17. The academic: Posit and test the hypothesis that the delay is directly proportion to the anxiety among passengers.
18. The comic: A mid-track bhangra that goes 'na tu time par aaya, na maine platform khola, thoda delay ho gaya, rabba rabba'!
19. The religious: Seek to convert the fellow passenger who stretches his legs under your seat.
20. The prudent: Elbow your way to the TTE and book a berth for the night! (the luggage rack is fine!)
Yesterday (or was it the day before), on our way back from Yelagiri, as at innumerable other times, our train, the Brindavan Express, or as I not so fondly term it, the 'Can of Sardines' Express was again stuck at Basin Bridge (200 meters from Chennai Central terminus, for those strangers to Chennai) – and not for the lack of a platform to receive the train. Whine we did. Then an idea struck me. Why not think of twenty wildest things that one could do while waiting for that final lap to freedom - a la 'Roxanne'?
Here's the list:
1. The obvious: Sleep!
2. The official: Write a letter to the Railway Minister, have a fellow passenger purchase a stamp from Chennai Central PO and drop the envelope in the RMS coach attached to the train.
3. The ridiculous: Begin writing a thesis!
4. The hopeful: Cut vegetables for dinner!
5. The stupid: Walk over to the station master and ask him to switch the signal on.
6. The imperious 'Rambo' act: Hijack the train and barge in! (Hey, I watched that movie!)
7. The exaggerated: Take out a rail roko dharna
8. The business-minded: Arrange a train-side presentation for the client
9. The romantic: Start a love affair with the girl who wouldn't look your way, much less talk to you.
10. The statistical: Predict the average wait-time based on train frequency and track density.
11. The economist's: Compute the loss to exchequer from those who skip office the next day.
12. The angry: Sue the railways for sweaty clothes!
13. The silver-lining: Thank God for not holding up the train behind a goods train whose driver was last seen at the track-side dhaba!
14. The hypochondriac: Compute the time before dehydration sets in on emptying the water bottle. (Will the Railway Emergency Van have precedence over outgoing trains?)
15. The miserly: Hope the train is delayed until morn when the taxi reverts to its normal rates!
16. The feminine: Argue about the pros and cons of rescheduling the beauty salon appointment versus attending the PTA!
17. The academic: Posit and test the hypothesis that the delay is directly proportion to the anxiety among passengers.
18. The comic: A mid-track bhangra that goes 'na tu time par aaya, na maine platform khola, thoda delay ho gaya, rabba rabba'!
19. The religious: Seek to convert the fellow passenger who stretches his legs under your seat.
20. The prudent: Elbow your way to the TTE and book a berth for the night! (the luggage rack is fine!)
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Yelagiri – Paradise Lost?
Yelagiri – Paradise Lost?
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
At first, there was light..........and then, there was the Eastern ghats orogeny, the remnants of which stand out over the plains. Yelagiri happens to be the poor man's hill station on Jolarpet branch of the ghats. I don't deny the beauty of the hills, the forests, the chirping birds, or the spicy breeze, but that's not the reason I write. What struck me about the Yelagiri is the pace at which it is being consumed. Yes, consumed by consumerism and 'development'. Majestic slopes, alas, punctuated by grotesque buildings of the wealthy – a view ruined for thousands of visitors because local councilors permitted construction on hill slopes better classified as forests. A lake, albeit artificial, with floating debris. A not so cool summer breeze interspersed with something familiar.....diesel vehicle exhaust. Plans are now afoot to build more vacation homes and lodges; new roads are being laid, existing ones being widened and a summer festival park should be ready this winter. What could be wrong with that? More over-crowded, smoke-belching buses and Tata Sumos running on subsidized diesel to stop our lungs from rejuvenating? More empty packaged drinking water bottles (Are Pepsi and Coca Cola listening) trashed in the lake and the adjoining park? More untreated sewage? More polluted water from washermen cleaning more hotel bedsheets for more guests? Loud music? Alchohol? Girls? Mountain tops as polluted as the plains (perhaps a perverse application of marginal economics?) Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and Of course. Is this what we want Yelagiri's wilderness and serenity to turn in to? Sadly, the answer among the denizen of Yelagiri is 'Yes, because there is no other way'. They'd rather earn an extra few hundred bucks even if it means enriching landlords and contractors while sounding the death knell of the hills that has sustained them for centuries. Understandable, but sad, very sad.
The confluence of selfish motivations that, on one hand, benefits the chosen few in a direct, immediate and significant manner (with the connivance of local mafia/political leaders) and, on the other, trivially enriches poor voters but at the cost of permanent environmental damage. One could relocate the entire town to the foothills, but that would be impractical and obviously an overkill. There are more modest, practical measures that could stem the rot. A Rs500 per person entry fee from which to fund programs ranging from wilderness protection, moving environmentally dangerous activities downhill, garbage cleaning, and recycling activities and enforcing zoning regulations to ban, even reverse construction on scenic hill sides. An electric rope way from a bus terminal downstairs along with bicycles atop Yelagiri that provide an alternative to smoke-belching vehicles. Cottages constructed wood that blend in to the surrounding green.
Surely, it is not the lack of vision that stops us from acting? What is it then? Perhaps it is a lack of collective will or a failure to appreciate the damnation that is underway? Perhaps Yelagiri residents don't mind a Van Halen imitator strumming on on his electric guitar at the summer fest as the audience splurges on cheetos, coke, pepsi and hashish? The 'tribal' boys will sift through the garbage the next day. Collecting 100 recyclable bottles earns them a rupee with which they could buy a 'Boomer' chewing gum.
Three cheers to 'Development'!
ps: Most universities offer a course in development economics.
Ganga Prasad G. Rao
http://myprofile.cos.com/gangar
At first, there was light..........and then, there was the Eastern ghats orogeny, the remnants of which stand out over the plains. Yelagiri happens to be the poor man's hill station on Jolarpet branch of the ghats. I don't deny the beauty of the hills, the forests, the chirping birds, or the spicy breeze, but that's not the reason I write. What struck me about the Yelagiri is the pace at which it is being consumed. Yes, consumed by consumerism and 'development'. Majestic slopes, alas, punctuated by grotesque buildings of the wealthy – a view ruined for thousands of visitors because local councilors permitted construction on hill slopes better classified as forests. A lake, albeit artificial, with floating debris. A not so cool summer breeze interspersed with something familiar.....diesel vehicle exhaust. Plans are now afoot to build more vacation homes and lodges; new roads are being laid, existing ones being widened and a summer festival park should be ready this winter. What could be wrong with that? More over-crowded, smoke-belching buses and Tata Sumos running on subsidized diesel to stop our lungs from rejuvenating? More empty packaged drinking water bottles (Are Pepsi and Coca Cola listening) trashed in the lake and the adjoining park? More untreated sewage? More polluted water from washermen cleaning more hotel bedsheets for more guests? Loud music? Alchohol? Girls? Mountain tops as polluted as the plains (perhaps a perverse application of marginal economics?) Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes and Of course. Is this what we want Yelagiri's wilderness and serenity to turn in to? Sadly, the answer among the denizen of Yelagiri is 'Yes, because there is no other way'. They'd rather earn an extra few hundred bucks even if it means enriching landlords and contractors while sounding the death knell of the hills that has sustained them for centuries. Understandable, but sad, very sad.
The confluence of selfish motivations that, on one hand, benefits the chosen few in a direct, immediate and significant manner (with the connivance of local mafia/political leaders) and, on the other, trivially enriches poor voters but at the cost of permanent environmental damage. One could relocate the entire town to the foothills, but that would be impractical and obviously an overkill. There are more modest, practical measures that could stem the rot. A Rs500 per person entry fee from which to fund programs ranging from wilderness protection, moving environmentally dangerous activities downhill, garbage cleaning, and recycling activities and enforcing zoning regulations to ban, even reverse construction on scenic hill sides. An electric rope way from a bus terminal downstairs along with bicycles atop Yelagiri that provide an alternative to smoke-belching vehicles. Cottages constructed wood that blend in to the surrounding green.
Surely, it is not the lack of vision that stops us from acting? What is it then? Perhaps it is a lack of collective will or a failure to appreciate the damnation that is underway? Perhaps Yelagiri residents don't mind a Van Halen imitator strumming on on his electric guitar at the summer fest as the audience splurges on cheetos, coke, pepsi and hashish? The 'tribal' boys will sift through the garbage the next day. Collecting 100 recyclable bottles earns them a rupee with which they could buy a 'Boomer' chewing gum.
Three cheers to 'Development'!
ps: Most universities offer a course in development economics.
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