tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43774107437816549962024-03-09T00:31:02.112+05:30Art Earth Ink Soul(the things that save my life)Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.comBlogger517125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-12464751884351158042020-12-06T00:00:00.002+05:302020-12-06T00:00:00.192+05:30Once Upon 2.77 Acres<span style="font-size: medium;">Once upon 2.77 acres of land, people discovered God. Some of the people called Him <i>Rama</i>. Some called Him <i>Allah</i>. God smiled at them all, because only He knew that He was in every name, and that He was beyond names. </span>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes God tried to explain this to
the people, but they could not understand. He tried to tell them through
the leaves of trees, and through the songs of birds. He planted His
truth in the eyes of every child, and He waited for the people to see
it. But they would not look, and so they did not see.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">The people, however, did love God. They
were fascinated by Him. They adored and feared Him, and they chose
beautiful ways to worship Him. They did not all choose the same way, of
course, because God had long ago breathed into each of these people the
gifts of self-expression and choice. So some of the people heard a hymn
to God in the striking of a bell, and some heard it in the voice of a
man calling them to prayer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">God heard them both. But in time,
another sound started to drown out the hymns He loved. It was the sound
of the people, quarreling among themselves as to whose god God was.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">God bowed His head and wept. And the people looked up and said, “Ah, rain.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">For a time, they were distracted, and
they began to speak of weather and soil and geography. But inevitably,
they returned to their arguing. And this time they quarreled about
whose <u>land</u> God’s land was.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">“Mine,” said God, whispering the word
through the rustle of leaves. But the people could not hear the word
over the noise of their angers and their fears.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">“Yours,” said God, scattering the word
through the songs of birds. But the people were too busy gathering
evidence to spare any time to find the word.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">“Ours,” said God, shining the word
through the eyes of children. But the people kept their eyes fixed,
burning with hate, upon each other, and did not notice the word.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-size: medium;">Nobody knows the exact day when He
walked quietly away from those 2.77 acres of land, and nobody said
goodbye, because nobody noticed He had left.</span></div>
Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-81957382543883156372020-04-28T00:00:00.000+05:302020-04-28T00:00:03.058+05:30The third word is "justice". Picture this:<br />
JUSTICE FOR (<i>insert your child's name here</i>).<br />
<br />
And then pray, pray, pray.<br />
Because you never know.<br />
<br />
Your god might be busy with something else<br />
when your child needs him most.<br />
<br />
Pray for street lights, or sanctuary,<br />
or even for some serendipity.<br />
<br />
But don't ask for justice,<br />
because justice was just<br />
a meaningless word<br />
for that other child.<br />
<br />
An awarding of that which is due.<br />
That's what the dictionary said.<br />
<br />
What is that to a dead child?<br />
To the woman she will never grow up to be?<br />
<br />
Justice can't restore the dead,<br />
or return the lost years.<br />
<br />
Justice is just for us,<br />
the spectators, the survivors. <br />
<br />
Justice makes us feel a bit better<br />
about still being alive.<br />
<br />
It can't reach down into the grave<br />
and delight the broken little body lying there.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Nazu Tonse </span><br />
<br /><br />
<br />
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-69923391699735952772020-04-21T00:00:00.000+05:302020-04-21T00:00:02.125+05:30The second word is "outrage".I meant to come, dressed in black, and stand at your side.<br />
<br />
But then I remembered the last time, and the outpouring of anguish and rage, followed by .. nothing until the next time .. and I wondered if these protests are anything more than a Festival of Grief that revisits the nation every so often. Like sparklers, this outrage burns so bright, it makes hearts leap for a while with hope. But then it fizzles out, and we are back in the dark.<br />
<br />
Why is there a time limit on this outrage? Is it only those men with the blood still fresh on their hands who
deserve to hang? What of
the rest? The ones who've walked free for decades, or passed away peacefully without a blemish to their name? Are they excused
because their victims managed to stay alive? <br />
<br />
There aren't many protests for these children. Because these children kept quiet. Or were told to keep quiet. These children learnt that their honour meant nothing next to the family's. That they should forget about it, get over it, stop dwelling on it, forget the past, be positive and well it's not like he killed you. These children grew up and are among the men and women around you, and you would never know because they hide so well.<br />
<br />
They hide from the the rapists of their childhood, the ones who've walked free for decades and probably always will. They hide from each other, certain that their own pain is unworthy in comparison to others'. And they hide from you - because they have seen that this outrage, this anguish pouring forth demanding castrations and lynchings for those men in the news, doesn't burn long or bright enough to illuminate those dark secrets of another time.<br />
<br />
Ask yourself why. Look around you at friends and family. Could you take a stand and condemn someone you know, love, or respect? Or is your outrage a limited offer only, with an expiry date, directed at strangers, for "the others" that are not part of your particular "we"?<br />
<br />
Only when your outrage is against every rapist, even if you find one in your own home, your own village, your own state, your own caste.<br />
<br />
Only when your anguish is for every abused child: the dead, the living, the ones still young, the ones long gone grey, the losers, the successes, the weirdos.<br />
<br />
When you can do this, text me. I will come, dressed in black, to stand at your side.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-25983667829172948202020-04-14T00:00:00.000+05:302020-04-14T00:00:03.967+05:30The first word is "fragile".Fragile is something of value.<br />
Fragile must not be broken.<br />
<br />
Like glass or crystal, I suppose,<br />
though they can be replaced<br />
without too much heartache.<br />
My Swarovski sunglasses<br />
would hurt a bit more.<br />
My life, on my Samsung?<br />
It would shatter me.<br />
<br />
Which reminds me.<br />
Children break too.<br />
<br />
Some of us you can glue<br />
back together<br />
and we shall go on.<br />
<br />
Distorted, disfigured, damaged forever,<br />
a bit lopsided but still - alive.<br />
Never as alive as we might have been,<br />
but at least, not dead<br />
(only sometimes,<br />
some of us wish we were),<br />
and so we go on.<br />
<br />
We may even come to see<br />
our shattered mess of a childhood as a mosaic,<br />
and find beauty in it,<br />
and then find a way<br />
to share that beauty with the rest of you.<br />
<br />
But <br />
sometimes the pieces can't be fixed back together.<br />
<br />
Because no one saw.<br />
Or someone looked and chose not to see.<br />
Or looked then merely looked away.<br />
<br />
Or perhaps we just looked too late.<br />
Too late to do anything<br />
but light a candle<br />
and shed some tears,<br />
and rage - in sincere pain - at the injustice of it all.<br />
<br />
We rage and we grieve,<br />
and our horror is true.<br />
We rage and we grieve,<br />
but that is all we do.<br />
<br />
Just like the last time. <br />
<br />
I did so hope,<br />
as we gathered together her shards<br />
to toss them in our bottomless pit of unlearned lessons,<br />
that our hands bled,<br />
because her blood was already on our hands.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgZhGNuG7SNhpD0GHzxkrOlht7VFuyPsDWmXZ5WdVGeUsLjN_2WtbgtVTBA1plr0f6g5PKrbJYzbY0ac3dg69gA08dNY_nydZdFaXRlpsTCxvkJYhEypIzAOYxB6r3WH9Lc5oyLq0wio/s1600/asifa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="476" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgZhGNuG7SNhpD0GHzxkrOlht7VFuyPsDWmXZ5WdVGeUsLjN_2WtbgtVTBA1plr0f6g5PKrbJYzbY0ac3dg69gA08dNY_nydZdFaXRlpsTCxvkJYhEypIzAOYxB6r3WH9Lc5oyLq0wio/s320/asifa.jpg" width="320" /></a>Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-38811155943005323342020-02-05T23:30:00.000+05:302020-02-05T23:30:03.926+05:30Where did our dignity go?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</xml><![endif]-->Where did our dignity go?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I saw it once in an Englishman’s movie, so it must be true</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that once we were noble and driven.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it is hidden under a lump of complacence</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
rotting on our streets with the garbage</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
your maid threw there this morning<br />
so that your house could start the day clean.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it made it down the rubble that we call a pavement, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
hesitating on the corner, too scared to cross</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like the old man waiting for someone to slow down</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and give him enough time to hobble over to the other side of
the road.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the price was too high</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and it couldn’t pay, so it couldn’t get admission.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it was the wrong caste, or no caste at all,<br />
or perhaps it came barefoot, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and a young mother told it to get off the swings</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that are meant for better-dressed children.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it lost hope and drank itself into oblivion</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like the middle-aged daily-wager passed out on the median</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
under a statue of Dr Ambedkar.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it is low on a to-do list</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and will always be set aside for tomorrow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it was a New Year’s resolution, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and we all know what happens to them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it is asleep,<br />
or pretending to be asleep,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
safe under the covers<br />
so that the monsters cannot come out
to get it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it does not know its own potential</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like a woman kept indoors for her own safety.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it cannot survive on its own,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
like a child who needs a caring parent.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the parent is us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps it died, but </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
we are a nation fond of reincarnation, so</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
perhaps it is wombed in our skulls,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
waiting to be born.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Nazu Tonse </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-49378536758726584532020-01-30T00:00:00.000+05:302020-01-30T00:00:07.275+05:30I saw Gandhiji yesterday.I saw Gandhiji yesterday.<br />
<br />
He was tall. He wore torn jeans.<br />
<br />
He was dressed for office, and over his buttoned-up cuffs a steel kada gleamed at his wrist.<br />
<br />
His bangles were red, and his bindi was blue, and the Lion King roared on his t-shirt.<br />
<br />
He was in hijab, and he had just come from the temple, I could tell: his tika was fresh.<br />
<br />
He had a bright yellow turban, a white topi, and white hair in a neat bun.<br />
<br />
He was clean-shaven, and had a sharp goatee, and glasses - but not those round ones. He was just about eight years old, and well over eighty.<br />
<br />
He was wrapped up against the bitter cold, and stood sweating in the sun.<br />
<br />
He carried a rose, he carried a sign, he carried our hope and dignity and constitution.<br />
<br />
Every time I looked, there he stood, at Town Hall and Azad Maidan and Shaheen Bagh, and he looked back at me and smiled. Smiled like he knew me, like he recognised me, although we had never met before.<br />
<br />
When I went home, I discovered why.<br />
<br />
I bent at the tap to wash the dust off my face, and when I straightened up, there he was again in the mirror, still smiling at me.<br />
<br />
I saw Gandhiji yesterday.<br />
<br />
I slept better last night, knowing he's around.Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-9841555904824120562020-01-28T00:00:00.000+05:302020-02-05T22:35:25.637+05:30Rabindranath Revisited<div class="MsoNormal">
Where minorities fear
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and farmers hang high</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where criminals run free, and sometimes for election</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where our land has been stripped and poisoned</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
and then fertilised with the blood of little girls</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where lies are so loud </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
they muffle the truth</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where a tired hungry child </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
stretches its arm towards an air-conditioned car at the
traffic light</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where the clear stream of reason</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is clogged with the bullet-ridden corpses of those who dared
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to speak up against dead habit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where minds are held tight by theologies and mythologies</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
that divide one nation into us and them</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Out of this hell of hypocrisy, my People, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
let our country awake.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">By Nazu Tonse</span> </div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
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<![endif]--><br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-43790417067490433382017-01-15T19:47:00.000+05:302020-07-08T13:59:28.597+05:30Gladys also got a second verse.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy3KbpwamNvUfQk3Ui2QBrnNKd9vuMyOKqOIeKz5SPTaUB8GtV3B62sHgF7OGNkJ5cVT2diFFDtUVsx_8WqBA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Here's the link on YouTube if that's easier to see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyOfHrWG0YY&feature=share<br />
<br />
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-18308991738520444332017-01-15T19:45:00.000+05:302020-07-08T13:59:33.306+05:30Gladys got soul.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyze-CvhBOVc8C6BQmtIFcrD0NbmjqRHVbfGiEMc6b6GtByyf0yScAUCaJFygMDMxFca5APlsDjY4KFy0pLdw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Somewhat bizarre soul, but soul it is. Here she is celebrating the very near possibility of a shiny new suburban rail for Bangalore.<br />
<br />
Here's the link for it on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEnf5jjxa6Y&feature=share<br />
Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-77535774231245654282016-10-30T23:08:00.001+05:302020-07-08T13:59:37.114+05:30Who's crying now?Georgie Porgie pudding and pie,<br />
Kissed the girls and made them cry.<br />
Kissed a Sleeping Beauty,<br />
It was a big mistake!<br />
Her name is Bengaluru,<br />
And now she's wide awake!Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-7172518679937320062016-10-29T02:21:00.001+05:302020-07-08T13:59:41.409+05:30The sparkle is gone.Today, one of my neighbours put me to shame. I'm always cribbing about people on WhatsApp who forward too-good-to-be-true miracle cures, or amazingly interesting videos that do absolutely nothing for my life other than using up a few minutes of it. Thank goodness for "Delete", I always think (but then go on to crib about how much time I must waste pressing "Delete").<br />
<br />
Today, though, my neighbour wrote this note: "The pyrotechnics industry truly sucks! The working conditions is absolutely deplorable, with gruesome forms of child labour ruling the roost. I so wish this industry virtually ceases to exist. The images are a stark reality to this torturous trade for profit."<br />
<br />
I skimmed quickly through that, but then I saw the pictures that followed, and froze:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R5c2pLfvakL8K6ijk0IxAJRjAEqfi0WdVJmkv7_2nkgd9k9p22rXr2Gi8i4r_I35w1Y8Lc4aw8l6nYa306aT-SEcHwaD95mu6mqRWf-hhjSdiSlJPcC7EzsCz7a9zCP1PZD2zC_V5lQ/s1600/sparkler1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R5c2pLfvakL8K6ijk0IxAJRjAEqfi0WdVJmkv7_2nkgd9k9p22rXr2Gi8i4r_I35w1Y8Lc4aw8l6nYa306aT-SEcHwaD95mu6mqRWf-hhjSdiSlJPcC7EzsCz7a9zCP1PZD2zC_V5lQ/s200/sparkler1.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-H8zakPa1jdp7mkgKVTxBopcsF0Z6AEYnEZAigACnAU975nQwTax0mgvyjDX7hoFU0bT7YihTCtrwwz23SxYQac0r3TN3Miv14fzR4xVtk_KQvMd322h8fq4iK9eRvLyabEIUIoXGWx4/s1600/sparkler+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-H8zakPa1jdp7mkgKVTxBopcsF0Z6AEYnEZAigACnAU975nQwTax0mgvyjDX7hoFU0bT7YihTCtrwwz23SxYQac0r3TN3Miv14fzR4xVtk_KQvMd322h8fq4iK9eRvLyabEIUIoXGWx4/s200/sparkler+2.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm sharing them here and I hope there's no copyright infringement, none intended - they are stamped with "Vikatan.com" so I will assume that's who I must credit.<br />
<br />
I know all the stuff about crackers being bad. How the noise terrifies and harms animals and birds, and how the smoke pollutes the air. I've seen the scattered scraps of burnt-out fireworks left carelessly all over our streets. I'm aware that bursting fireworks hurts asthmatics, and how Diwali can be a difficult time for heart patients, babies, the elderly, and the sick. I know how rude it can feel to be startled awake in the middle of the night by late night explosions. And I'm aware that children's hands are small and nimble, not just for knotting carpets or rolling <i>beedis</i>, but also for making fireworks. (I have heard so much about this last fact, that I had complacently assumed that it had been taken care of, that the government and the NGOs would have seen to it by now, that children are no longer employed in the pyrotechnics industry. I'm not so sure now).<br />
<br />
So I never buy the "bad" fireworks. No bombs, no strings of crackers. Half a dozen flowerpots (fountains or <i>anaar</i>, as some people call them) maybe, because, well, they're so pretty and exciting. A couple of <i>chakras </i>(Catherine Wheels) - not a lot, because most of them whizz out too quickly or in inappropriate directions. I don't buy rockets at all, mainly because I am scared of lighting them, but I ooh and aah with the rest of you when I see them light up the night sky. And so of course, I buy sparklers. <br />
<br />
Because sparklers are harmless! A little light, a little smoke, safe enough for a toddler to hold, and oh, it's like holding a shooting star in your hand! Harmless! Right?<br />
<br />
But now these photographs, of what seems to be a middle-aged man, busy at work, making those lovely sparklers.<br />
<br />
I do not know if he is really middle-aged, or if life has just made him look that way. And then I think about how chuffed I was just last week when someone assumed I was twenty years younger than I am.<br />
<br />
I look at his skinny body coated silver like those chubby cherub statues. I wonder how easily it washes off, and how much gets into his pores. And then I think about long I stand in the aisle at Health & Glow, trying to decide if aloe vera or cocoa butter or Vitamin E should be the main ingredient in my body lotion.<br />
<br />
I see that he has no shoes, no gloves, no mask. I wonder how much of what is on his outside is getting into his inside, if he knows what a good deep breath feels like, if he can even smell the sulphur any more, how long before his lungs pack up, how many years before he won't be able to work because he'll be dead. And then I think about how I agonise over the effects of the cigarette smoke that I inhale of my own free will, and how I worriedly put the windows up and turn on the AC to filter out the dust and smells when I'm stuck in my car in a traffic jam.<br />
<br />
And worst of all, absolutely worst of all, I see on his face a look of concentration.<br />
<br />
He is doing his job.<br />
<br />
He is doing it to feed himself, and perhaps a family. He is doing it because he knows how, and because it will pay - not a lot, obviously, judging from his physique and wardrobe (or lack of). He is not making a career choice. He's just doing what he thinks he must, in order to survive.<br />
<br />
I'm going to put him out of a job. It's a job that's only made necessary by my desire to hold shooting stars in my hand. How will he eat, some may ask? There are other jobs, I should reply, and it is both my job and his to make sure he finds them. How can I ever again laugh with joy as I draw circles in the air with a piece of burning wire, a cheap little sparkler that costs me so little and costs him so much?<br />
<br />
Good bye, sparklers. I did so love you. But I simply can't be an accessory to manslaughter. So good bye.<br />
<br />
But hey - hello, Diwali! A real Diwali this time, a festival not of noise or smoke or celebrating at the cost of someone else's life, but a festival of light. Some shopping, some sharing. Some <i>mit'hai</i>, some <i>khaara</i>. Celebrating with friends whose festival this is, and bringing a little celebration to those who can't afford it themselves. And two <i>diyas</i> at my doorstep, to symbolise my desire for light and knowledge to enter my home. It could be my brightest Diwali ever.<br />
<br />
Happy Diwali, everyone. Let go of the sparkle. Let the light in.<br />
<br />
*<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">beedi - tobacco rolled in a tobacco leaf and smoked like a filterless cigarette</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">anaar -pomegranate</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">chakra - spinning wheel</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">mit'hai - sweet</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">khaara - savoury</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">diya - oil lamp, traditionally made of clay</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">diwali - rows of lighted lamps (from the Sanskrit deepa + aavali)</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-20767154339524634042016-10-27T13:46:00.002+05:302020-07-08T13:59:46.005+05:30Four words later.So I went to a protest a week ago - a human chain of citizens objecting to a monstrously expensive steel flyover that would kill over 800 trees and scar our Garden City forever. The organisers suggested we carry signs that simply stated: No.<br />
<br />
But somewhere in my head, that old copywriter lurks, and these four words popped into my head. I painted them on a sign, and off I went.<br />
<br />
<b>THOU SHALT NOT STEEL.</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV01QRcH4e0I48SB5K8Qbd1kWjA8LpCmo3TZyZew0-SWRqJnVie8GjlbvCKDwwtCnlM836GTQjDjonrrtlswjfD8MNEelrIalCjY3RFVsGgP-yu_Y4_SsY6bDirkbj9LQ9TAu4YhqRecE/s1600/20161017_204620_resized+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV01QRcH4e0I48SB5K8Qbd1kWjA8LpCmo3TZyZew0-SWRqJnVie8GjlbvCKDwwtCnlM836GTQjDjonrrtlswjfD8MNEelrIalCjY3RFVsGgP-yu_Y4_SsY6bDirkbj9LQ9TAu4YhqRecE/s200/20161017_204620_resized+crop.jpg" width="124" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXKEHW07cqOnY-pIon0ScfyLJZoFlooy2NmkUVPH4NUnuSQeQH_ol1m5W-6YabtWIeVhyr3qqpcR1LU_t_2YYuqLyP8vxx0B70uwwv6CflGJmb2DvvZU1PwuWbH0mwCnSgyupNJn60Miw/s1600/20161017_204336_LLS_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXKEHW07cqOnY-pIon0ScfyLJZoFlooy2NmkUVPH4NUnuSQeQH_ol1m5W-6YabtWIeVhyr3qqpcR1LU_t_2YYuqLyP8vxx0B70uwwv6CflGJmb2DvvZU1PwuWbH0mwCnSgyupNJn60Miw/s200/20161017_204336_LLS_resized.jpg" width="200" /></a>I knew it was a good slogan, but I never expected the response I got. People up and down the chain were giving me the thumbs up, telling me they loved it. The media loved it too - two newspapers used it as part of their headlines, and a few others posted pictures of my sign and me. As an added bonus, the Economic Times described me as "a woman in her thirties" (I'm 51). A few days later, at a public referendum, the historian and author Ramachandra Guha ended his speech with it, praising it as the most brilliant, succinct and moving critique of the flyover issue. Lovely, he called it.<br />
<br />
Praise and compliments are great. As is the knowledge that my words resonated with so many people. But the best thing these four words did for me, was to jolt me out of my apathy. They reminded me that I am a writer (who does not write much any more). They reminded me that I had a talent for words that can get people's attention, communicate and convince, and inspire change. They reminded me that 14 years I ago, I left a fun and financially delicious career in advertising because I wanted to use that talent to sell more than luxury cars and fizzy drinks.<br />
<br />
So today, along with the #SteelFlyoverBeda protesters, who have been accused of "waking up too late" on the flyover issue, I'm awake too, with that voice in my head repeating clear: thou shalt write.<br />
<br />
I shall. Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-62329684308695002502016-08-04T16:30:00.001+05:302020-07-08T13:59:51.159+05:30Lying down is not good for the soul.No writing, no planting, not much of anything, of late. I've spent the last fortnight in bed with a bad back or hip (still not too sure which, doctors love being mysterious with their diagnoses .. and their handwriting, too, so I haven't been able to decipher the scrawls that explained my pain).<br />
<br />
Lying down is not good for the soul, not in this large dose, at any rate. It's left me pain free but also lethargic and low. Despondent and pessimistic and very frustrated at not being able to leap about at will. Not that I've been able to leap about since my thirties .. but you know what I mean.<br />
<br />
So really, I have nothing to say today. Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-24013281180102086292016-06-16T19:42:00.002+05:302020-07-08T13:59:56.419+05:30Four months later .. and I realised that I have not blogged for ages. I have been busy forever, mostly with taxes. I've also moved home, sort of. And I've been busy organising my high school batch's 35th year reunion (in less than a fortnight, I get to reconnect with girls I last met when we were just 16. Now we're all 50, but judging from the barrage of Whatsapp messages, we're all pretty much still a bunch of giggly girls - at least on the inside!)<br />
<br />
Best of all, I've been planting trees!! You're going to hear a lot about them. But not today. I've been up since six and I. Am. Exhausted.Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-75384486995699230172016-02-22T01:35:00.000+05:302020-01-28T00:21:50.857+05:30Several thousand words.<div style="text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaX0eJVCWktweiX8fpJiHwYY1DnQQqx84lkkU2lHxp-iaS9nNt3poEkW14oC_X_tLxDfBOWD1WFt2qO0JUssupGLEj_Eq3OMXsrndvkECANT0PFJRq6hTHEgw4jJfzKEZ9GRH0UvF52c/s1600/20160129_174109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdaX0eJVCWktweiX8fpJiHwYY1DnQQqx84lkkU2lHxp-iaS9nNt3poEkW14oC_X_tLxDfBOWD1WFt2qO0JUssupGLEj_Eq3OMXsrndvkECANT0PFJRq6hTHEgw4jJfzKEZ9GRH0UvF52c/s640/20160129_174109.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
Not much I need to say about these, except to tell you that this is where my father was born - the island of Thimmanna Kudru, on the River Suvarna, near Kemmanu, in southwest coastal India. Pretty much unchanged from what I remember as a child, over 40 years ago. A picture's worth a thousand words, it's said, so I'll let them do the talking, and just interrupt here and there with a caption.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrei0SmqwdiGjLGfKBbIMdKT4EHCBwuE5DzumP6cSQA315t0HTaBJiG7d2vbHZkC-5_d16HZlhbUv-u1LAH8zYQ-Ehj86T463fzdZA7MMHhwYqkJ8lWQ4_N_6uffuIkzlJC9xtmNzaKk/s1600/20160129_153746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrei0SmqwdiGjLGfKBbIMdKT4EHCBwuE5DzumP6cSQA315t0HTaBJiG7d2vbHZkC-5_d16HZlhbUv-u1LAH8zYQ-Ehj86T463fzdZA7MMHhwYqkJ8lWQ4_N_6uffuIkzlJC9xtmNzaKk/s640/20160129_153746.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the tip of the island</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlxs_9ZF8gQW2P_W46z2ZJVnUdT3vWD4_5oRQ7UmvXQZNXmf6glbMTFoPrB6TBv1WqTf7-2bfz7ggBebsYOdd2FjMwUBoQhsirZXrISlpUOPKhKaODBwmdYqky6s24SGV09A6R74pGok/s1600/20160129_154210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlxs_9ZF8gQW2P_W46z2ZJVnUdT3vWD4_5oRQ7UmvXQZNXmf6glbMTFoPrB6TBv1WqTf7-2bfz7ggBebsYOdd2FjMwUBoQhsirZXrISlpUOPKhKaODBwmdYqky6s24SGV09A6R74pGok/s1600/20160129_154210.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHlxs_9ZF8gQW2P_W46z2ZJVnUdT3vWD4_5oRQ7UmvXQZNXmf6glbMTFoPrB6TBv1WqTf7-2bfz7ggBebsYOdd2FjMwUBoQhsirZXrISlpUOPKhKaODBwmdYqky6s24SGV09A6R74pGok/s640/20160129_154210.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punting down the river Suvarna in a "hodi"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-KaKt3C5_GVU1sY5TIvdr74drcD7MZDjZsecr2e0QyVauyUjRRWKbfF1eRa7n1Bu_SeFdohoX_rDQvJzWiOErQ4LxuGrJQYx7lnOaBGVEAclb_rU5gJ5ffqqqVz9gGwbEJLdm8yYpxw/s1600/20160129_125246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-KaKt3C5_GVU1sY5TIvdr74drcD7MZDjZsecr2e0QyVauyUjRRWKbfF1eRa7n1Bu_SeFdohoX_rDQvJzWiOErQ4LxuGrJQYx7lnOaBGVEAclb_rU5gJ5ffqqqVz9gGwbEJLdm8yYpxw/s640/20160129_125246.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect place to just stand and breathe.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZ4WFCxDrJKgvUVkXSFaom6fCn7WGTGc_MWC-213N3nT37VHx2NP_QHFH3CS9iLa9SsXBeNYpsAWA_92ZhJQMa4L7woKymJTEBnBn97j8jUCOrMIPfParuzIn4Pz7ZKSdXWIISA1YU9I/s1600/20160129_125208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZ4WFCxDrJKgvUVkXSFaom6fCn7WGTGc_MWC-213N3nT37VHx2NP_QHFH3CS9iLa9SsXBeNYpsAWA_92ZhJQMa4L7woKymJTEBnBn97j8jUCOrMIPfParuzIn4Pz7ZKSdXWIISA1YU9I/s640/20160129_125208.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEa56Dep1c3J9j1avTCNGqpQ9LslCvkTAWP5FMk_hWAS8Ccp-AN9kUUtYhHZLTyQwzoMSObcB9WuMVOIVmyhvuWTAmYp2709x5RrNs9YHWm97sIKWNgaPARos0gxm3sZyEkL-Ri4wbLE/s1600/20160129_125513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEa56Dep1c3J9j1avTCNGqpQ9LslCvkTAWP5FMk_hWAS8Ccp-AN9kUUtYhHZLTyQwzoMSObcB9WuMVOIVmyhvuWTAmYp2709x5RrNs9YHWm97sIKWNgaPARos0gxm3sZyEkL-Ri4wbLE/s640/20160129_125513.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MqGyXVcp_DhMo3cvShDyozHaBHfz85eE4UcLZjK942ThTxnF2ZSHKaSUCboImEpiv0K_ByAzmX4SuRR4OvpXr2TStX7vLLzVXdio-di0eEvRGxfMOUInHMFIEdb2pPwBdm9MNZxq4_U/s1600/20160129_125409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4MqGyXVcp_DhMo3cvShDyozHaBHfz85eE4UcLZjK942ThTxnF2ZSHKaSUCboImEpiv0K_ByAzmX4SuRR4OvpXr2TStX7vLLzVXdio-di0eEvRGxfMOUInHMFIEdb2pPwBdm9MNZxq4_U/s640/20160129_125409.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging bridge to Thimmanna Kudru</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaG-Ji47BqXTbxGZzZJszsVNZ3ymD-moKHmYZnenVQIQEeGn8sQeVOpsbq1XgSK206M1yuPvSF1WDrlORdmM8ghVQ8q0SvIATm0MHiJkvtYIoAmUMHHB1Yr5YgK1E8decVhCxsGn6DSPM/s1600/20160129_130249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaG-Ji47BqXTbxGZzZJszsVNZ3ymD-moKHmYZnenVQIQEeGn8sQeVOpsbq1XgSK206M1yuPvSF1WDrlORdmM8ghVQ8q0SvIATm0MHiJkvtYIoAmUMHHB1Yr5YgK1E8decVhCxsGn6DSPM/s640/20160129_130249.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interracial harmony .. these girls were still hanging out together when I returned several hours later</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRam3_3JmsHMPpND8Rf84B9iSa5HTLs-n-eFG3bLfAck88O4TSL2G0X8-wIWzowLYgQ2BW9AsVc7qOrPhDqu-cqIAAUZXkFJkNcQ5dG0hIUYTDfswsv2GcRS4WZbeJKkIeaeMQpiCkhlY/s1600/20160129_134531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRam3_3JmsHMPpND8Rf84B9iSa5HTLs-n-eFG3bLfAck88O4TSL2G0X8-wIWzowLYgQ2BW9AsVc7qOrPhDqu-cqIAAUZXkFJkNcQ5dG0hIUYTDfswsv2GcRS4WZbeJKkIeaeMQpiCkhlY/s640/20160129_134531.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coconut tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdemELkKtQ5NX9_geWQXCK3m6y_aj6KiXqd2IsVXOaqXWoPYBHpp7FMqz4TJ-etXkChZeRmTkg5MJfIHlTz04RtSKM92rvRb4W9QylvyIp2ltthKcaXdkFMk8U3a3hki_5SdiBYAIuj_k/s1600/20160129_150106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdemELkKtQ5NX9_geWQXCK3m6y_aj6KiXqd2IsVXOaqXWoPYBHpp7FMqz4TJ-etXkChZeRmTkg5MJfIHlTz04RtSKM92rvRb4W9QylvyIp2ltthKcaXdkFMk8U3a3hki_5SdiBYAIuj_k/s640/20160129_150106.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collecting firewood</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyx0CwswQ0iypQyHNl6-nP3-Lxbz94T75S9MB42gr_w0j6Sa6qH4wRyi1RZLnLoaHii4v8_7tYYdtE_CbN3suQ4l01dfNoNATX0O_BjziVhVF9O8_7WV-rWQeCGQJfYWl7ZrwQ0uVnxCY/s1600/20160129_135304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyx0CwswQ0iypQyHNl6-nP3-Lxbz94T75S9MB42gr_w0j6Sa6qH4wRyi1RZLnLoaHii4v8_7tYYdtE_CbN3suQ4l01dfNoNATX0O_BjziVhVF9O8_7WV-rWQeCGQJfYWl7ZrwQ0uVnxCY/s640/20160129_135304.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ3Y9YuuWNh8AiSrwmLXbEi8nkXe8ik7NaW67AsN8oeIoMXpQKl3OqeXNbgaj8IMnwcOIQWj4fIk3zh_BhAUAzeTF4-2PDk9BsXZKJhQh7xKs1JPn4TlnoN7EFrVp2jqO3W4FMO79Y7U/s1600/20160129_140727_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQ3Y9YuuWNh8AiSrwmLXbEi8nkXe8ik7NaW67AsN8oeIoMXpQKl3OqeXNbgaj8IMnwcOIQWj4fIk3zh_BhAUAzeTF4-2PDk9BsXZKJhQh7xKs1JPn4TlnoN7EFrVp2jqO3W4FMO79Y7U/s640/20160129_140727_1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Someone's got a lovely bunch of coconuts (my cousin, apparently).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorOw2sNt_Qf_bWdhZVxkiDVGQmbYI2kvLEo2F9fw3fOQD7kuuaRWLH7ElJy-VyiD1xNa1Crw0fETZS42lQY0bNOyC8HhgMrMZlLVzMr9glEMNdVOzDHF9gvg4Wb35UwkxJGdTa0LQiPM/s1600/20160129_150201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorOw2sNt_Qf_bWdhZVxkiDVGQmbYI2kvLEo2F9fw3fOQD7kuuaRWLH7ElJy-VyiD1xNa1Crw0fETZS42lQY0bNOyC8HhgMrMZlLVzMr9glEMNdVOzDHF9gvg4Wb35UwkxJGdTa0LQiPM/s640/20160129_150201.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden well</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGcZ3S9reeBNOJFe08lGP7KES3oQJ9jt02450VFt7GtDwX_S0bwOpjT61qwIgcctiirlIg1fYQzJpti_jPIAfaKi3Ng3sgkK5R9TXwcAvvSS0WwoPAMl029kWDafKmTQxNGhiGimK2BI/s1600/20160129_151526.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbGcZ3S9reeBNOJFe08lGP7KES3oQJ9jt02450VFt7GtDwX_S0bwOpjT61qwIgcctiirlIg1fYQzJpti_jPIAfaKi3Ng3sgkK5R9TXwcAvvSS0WwoPAMl029kWDafKmTQxNGhiGimK2BI/s640/20160129_151526.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Things change: heart motifs, a satellite dish and utility lines ..<br />
also this used to be a thatched hut.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPZFdUIauXkWmshwk9Bh5Ag7gyIOTSYvpK94WGHqtULllJvdTtDT5oCqwBAf7LT-mDUErFwjmTFy7mgqcdjin_9VLKVeok4F3kXV92wDqWL4RSD7VJHA5PQoDw_PtdKTUDeHplm5ttDg/s1600/20160129_152256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCPZFdUIauXkWmshwk9Bh5Ag7gyIOTSYvpK94WGHqtULllJvdTtDT5oCqwBAf7LT-mDUErFwjmTFy7mgqcdjin_9VLKVeok4F3kXV92wDqWL4RSD7VJHA5PQoDw_PtdKTUDeHplm5ttDg/s640/20160129_152256.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cashew tree - unripe fruit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0xxks_N8ILR6PSLqXv8NBKjTQZLvKWamYhRD2A6_swQ_Wm9Ak4PyCLichmww4f8DAsRt1xVUB7TtgqMFCny_vrlA-N2D0Lx1solqa_53PImgYKxekn0dAGiJ6BBo0moIQd2CTPMjG88/s1600/20160129_153826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0xxks_N8ILR6PSLqXv8NBKjTQZLvKWamYhRD2A6_swQ_Wm9Ak4PyCLichmww4f8DAsRt1xVUB7TtgqMFCny_vrlA-N2D0Lx1solqa_53PImgYKxekn0dAGiJ6BBo0moIQd2CTPMjG88/s640/20160129_153826.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illegal sand dredging - a heavy load</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-86734930580982787062016-02-19T17:24:00.001+05:302020-07-08T14:00:04.820+05:30Chalk-white dreams.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
I have been collecting old photographs that my father took throughout his life. At first I thought of creating a separate blog for them, but it seems like too much of a hassle! So I've decided to share them here, as everyone knows this blog already.<br />
<br />
This picture was taken by Daddy, probably in the late 50s or early 60s.<br />
<br />
The Al-Khamis mosque is the oldest mosque in Bahrain, and one of the oldest
in the Arab world. The original mosque was thought to be built around 692 C.E.
(that's Common Era, in case you were wondering, I prefer not to use the
outdated/inappropriate "A.D." which stands for Anno Domini and means
"in the year of our lord"). However, an inscription found on the site
suggests the foundation dates back to the 11th century.<br />
<br />
A mihrab slab found there dates back to the 12th century. The mihrab is a
slab of stone (limestone, in this case) that is placed in mosques to indicate
"qibla", the direction in which Muslims face to pray, i.e. in the
direction of the Ka'aba in Mecca. On the mihrab at the Al Khamis mosque is an
inscription of verses 34 and 35 from chapter 21 of the Qur'an.<br />
<br />
I have driven past this mosque many thousands of times for the first
thirty-odd years of my life, but never thought of going inside. Now I wish I
had. I'm not sure visitors are allowed right inside, anyway, perhaps just in
the courtyard area where I believe there are also ancient gravestones.<br />
<br />
But .. I often dream of this mosque, of climbing up a narrow rough
winding staircase of limestone, and going up to the top of the minaret.
Everything is chalk white and cool and still. It's one of my favourite dreams
about Bahrain, and is just as good, if not better, than a memory! </div>
Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-18933106414801381492016-02-04T08:00:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:00:08.190+05:30Dr Jekyll, Driver Hyde.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4ZgKJLgo00I7dWIRqW2HL3swhYpmuIPQaDA9JdZqbxvBcklhTIXrWRjN7Hc0cb4i3-qU1SDDNWm0g4gLXog_D7GO0vYzzcYz4SDwtLH525H6WGnOhigckC491KN3QaZZA1olUMbqlwQ/s1600/20160130_173505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK4ZgKJLgo00I7dWIRqW2HL3swhYpmuIPQaDA9JdZqbxvBcklhTIXrWRjN7Hc0cb4i3-qU1SDDNWm0g4gLXog_D7GO0vYzzcYz4SDwtLH525H6WGnOhigckC491KN3QaZZA1olUMbqlwQ/s400/20160130_173505.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashraf and Luqman on the beach at Byndoor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Don't be deceived by this gentle soul, quietly making sandcastles on the beach with his son. Put him behind the steering wheel and point him in the direction of the highway, and he turns into a force to be reckoned with! I recall at least five or six close reckonings from our first drive together. I don't recall any from the subsequent drives, largely because I kept my eyes shut!<br />
<br />
<br />
I was later reassured by my cousin and his brother (henceforth referred to as the Schumacher Brothers) that this style of driving is <i>de rigeur</i> on the national highways of India and that "everyone drives like this here". It is, apparently, the done thing if you want to arrive sooner rather than later. (The way I drive, I would probably have taken a whole day to make the one-and-a-half hour journey). I think the point is to arrive while it is still light. Or at the speed of light. Or something like that.<br />
<br />
Drivers break the monotony of their long drive by playing frequent car games. Their favourite is one that I call "chicken", but in the local dialect is referred to as "overtaking". It is most often played against large lorries who seem to operate in pairs: one alongside our car, trying to prevent us from passing, and the other roaring towards us from the opposite direction. The highlight of this game is when your car miraculously slips into the little gap between the two lorries, and carries on going. I simply cannot describe how my heart leapt each time we were blessed enough to experience one of these special moments.<br />
<br />
An anti-anxiety pill slipped under the tongue (of the passenger, not the driver) helps a bit, because it makes it easier to close one's eyes and resign oneself to one's fate. Having said that, this one survived several such highway drives, and returned home to Bangalore unscathed. So perhaps the Schumacher Brothers are right after all!Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-71709789032405091802016-02-03T19:08:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:00:13.160+05:30From Bangalore to Byndoor<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Vz6kixu1XQ_z6eXNuoMJqZrjLoE4BRJbuRMw-c0Q3WeZ6DWNWeT4hL2tX1HqMLDZuoXAZLhEmKw101TEpsODRepH4RI-QAlolLNBXzVQoDZavjlJL9Fy3WWPZqLM8mObXbTDkA1YG4Q/s1600/20160131_121920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Vz6kixu1XQ_z6eXNuoMJqZrjLoE4BRJbuRMw-c0Q3WeZ6DWNWeT4hL2tX1HqMLDZuoXAZLhEmKw101TEpsODRepH4RI-QAlolLNBXzVQoDZavjlJL9Fy3WWPZqLM8mObXbTDkA1YG4Q/s640/20160131_121920.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beach at Sai Vishram Beach Resort, Byndoor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was supposed to be the worst of times, but it ended up being the best of times. It was neither the spring of hope, nor the winter of despair: it was late January, and to those of us who flew in from Bangalore, it was hot as hell. But it felt like heaven.<br />
<br />
Last week, I took my first flight in fourteen years, to Mangalore, on the west coast of southern India. My final destination was a seaside resort at Byndoor, about 120 km by road.<br />
<br />
This was also my first trip to Mangalore and its neighbouring districts in twenty years. This trip was special for me, not just for breaking my non-travelling jinx, but mainly because my father was born here, and I have many relatives living in the region. <br />
<br />
The last time I flew in an aeroplane was back in 2002, when I left my advertising career in Bahrain and came to "retire" in India and be nearer my parents. Full of my usual and quite unnecessary fears, I had been dreading the flight. There was an emotional departure from the safe walls of my little Bangalore flat (well, emotional on my part: the flat remained quite unmoved). I went armed with half a pharmacy, and left my Will prominently on my desk back at home.<br />
<br />
The flight was just an hour long, and although it was one of those small propeller-driven planes that had to be landed on one of the world's tougher runways (Mangalore's airport at Bajpe has what is called a "table top" runway), it was a smooth and easy journey.<br />
<br />
Then we got into my cousin's car to make the long drive to Udupi. That journey was a whole other story! My fear of flying has now been replaced by a more tangible fear of national highways.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Come back for more tales of this not-so-intrepid traveller's adventures tomorrow!</i></span><br />
<br />
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-2755555519857045812016-01-19T15:07:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:00:17.854+05:30Is as does.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7nN3D2s0Akyhz3gnxCXSQM7YWSs_9tz4kN0FU1ynrrdvmPPg8BHS8hPTZZEuy9kjCk1safA8WzCZIBcmd8bJmbz2Oc7xWmsQtgb5tjLA1NEERVjp2He7KXt9M5koBZCwE5xDCw8PHr4/s1600/INK+news+luxury+tax+ICU.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7nN3D2s0Akyhz3gnxCXSQM7YWSs_9tz4kN0FU1ynrrdvmPPg8BHS8hPTZZEuy9kjCk1safA8WzCZIBcmd8bJmbz2Oc7xWmsQtgb5tjLA1NEERVjp2He7KXt9M5koBZCwE5xDCw8PHr4/s400/INK+news+luxury+tax+ICU.jpeg" width="336" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bangalore Mirror, 18 January 2016, page 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<i>(Note: please see the post-script for a happier ending!)</i><br />
<br />
It takes a special kind of stupid, I thought, after reading this article about a new luxury tax on hospital Intensive Care Units.<br />
<br />
No, I'm not trying to insult the politicians who came up with this novel idea to fill coffers (and coffins). All they are guilty of is a large helping of greed, no doubt, sprinkled liberally with India's favourite condiment, corruption.<br />
<br />
Stupid is out here, among all of us -- who will read news like this, tut over it for a while, and then at election time, do what we always do: simply hand back the keys to people whom we know will do little more than drive our city/state/country into the same old rut, again and again. <br />
<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bCHeS9BWh1XQAbGy5c5k-7OQuGPKdD-FjjYvgKuciZBTjLWwzqvSuW9frBRG8HL8h-FD52b0sziBEiK43fREk2izwHYcSCJ-EwEd7i7LKfH91CZimk0_22Gv1dYAOXponehsXmqOZwQ/s1600/INK+news+luxury+tax+postscript.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9bCHeS9BWh1XQAbGy5c5k-7OQuGPKdD-FjjYvgKuciZBTjLWwzqvSuW9frBRG8HL8h-FD52b0sziBEiK43fREk2izwHYcSCJ-EwEd7i7LKfH91CZimk0_22Gv1dYAOXponehsXmqOZwQ/s400/INK+news+luxury+tax+postscript.jpeg" width="340" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bangalore Mirror, a couple days later (forgot the date!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
A Happier Post-Script!</h3>
An angry Chief Minister makes me happy - was glad to see in the news a
few days later, that our Siddu lost his cool when he heard about the new
tax, and ensured that it was thrown out! Good for him.Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-70984146472555428962015-12-22T12:58:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:00:23.468+05:30Astronomer's delight.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vI9kGS4ZmKokN-1Jwstw6TErLhLgJHBGsVvPuPfTlanzxNFer-fAnr6cQi-XZHuktI2eydxqpvbhCJzs7szoh-Kk_bVzM9zG7aBeR1kdeKxwtLbnUAckayY6SMTdkDwoMD-2_bPjXBg/s1600/20151210_012503_LLS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4vI9kGS4ZmKokN-1Jwstw6TErLhLgJHBGsVvPuPfTlanzxNFer-fAnr6cQi-XZHuktI2eydxqpvbhCJzs7szoh-Kk_bVzM9zG7aBeR1kdeKxwtLbnUAckayY6SMTdkDwoMD-2_bPjXBg/s320/20151210_012503_LLS.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
They say there is a star, a Christmas star. It is filled with light. It brings a message of hope. It inspires those it touches to be more than they dream. It draws, like tide, the inner courage to do more than they dare.<br />
<br />
I know it as a myth. There is no such star. We have searched galaxies, the scientists and I, and never found it. We have scoured books and histories and never caught an echo.<br />
<br />
Still, Christmas is around the corner and it's time to sing.<br />
<br />
So I went to a Christmas concert at a retirement home, to watch my friend lead a choir of eighty- and ninety-year-olds. I watched her coax them into performing solos, words and melodies painstakingly memorised, into giving it their all, and they did.<br />
<br />
I know her voice well enough to be able to hear her sing along with them. Hers is a beautiful powerful voice that could fill a hall on its own strength, but not tonight. Tonight she sang gently and softly, just loud enough to guide and support them, as they put on the show.<br />
<br />
I watched them sing. They sang about that star, the one that does not exist. The one that disobeys the laws of physics, and follows donkeys on desert nights.<br />
<br />
I have the facts. I could have turned aside with a smirk, but I looked at my friend instead. I watched her touch, inspire and love them.<br />
<br />
I looked at her face, and I found the Christmas star there.Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-69308216553437551022015-08-22T00:00:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:00:30.531+05:30Happy days.Happy birthday, Dorothy!<br />
Happy birthday, me!<br />
I knew I'd be a writer.<br />
I've known since I was three.<br />
I don't know how I know that,<br />
with memories blocked or lost.<br />
Is that the price we pay for a gift?<br />
Must childhood be the cost?<br />
<br />
But happy birthday all the same.<br />
It's not about THAT day.<br />
<br />
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-34889467661210889392015-07-13T00:10:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:00:41.035+05:30Rosie is my relative?!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAfCy53OGyXgWwHgXeICrHgN2HKUNBn_2cA91DimxLpS7Bcyg_ETKT8ThW8Q95jFrNOVpNLChHOPo-uZbwhuFpE418Fp9mG3fSj9VQECw7LFi2cjZg4T_kpyefdN1WgdX5vgu5fiH5Ws/s1600/naz+hibiscus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAfCy53OGyXgWwHgXeICrHgN2HKUNBn_2cA91DimxLpS7Bcyg_ETKT8ThW8Q95jFrNOVpNLChHOPo-uZbwhuFpE418Fp9mG3fSj9VQECw7LFi2cjZg4T_kpyefdN1WgdX5vgu5fiH5Ws/s400/naz+hibiscus.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attempted cannibalisation of a distant relative</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Nothing to do with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wqafkbl2-k" target="_blank"><b>that delightful book</b></a> by Gerald Durrell, I'm afraid. Just a bit of trivia - but one that I found fascinating enough to write about. And yes, it's gardening trivia.<br />
<br />
So: plants need nutrients - and there are all sorts of plant foods available that you can sprinkle around the roots, dig into the soil, or dissolve and water with. Someone (in case you're here reading this, Sathish, it's you!) told me about the different minerals that, when added, can help growth in specific areas of a plant.<br />
<br />
Nitrogen - good for foliage (leaves and stems)<br />
Potassium - good for fruit and flower development<br />
Phosphorus - good for roots<br />
<br />
And then Sathish mentioned how plants and animals have things in common, and similarities between us in terms of various mineral deficiencies. So I did a quick Google, and have come to the following conclusions:<br />
<br />
1. My skin, hair and nails are my foliage. They suffer if I have a nitrogen deficiency. My muscles too (presumably my stems), and my blood (my sap).<br />
<br />
2. My ovaries are my fruits. Well, that one was obvious. Potassium helps with things like ovarian cysts. Also the heart - apparently particularly susceptible to potassium deficiency. But the song goes, "<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdc_6YvJfFo" target="_blank">Life is a flower</a></b>" and I've got poetic license, so I've decided my heart is my flower. <br />
<br />
3. My bones and my teeth are my roots. They need phosphorus to grow strong and stand firm. Not too sure why the teeth fall in this category, so I am going to assume that something teethlike in plant roots chews up useful nutrients before sending them along.<br />
<br />
Amazing. I love this evolutiony stuff.<br />
<br />
Of course, I am no scientist, and yes, "<a href="http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/a-little-knowledge-is-a-dangerous-thing.html" target="_blank"><b>a little knowledge is a dangerous thing</b></a>". But sprinkle with some over-active imagination and water well, and it grows into something fun for me and my readers to enjoy (perhaps with a pinch of salt).<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
(That last paragraph, in case you hadn't realised, is probably the jolliest disclaimer I've ever written, and also a subliminal suggestion to go make yourself a margarita). <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-89185472728870444252015-07-09T12:23:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:00:49.711+05:30Roses and farts.I have made an interesting discovery. The most beautiful roses, the ones that look almost carved to perfection, the ones that seem to shout out, "Hey, look at me!" tend to have no scent.<br />
<br />
It is the same with farts. The louder they are, the less lethal their odour. It's the silent ones that are deadliest.<br />
<br />
Which makes me wonder ... do the most beautiful roses have the deadliest thorns?<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQ0D7ycrr0omT5nj4Vyj52lvQ3n_3FUgG3Ox1xP4TUbpLVHL_1gMJqUdy-W9Jw_n5SyXDwyC9e5jk7Z3qR2Bwhi0VQisk1GtH4ccRWZFBgn1pstHhWdCIpbMz5_kOVcDVORI7ssUuSBQ/s1600/20141106_144535.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmQ0D7ycrr0omT5nj4Vyj52lvQ3n_3FUgG3Ox1xP4TUbpLVHL_1gMJqUdy-W9Jw_n5SyXDwyC9e5jk7Z3qR2Bwhi0VQisk1GtH4ccRWZFBgn1pstHhWdCIpbMz5_kOVcDVORI7ssUuSBQ/s640/20141106_144535.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An imperfectly carved, but perfectly scented rose in my mother's garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-55153736832356371382015-07-07T01:24:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:00:58.052+05:30I love it when Nature doodles.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTK3c0KyMPcdQVKpPvfHVpRp7kdOM4t55D8lDdsO-7-stkVDDZx3a8iOLFUgIS2UtmJM6UIfEPWx6tnfFQY6r4ak08aCzTrshvoc3hfKsyRsEQLjLmprMZPxhJRVIVlOwA2eZ3SIgU5U/s1600/20141111_161840.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCTK3c0KyMPcdQVKpPvfHVpRp7kdOM4t55D8lDdsO-7-stkVDDZx3a8iOLFUgIS2UtmJM6UIfEPWx6tnfFQY6r4ak08aCzTrshvoc3hfKsyRsEQLjLmprMZPxhJRVIVlOwA2eZ3SIgU5U/s640/20141111_161840.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377410743781654996.post-81861391474455766072015-07-06T00:00:00.000+05:302020-07-08T14:01:16.292+05:30Getting closer to my anthuriumWhen you have pots of brilliant anthurium, and a very nice camera on your phone, it follows that<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OZeYRJbfY57AmoOwv-DjI6jtmteuI8Es3rAIjeGawbWZbrn4T2Y1IoVIR9PmRGTWMhkeoTFE6gD4EYrufljZV4qJ-ubQPR7ZeEQs4j4aZQL4o3rZurndjmBDiRVm-0nlXoknOcQuaKA/s1600/20150628_004422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0OZeYRJbfY57AmoOwv-DjI6jtmteuI8Es3rAIjeGawbWZbrn4T2Y1IoVIR9PmRGTWMhkeoTFE6gD4EYrufljZV4qJ-ubQPR7ZeEQs4j4aZQL4o3rZurndjmBDiRVm-0nlXoknOcQuaKA/s640/20150628_004422.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6dWR5ib0cAhLSo5-PkpjqNE4dlP5KebUS39Z0wmc6o-ITB4vWgxHZmdlm_FHTv8nBrBPTdPrVIN3dhwcB-eX7O6c6BHHaTGcUboIGEy-MZCyRoHNo_NAyei7Y3CVu7YQklzyEO4N_Fc/s1600/20150628_004653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif6dWR5ib0cAhLSo5-PkpjqNE4dlP5KebUS39Z0wmc6o-ITB4vWgxHZmdlm_FHTv8nBrBPTdPrVIN3dhwcB-eX7O6c6BHHaTGcUboIGEy-MZCyRoHNo_NAyei7Y3CVu7YQklzyEO4N_Fc/s640/20150628_004653.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOX0JwdO9hdKh4l9P402TXKtV3xmnODL9adLqAwLOldBcVwVvdF_Epl78lClZC8L0MK-4004w3-eg9znFakvLXs1E8U3VuxSidhARm0F_ATLVRTjyxgO8IvGMYMLyD0Ew1AJquMcIF4k/s1600/20150628_004819.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEOX0JwdO9hdKh4l9P402TXKtV3xmnODL9adLqAwLOldBcVwVvdF_Epl78lClZC8L0MK-4004w3-eg9znFakvLXs1E8U3VuxSidhARm0F_ATLVRTjyxgO8IvGMYMLyD0Ew1AJquMcIF4k/s640/20150628_004819.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBtofPoBF977CFJy_o5iVY-26Eyc2o9S-vdYSEM5YELp1tQ0bUdKPpAZB4WRfE6ud7I5ZPFybF65fGOOWJn1dge_My-4NftrmpD4L6rMIcX10D8vsFBQQ7GyYGjXQdiY-S8KGWn2wz9M/s1600/20150628_005125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBtofPoBF977CFJy_o5iVY-26Eyc2o9S-vdYSEM5YELp1tQ0bUdKPpAZB4WRfE6ud7I5ZPFybF65fGOOWJn1dge_My-4NftrmpD4L6rMIcX10D8vsFBQQ7GyYGjXQdiY-S8KGWn2wz9M/s640/20150628_005125.jpg" width="360" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtY3xigdCuNq0bVXdPmYJisxcTqugVm24pMxg3F4l8vZwuAGDybs6wrjG4alGa1Mih6jb3MtBcAP0qUc23wB6u2VHP2AbbR43cFCIS_Z6ySwMK7Ww06aGscQK9tNvCAHnaTthQc6ZyzDs/s1600/20150628_004458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtY3xigdCuNq0bVXdPmYJisxcTqugVm24pMxg3F4l8vZwuAGDybs6wrjG4alGa1Mih6jb3MtBcAP0qUc23wB6u2VHP2AbbR43cFCIS_Z6ySwMK7Ww06aGscQK9tNvCAHnaTthQc6ZyzDs/s640/20150628_004458.jpg" width="360" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHCIMcBax8lqor3euNSj1XdzreAWy7uA13j-KxhuFMNgsDLWHmUE8tlk52lC_casGLGiczzKm_wkU5cnu-9AzNmDZQr2ioEXjsoUbMfxMobyCMELVm9yPHabw4P2uupGecEPUhjiBTPCw/s1600/20150628_005011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHCIMcBax8lqor3euNSj1XdzreAWy7uA13j-KxhuFMNgsDLWHmUE8tlk52lC_casGLGiczzKm_wkU5cnu-9AzNmDZQr2ioEXjsoUbMfxMobyCMELVm9yPHabw4P2uupGecEPUhjiBTPCw/s640/20150628_005011.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Without Shadowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845208543563723233noreply@blogger.com0