Author: Kumar Govindan

I am the first Graduate - an Engineer - in the family; the first to be employed in the Government Sector, India; the first to go overseas for work - USA; the first to throw it all and become an Entrepreneur (and fail); the first to get back to work - this time with the Tata Group, India - after 4 years of chasing 'business dreams'; and, the first to pick-up the Entrepreneur thread again. I now run a Women's Apparel design and styling Boutique - Mavira Designs - along with my wife. The objective of my Blog is to tell my story, intermingled with news stories from all corners of the World, with wit and pun - to squeeze a few laughs, perhaps a smile. I'm sure you will enjoy the reading.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-24

About: the world this week, 12 June to 18 June 2022, the put-in war, a Queen holds on to the throne, Monkeys poke respect, Whisky Wars, Army recruitment, trains go private, drinking tea in the neighbourhood, a day off on an island, and murder in the kitchen.

Everywhere

The Fighting Rages

Russia is now in command of most of the city of Severodonetsk following a month of intense fighting. Taking Severodonetsk and the nearby city of Lysychansk would give Russia control of the entire Luhansk region of Ukraine, which seems to be the only achievable goal for Russia at the moment. Of course, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin still makes the usual noises of being forced to start the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine. And that it was aimed at protecting ‘his people’ – the people of Ukraine’s Donbas – and then repeating his unfounded accusation that ‘his people’ were being subject to genocide. Iron-cold rationalisation at its steely best?

Meanwhile, this week, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and Romania visited Ukraine’s capital Kyiv in a show of solidarity with President Zelensky. They also visited the devastated town of Irpin, near Kyiv, which for several weeks was occupied by Russia, to see first hand the brutal effects of the war. The visit culminated with the leaders supporting Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union (EU)- a big vote of confidence for Ukraine.

A few weeks ago, France’s President stirred the proverbial hornet’s nest, when he said it was vital that Russia is not humiliated over its invasion, suggesting that Russia should have a way out of what he called a ‘fundamental error’ (by Russia).

Later in the week, the European Commission backed Ukraine’s bid to be given candidacy status to join the EU. Candidacy is a significant step as the entire process may take years to fruity into membership.

Then at the end of the week, Britain’s Prime Minister must have felt left-out, as he made a surprise dash to Ukraine – his second visit – to show support and see the handsome, bulging muscles of Ukraine’s President.

The Queen’s Gambit

This week Britain’s 96 years old Queen Elizabeth II sprinted ahead of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej to become the world’s second-longest reigning monarch in history. Up ahead on the curve is France’s King Louis XIV who holds the record for the longest reigning monarch with a 72 year and 110 day reign from 1643 until 1715. He had a head start, becoming King at age 4. Thailand’s King reigned for 70 years and 126 days from 1927 to 2016.

Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne occurred on 6 February 1952, following the death of her father, King George VI. The coronation took place on 2 June 1953 – after the official mourning period – in a ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

The Queen became the longest serving British monarch in September 2015, surpassing her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria. Now, the Queen has been sitting tight on the throne for over 70 years and 127 days.

I wish England’s Queen makes it past France’s King. Wonder what gambit the Queen has in her royal mind?

Respecting Monkeys

Monkeys can finally breathe easy: they could have been planning to go on a stone-throwing protest strike across continents against defaming their name. Never mind the Indian bulldozer, they legally live in the forests paying their oxygen and carbon-dioxide taxes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) heard, says it is working with experts to come up with a new name for monkeypox. This comes after many scientists wrote last week about the ‘urgent need for a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatising’ name for the virus and the money pox disease it causes. Continued reference to the virus as African is both inaccurate and discriminatory, they said. Some 1,600 cases of the disease have been recorded globally in recent weeks.

One new name that’s been suggested by scientists is hMPXV, but we’ll need to wait to hear what the WHO thinks of that.

What next? The chickens may protest against chickenpox…and the mighty spade itself, against being called a dead-pan spade?

Whisky Wars

Hans Island is a desolate, kidney shaped piece of rock in the Arctic, measuring 1290 metres(m) by 1199 m. It is located in the about 35 km wide Nares Strait between the northernmost point of Canada and Greenland, part of Denmark’s kingdom. The uninhabited Island has no mineral resources nor much else of interest unless you are visiting a lucky seabird siting on the rock.

Both Canada and Greenland sit 18 km away from Hans Island, allowing them to claim the rock under international law.

But in the year 1984 Canada made a bold stake for ownership when it landed troops on the rock. It swiftly planted its maple leaf flag and buried a bottle of Canadian whisky, before returning home to a country now larger to the tune of over one square kilometre.

In the same year, Denmark’s minister of Greenland affairs couldn’t let such a provocation stand. Weeks later he set off for Hans Island, where he replaced the offending Canadian flag with a Danish flag and a bottle of Copenhagen’s finest schnapps. But he went one step further than the Canadians had, proudly leaving a note that read: ‘Welcome to Danish Island’.

And so the ‘Whisky Wars’ commenced.

Over the following 49 years, dozens of Canadians and Danes took part in the ritual and successive expeditions from Ottawa and Copenhagen have braved icy conditions to plant bottles of alcohol on the tiny 1.2 square kilometre (sq.km) rock.

Finally, in 2018, the countries decided to establish a joint working group to resolve the dispute, ending their decades-long ‘agree to disagree’ policy. And decided to settle the dispute at a later date.

This week, Denmark and Canada finally struck a deal to settle almost 50 years of good-natured squabbling over the ownership of the island: officials have agreed to divide the outpost roughly in half.

The deal will be signed once both countries grant parliamentary approval and will see the island split along a naturally occurring cleft on the rocky outcrop, according to a deal published by the Danish foreign ministry.

Once signed off, Canada and Denmark would have established the world’s longest maritime border at 3,882 km.

I hope it becomes a rock solid agreement: cheers to that!

Agnipath: The Tour of Duty

This week India announced a revolutionary, transformational, and far-reaching ‘Agnipath Scheme’ of recruiting ‘boys and girls’ between the ages of 17.5 and 23 years for a four-year stint in the Armed Forces. They will be given military training, based on the Force’s requirements.

About 46,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen will be enrolled between September and October this year on an all-India, all-class basis. After four years, 25% of the ‘Agniveers’- as they will be called – will be absorbed in the regular cadre and the rest released to pursue a non-military civilian life. During the four years in the Armed Forces, Agniveers will be paid a respectable stipend and associated perks. And those leaving will be provided with skill certificates and an accrued Corpus Fund to pursue other careers. India’s youth are given a chance for both long and short duration military service and to serve the nation at the highest level. The regular military recruitment scheme will drill on undisturbed.

The objective is to lower the age of the Armed Forces- with induction of youth, lower the pension budget, and provide a means of selecting and retaining the very best in the Defence Forces.

My thoughts: The Armed Forces training will bring in much-needed discipline, which is seriously lacking in India- and make men and women out of our boys and girls. It is the nearest to compulsory military service and being a four-year stint it would provide youngsters an opportunity to decide what they want to do with their lives besides an honour to serve the nation. And, once released into society they will be a silent force of protection for themselves and the communities they live in. The best part would be, say in an Ukraine-Russia situation we would have enough Agniveers around who could take up the charge if needed. The scheme has been introduced by the three Service Chiefs – Army, Navy, and Airforce after solid deliberation: I’m sure they always have the nation’s best interests in the cross-hairs. I trust them. Lets embrace the path of Agnipath.

India’s First Private Train

In November 2021, India came up with an idea called ‘Bharat Gaurav’ (India’s Pride) of allowing private players to operate trains belonging to the Government’s Indian Railways in a theme-based tourism circuit: with places, routes, stops, and tariffs, among other things, being entirely at the discretion of the Private Operator. The intent is to provide people in India and visiting foreign tourists a means of exploring the country’s rich cultural heritage and historical places in a comfortable well-managed set-up.

The trains can be leased for a period of two years with interiors refurbishment, housekeeping, catering, security, ticket booking services, etc., being the responsibility of the Private Operator. And policing work will be done by private security personnel in coordination with the existing Railway Protection Force. A Train Captain and a Train Doctor will also be on board along with a radio jockey manning a sound system, to keep the tourists in ‘loud spirits’.

This week the first ever private train under the Bharat Gaurav Scheme, operating between Coimbatore North Station in Tamilnadu and the Holy Town of Shirdi in Maharashtra was flagged off with stops at Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Yelahanka, Dharmavaram, Mantralayam Road, and Wadi. During the onward journey from Coimbatore, the Train stops at Mantralayam Road station for 5 hours to facilitate worship at the Mantralayam Temple.

South Star Rail is the Private Operator, which got its hands on the wheels to run the train. It paid INR 10 million as security deposit to Southern Railways for a 20 coach rake, consisting of First, Second, and Third Class air-conditioned coaches, normal Sleeper coaches, two luggage-cum-brake cars and one pantry car.

Over to a scheme-filled India. Take the ride and pray!

Skipping Sipping Tea in Pakistan

Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves are falling rapidly – currently enough for fewer than two months of all imports – and one of its senior Ministers Ahsan Iqbal came up with a drinking idea.

People in Pakistan have been asked to reduce the amount of tea they drink to keep the country’s economy afloat. Sipping fewer cups a day would cut Pakistan’s high import bills feels the Minister. He said, “I appeal to the nation to cut down the consumption of tea by one to two cups because we import tea on loan”. He also suggested that Business traders should close their market stalls at 10.30 pm to save electricity.

Pakistan is the world’s largest importer of tea, buying more than USD 600 million worth last year. Now its lips are trying to skip many a sip!

An Extra Day Off in Sri Lanka

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is giving government officials an extra day off a week, to encourage them to grow food, amid fears of a food shortage, as it navigates its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years. The Island Nation has about one million public sector employees.

The decision is to help workers, who are facing difficulties getting to work due to fuel shortages. Also to encourage them to grow fruit and vegetables, to help feed themselves and their families by engaging in agricultural activities in the backyards of their houses, or elsewhere. This is seen as a possible solution to the food shortage that is expected to occur in the future. Ultimately, I reckon, it’s best we fend for ourselves: generate our own solar power, grown our own food, or make our own things, and return to the days of bartering – in kind.

How to Murder Your Husband

Many years ago, Nancy Crampton Brophy, 71, a self-publishing author whose works of steamy romance and suspense novels such as ‘The Wrong Husband’ and ‘The Wrong Lover’ wrote an essay titled ‘How to murder your husband’. Well, she took herself seriously, did just that and was convicted of murdering her husband last month.

This week a jury found her guilty of second degree murder when that she shot her husband of 26 years, in 2018 for a USD 1.5 million Life insurance pay-out. She was sentenced to life in prison.

Her late husband, Daniel Brophy, was a chef and respected teacher at the Oregon Culinary Institute, Oregon State, United States. He was found dead – shot twice- in the kitchen of the Institute, in 2018.

The Wrong Wife; How to Break Out of Prison?

More tizzy stories about world schemes coming up in the weeks ahead. Don’t shoot, live in peace with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-23

About: the world this week, 5 June to 11 June 2022, the American phenomenon, an unjust war rambles on, a debt ridden country thinks loans, faith matters and blasphemy, military justice, road-building, getting high, and sologamy.

Everywhere

Sometimes, a week sounds all too familiar, eerily similar to the previous one, at least in a few aspects. Maybe this is one such.

The United States of America (USA) continues with that unique American Phenomenon of shooting itself. And we have lost count of the shootings, the guns, the ammunition, the candles, and the songs.

Late last week, a man shot and killed two women in a Church Parking Lot near the City of Ames, Iowa, before turning the gun on himself. This was close on the heels of the Uvalde Elementary School shooting in Texas. There was at least 11 mass shootings over the first weekend in June this year, some of which are: Tulsa, Oklahoma-Warren Clinic Shooting; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Chattanooga, Tennessee. Leaving Schools, the shootings permeated graduation parties, nightclubs, and strip malls. What next?

A mass shooting is an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter. According to the Gun Violence Archives on mass shootings, 246 shootings have been reported thus far in this year, 2022. The USA recorded 693 mass shootings in 2021, 611 in 2020, and 417 incidents in 2019.

That’s definitely a fearful rising trend. Does statistics help? Will the shootings stop only when America runs out of ammunition?

The Ukraine war continues taking its own flight path and the World has seemingly gone into a shell with each country looking to strengthen its own walled boundaries and become self-sufficient, knocking globalisation hard on its head. Dependence on Russian oil & gas, among other things, across borders has woken us up to new realities, new risks, which need to be mitigated.

The fate of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region may be decided in the battle of Severodonetsk where fighting continues to be tough. Ukraine is suffering losses, but is also inflicting heavy casualties on the Russians. And Ukrainian forces have been pushed back from the city and control only its outskirts.

Russia refuses to call the Russia-Ukraine War a war or an invasion, still calling it a special military operation-a ‘war’ against Ukraine nationalists, radicals, and the Kyiv Regime. Nevermind they are doing this inside another independent democratic country, which integrity and boundaries Russia itself agreed to respect when Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal! Calling a spade a spade seems to be awfully difficult for Russia.

Meanwhile, The United Nations wants to find a deal with Russia that allows safe export of Ukrainian produced food through the Black Sea. And we have a fighting Sri Lanka, on stand-by, which can use all that food?

The decibel level of noises of economic ruin in Sri Lanka have come down and perhaps the only way Sri Lanka can rise again and recalibrate the life of its citizens is by the existing loans being written off, so that a fresh, handsome set can kick-in.

The 22 million Sri Lankan population requires USD 3.3 billion for fuel imports, USD 900 million(m) for food, USD 600m for fertiliser, and USD 250m for cooking gas. How do you cook all that money?

Sri Lanka accepted a USD 55m loan for fertilisers from India’s Exim Bank, and the United Nations has pledged USD 48m for food agriculture, and healthcare. Negotiations are on to renegotiate a USD 1.5 billion financial support deal from China.

Internally, Sri Lanka announced an immediate increase in Value Added Tax from 8% to 12%. Corporate tax is expected to rise from 24% to 30% this October.

Finally the mistakes of the past seem to be getting corrected.

In India, during a loud Television Debate about a month ago, ruling Party spokespersons, infuriated by incessant attacks on Hindu religious beliefs spoke that, since people are mocking the Hindu faith repeatedly, they can also mock other religions – referring to Islamic beliefs and also the marriage of Prophet Mohammad. And set off-a chain reaction with Muslim countries all over the world voicing concerns of ‘insult to the Prophet’. The Government stepped in a fire-fighting mode by reprimanding and suspending the spokespersons.

I recall a historic verdict by the Madras High Court in 2019, which clearly distinguished between Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression saying, ‘having an opinion on Prophet Mohammad is not derogatory, and Freedom of Expression is not blasphemy’. This was in the backdrop of allegations against a Political leader in Tamilnadu in 2019, for supposedly speaking against the Prophet.

Blasphemy-making reckless and derogatory remarks agent religious beliefs- is one thing and expressing religious opinion based on one’s knowledge of the subject is another and there is a fine balance between the two. Freedom of expression always gets challenged when touching upon religious beliefs. Not every expression will qualify itself to bring disharmony between various sects, groups, and religions.

Narrow-mindedness only seems to be growing more narrow instead of tolerance growing taller and wider.

The religious freedom in India is beyond imagination applying the muslim standards in other Countries. And this is so, for all other religions in India. Hinduism, being the majority religion seems to be taken for granted in the name of minority appeasement.

I think we need to watch our tongues and refrain from making fun, criticising, or mocking any religious faith, including our own. Remember the three monkeys parable: see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil! And someone said, ‘Your freedom ends where my nose begins’.

In Myanmar the elected government was ousted more than a year ago by its military, which ever since has unleashed waves of brutal crackdown on the opposition, democracy and freedom activists, and critics.

Late last week, Myanmar’s junta made its next move, announcing that that appeals by two prominent democracy activists against their death sentences has been rejected, paving the way for the country’s first executions in decades.

Kyaw Min Yu, a veteran democracy activist, and Phyo Zeyar Thaw, a lawmaker for the former ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, were sentenced to death by a military tribunal in January on charges of treason and terrorism.

The outcry from a watching world is deafening but then who will bell the cat?

Melange

This week, on a completely different front- actually a road- India has created a Guinness World Record by constructing 75 km of continuous bituminous concrete in a single lane on National Highway (NH) 53 in 105 hours and 33 minutes breaking the world record previously held by Qatar.

This Week Thailand became the first country in South Air to decriminalise marijuana: It’s legal to grow and sell it. However, smoking for fun is still banned.

People can now grow marijuana at home, provided they register and ensure it’s used only for medical purposes. Restaurants and cafes can also serve cannabis-infused foods but have a 0.2% THC limit. THC-TetraHydroCannabinol-is the substance that is primarily responsible for the effects of marijuana on a person’s mental state.

The objective seems to be to boost the economy through agriculture and foreign trade. Call that kicking-up the spirits!

Please Yourself

Over the past few years Sologamy, a wedding ceremony where people marry themselves, has been a growing trend in the West. It has now touched India’s Vadodara City in Gujarat State.

Kshama Bindu, 24, a sociology student and blogger, has a traditional Hindu ceremony due to take place on 11th June. Decked up in her red bridal outfit, with henna on her hands and vermilion powder in her hair parting, the bride will do the customary seven rounds around the sacred fire.

Pre-wedding rituals such as Haldi – turmeric mixed with oil is applied on the bride- and sangeet -music & dance-will be held earlier in the day. After the wedding, she plans to visit Goa for a two-week honeymoon.

The only ‘non-essential/missing part’ from all the celebrations will be ‘a Bridegroom’, as Bindu plans to ‘marry’ herself in what is perhaps going to be India’s first case of sologamy.

“Many people tell me I’m a great catch. I tell them, I caught myself”, says Bindu. By marrying herself, Bindu would be dedicating her life to self-love. “It’s my way of showing that I’m accepting all the different parts of me, especially the parts of myself that I have tried to deny or disown such as my weaknesses – be they physical, mental or emotional. For me, this marriage is really a deep act of self-acceptance. What I’m trying to say is that I accept myself – all of me, even the parts that don’t look pretty.”

Bindu’s family signalled the green light, have given their blessings, and will be attending the ceremony along with her friends. She claims that her parents, who are very open-minded, took it in their stride. They said, “As long as it makes you happy, we’re fine with it”.

The idea of marrying oneself first made news about 20 years ago when Carrie Bradshaw, a character in the hugely popular American Comedy Drama series Sex and the City, raised it.

Since then, there have been hundreds of such marriages, mostly by single women. Brides have walked down the aisle dressed in pristine wedding gowns, carrying a bouquet, sometimes with families and friends cheering them on. And in one highly unusual case, a Brazilian model, 33, ‘divorced’ herself, three months after her marrying herself. Wonder which part, or was it all of it?

More love stories coming up in the weeks to come. Love yourself, but stay married to World Inthavaaram. And mind that tongue!

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-22

About: the world this week, 29 May to 4 June 2022, music is strained, a celebrity defamation hearing, a plane crash, ruthless fighting, and a Manhattan seaweed.

Everywhere

We Rapped: Moose Wala

This Sunday, 28 years old Moose Wala an Indian singer, rapper, actor, and politician primarily associated with Punjabi music and cinema was shot dead by unidentified attackers while driving near his village in Punjab State. A Canada-based person, Goldy Brar said to belong to the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang, took responsibility for the killing, in a Facebook account. Reasons unknown. The Police are investigating.

Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu was born in Moosa Village, Mansa District, Punjab. He studied Electrical Engineering in Ludhiana and after graduation moved to Canada, in 2016. Sidhu began listening to hip-hop music from the Class 6, and learnt music from Ustad Harvinder Bittu in Ludhiana, before starting to rap. He was heavily influenced by American rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, considered one of the most influential rappers of all-time, with more than 75 million records worldwide to his name.

Sidhu started his career writing music for Ninja (Amit Bhalla-Indian playback singer) and then got his singing career going with a duet song titled ‘G Wagon’.

One year after moving to Canada, Sidhu released his first track, ‘So High’, under the name Moose Wala-a tribute to his village-and gained wide attention.

In 2018, he released his debut Album PBX 1, which peaked at No. 66 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart. Following the Album’s success, he started releasing his songs independently. His 2019 single ’47’ was ranked on the UK Singles Chart. In 2020, Moose Wala was named by The Guardian among 50 ‘up and coming artists’. Ten of his songs have peaked on UK Asian Chart with two of them topping. His song ‘Bambiha Bole’ was among the top five on Global You Tube music chart. In 2021, he released Moosetape, tracks from which charted globally including Canadian Hot 100, UK Asian, and New Zealand Hot charts. I’m breathless, that’s an awesome Chart line-up!

Since then, he has released three albums and more than 60 singles. At one time-the story goes-he was churning out a song a week. And became a household name in Punjab and among Sikhs living abroad. In a career spanning just four years, the rapper had become one of the most ubiquitous faces of Punjab’s fertile hip-hop scene. His voice blares from DJ turntables at Delhi’s flamboyant parties, rickety stereos at tea stalls in rural India and every possible radio channel in Punjab. His very distinctive rapping style enthralled and captured the nuances of life in Punjab.

Drawing heavily from the genre of gangster rap, his music was a jumble of gritty opulence showing-off guns and fancy sports cars, as he tried to make sense of life around him. His songs offered unvarnished commentary on the dark underbelly of the rural heartland, where drugs, crime, and corruption often make headlines.

Rap music is a genre that often has lyrical expressions of revenge. And Moose Wala was no exception to this trend. Jealousy of his rivals was also an overarching theme in his music, which was best captured in the smash hit, Jatt da Mukabla: ‘Don’t flutter so high, you birds, for if I want, I can buy the sky.’

Moose Wala had his brushes with the Law. In May 2020, he was booked for firing an AK-47 rifle at a shooting range during the Covid19 Lockdown. He also had a police case against him for seemingly promoting violence and gun culture through his song, ‘Sanju’. Though never convicted, he was accused of trying to normalise violence.

In politics, Moose Wala was a member of India’s Grand Old Party, The Indian National Congress, and unsuccessfully contested in the 2022 Punjab Assembly Elections, from Mansa.

Unbelievable that Moose Wala had bewitched so many people in such a short period. Wonder who (all) got jealous?

We Sang: KK

This week, Indian Music suffered another hit. Singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, aged 53 years, popularly known as ‘KK’ died of a cardiac arrest hours after performing in a concert at Nazrul Mancha for Gurudas College’s Fest in Kolkatta, after which he fell ill and returned to his hotel. When his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the hospital where the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

KK sang hundreds of songs during his career which began in the 1990s with advertisement jingles. He made his film debut with an A R Rahman soundtrack called ‘Kallooori Salai’ (College Road) in the Tamil movie, Kadhal Desam.

In 1999, he launched his debut album titled ‘Pal’. The songs ‘Pal’ and ‘Yaaron’ from the album became very popular and are commonly used in school farewells.

His biggest hits and most popular Hindi songs include, Tadap Tadap from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), Dola Re Dola from Devdas (2002), the Tamil song, Apadi Podu, from Ghilli (2004), Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai from Woh Lamhe …(2006), Aankhon Mein Teri from Om Shanti Om (2007), Khuda Jane from Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Piya Aaye Na from Aashiqui 2 (2013), Mat Aazma Re from Murder 3 (2013), India Wale from Happy New Year (2014), Tu Jo Mila from Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015).

KK’s other famous songs were, ‘Annanoda Pattu’ (elder brother’s song) in superstar Rajinikanth’s Chandramukhi. And by far, his most popular song in Tamil is Uyirin Uyire in the movie Kaakha Kaakha.

The romance of his songs had strings tied to his real life too. KK fell in love when he was in Class 10 and decided he would marry the girl who stole his heart: he proposed to Jyothy Krishna and eventually married her in 1999 when he was on a firm footing in his career. When asked, wasn’t it too early in life to propose, a confident KK said, “It is not about too early, when you feel something here (gesturing towards his heart), just say it.”

KK is survived by his wife, Jyothy Krishna, and his two children, Nakul Krishna Kunnath and Tamara Kunnath.

Wordsworth floods through that inward eye: ‘The music is my heart I bore long after it was no more’.

We Crashed

This Sunday, a Tara Air plane, with 22 people onboard crashed in Nepal. The plane was on a 20 minute flight when it lost contact with air traffic control, five minutes before it was due to land. The plane, made by the Canadian Aircraft firm, de Havilland, had departed from the tourist town of Pokhara early on Sunday, bound for Jomsom a popular pilgrimage site, and never made it.

Four Indians, two Germans and sixteen Nepali passengers were on board the plane. Search teams first located the crash site, one day after the crash. The remains of all 22 people onboard have been found since, after being awfully frustrated by bad weather and the treacherous mountainous terrain.

The four Indian nationals were identified as a family of two divorced parents and their two children, who were travelling together on a family vacation. They hailed from the city of Thane in Maharashtra State. Post-divorce, the family had been spending 10 days together, as per the court order, during which time they go for holidays, every year. Little did they know this would be their last.

“We are sitting on the plane. We will call you when we reach there”. Those were the last words of one of the parents.

Nepal has had a record fraught with aviation accidents, partly due to its finicky weather changes and airstrips located in hard-to-access rocky terrains. Insufficient training and shoddy maintenance have also plagued its air safety record, prompting the European Union (EU) to ban the flights of all Nepalese airlines in its airspace.

In early 2018, a US-Bangla flight carrying 71 people from Dhaka in Bangladesh caught fire as it landed in Kathmandu, killing 51 people.

More recently, three people died in a plane crash in April 2019 when the aircraft veered off the runway and hit a stationary helicopter at Lukla Airport – considered one of the most tricky runways to navigate due to its strong winds and high altitude of 2845 metres.

Nepal has a mountain of work to do, to ensure flight safety. Here’s hoping this is the last such disaster.

We Stopped at Amber, and Heard

In a blockbuster case that was running live on United States (US) Television for the past six weeks, Jurors in the US state of Virginia found that Actor Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean sequels) and Actress Amber Heard (Rum Diary, Pineapple Express) both defamed each other in public statements following their divorce.

Depp actually won his defamation trial against Heard, and Heard lost most of her countersuit, in a stunning finish to the celebrity trial that has riveted America.

Johnny Depp sued Amber Heard for defamation because of an Op-Ed she published in The Washington Post in 2018. In the Op-Ed, headlined, “I spoke up against sexual violence-and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change,” Heard never mentions Depp, but she refers to herself as ‘a public figure representing domestic abuse.’ Depp said the article sullied his reputation, and thwarted his career.

Depp, 58, won all three of the claims he had made and was awarded USD 10.4 million in damages. Heard, 36, who had counter-sued for USD 100 million won only one of her three claims against Depp and was awarded USD 2 million.

In its verdict, the seven-member panel said Heard had defamed her ex-husband with false statements about their relationship. They also said the statements were made with actual malice, i.e., with reckless disregard or negligence.

Last heard, Amber Heard was ‘disappointed beyond words’ and ‘heartbroken’ by the verdict.

Depp has been nominated for three Oscars and been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive, twice. And Heard was not much heard of during the time Depp was at the peak of his popularity.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard got engaged in 2014 and married in 2015. Then, in 2016, Heard filed for divorce. Do marriages ever run green in Hollywood? It’s amber or red!

We are Still Fighting Russia

This Friday marks the 100th day of war in Ukraine, and Russia is closing-in on the city of Severodonetsk. Russia now occupies almost of Luhansk and neighbouring Donetsk. And in total, about 20% of Ukraine. The Donbas region is almost entirely destroyed and the destruction in Ukraine defies comprehension. Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin is banking on the world’s indifference to see him through this horrific disaster he created in the first place. And maybe is looking for an opportunity to declare some kind of a victory?

We are Australia

One keeps finding the weirdest things in Australia: be it animal or plant life – on land or under the sea.

The largest known plant on Earth, a seagrass (ribbon weed) roughly three times the size of Manhattan (about 59 sq.km) has been discovered off the coast of Australia.

Scientists have determined that a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant, believed to have spread from a single seed over at least 4500 years. The seagrass covers 200 square kilometres in Shark Bay, about 800 kilometres north of Perth.

The seagrass was discovered to be growing at the rate of 35 centimetres per year. Remarkable for its hardiness having grown in locations across the Bay with widely varying conditions.

More grown stories will be measured in the weeks to come. Rap and sing with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-21

About: the world this week, 22 May to 28 May 2022, shootings, fragmentation, stuck farm grain, yet another virus trying to fox us, and a literary prize is awarded.

Everywhere

One barely noticed: the Russia-Ukraine War has slid down from the headlines into a regular ‘work in progress’ story. And perhaps joins the list of many other low-key never-ending wars happening in different parts of the world. Feeding the weapon manufacturers? But what’s happening in America refuses to get the solution it deserves – and America does not seem too eager to bite the bullet.

America

It was his 18th birthday in Uvalde County, 135 kilometres west of San Antonio, in Texas, United States (US). He celebrated by purchasing two military-style rifles at a Gun-Store, went home, put on body armour, shot his grandmother, and drove down to the nearby Robb Elementary School wrecking his car – crashing into a ditch near the school. And he gathered himself, entered the School and went on a shooting spree killing at least 19 children and two adults-including a teacher- as he went from classroom to classroom before Law Enforcement entered the scene and shot him down. The killer was later identified as Salvador Ramos. The grandmother is in critical condition.

The shooting was the deadliest at an elementary school since the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut, about a decade ago, in 2012, that left 26 people dead, including 20 children. So far in 2022 there have been at least 39 shootings in schools, colleges and universities, resulting in at least 10 deaths and 51 injuries. Overall, the US has seen about 200 mass shootings since January this year, more than any developed country in the world! That should rattle every American on Earth.

Robb Elementary School teaches second through fourth grades and holds over 500 students in its classrooms. About 90% of students are Hispanic and about 81% are economically disadvantaged. The day of the shooting was to be the last day of school before the summer break. The school canceled all school activities following the shooting.

US President Joe Biden was quick to shoot, “Why are we willing to live with this carnage? Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone to have the courage to deal with it? It’s time to turn this pain into action”

These kinds of mass shootings rarely happen elsewhere in the world – a unique American phenomenon. Gun Control? America should seriously talk about gun violence prevention.

For e.g., in the United Kingdom (UK) about 26 years ago, a gunman entered Dunblane Primary School in Scotland, killing 16 children and a teacher. The UK Govt responded by enacting tight gun control legislation. Ever since, and there has been not one instance of a school shooting in the UK.

In Australia in 1996, a gunman went on a shooting spree in Tasmania – killing 35 people and injuring 23 others. This prompted then Australian Prime Minister John Howard to tighten laws, confiscating more than 650,000 weapons in the world’s largest mandatory gun buy-back scheme. A school shooting never happened again.

Reminds me of Bob Dylan’s unforgettable song, Blowing in the Wind.

Yes, ’n how many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

Yes, ’n how many deaths will it take ’til he knows

That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind.

Davos

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an independent, impartial, International Organization for public-private cooperation not tied to any special interests. It engages the foremost political, business-CEO’s, and billionaires, cultural, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. The WEF was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

This year, its manifesto runs like this: Companies should pay their fair share of taxes, show zero tolerance for corruption, uphold human rights throughout their global supply chains, and advocate for a competitive level playing field.

The WEF’s Annual Meeting usually happens at the start of the year. Covid19 prevented an in-person event for the last two years, and, for the first time, the Davos 2022 meeting was held this May.

The last time the WEF gathered in the Swiss mountain village of Davos to discuss society’s biggest problems and pitch their solutions, the coronavirus outbreak was little more than a remote threat. The economy was humming, and nobody considered a major armed conflict in Europe as a possible risk. This time, the stage is different: the world has been upended by the Covid19 pandemic and Russia’s ruthless invasion of Ukraine.

The conference famously combines high-minded panels with flashy parties, bringing important people together to tackle pressing issues like inequality, climate change, the future of technology, and geopolitical conflict. But the logic behind inviting some of the wealthiest people on Earth to solve these problems, from a resort town, looks even shakier these days.

One of the many buzzwords percolating around Davos this week is fragmentation, the force, Economists warn could have ‘devastating human consequences.’ By fragmentation, they are referring to a breakdown of the kind of free-wheeling, border-crossing trade and investment that’s defined the global economic order over the past three decades. It is a form of deglobalization: rebuilding fences around national or regional fiefdoms.

Said one of the Attendees: “fragmentation is the sense that we may be having economies protect themselves a little more domestically, and that could slow things down. And then it may make things more expensive in return.”

We are already kind of fragmented. Look at Ukraine, left to fend for itself against the might of a ‘self-sufficient’ Nation called Russia. Of course, the World is helping with arms and ammunition, but there are so many boundaries to crash! And mind-boggling risks associated!

Ukraine

These are absolutely tough times for Ukraine in almost every field. Ukrainian farmers have 20 million tonnes of grain they cannot get to international markets because of the crazy war started by Russia. And a new harvest is about to begin. Before the war, 90% of Ukraine’s exports left via the deep ports in the Black Sea, which can load tankers large enough to travel long distances. But Russia has closed all of these ports. Now, it has offered to lift its blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports in exchange for lifting sanctions. This was promptly shot down by Ukraine as ‘blackmail’.

Ukraine is a major supplier of key crops with about 42% share of global exports of sunflower oil, 16% of maize, 10% of barley and 9% of wheat. Some countries heavily depend on Ukraine, such as Moldova which gets 92% of its wheat requirement from Ukraine, Lebanon 81% and Qatar 64%.

There must be a way: food going waste is criminal. And Russia is becoming a pariah nation is so many dimensions. Hard to believe that it is a responsible country!

Monkeypox

It can begin with a fever, a headache, or muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes. You might notice a rash develop, usually starting on the face before spreading to other parts of the body. And may lead to a range of medical complications depending on the person infected. These are typical symptoms that may point towards monkeypox, a disease now slowly spreading across the World.

When monkeypox does spread between humans, it is through physical contact with someone who has symptoms. The virus is transmitted from one person to another by close contact with lesions, body fluids, respiratory droplets and contaminated materials such as bedding. In the current outbreak, clusters have occurred among men who have sex with men, which has not been the case previously. But experts have warned against declaring it a sexually transmitted disease, or attributing the spread to certain communities.

Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus – enveloped in a double-stranded DNA – a member of the Orthopoxvirus Genus in the Family Poxviridae. It is a viral zoonotic-virus transmitted to humans from animals-disease that occurs primarily in tropical rainforest areas of central and west Africa and is occasionally exported to other regions.

Human monkeypox was first identified in humans in the year 1970 in the Democratic Republic of The Congo in a 9 years old boy, in a region where smallpox had been eliminated in 1968. Since then, most cases have been reported from rural, rainforest regions of the Congo Basin, particularly in Congo and human cases have increasingly been reported from across central and west Africa.

Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks. Severe cases occur more commonly among children and are related to the extent of virus exposure, patient health status, and nature of complications. The incubation period -interval from infection to onset of symptoms- of monkeypox is usually from 6 to 13 days but can range from 5 to 21 days. Severe cases can occur. In recent times, the case fatality ratio has been around 3–6%.

An antiviral agent developed for the treatment of smallpox has also been licensed for the treatment of monkeypox. The clinical presentation of monkeypox resembles that of smallpox, a related orthopoxvirus infection which was declared eradicated worldwide in 1980. Monkeypox is less contagious than smallpox and causes less severe illness.

Vaccines used during the smallpox eradication programme also provide protection against monkeypox. Newer vaccines have been developed of which one has been approved for prevention of monkeypox.

Underlying immune deficiencies may lead to worse outcomes. Although vaccination against smallpox was protective in the past, today persons younger than 40 to 50 years of age (depending on the country) may be more susceptible to monkeypox due to cessation of smallpox vaccination campaigns globally after eradication of the disease. Complications of monkeypox can include secondary infections, bronchopneumonia, sepsis, encephalitis, and infection of the cornea with ensuing loss of vision. The extent to which asymptomatic infection may occur is unknown.

An antiviral agent known as Tecovirimat that was developed for smallpox was licensed by the European Medical Association (EMA) for monkeypox in 2022 based on data in animal and human studies. It is not yet widely available.

Booker Prize

The Booker Prize, formerly known as the ‘Booker Prize for Fiction’ and the ‘Man Booker Prize’ is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the UK or Ireland. A sister prize, the International Booker Prize, is awarded for a book translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland.

Indian Author Geetanjali Shree’s translated Hindi novel, ‘Tomb of Sand’, has become the first book written in an Indian language to be awarded the 2022 International Booker Prize. Originally published in Hindi as ‘Ret Samadhi’, the book was translated into English by Daisy Rockwell.

The Chair of the Judges had this to say, “This is a luminous novel of India and partition, but one whose spellbinding brio and fierce compassion weaves youth and age, male and female, family and nation into a kaleidoscopic whole”.

‘Tomb of Sand’ is the story of a 80 years old woman who goes into deep depression after the death of her husband. Eventually, she overcomes her depression and decides to visit Pakistan to confront the past that she left behind during the Partition.

Geetanjali Shree born in Manipur, India, is the author of three novels and several story collections, and her work has been translated into English, French, German, Serbian, and Korean.

Indians who have won the other Booker Prize are, Arundhati Roy for ‘God of Small Things’ in 1997, Kiran Desai for ‘The Inheritance of Loss’ in 2006, and Aravind Adiga for ‘The White Tiger’ in 2008.

More stories will be booked and fired in the weeks to come. Live healthy with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-20

About: the world this week, 15 May to 21 May 2022, America keeps gunning its own, India aces Badminton-Men and Boxing-Women, Music of Ukraine, Entering NATO, and the Gyanvapi Case.

Everywhere

America Keeps Shooting

Late last week a gunman killed 10 people and wounded three others at the Tops Friendly Super Market Store in Buffalo City, New York State, a predominately Afro-American neighbourhood. The victims range in age from 20 to 86 and at least 11 who were shot were Afro-American.

The suspect was identified as Payton Gendron a rifle-toting 18 year old from Conklin, New York. He is said to have written a white supremacist manifesto online, travelled to the Store and live-streamed the attack. He was heavily armed, wore tactical gear, and a tactical helmet with a camera. After the gunfire, he exited the store, put his gun to his head, to his chin, then dropped it and took off his bullet-proof vest. He got on his hands and knees, and put his hands behind his back, when the Police, who arrived within two minutes of the shooting, had him arrested.

Last year, Payton had threatened to shoot in his high school and underwent a mental health evaluation by state police before being released. Under federal law, an evaluation alone doesn’t reportedly bar people from owning a gun.

The crime was termed as a racist hate crime.

Close to the bullets of this shooting, one person was killed and 5 injured in a Church shooting in the town of Laguna, 70km southeast of Los Angeles.

Will America ever get over the dreadful habit of shooting itself down?

Badminton

A First Ever Historic Win for India

I came across this unverified story and I don’t know how true it is, hence will keep it as fiction. There was a man called Badmin, a courtier in Mughal Emperor Akbar’s court who invented a game for the royal family’s entertainment. He cooked-up the idea of a shuttle-cock game when he saw a rooster being taken to the Royal kitchen to be made into a Royal meal. He made a feather-cock for hitting, with a racquet designed by his wife. Badminton was named after him – flies the story.

The Thomas Cup also called the World Men’s Championships, is an international Badminton competition among the teams of the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The Thomas Cup is held once in two years -earlier it was once in three years -and is one of the most important Men’s Badminton Competitions in the World. Often held together in what is called The Uber Cup, for Women, it also shuttles around as the Thomas and Uber Cup. And both determine the supremacy of a country in the sport of Badminton.

The Thomas Cup was the idea of British Sir George Alan Thomas, a successful badminton and chess player in the 1900s. And is named after him. The first Tournament was held in 1948-1949 with Malaysia winning the inaugural held in England, beating Denmark. Only five countries have ever won the Tournament: Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, and Denmark. And Indonesia has dominated with 14 wins. Believe it or not, the United States (US) of America was a runner-up in the second Thomas Cup, held in Singapore in 1952, losing to Malaysia. Obviously, the US lost interest in the game as thereafter their presence fizzled out.

India stormed in to the finals of the Thomas Badminton Cup 2022, being held in Bangkok, Thailand, late last week, which was a first ever achievement is almost 73 years. They defeated the great Danes of Denmark in the Semi-finals and a day earlier out classed Malaysia in the quarter-finals to reach the finals against Indonesia.

This Sunday the finals were played in Bangkok. With the winner being the first to win three out of five matches, India opened with Lakhsya Sen playing singles, who hustled from behind, one set down to set the stage for what was to become a stupendous Tournament. The second match was a doubles. And Ranki Reddy and Chiraj Shetty paired like shuttle & cock, again coming from behind to win. Now, it was over to the singles again, with India’s former World No 1 Srikant Kidambi being unforgiving in winning in two straight sets. The winning shot – a powerful and clever cross-court smash, which sent the opponent diving to reach it – said it all. Srikant had not lost a match all week, and he played the match of his life. There were a few hiccups and many a heart missed many a beat. And I felt the doubles team did not play to their true killer potential, but kill they did!

Suddenly, it looked too good to be true. India’s National Anthem playing in Bangkok was music to the ears. Where was India all these 73 years?

Indians always ‘perform well’ in Thailand – was the thing doing the rounds on social media!

Boxing

This week, India’s Nikhat Zareen, 25, boxed her way to win Gold at the Women’s World Boxing Championship, 52 kg Category, thrashing Thailand’s Jitpong James. Nikhat hardly seemed to break into a sweat. And showed she had a good pair of long hands – reaching and punching with precision. This year, the Championship was held in Istanbul, Turkey.

Nikhat is only the fifth Indian woman to achieve such punching glory. The others before her are: Mary Kom – a record 6 time Champion, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL, and Rekha KC.

She thanked her parents for doing all they possibly could, to make her a boxer. That’s the secret power layer inside the gloves!

Music

The Sounds of Ukraine

Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra sang won the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 amid a tidal wave of support and sympathy for the nation following Russia’s invasion. Ukraine’s song ‘Stefania’ beautifully mixed rap with elements of Ukrainian folk music to create the winning numbers – awarded a staggering 492 points by the jurors.

The UK also had an exciting night, as Sam Ryder had a considerable lead at the halfway point and placed second overall with his song, ‘Space Man’. This is the highest rank the UK has reached, since 1998

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, welcomed the victory, and said ‘we will do our best’ to one day host the contest in the now battered port city of Mariupol. Zelenskiy and the Kalush Orchestra synchronised to harmoniously sing, ‘any victory is meaningful for Ukraine at this time’. That sure rings a bell. Stefania mom mom Stefania!

War

Mariupol Goes

Russia appears to have scored a victory, gaining complete control of the Ukraine’s south-eastern port city of Mariupol. It’s Russia’s first major win (I hate to call it that) since the start of its unwarranted, crazy invasion.

Ukrainian said its troops have ‘fulfilled’ their combat goals in Mariupol.

The mission to defend the Azovstal steel complex in Mariupol from Russian forces ended on Monday, as over 900 fighters, some seriously wounded, have been evacuated. Ukranian forces holed-up in the Steel Works began the process of surrendering. President Zelensky said, ‘Ukraine needs its heroes alive’. The sprawling four square mile complex is a maze of tunnels designed to survive a nuclear war.

Entering NATO

This week Finland and Sweden, after remaining neutral for decades, decided to join the defensive North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and formally sent their applications. Russia’s President shouted hoarse against the move while Turkey – already a NATO member- said it would block their entry, accusing the Nordic countries of harbouring terrorists-Kurdish militants -wanted by Turkey.

To join NATO all 30 existing member countries must unanimously agree that a new country can join. Now, that’s a battle looming ahead. Everyone wants their pound of flesh!

Please Yourself

A Matter of Faith

Gyanvapi means the ‘well of knowledge’ derived from the Sanskrit ‘Gyan’-knowledge and ‘Vapi’- Well. The name itself says it all?

The temple town of Varanasi, on the banks of the River Ganges in India’s Uttar Pradesh State, is considered the oldest living city in the world, with 3500 years of documented history: it is also called Kashi, the most sacred place of Hinduism in India.

The Gyanvapi mosque stands next to the iconic Kashi Vishwanath Temple – dedicated to Lord Shiva – in Varanasi. It acquired its name from an adjoining waterbody-holy well. It was constructed by the ‘last effective Mughal Emperor’, Aurangzeb, in 1669 upon demolition of an older Shiva temple -a Vishweshwar Temple, at the spot. The facade was modelled partially on the Taj Mahal’s entrance; the original plinth of the temple was left largely untouched and continued to serve as the courtyard of the mosque, while the southern wall-along with its cusped arches, exterior moldings and toranas (a gateway)-was turned into the Qibla Wall (the wall that faces Mecca). To this day, there are many surviving external elements of the original temple. A well-preserved sketch, by a James Prinsep, in the British Library, in London, has the original caption titled ‘Temple Of Vishveshwur, Benaras’, referring to the ‘Gyanvapi Mosque site’.

Temple priests were allowed to reside in the premises and exercise their privileges on issues of Hindu pilgrimage. The desecrated site-especially the plinth-became a popular hub for Hindu pilgrims from across the country.

In the late eighteenth century, the British East India Company gained direct control of Benares ousting the then Nawab Rulers. And in 1780, Maratha Queen Ahilyabai Holkar constructed the present Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the immediate south of the mosque. However, this had a markedly different spatial configuration and was ritually inconsistent. This was after many, before the Queen, had failed to build and fully restore the Kasi Temple to its historic glory. The original Shiva Lingam was supposedly hidden by the Temple priests inside the Gyanvapi well during Aurangzeb’s raid: the plinth continued to be considered as more sacred than the new temple by pilgrims for well over a century- into the early 1900s-before the present Kashi Vishwanath temple succeeded in installing itself as the central component of pilgrimage routes.

A flashback: A Jyotirlinga or Jyotirlingam, is a devotional representation of the Hindu God Shiva: it is a Sanskrit compound of jyotis ‘radiance’ and linga. There are 64 original Jyotirlinga shrines in India, 12 of which are most sacred and called the Maha Jyotirlingam (The Great Jyotirlingas). At all these sites, the primary image is lingam (or Shiva Lingam) representing the beginning-less and endless stambha pillar, symbolising the infinite nature of Lord Shiva. A stambha (tower in English) is a pillar or column which in the context of Hindu mythology, it is believed to be a cosmic column that functions as a bond, joining heaven and earth.

During the past 100 years, the Gyanvapi compound has been fiercely contested by Hindus and Muslims alike with each side ‘investing their faith’ in the well, the mosque, or the temple.

In the year 1991, a title dispute suit was filed in a Varanasi Court for handing over the site to Hindus. The court-case remained pending for about 22 years, before the advocate of the 1991 petition re-filed another plea requesting for an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) study of the mosque-complex. This was on the same grounds that it was a temple that existed for thousands of years -since the reign of King Vikramaditya.

The Gyanvapi Mosque Management Committee, Anjuman Intezamia Masjid (AIM) acting as the Defendant denied the claims and rejected that Aurangzeb demolished a temple to construct the mosque.

On 8 April 2021 the Varanasi Court ordered the ASI to conduct the survey, which was subsequently stayed by the Courts, on a petition by AIM.

Coming over to this year, 2022, the Varanasi Civil Court is in the process of hearing a petition by five Hindu woman who claim there are idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in the Gyanvapi Mosque complex. They had petitioned the court to allow daily prayers before idols on its outer walls as well as other ‘visible and invisible deities within the old temple complex. The site is currently open for prayers once a year. The Court ordered a video assessment of the mosque complex, including three domes, underground basements and the pond, and appointed court commissioners for the task. This happened soon after India’s Supreme Court refused to stay the video assessment, when the matter came before it.

The assessment was completed, and certain images were leaked to the media-without the Court’s permission. The Surveyor who leaked the photos was promptly sacked and a Report of the findings submitted to the Court.

Late this week, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the Places of Worship Act 1991 cannot determine the religious character of a place nor does it prohibit ascertaining such character.

What is The Places of Worship Act 1991? It’s an Act enacted by India’s Parliament that provides for the maintenance of the religious character of a place of worship, as it existed on 15 August 1947. And prohibits conversion of any place of worship after such character is known. The disputed site of Ayodhya was exempted as the case on its ownership was in the Courts at that time.

The Supreme Court completed its ruling by transferring the case to the Varanasi District judge, as being local they are best capable of making a decision; noting that the ‘selective leaks’ of the survey report must stop.

Lots of action up ahead, but people need to get together and be friends for life.

More hidden stories will be unearthed in the weeks to come. Judge for yourself with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-19

About: the world this week, 8 May to 14 May 2022, Tiger country burning, Laws of motion, going under-cover, re-unification dreams, climbing the highest mountain, a forbidden country isolates, bongbong country, and Dinosaurs that went extinct.

Everywhere

Sri Lanka: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

Early in the week Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister (PM), Mahindra Rajapaksa, resigned following severe unrest when crowds went on a deadly rampage across the country. His ancestral home was set on fire, along with his superb Lamborghini car collection; a gold statue of the father of the Rajapaksa brothers was pulled-down reminding us of other fallen statues across the world. People are running wild on the streets and shoot-on-sight orders issued in the State of Emergency already declared. The protestors are demanding the President also resign and that the Rajapaksa family returns whatever they have looted, to the country’s coffers.

No other political dynasty, in this part of the world, as been as nepotistic as the Rajapakasha clan. During Mahindra Rajapaksa’s second term as President from 2010 to 2015, there were more than 40 Rajapaksa family members in government posts, apart from the cabinet.

When he was a first time President, Mahindra Rajapaksa earned his stars, comprehensively destroying the ruthless terrorist organization, The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), ending a 30 year horrible, bloody civil war that ravaged Sri Lanka. That unbelievable victory gave him something of a Demi-God status and perhaps went too deep into his head. He took Sri Lanka away from India’s ‘Elephant cool’ friendliness into China’s ‘fire-breathing Dragon’, doing loan-wrecking business with them. Among the many reasons touted, the tragedy unfolding in Sri Lanka is directly the result of persistent trade deficits and accumulated debt. And Sri Lanka has little leverage over its creditors: a victim of unbalanced globalisation?

Late in the week, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, appointed a new PM, Ranil Wickremesinghe, a 73 years old lawyer-turned politician who has been in Parliament for 45 years. He is the 26th PM of Sri Lanka and has made a remarkable come-back nearly two years after his United National Party was routed and failed to win a single seat in the general election held in August 2020. Sri Lanka would need to squeeze all his experience to crank its economic engine again. India’s Uttar Pradesh State has a double-engine economy, and maybe it could spare an engine? Ask India!

Talk about putting out the fire of the Tiger and starting a new fire!

Ukraine and the Laws of Motion.

I was watching a talk with best-selling Ukrainian Author Andrey Kurkov, known for his satirical ‘Death and the Penguin’ and ‘Grey Bees’, tell us about the situation in Ukraine. He has stopped writing fiction as there are so many real stories to write about during this unprovoked Russian aggression in Ukraine. He is devoting his time to writing and explaining what’s happening in the country, has refused to leave Ukraine, and lives in the capital Kyiv, travelling all across to listen and record tales.

He made a roaring point when he said Russia and Ukraine are very different. Ukrainians know the meaning of Freedom, experience and savour it, while Russians look for quiet stability and do not understand true freedom-or, it does not matter to them at all. Ukrainians have had five Presidents during the near about 22 years rule of Russia’s Vladimir Putin (as either Prime Minister or President). He added that the only way the war could be stopped is by the ‘death of Putin’ and if a Russian Oligarch takes over, the war could end sooner, whereas if a politician leads it could be more complex.

Newton’s famous Laws of Motion say that a body in motion tends to be in motion – endlessly enjoying the ride – while a static body tends to stay put – endlessly enjoying sitting it out – unless forces act upon them.

Now we know where the Russian and Ukrainian forces are acting – or must act! Do we have to force Newton to do something? Apple it out?

Under Cover in Afghanistan

It’s raining narrow-minded Islamic law interpretation in Afghanistan and the covers have been rolled out with the ruling Taliban moving to strictly and harshly enforce the full-body covering of women, in public.

Under the Taliban’s previous rule from 1996 to 2001, women had to cover up, could not work, and girls were banned from school. But after seizing power in August 2021, they vowed to respect women’s rights. Some even said they may turn the proverbial ‘new leaf’!

However, the Taliban backtracked on opening high school for girls, saying they would remain closed until a plan was drawn up in accordance with Islamic law- including design of suitable uniforms for the girls. Then late last week the Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, said that if a woman did not cover her face outside home, her father or closest male relative would be visited and face potential prison or firing from Government jobs, if working for them.

Meanwhile, it more than 238 days since girls have been locked out of school – denied education-while the academic year surges ahead. And this is one of the biggest human rights violation anywhere in the World. The World needs to uncover its mouth, face the Taliban, and speak up for the girls!

Northern Ireland… Belfast…Belfast

The Political Party, Sinn Fein, led by Michelle O’Neill and Mary Lou MCDonald won a stunning election in the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections for the first time pushing the Democratic Unionist Party into second place. Sinn Fein is a nationalist party that wants Northern Ireland-capital, Belfast-to leave the United Kingdom (UK) and reunite with the independent Republic of Ireland-capital, Dublin. This means that Michelle O’Neil will be entitled to become a First Minister in the UK, which is unprecedented for a nationalist.

The title of First Minister is used to refer to the political leader of a devolved national government, such as the administrations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The term literally has the same meaning as Prime Minister but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior Prime Minister.

The Northern Ireland Act 1988, states that Northern Ireland remains a part of the United Kingdom and shall not cease to be so without the majority of Northern Ireland voting in a poll.

This victory does not mean Irish reunification – also known as a Border Poll – would be imminent. But you never know. We need to watch this border space – first to last.

Mounting Mount Everest: Kami Rita and Lhakpa

Mount Everest in the Himalayan Mountain Range is Planet Earth’s highest mountain on land, soaring to a majestic 8,848 metres(m) above sea level. And for many, it epitomises the greatest challenge Earth has to offer: climbing it and touching the peak is a crowing achievement in a mountaineer’s life. Mount Everest is also known as ‘Chomolungma’, and ‘Sagarmatha’.

Remember, the tallest Mountain on Earth is Mauna Kea in Hawaii, USA measuring 10,205m from its base on the sea floor to its peak – 4,205m above sea level.

Mount Everest was first ascended-conquered- on 29 May 1953, by New Zealand’s Edmund Hilary and Tibet’s Tenzing Norgay. Since then, nearly 6,000 people have followed in their footsteps. And more than 300 people have died trying to scale Mount Everest.

Nepal’s Kami Rita Sherpa (Thapke), 49, has made the most ascends by any individual, scaling the peak 24 times.

This week, Sagarmatha grew warmer, with Nepal’s / USA’s Lhakpa Sherpa, all of 48 years, climbing Mount Everest for the 10th time, thereby becoming the first ever Woman in the World to achieve this stunning feat. Her first ascent to the peak was on 18 May 2000.

The Guinness Book of World Records recognises the Himalayan achievements of Thapke and Lhakpa Sherpa.

Lhakpa, a Nepalese single mother was born in a cave, had no formal education, and worked as a janitor. Climbing climbs in her blood. She had grown-up living within sight of Everest, and began portering ever since she was 15 years old, carrying heavy mountaineering gear between camps in the Himalayas. She lived in a village more than 4,000m above sea level in the Makalu region of Eastern Nepal. And is a member of the Sherpa ethnic group, descended from nomadic Tibetans, who are used to living in hostile high altitudes.

She married United States (US) based, Romanian-born climber George Dijmarescu, moved to the US, and and scaled the peak with him five times. But the relationship ended in acrimonious divorce in 2015. Lhakpa now lives in Connecticut, US, with her two daughters. She also has a son from a previous relationship. During her initial expeditions she used to plant the Nepali flag at the summit. This time, she carried the US flag.

During her 2003 climb, she was joined by her brother and sister, becoming the first three siblings simultaneously on an 8,000m high mountain.

Initially her achievements failed to attract media attention and sponsors. For many years she was lived unrecognised, and worked for minimum wage, taking up jobs such as caring for the elderly, house cleaning, and dish washing. I do hope she climbs up these mountains as well. That’s quite a height!

Bongbong Philippines

The Philippines is an archipelagic country consisting of about 7,640 islands in Southeast Asia, in the Western Pacific Ocean. It once went by the name of Las Felipinas, until the great Portuguese Explorer, Ferdinand Magellan whose then sailing expeditions was sponsored by Spain, came along and claimed the country for Spain in 1521. He named the country ‘Philippines’ after King Philip II of Spain. It was under Spanish rule for 333 years and under the control of the United States for a further 48 years before being let loose as an independent Republic.

Ferdinand Marcos, a horribly corrupt Dictator, once ruled Philippines with an iron fist for about 20 years, in the 1970’s and 1980’s. His rule was marked by human rights abuses and plunder of the state coffers. In 1986 he was toppled by a popular uprising, the People Power Revolution, and forced to leave Philippines in disgrace. American helicopters airlifted the family from the Malacanang Palace to Guam, then into exile in Hawaii, as protesters populated the streets.

Crowds stormed the abandoned palace and were shocked by the extent of the family’s opulence: grand artworks, boxes of gold coins, lavish jewellery, hundreds of gowns, and, infamously, an enormous collection of designer shoes belonging to the then first lady, Imelda Marcos.

Ferdinand Marcos Sr died in Hawaii in 1989. Several of his family members, including his wife Imelda, have since returned to the Philippines where they have served as elected leaders.

Enter Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of former disgraced President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. He has won the 2022 Philippine Presidential election by a landslide bringing the Marcos dynasty back to the Malacanang Palace, 36 years after the family fled the mass uprising. Marcos Jr’s running mate for Vice President is Sara Duterte Carpio, the daughter of populist outgoing leader Rodrigo Duterte. Many of their supporters are voting to see a continuation of Duterte’s policies, including his controversial ‘war on drugs’. Philippines elects its Vice President separately from the President.

Known as ‘Bongbong’ (a childhood nickname) in the Philippines, Marcos Jr’s rise is the culmination of a decades long attempt to rebrand the Marcos family’s name and image, most recently through social media. He tied his campaign to his father’s legacy, with his slogan ‘rise again’ tapping into the nostalgia of some who saw the period under Marcos Sr as a golden era for the country.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr was educated in the Philippines and at a boarding school in England. He studied politics, philosophy, and economics at Oxford, but, did not complete a degree course and was awarded a special diploma in social sciences.

After University, Marcos Jr became the vice-governor of his home province, Ilocos Norte, on the north-western tip of Luzon, at the age of 23 and later Governor. He was 29 when his father was ousted. In later years Marcos Jr began to re-establish his political career, again becoming Governor in Ilocos Norte, the family’s stronghold, a Congressman, and a then a Senator. In 2016, he ran for Vice-President, but lost.

Marcos is married to Louise Araneta-Marcos (Liza), a Lawyer, with whom he has three sons. He has been unapologetic about his family’s past and has downplayed or denied abuses under his father’s rule. He praised his father as a ‘political genius’, and his mother Imelda Marcos as the dynasty’s ‘supreme politician’.

On winning, he said, “Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions. It is my promise to be a President for all Filipinos”. Well said. He needs to keep that promise. And mind those shoes!

The Forbidden Country

During the Covid19 pandemic there was one country which claimed it was unaffected by the virus: its splendid isolation status suited it well. And it went about the ‘business as usual’ of testing missiles. North Korea had insisted it had not recorded a single Covid19 case since it closed its borders at the start of the pandemic, more than two years ago. That move cut off trade with China and inflicted severe damage on an economy already battered by, among others, UN sanctions imposed in response to its nuclear and missile tests. That’s up to now.

This week North Korea announced an ‘explosive’ Covid19 outbreak that has killed six people and infected more than 350,000, prompting fears of an impending and deadly crisis in the isolated and impoverished nation. This comes a day after the country reported its first-ever coronavirus case, calling the situation a ‘major national emergency.’

Experts believe none-or very few-of the country’s 26 million people have been vaccinated, and there are growing fears that a significant outbreak would quickly overwhelm the country’s poorly equipped health services. North Korea has shunned offers of Covid vaccines from China and Russia, and via the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Covax scheme, apparently because administering the jabs would require outside monitoring. The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, ordered a nationwide lockdown on Thursday, calling the outbreak the ‘gravest national emergency’.

Will they launch a missile to finish off the virus? I worry about the mutations – being a largely unvaccinated country. Glad, they are isolated!

Please Yourself

The Asteroid that Finished-Off the Dinosaurs

It’s widely accepted that the Dinosaur Era on Earth ended when a giant asteroid, about the size of a mountain, hit our Earth 66 million years ago – a turning point in the history of the planet – causing Dinosaurs to go extinct. This was at the end of the Cretaceous Period. Until then, Dinosaurs had been living on Earth for near about 230 million years! Worth juxtaposing: the human species is about 2.5 million years old and surviving modern humans, Homo Sapiens, are only about 13,000 years old.

There were about a thousand species of Dinosaurs at that time and not a single species was left alive – they just vanished in the thin air.

Now a tiny fragment of that disastrous asteroid may have been found encased in amber – a discovery that US’s NASA has described as ‘mind-blowing’. It’s one of several astounding finds at a unique fossil site in the Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota that has preserved remnants of the cataclysmic moment that wiped out Dinosaurs. The fossils unearthed include fish that sucked in debris blasted out during the strike, a turtle impaled with a stick, and a leg that might have belonged to a Dinosaur that witnessed the asteroid strike.

The story of the discoveries is being revealed in a new documentary called ‘Dinosaur Apocalypse’ which features naturalist Sir David Attenborough and paleontologist Robert DePalma and airs Wednesday on the Public Broadcasting Show (PBS) show ‘Nova’- a popular American science television program.

More stories rising-up in the weeks to come. Navigate and explore with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-18

About: the world this week, 1 May to 7 May 2022, heat of the weather and the dust of war, Glamour girls, unwanted babies, and WHO statistics on who died.

Everywhere

Heat & Dust

This week rolled by with temperatures flaring up across India with a blistering heat wave frying people in the country. In a way, to escape the heat, India’s Prime Minister made his first overseas visit of the year, starting with Germany, then Denmark and finally France. He drummed up support for India to wild cheers by the Indian diaspora, bear-hugged leaders, made sweet-soft, one-to-one conversations, dined with royalty on fine cutlery, and went on an Agreement signing spree to do better business and improve India’s beat in the World. The Indian head is high in the clouds, for sure!

Meanwhile, India’s favourite, entertainment-filled Congress Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi slipped in to nearby Nepal to attend a Friend’s Wedding and shake a leg. He was seen in a Pub with a Nepali woman- a friend of the bride- looking in his typical empty wild-eyed manner at the ceiling and wondering where the disco lights came from. Initially, there was some speculation that the woman was a Chinese diplomat, maybe an Ambassador.Is there something he can do right, after all? Pappu can dance!

The Russia-Ukraine War now concentrated on the Eastern part of the Ukraine is tanking on and this week Russia could not get its iron hands fully on the throats of Ukrainians, resisting-refusing to rust-from inside the Azovstal Steel and Iron Works. Russia had asked them to surrender, but the steely resolve is still under production.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke of Hitler the Dictator, as having some jewish blood in him. And attracted quick-fire condemnation from Israel (they are always on an unmatched alertness), and later in the week an apology – yes an expression of regret-from the Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. He apologized for comments that his Foreign Minister made about Hitler and Jews, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Israel, in turn promptly accepted the apology and thanked the President for clarifying Russia’s stance towards the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust.

Glamour at its Weirdest Best

I spoke about what the Met Gala is about, last year in September, https://kumargovindan.wordpress.com/2021/09/18/world-inthavaaram-2021-38/

This year the notoriously exclusive Met Gala red carpet happened on Monday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

This year’s theme was ‘Glided Glamour and White Tie’ centering around the lavish era of American fashion in the last decades of the 19th century when industrialisation rapidly amplified the country’s wealth gap. During this age you were what your wore and it was a period when branding dished out from fashion houses was a novel concept.

The glamorous Reality TV star Kim Kardashian appeared in a sparkling skin-tight, body shaping gown -adorned with over 6000 hand sewn crystals-once worn by Marlyn Monroe when she famously sang, ‘Happy Birthday to President John F Kennedy, in 1962’. The iconic dress was loaned to Kardashian by ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not’, a museum and events franchise that purchased the gown in an auction in 2016. And believe it or not, Kardashian had to lose about 7 kg to get her hour glass-curves et all- into the dress. Alterations were not allowed and it was almost impossible to walk with such as tight-fitting dress, but she was kept about upright by her holding partner. And of course Kim Kardashian later changed in to a replica of the original dress, for an easier cat walk…breathe easy!

Another sensation was Winter Olympian Eileen Gu, Skier and Model, who attended wearing a figure hugging Louis Vuitton mini-dress. Born and raised in California, 18 years old Gu switched her sporting allegiance to her mother’s home country China ahead of this year’s Beijing Winter Olympics. She became the youngest Olympic champion in freestyle skiing after winning gold in ‘big air’ and ‘halfpipe’, and a sliver medal in ‘slope style’ events.

American model Kaia Gerber -the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford- appeared in a gilded and gorgeous vintage Alexander McQueen outfit. Kaia’s gown featured cutouts on her torso, a slight sheer skirt, and silvers jewels dripping from top to bottom. That had the men’s saliva dripping all over the red carpet!

Rapper Cardi B came in a Versace dress – chain embellished, which was made from a mile of golden chains. American Actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens wore an elegant black sheer Moschino gown and looked like she would take a butterfly flight any moment. Ex-US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton turned up with all her wrinkles on display, in a custom Jospeh Altuzarra design featuring the embroidered names of 60 women who inspire her.

What about India?

The Executive Director of the Serum Institute of India (SII), entrepreneur-philanthropist, Natasha Poonawalla 40, wife of Head of SII, Adar Poonawalla, was the sole Indian presence at the Gala. She made a stunning appearance, wearing a gold handcrafted printed tulle sari and trail by celebrity Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. The trail was embroidered with silk floss thread and embellished with bevel beads, semi-precious stones, crystals, sequins and applique printed velvet.

The World’s richest man Elon Musk, who continues to hog the news, arrived in Tom Ford with his mother, the model Maye Musk who was wearing Doir.

Stars Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds, who are two of this year’s co-chairs, totally ruled the red carpet. Blake Lively turned heads in a metallic, colourful Versace gown that truly embodied the ‘Gilded Glamour’ theme.

The gala was a riot of imagination running footloose and beauty spiked and flowed in many dimensions.

To Keep or Not to Keep

The United States of America is struggling to keep some parts of its freedom, especially on women’s rights. India for one, is far ahead – for more you can read my post,

https://kumargovindan.wordpress.com/2021/01/02/world-inthavaaram-2021-01/.

Decades ago, in 1973, in a path breaking landmark decision, in what is called the Roe vs Wade case, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled that women have a constitutional right to an abortion – a pregnant woman can choose to have an abortion without excessive government intervention: in the 1 to 12 weeks (1st trimester) the Govt cannot prohibit abortions; in 13 to 26 weeks (2nd trimester) the Govt might impose health regulations; and after 27 weeks the Govt can step-in and entirely prohibit an abortion.

But, in an unprecedented leak of a draft ruling, the SCOTUS appears to be veering around to overturning the Roe vs Wade decision and also another, called the Planned Parenthood vs Casey: the 1992 decision that affirmed the right to an abortion and protected women from dealing with undue burdens trying to get them.

The final ruling in expected in June or July this year, and could it be that this rare leak is a test, to study the reaction?

Wonder what’s being impregnated in the US?

Who Died?

The World Health Organization (WHO) says the the pandemic wiped off nearly 15 million people worldwide. The total deaths officially reported across the World is 5.4 million and WHO believes that the extra 9.5 million deaths were direct deaths caused by the virus rather than indirect deaths. The WHO says many countries, including India, undercounted the numbers who died from Covid.

India countered that the WHO’s calculating methodology and modelling was horribly wrong for India. WHO’s estimate of 47.4 Lakh Covid related deaths in India in 2020 and 2021 is not in keeping with overall death data, historical trends in death reporting, and Covid death compensation (an incentive to report) from States. On an average about 83.5 Lakh people died every year in the last decade and a half (without the pandemic). And India’s death toll for a year has never been below 80 Lakh since 2007. WHO’s calculations put the non-covid deaths at 73 Lakh!

The measure used by the WHO is called excess deaths – how many more people died than would normally be expected based on mortality in the same area before the pandemic hit. These calculations also take into account deaths which were not directly because of Covid but instead caused by its knock-on effects, like people being unable to access hospitals. It also accounts for poor record-keeping in some regions, and sparse testing at the start of the crisis.

A Statistician from Seattle’s University of Washington says, “We urgently need better data collection systems. It is a disgrace that people can be born, and die – and we have no record of their passing”.

I wish the United Nations can measure up and show the same WHO calculated intensity in bringing around Russia to stop this horrific war in Ukraine. How about it counting itself in, networking with World Leaders and modelling a ‘satyagraha’ to stop the war?

More gilded, glamorous stories will cat-walk in the weeks to come. Dress-up with World Inthavaaram. And keep the count.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-17

About: the world this week, 24 April to 30 April 2022, War down a rabbit hole, Love in France, the musk is on Twitter, and India surround stories.

Everywhere

The War in Ukraine

We know that Russia has quietly retreated from the Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, three weeks ago, with its tail firmly between its legs-with only limited scope for wagging. And now it seems ferociously focussed, showing teeth, on capturing Eastern Ukraine-the whole of the Donbas region. Goals keep changing everyday- as do the goal posts-and I wonder where this dog-war is headed.

Reminds me of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ when Alice comes to a no-signs cross-road at which is perched, a Rabbit. Alice asks the Rabbit, “where do these roads go?” The Rabbit replies with a question, “where do you want to go?” Alice says, “I don’t know”. Then, any road will take you there – says the wise Rabbit.

Russia has fallen down a rabbit hole and Putin is in the Wonderland of War – any guesses on which road he is taking? Ask the rabbit, or the Russian bear, if you can find one?

Ukrainian forces have been holding the line in Donbas since 2014, against Russian-backed separatists. Now they are struggling and still holding a 500 km front, but what was sporadic fighting then has now turned into a full-blown war. They’ve already lost ground to the Russians and are likely to lose more in the days ahead.

Has Russia learnt from, what war-experts called, its early mistakes? It is a fact that they’re now fighting on fewer fronts, and under a more seemingly unified command.

Meanwhile, Russia claims to have conquered the port city of Mariupol, but The Azovstal Steel and Iron Works has become the scene of a desperate last stand against Russia’s invading forces.

Azovstal was a major player on the global stage, producing 4 million tons of steel annually and exporting the majority across the globe. Now, its residents are showing they too are made of steel. And for weeks now, the world has been gripped by the battle raging over the steelworks on the coast of the Sea of Azov. A pocket of Ukrainian fighters entrenched at the plant has become a symbol of the country’s unwavering resistance in the face of an enemy that far outnumbers them.

Germany had come under severe criticism, that despite making the right sounds in the beginning it has failed to follow through with measurable action in helping Ukraine. Over the previous weeks the drumbeats had grown louder. And this week, Germany made two big announcements: First, Germany is sending about 50 Gepard Air-Defense Tanks to help Ukraine repel Russian attacks. Second, they’ll be training Ukrainian soldiers on German soil.

The Gepard Tank is a favourite among military experts due to the ease of use of the two-cannon flak setup, mounted on a Leopard tank chassis. And especially when one is looking for a no-frills defence against drones.

Russia is breathing out fire and fury with endless ‘will attack’ threats to those supplying arms and other assistance to Ukraine. To show it means business, this week Russia turned off the gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria. Russian energy giant Gazprom did it. In turn the European Union (EU) accused Russia of using energy to try to blackmail countries supporting Ukraine.

While this crazy war is being fought, ever thought about what’s happening to the refugees leaving Ukraine? The UN says that as of 25 April, more than 5.2 million people have left Ukraine. Refugees are also crossing to neighbouring countries to the west, mostly Poland which has taken in 2,922,978 refugees. Romania did 782,598 refugees, Hungary 496,914, Moldova 435,275, Slovakia 357,560, and the war-monger Russia itself has taken 614,318 refugees with its side-kick, Belarus doing 24,578.

At the end of the week, Putin had a ‘so-near, yet so far, ridiculously long table meeting’ with the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, where he continued to rationalise his actions and ‘showed the wrong way to a place you cannot go’. The UN Chief returned with little hope of any imminent end to the war. Later in the week he also visited Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, to see first-hand the destruction caused by Russia. In the background Russian missiles whizzed past in a fresh attack. Is that a sign of belligerence?Wonder what the impotent UN will do: can it ever find its Cannon Balls?

The Sound of Macron

This Sunday, France voted to elect a new President and it wisely decided to love-back the incumbent President, Emmanuel Macron. Five years ago, Macron, a Centrist beat Marine Le Pen, a far-rightist, with 66% of the vote. Then at 39, he became France’s youngest leader, since Napoleon.

This time Macron beat the same Le Pen with a narrower margin of 58.5 to 41.5% and became the first French leader to get re-elected in two decades. But over 13 million people in France still voted for the far-right. And 28% of voters decided to stay home, the highest percent to abstain in over 50 years. That’s not something to sing about.

Macron has been trying to attract foreign businesses, set up carbon taxes, and reform France’s social programs. But, hundreds of thousands of protesters disagreed. To compound France’s problems COVID19 and inflation wrecked havoc on the economy and it seemed that the French were prepared to do what they do best: kick out incumbents to the sidewalk. But, this time, for a change, it did not.

Le Pen’s party’s previous leader (Le Pen’s father) infamously dismissed the Holocaust as a ‘detail’ of history. Le Pen pitched voters on a platform that was, anti-immigrant, pro-tax cuts, targets Muslims, and weakens the EU. She has also cozied up to Russian President Vladimir Putin. With her loss, the EU is breathing a sigh of relief. Le Pen conceded but is calling her gains, a ‘shining victory.’ Meanwhile, Macron acknowledged the anger of those who voted against him: needs to write better music!

Let’s recall the stuff that Macron is made-up of.

Emmanuel Macron is married to Brigitte Trogneux, 24 years his senior, and his former High School teacher. They met during a theatre workshop that she was conducting when he was a 15 years old student and she a 39 years old teacher. And he was also a classmate of Brigitte’s daughter, sharing a bench with her. The student and Teacher fell in love with each other, but they only became a couple once Macron turned 18- as the law would allow. His parents initially attempted to separate the couple by sending him away to Paris to finish the final year of his schooling, considering the inappropriateness of the relationship. However, the couple reunited after Macron graduated, and were married in 2007. Brigitte has three children from a previous marriage to a Banker, who she divorced. Macron has no children of his own and has lovingly taken up the role of being a step-father to Brigitte’s three children. One of his sons is older than Macron himself.

Macron is 44 going on 45 and Brigette is 68 going on 69 standing firm and rock solid behind her husband: needs someone older and wiser to tell him what to do for things beyond his ken… and to take care of him! That’s The Sound of Macron.

Tesla to Twitter

Elon Musk is one of the World’s best known Entrepreneur, investor, and business magnate. Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink, and OpenAI are some of the remarkable, innovative companies he has founded, or co-founded. He is almost always flying on the headlines. Perhaps reason why he decided to build a nest by buying micro-blogging site,Twitter. Oh, I tweet a lot!

This week, Elon Musk clinched a deal to buy Twitter Inc. for USD 44 billion in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to the world’s richest person.

Welcome to a not so boring Twitter SpaceT?

India: Harmony, Squirrels, and Troubled Neighbours

Last week India’s Jahangirpuri, in Delhi, saw violence break out between Muslims and Hindus during a procession on the occasion of Hindu God, Hanuman’s Birthday. At the beginning of the week, in a bid to set things right and spread a message of peace and communal harmony, around 200 residents of Jahangirpuri took out a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ (National Flag march) in the area, with shops and houses in the locality hoisting the tricolour to commemorate the event. India has a knack of getting back together in accordance with the hues of the national flag. And it always works!

In the South of India in Tamil Nadu’s Thanjavur district, Kalimedu, eleven people including three children were electrocuted when a Temple Chariot-Car procession touched the overhead high-voltage power supply lines. Appears that the temple car -also carrying a mobile Electricity Generator-was negotiating a turn when it lost balance and touched the wires. The Temple car procession is an annual event and Authorities should know what’s ‘up ahead’. One of the reasons doing the rounds is the that the Temple car height always remaining the same, the height of the road was increased without scrapping the old one – a corrupt contractor at his worst. I call this gross negligence of the highest degree. Unforgivable.

Tamilnadu State is already reeling under unannounced power-cuts, when the Minister Incharge of Electricity spends time, wasting taxpayers money, singing hosannas to the Chief Minister’s Actor and Film Producer son in the Assembly. And at other times he blames ‘nutty’ Squirrels for eating the wires leading to power-cuts! Wow – it all depends on a Squirrel!

In Myanmar, the thuggish Military Junta is still busy plastering cases on deposed leader and Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi . Recall, she had led Myanmar for five years before being forced out of power in a military coup, in early 2021. This week a court sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in jail after finding her guilty in the first of 11 corruption cases against her. She has been charged with at least 18 offenses, which carry combined maximum jail terms of nearly 190 years, if found guilty.

In Sri Lanka people are on the streets calling for the Government to quit over the poor handling of the economy leading to the unprecedented crisis they are now facing. Trade Unions went on a strike asking the President to resign. However, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will go on, with 117 Members of Parliament pledging support to the Rajapaksa brothers. Last heard, the World Bank has agreed to provide Sri Lanka with USD 600 million to meet payment requirements for essential imports – with USD 400 million coming-in shortly!

More elected love stories will be squirrelled in the weeks to come. Teach well, vote for World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-16

About: the world this week, 17 April to 23 April 2022, a not-even-a-fly-can-escape kind of siege, the wind in the air, a champion of the Earth, and getting back your sleep.

Everywhere

I’ve tried to keep Ukraine off the headlines, but Russia’s abominable actions insist I keep it: no intimidation, though.

India struck a chord this week, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting that India is all set to bulldoze its way into becoming the fastest growing economy in 2022. IMF forecasts a GDP growth of 8.2% for India. India is a happening place. And despite all the noise there is a certain quietude in which you can go about your business.

The coronavirus is still around and cases are increasing in almost every state of United States and most parts of the world. Masking, physical distancing, and clever ventilation are the three mantras -in addition to the hand washing technique – we need to keep saying as often as possible.

The Last Man Standing

Near about 60 days of the Russia-Ukraine War and Russia is unable to gain control of any prominent city-primarily due to the fierce iron-resistance of the Ukrainians.

Last week Russia issued an ultimatum to surrender, to the last remaining Ukrainian troops holding out in the besieged port city of Mariupol, but it wasn’t heeded this week. The city has been facing a humanitarian catastrophe for weeks, as Russian tanks advanced pulverising everything in its path. The number of civilians killed is unknown.

Meanwhile, Russia’s President has ordered his troops to ‘put in place’ a ‘not-even-a-fly-can-escape siege of Mariupol.

The fall of Mariupol, the largest trading Port in the Azov Sea from which Ukraine exports grain, iron and steel, and heavy machinery, would be an economic blow to Ukraine and a strategic victory for Russia, connecting territory it holds in Donbas with Crimea it annexed in 2014: all stolen from Ukraine. Expect Russia to announce the ‘Liberation of Mariupol’, should they succeed.

In what is being called Phase-II of the Russian Invasion, an offensive in the eastern Donbas region is underway. The stated goal of the invader is to secure all of Ukraine’s eastern regions parts of which Russian-backed separatists have controlled since 2014. Another aim seems to be to crush the remaining resistance in Mariupol to consolidate a land bridge linking the Russian region of Rostov with Crimea.

The battle of Kyiv may be over, at least for now, but the battle of Donbas is becoming more intense and the West needs to keep pumping weapons into Ukraine to sustain the fight, while saluting the bravery of Ukrainians.

The Ukrainians have shown themselves to be canny tacticians in this conflict, ceding territory to preserve resources, but using their knowledge of the land and their mobility to inflict heavy losses on Russian units.

At this stage, Ukraine has its tails up. And I wish they capture a big victory in this senseless, inhuman war started by Russia.

Hanuman and Jahangirpuri

Hanuman is introduced to us in the Epic Ramayana. He is a wholesome devotee of Lord Rama and is his constant companion in the Epic; is a central character first befriending Rama, realising his divinity, and then helping Rama find and rescue Sita. In those days without GPS and Google how does one find a missing person? Hanuman did it with his special powers. And could have grabbed Sita and brought her back to Rama, but Sita insisted Rama do it.

Rama, we know, was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu who lived on Earth to show and set an example of how to rule righteously and teach people to voluntarily follow rules.

Hanuman, elevated to God Status also appears in the Mahabharata-as a retired Ram Bakth – where Rama returns to Earth in the avatar of Krishna. He can be seen in a miniature form nonchalantly perched on the flagstaff of Arjuna’s chariot, driven by Krishna, during the great Mahabharata war. It was a promise he made to his half-brother Bhima-to watch over Arjuna. Krishna and Hanuman do not fight in the war using any kind of weapons and remain mostly neutral watching the ultimate triumph of good over evil, first-hand, in close quarters. Hanuman is also the brother of Bhima-both being sons of the Wind God, Vayu.

Over the years, Hanuman’s stature has reached great heights in India – with many statues coming up all over the country, close to the wind of his father.

Hanuman is a divine Vanara (monkey) with supernatural powers which even Lord Rama does not have: He has immeasurable strength, cannot be burnt by fire, cannot be harmed by water, can shrink his size or hulk it at will, can move to any place he wishes to without restraint, and can fly like the wind. Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Iron-Man, Hulk…all in one. He has a special weapon called Gada, a mace – a round end mounted on a shaft made of wood or metal. Typically, wrestlers use the Gada and worship Hanuman for wrestling strength.

Legend says that Hanuman-the son of the Wind God Vayu and Anjana, a nymph-as a child when hungry sees the moon red in the sky, and thinking it to be a ripe fruit leaps up to grab and eat it. Indra, the Kings of Gods seeing the danger to the Moon, strikes him down with his thunderbolt and child Hanuman falls dead on Earth with a broken jaw. Angry on what happened to his dear son, Vayu withdraws all the air on Earth forcing Lord Shiva to step in and resuscitate Hanuman to life, to save mankind. The Gods then rush to pacify Vayu, loading Hanuman with various supernatural boons in the process. The best part is with all his mind-boggling powers Hanuman is always subdued and plays the ultimate devotee to Lord Ram. Due to a curse, earned during his child prankster years on Sadhus and Sages, he forgets and has to be reminded of his superpowers to be able to use them.

Two childhood images occupy the central space in my mind. One of Hanuman flying in the air, carrying a whole dug-up mountain when he cannot find Sanjeevani, a life-giving herb to cure a fatally wounded Lakshmana. And two, of him carrying Rama and Lakshmana on his shoulders while the two brothers shoot arrows in the war against Ravan’s evil.

The 16th April of every year is celebrated as the Birthday/Jayanti of Hanuman and worshipped to attain victory against evil and provide protection in the vicissitudes of life. It is typical to take out a procession on this day, which has been a practice over the years.

Jahangirpuri is a very dense and mixed, middle and low-income population locality situated in the North West District of (old) Delhi. It mainly holds Hindus and Muslims and some Punjabi and Sindhi communities living in harmony. There is also a considerable number of Rohingya Refugee Muslims settled here, over the years since the Rohingya crisis began in Myanmar. Jahangirpur is near Azadpur Mandi said to one of Asia’s largest fruit and vegetable wholesale market.

On 16th April in Jahangirpuri, a Hanuman Jayanti Procession was being taken out and when it passed a mosque, where Muslims were holding Ramadan prayers, trouble broke out this time. Stones were pelted and gun shots fired, triggering a violence in which nine people including a Police officer was injured. Both sides blame the other. The marchers say they came under an organised attack by Muslims, who threw stones and other objects from rooftops. Muslims say that Hindus yelled provocative slogans near the mosque, leading to an argument. The first stone, they said, came from the other side. However, some videos of the incident show that the, until then, peaceful procession was attacked from the rear, cascading to the violence. Many of us know how these begin and who starts the fire: over to the investigators to get to the bottom of the stone.

Delhi Police have arrested 23 people, mostly Muslims, including two juveniles. Five of the accused-including a the key conspirator- a Muslim, and another person who was seen on video firing a pistol during the clashes -face charges under the strict National Security Act.

A few days later on 19 April 2022 prompted by a complaint from a Party State President, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) issued a late-night order to demolish houses and shops on the street where the incident had occurred, claiming them to be encroachments into public areas. Bulldozers were called-in for the job and a rush approach to the Supreme Court resulted in a Stay to halt the proceedings: the court ordered the parties to cool their heels for two weeks- to consult with Lord Hanuman?

At Home in China

Carrying on from the previous infectious weeks, Shanghai continues to face the wrath of the coronavirus and is still reeling under a strict lockdown-fourth week running. Shanghai has recorded about 400,000 cases during this outbreak.

This week China adopted a strategy of moving COVID19 ‘tested negative’ (that’s awfully clever – the positives stay positive in their Homes) people to quarantine centres over 150 km away – relocating whole communities. They have done this before, moving entire populations, and they are hoping it works this time too. Residents were told to pack their belongings, leave their wardrobe doors open and also keep open the front door of their homes. Pets were disallowed from going with their owners: Authorities say they will be taken care of. Well, China sure is one helluva of a positive place to live in!

Champion of The Earth

Sir David Attenborough is a broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author, famous for writing and presenting, in conjunction with BBC’s The Natural History documentary series, the ‘Life Collection’, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth.

He is not to be confused with his bother Richard Attenborough best known for directing and producing the movie ‘Gandhi’ and also as the builder of ‘Jurassic Park’ in the movie of that name.

This week Sir David Attenborough was named a Champion of The Earth by the United Nations’ Environment Programme. The prestigious award recognises the 95 years old’s commitment to telling stories about the natural world and climate change.

Accepting the award, Sir David said the world must take action now to protect nature and the planet.

His celebrated documentaries including ‘The Green Planet’ and ‘A Plastic Ocean’.

Sir David said that environmental success stories should give us hope that change is possible. “Fifty years ago, whales were on the very edge of extinction worldwide. Then people got together and now there are more whales in the sea than any living human being has ever seen. We know what the problems are, and we know how to solve them. All we lack is unified action.” That’s well said.

Please Yourself

Netflix, which remains the world’s leading streaming service with more than 220 million subscribers has enjoyed uninterrupted quarterly growth in subscribers since October 2011. However this week, it admitted it was losing customers to rivals, while struggling to expand due to password sharing. Shares of Netflix have slumped by 35% after it revealed a sharp drop in subscribers and warned millions more are set to quit the streaming service.

It also said a decision to raise prices in key markets had cost it 600,000 subscribers in North America alone, while its exit from Russia over Ukraine lost it 700,000. This wiped more than USD 50billion off the firm’s market value as experts warned it faced a struggle to get back on track.

With rising inflation and household budgets becoming tighter, people are finding ways of reducing expenses including ‘fixing the net’. Or perhaps sleep being the only competitor to Netflix, people are re-discovering the benefits of sleeping?

More procession of stories marching up in the weeks ahead. Don’t pelt stones – the bulldozers may come after you. It’s safe to drive with World Inthavaaram. Sleep well and wake up to read.

This is my Blog where I essay stories on life about and around me, on subjects that stir and shake me up, as I turn, and make life's pages count: hoping to inspire you to live your own story!

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How to Murder Your Husband

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Melange

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The Forbidden Country

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The Asteroid that Finished-Off the Dinosaurs

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To Keep or Not to Keep

Who Died?

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Tesla to Twitter

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The Last Man Standing

Hanuman and Jahangirpuri

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Champion of The Earth

Please Yourself

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