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, 2022-06

About: the world this week, 6 February to 12 February 2022, a week which screamed and bursted at its seams in a frenzy of stories about roads, hijabs, oratory, nightingales, cricket, and the Oscar Award nominations.

Everywhere

Roads

Canada has a road-rage problem. Thousands of Canadians have hit the streets in trucks, tractors, cars, and on foot, clogging driveways to protest the Country’s Covid-19 restrictions. With persistent and noisy horn-honking, protesters are demanding lifting of health restrictions, including Covid-19 vaccine and mask mandates, lockdowns, and the kind. This is part of the ‘Freedom Convoy’, which was initially started by truckers protesting a mandate requiring drivers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated or face testing and quarantine requirements.

This week, the protestors stormed and blocked a key bridge that accounts for about 27% of the trade between the United States (US) and Canada. And one that serves as an auto-parts supply chain between the two countries. Well, there are no spare roads and no spare parts too.

While the truckers blocked roads in Canada, across the ‘key bridge’ and yonder border, it’s being revealed that the most dangerous way to travel in the US – roads – became even more deadly during the coronavirus pandemic: roadway deaths soared at the highest rate in recorded history.

Road safety advocates say the numbers match their experience along Maryland Route 210, a six-lane, largely straight stretch with busy business and residential intersections, south of the capital, Washington. It’s called Indian Head Highway, but some call it ‘the highway of death,’ due to dozens of fatal accidents on this highway, over the past decade. “We have roads that are designed for efficient travel, not for safety. These are preventable crashes”, says a Road Expert.

Safety recommendations include increasing enforcement and education campaigns; requiring vehicles to come with collision warning and automatic braking systems; and distracted driving policies that recognise even hands-free devices take a driver’s attention away from the road.

Hijab

It all started with a group of six girls suddenly deciding to wear the Hijab (head-scarf/head covering) to the Government Pre-University College for Girls in Udupi, Karnataka State, last December, when it was never done before. Their argument was, there was no clear instruction on not wearing a Hijab, hence why not? They claimed it was their right under the Indian Constitution. The College decided not to allow girls wearing a hijab and prevented them from entering the College, based on ‘uniform rules’ thinking, which power it owns for the making. Following this incident, in a tit-for-tat strike, a group of boys at the Government Pre-University College in Kundapur, also in Karnataka State, went to college sporting saffron shawls in protest against some girls attending classes wearing the hijab. With the issue spreading like wildfire across Karnataka, Schools and Colleges were shutdown – thanks to the lockdown technology we learnt over the past pandemic months.

The matter was then dragged to the Courts, when the Colleges had the authority to decide and should have simply enforced a uniform dress code -banning any religion proving outfits. The Courts said exactly that: no hijab or saffron shawl, until a more detail uncovering is done. Back to where we started.

We cannot allow religious practices to intrude into Education and it’s time India gets cracking on a Uniform Civil Code, which the Constitution says we must have.

Oratory, Elections

India’s Prime Minister hammered the Opposition to pulp, in fiery oratory, in the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament, defending his Government’s performance and schemes. His timing with the State of Goa was perfect-what with elections coming up- on it getting independence 15 years all other parts of India obtained theirs, and the ‘brother of a Nightingale’ hailing from Goa being chucked out of India’s Radio Station for reciting a freedom fighter’s poem-all in the Opposition ruled years.

The elections in India’s largest northern State of Uttar Pradesh, said to be the bellwether of National Elections in 2024, began on 10 February and will go up to 7 March 2022. It elects 403 members to the State Legislature. Votes will be counted and results declared on 10 March 2022.

Nightingales

Lata Mangeshkar, one of India’s biggest cultural icons and influential singer, called ‘The Nightingale of India’, died in Mumbai, aged 92, due to post-Covid-19 complications. Earlier, in January 2022, Lata was admitted to hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.

The Nightingale began singing since her teens and ended up defining music and melody for generations in a career spanning 73 years, delivering more than 15,000 songs across 36 languages. Her work in India’s Hindi film industry -Bollywood- made her a national icon.

Lata Mangeshkar has received several awards chief among them being, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award – India’s highest award in the field of cinema- in 1989. And the Bharat Ratna-India’s highest civilian honour- in 2001.

Born in Indore in the Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh in 1929, she began learning music at the age of five from her father, Deenanath Mangeshkar, who was a theatre artist. Deenanath adopted the surname Mangeshkar to identify his family with his native town of Mangeshi, in the State of Goa. Lata was named ‘Hema’ at her birth, but her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father’s plays. She was the eldest child in the family, with Meena, Asha, Usha, and Hridaynath, in birth order, being her siblings. All are accomplished singers and musicians in their own right. The best known is Asha Bhosle who is as famous as Lata.

After her father’s death, the family moved to Mumbai where a teenage Lata began singing for Marathi movies. She also took-up small roles in a few films to support her family, but would say later that her heart wasn’t in it. ‘I was happiest singing’ she said.

There’s a story that once her father asked one of his music disciples to practice a ‘raag’ while he finished some urgent work. Lata was playing nearby and when suddenly a note of the ‘raag’ that the disciple was rendering, jarred, Lata latched on to it and began correcting him. When her father returned, he discovered a discipline in his own daughter. The rest, they say, is history.

Her big break came in 1949 with the release of a haunting song titled ‘Aayega Aanewala’ for the movie ‘Mahal’. And thereafter there was no looking back.

Initially, she is said to have imitated the acclaimed singer Noor Jehan, but she later developed her own style of singing. She brought a new signature style to Indian film music, moving away from mehfil-style (celebration) performances to suit both ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ female protagonists. A soprano range voice with less volume or amplitude, she had enough weight in her voice to give definite shape to the melody of Indian film songs. Although she had limited coloratura (an elaborate melody with ornamentation and embellishments) skills in her early career, she developed better tone and pitch as she progressed in her playback career. Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogues. Actor Dilip Kumar once made a mildly disapproving remark about her accent while singing Hindi/Urdu songs; so for a period of time, she took lessons in Urdu.

Lata said that Noor Jehan heard her as a child and had told her to practice a lot. The two stayed in touch with each other for many years to come.

Noor Jehan was a famous Pakistani singer and actress who worked both in India and Pakistan. Being highly versatile, she could sing in several languages including Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Sindhi, and had recorded over 10,000 songs in her career. When the partition of India happened in 1947, Noor Jehan decided to move to Pakistan and settled in Karachi with her family. She was given the title of ‘Malika-e-Tarannum’ (the Queen of Melody) in Pakistan.

Lata Mangeshkar’s solos and immortal duets with Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar along with a legion of other prominent Indian singers, are among Hindi cinemas most memorable and treasured songs.

The 1974 edition of The Guinness Book of Records had listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist. But the claim was contested by Mohammed Rafi. The book continued to list Lata’s name but also mentioned Rafi’s claim. The entry was removed in 1991 until 2011, in which Guinness put Lata’s sister (Asha Bhosle) as the most recorded artist. Currently, Pulapaka Susheela ( P. Susheela)-another Indian Playback Singer associated mostly with South Indian cinema- holds the honour.

Lata Mangeshkar recorded her last song ‘Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti Ki’, which was composed by Mayuresh Pai, as a tribute to the Indian Army and nation. It was released on 30 March 2019.

Lata Mangeshkar never married, staying single, singing like a nightingale until her breath was no more. Rest In Peace, Lata Mangeshkar

India has lost two nightingales since independence. The other ‘Nightingale of India’ was Sarojini Naidu known as such because of her mesmerising poetry. Her works, rich in imagery, covered a variety of themes – love, death, separation among others. Most of her poems have lines repeated across stanzas. This is similar to a Nightingale’s song: repetitive, yet beautiful.

Cricket

The International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Under-19 ‘Boys’ World Cup Cricket Finals was played in the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, West Indies, last Saturday. A very dominant India won a record-extending fifth World Cup-in seven outings of the game-title beating England by four wickets in an extraordinary campaign that was almost derailed by the Covid-19 outbreak. The triumph bore a ruthless resemblance to earlier conquering adventures of the fabulous Under-19 Indian Teams.

India chased down a target of 190 runs in 47.4 overs, reaching 195 for six. Nishant Sindhu played an unbeaten match-winning knock of 50 runs off 54 balls to help India edge past England’s score. Kaushal Tambe had a heart-in-the-mouth moment when fielding in deep square leg, England’s James Rew, batting on 95 pulled a Ravi Kumar delivery towards him. And Tambe almost spilled the ball while trying to take the catch but recovered in time to jump forward and take a stunning one-handed catch to send Rew back to the pavilion. The dismissal was crucial as it broke a 93-run wicket for England’s fourth wicket and India went on to take the remaining two wickets for just five more runs.

Pacer Raj Bawa took five wickets, while wicket keeper Dinesh Bana hit the winning shot(s)with two consecutive sixes to finish the match in style.

Yash Dhull is the winning Indian captain and Tom Prest the losing England captain.

The phenomenal Under-19 win ensures the ‘Indian Cricket Factory’ keeps up a steady supply of youngsters to challenge the past histrionics of the Gavaskars, Kapil Devs, Sachin Tendulkars, Dhonis, and Viraat Kholis. Keep it up, Young India.

Please Yourself

The Oscar nominations 2022 are out with the Academy releasing its nominations this week.

The Power of the Dog -about a domineering rancher (played by Benedict Cumberbatch)-picked up the most nominations. But West Side Story (a Steven Spielberg remake of the yester-years movie),’ Dune – An American epic science fiction film-and Belfast -a British coming of age comedy-drama- were doggedly close behind.

Denzel Washington (Best Actor in, The Tragedy of Macbeth) broke records as the most nominated Black Actor in history. Actress Kristen Stewart (Best Actress as Princess Diana in the movie Spencer) and Singer Beyonce (Best Original Song alongside Dixon) have won their first Academy Award nominations.

Writing With Fire (about a Newspaper run by women) made by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh of India, secured a nomination in the Best Documentation (Feature) category.

The recently released James Bond movie ‘No Time to Die’ won nominations in Best Sound, Best Original Song, and Best Visual Effects.

More drama and visual stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Bond with World Inthavaaram

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-05

About: the world this week, 30 January to 5 February 2022, misinformation spots, medley news, India’s budget, and the aces of Australian Open Tennis.

Everywhere

Spotify in a Spot

Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded in 2006: the world’s largest, with over 381 million monthly active users. Spotify offers digital copyright restricted recorded music and podcasts, including more than 70 million songs, from record labels and media companies.

Joe Rogan is the host of, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, a podcast exclusively acquired by Spotify in 2020, reportedly for a staggering sum. With an estimated 11 million listeners per episode, it’s the streaming service’s ‘milch cow’.

In one of the podcasts, Rogan has questioned the need for healthy young people to get vaccinated and has acquired an image of being a reckless peddler of dangerous conspiracy theories, giving oxygen to radical ideas.

In December 2021, Rogan hosted Robert Malone, a doctor who was suspended from Twitter for spreading Covid misinformation. During the show, Malone made several baseless claims, including that Covid vaccines can put people who have had the virus at higher risk. He also espoused an unfounded theory known as ‘mass formation psychosis,’ which suggests that much of the population has been hypnotised to follow Covid protocols. Rogan has also endorsed using Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic medicine, as a treatment for Covid-19, despite repeated warnings from US health officials. Following this, 270 physicians and scientists signed an open letter last month calling on Spotify to remove Rogan’s interview with the controversial doctor.

Then, musician and songwriter, Neil Young, an outspoken advocate for Covid-19 safety and prevention stepped in. He wanted Spotify to remove his entire catalog because he does not want his music to share a home with vaccine misinformation. “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both,” Neil Young thundered.

Over the past week, a chorus of musicians and other podcasters such as Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Nash, India Arie, joined Neil Young to condemn Spotify or even remove their content in protest.

Since Young’s music has been pulled-out, Spotify has reportedly lost more than USD 2 billion in market value. But, the episode is still up.

When the world is passing through one of the worst pandemics ever, and just when we are beginning to recover, the least we want is social media influencers spiking themselves into becoming misinformation spreading viruses.

Medley

The World continues to fret and boil over Ukraine with the border crisis with Russia only soaring, getting NATO and the United States (US) on an edge. The US is deploying about 3,000 of its troops to Eastern Europe and has another 8,500 on standby. And Russia has already got about 100,000 of its troops at the border. Now, Russia is calling the US deployments ‘destructive’. There is cold tension in the European air. Watch that space.

Last week I talked about forced religious conversion possibly being the cause of a death by suicide of a young girl, Lavanya, in the Southern State of Tamilnadu, India. A ‘Justice for Lavanya’ movement started on social-media with people seeking a wholesome look into the conversion angle. And this week, the High Court in Madurai ordered the case to be investigated by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and get to the bottom. That, a loss of faith on the local Police.

Tennis superstar Roger Federer has revealed he still hasn’t been able to run as he continues his recovery from a knee surgery, but is adamant he wants to return to the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) circuit. The 20 time Grand Slam champion hasn’t played since Wimbledon last July and had a third knee operation in August last year. By the serve of it, the Swiss icon’s comeback hopes appear very difficult. Of course, we wish to see him rally his knees and return to the game, one knee at a time. There is none like him.

This week, media giant CNN’s (Cable News Network) President Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned saying he had failed to acknowledge a romantic, consensual relationship with another senior executive-whose name he did not explicitly reveal-at the outset. However, CNN’s marketing chief Allison Gollust opened-up about their relationship, which she described as a close professional and personal rapport, built over more than two decades. And that deepened into a romantic tie during the pandemic. She will continue working for CNN. Both Zucker and Gollust are divorced from their respective spouses, but owning up is a class act.

The Beijing Winter Olympics began this week, on 4 February 2022, and it’s getting hot enough to melt the ice.

India announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics, where no Indian Diplomat will participate in the opening and closing ceremonies. Indian National Broadcaster Doordarshan also decided to boycott live telecasting the opening and closing ceremonies. Initially, India supported China’s Olympic effort, when nations such as the USA and UK announced a diplomatic boycott over China’s poor human rights record: abuse of its Uighur population, ethnic cleansing in Tibet and suppression of democracy in Hong Kong. But when China put up a Galwan Clash survivor as an Olympic torch-bearer, India saw red and promptly ‘punched a boycott’.

China’s torchbearer for the Winter Olympics 2022 was captured, by India, in June 2020 when he tried to mount an attack on Indian forces in the Galwan Valley. This was a culmination of skirmishes, face-offs, and aggression beginning in May 2020 between Chinese and Indian troops at locations along the Sino-Indian border, including near the disputed Pangong Lake in Ladakh and the Tibet Autonomous Region. The eastern Ladakh border row escalated after the Galwan Valley clashes, on 15 June 2020. Twenty Indian Army personnel were martyred in the border fight that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides, in decades.

China officially acknowledged that five Chinese military officers and soldiers were killed in the clashes with the Indian Army, though it is widely believed that the death toll was a high as over forty.

India’s Budgeting

India’s annual budget presentation is some kind of a ritual where everyone looks to extract some kind of juice for themselves: the individual, for income tax relief; Businesses, for tax concessions and inspiration to start new businesses; States, for blockbuster projects in their region, even new trains…the list is endless. Somebody has to be disappointed – there is nothing for me; nothing for the minuscule income tax-paying percentage of people; nothing Big-Bang, is an annual planetary comment. Actually, it’s a mere revenue report on where the money comes from and where it goes, though it does try to transcend into a show of path-breaking reform or clever intent.

This year’s Budget presented on 1st February was no different. And from the reading of the experts it’s a practical and sane plan to improve the lot of India. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)- they must be serious – said it’s a very thoughtful policy agenda for India that places a great deal of emphasis on innovation in research and development on human capital investment and digitalisation. India plans to release a digital currency by the end of the year and quietly announced a tax on this sphere of activity.

However, some bird-watchers of the economy say there is a looming job crisis, which needs the attention it deserves. Failure to generate enough quality jobs may convert what should be India’s demographic dividend into a restless force to reckon with. I’ll leave it at that.

Australian Open Tennis Aces

Winning a Tennis Grand Slam Title on three different kinds of surfaces is a rarity, and only four players have done it before: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Serena Williams. Now, last Saturday the number grew to five, with Australian Ashleigh Barty, 25, winning the Australian Open Women’s Single Title beating 28 years old American Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 (2). Apart from Ashley Barty, Serena Williams is the only other in this elite category to have won the first three Slams across clay, grass, and hard courts.

Barty became the first Australian in 44 years, to win the Australian Open since Chris O’Neil did it in 1978. O’Neil was present in the stands, with the crowd, cheering Barty. The prize was awarded by yet another special person, 14-time Grand Slam champion, Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley who claimed the Australian Open singles title on four occasions-consecutively from 1974-1977. That’s as straight as it can be!

After this stupendous achievement by the women folk, the men began roaring. And in the men’s singles Spaniard Rafael Nadal clawed back from two sets down to win an epic five-set duel with Russian Daniil Medvedev, to claim a record 21st Grand Slam men’s title in the Australian Open final. The end set score was a thrilling 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

In what is considered to be the greatest era of men’s tennis, Rafael Nadal surpassed the 20 Grand Slam haul of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

More informative stories playing in the weeks ahead. Fight your battles drawing power from World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-04

About: the world this week, 23 January to 29 January 2022, Webb Eyes, a Coup, India’s Republic Day, Faith Matters, a Homecoming, and Rock Music loses Meat.

Everywhere

Webb Eyes

The James Webb Space Telescope docked in its final designated orbit in Space, this Monday, and would be beginning its work of looking, in earnest, once its mirrors are positioned in the desired alignment. America’s NASA announced that Webb has been fully deployed in what is known as the L2 (Second Lagrange) Orbit – a region of balance between the gravity of the Sun and the Earth, at a distance of 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth. The Sun and the Earth are always on the same side at L2 making it ideal for observatory purposes. It has taken Webb about a month to get to this ‘pole position’.

Webb hopes to unlock the secrets of the making of the Universe, and among other things examine the first light and the celestial objects that formed soon after The Big Bang occurred, 13.7 billion years ago. The Big Bang – when matter, energy, time, and space came into being – brought forth billions of galaxies of which ours, the Milky Way Galaxy, is just a speck in the mind-boggling vastness and emptiness of the Universe.

A Honest Coup

This Monday the landlocked West African country of Burkina Faso saw a Lieutenant Colonel, Paul-Henri Damiba, lead a mutiny that ousted President Roch Kabore, in a coup d’etat. And as is the ‘Gun Standard’ in such coups, the new military leader promised a return to the normal constitutional order ‘when the conditions are right’.

Damiba blamed the overthrown President for failing to contain violence unleashed by Islamist militants in the country.

Burkina Faso, once colonised by France, is one of the least developed countries in Africa. And has been severely affected by the rise of Islamist terror since the mid 2010s.

‘Burkina Faso’ means the land of the honest (upright, incorruptible) men.

Honestly, we need to see that meaning stand upright.

India’s Republic Day

This 26th January, India celebrated its 73rd Republic Day in its 75 year of Independence. This is in the background of one Eternal Flame burning at the War Memorial, a new hologram Statue of ace freedom-fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and the freshly painted, newly built Central Vista Parliament building surroundings.

It was truly a sight to behold, with the military might in war-paint, and the diverse culture of India in energetic, harmonious display of all its vibrant hues and colours.

Normally, the head of another country is invited as Chief Guest to witness the essence of India (and hopefully be intimidated by its power), but this year, owing to the COVID19 restrictions in the midst of a tacky third wave, the President of India stood himself in.

The parade kindled national and patriotic fervour. The unison and discipline of the various presentations by people from all across India was absolutely inspirational, especially the young women in the forefront of many aspects of life in India. There was Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh-India’s first woman Rafael Fighter Jet Pilot for the just-acquired Rafael Aircraft; there was Lieutenant Preeti leading the Indian Navy tableau; there was Lieutenant Manisha Bohra of the Army Ordnance Corps leading an all-male contingent; and then there was a magnificent bike show by the woman officers – the Seema Bhawani Motorcycle Team – of the Border Security Force displaying a number of bewildering bike formations. The Indian Postal Department had Women Empowerment as its theme this year, celebrating their spirit of work.

The evolution of India’s Army uniforms and rifles was on display: three contingents of the Army wore the uniforms of the previous decades and also the old rifles, while one wore the new combat uniforms and the latest Tavor (Israel Weapon Industries) rifles.

A ‘high’ light of the parade day was the grandest and largest flypast ever by 75 aircraft and helicopters, when everyone had to look-up to see a number of perfect aircraft formations, in the sky. The audience was also provided with a cockpit view of the air-harmony and dance.

And there was also a horse, called Virat, of the President’s Bodyguard retiring on the 26th January -having served over 19 years ‘looking after various President’. The President and Prime Minister went over and patted him goodbye, on the cheek.

This Republic Day was also different in other ways with the Prime Minister rolling-out special person-specific letters, in his name, to various people outside India-not necessarily Indians-who have contributed to India in their own unique way. The letters arrived at their doorstep with a bouquet presented by the Indian Embassy of that country, and was an awesome gesture in recognising what the person stood for. Keep it up India.

Faith Matters

This week, the topic that stormed the South Indian State of Tamilnadu, was religious conversion, following the stunning death by suicide, on 19th January, of a 17 year old Class XII girl student, Lavanya, over suspected, attempted, forced religious conversion.

This happened in The Sacred Heart Girls’ Higher Secondary School, Thanjavur, run by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM), a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Mother Mary of the Passion, at Ooty, then British India, in 1877. The school at the centre of the controversy itself was started in the year 1937 with the primary objective of serving the poor and socially backward children, irrespective of caste, creed, and religion.The FMM consists of an international religious congregation of women representing 79 nationalities spread over 74 countries on five continents.

The parents of Lavanya accused the School Authorities of forcing their daughter to convert. In a video statement- the veracity of which is yet to be proved-the girl said the school had tried to convert her. And when she refused, was forced by the hostel warden to clean rooms and toilets, do accounting work, and switch on & off motors on the campus: the school officials had asked the parents, in her presence, if they can ‘convert the faith of the girl’ and help her for further studies.

Lavanya, unable to bear the torture, following her supposed refusal to ply along, consumed insecticide on the school campus, earlier this month leading to her death.

This week saw protests by political parties demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the case, on the grounds of forced conversion. Political meat?

I studied in a Roman Catholic Boarding School in Southern India from the age of four upto the age I was old enough to enter University. And I do not recall even one instance of the Nun Sisters in the early stages, or the Brothers Priests in the later stages in attempting to convert me to their faith. Those were the days!

Homecoming

The disinvestment process in India’s Government owned Air India, started in last October, was concluded this Thursday with the Government officially handing over the management control and transferring 100% shares of Air India to Talace Private Limited a subsidiary of the Tata Group’s holding company. A new governing board will take over the Airline and the first flight under the Tatas began on 28 January 2022, with an in-flight announcement of the historic take-over.

Air India was started in 1932 by JRD Tata in a flight of self-reliance but was nationalized in 1953 by India’s then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Over the years, the Airline accumulated nothing but losses. Then to stop the bleeding, the Government decided to get its paws of the business of running an Airline. The Tata Group- one of India’s most diverse business groups-won the bid and Air India, with all its baggage and a weary Maharaja, arrived at the house of the Tatas, after 69 years ‘in the air’.

The expectations are flying high, given that Air India was once the best airline in the World.

Please Yourself

When Michael (Marvin, at birth) Lee Aday was born in Dallas, Texas, United States, his Dad, a Cop, said he looked like Meat and the name was meat for Meat Loaf to build a dazzling career in the rock and heavy metal genre of music.

Meat Loaf, American singer and Actor known for is powerful, wide-ranging voice, theatric live shows, and considered one of the greatest rock singers this world as ever seen, died this week at age 74 of COVID19 related complications. His bombastic 1977 rock opera ‘Bat Out of Hell’ is one of the best-selling albums of all time, selling an astounding 65 million copies. It held several hits including, ‘Two Out of Three ain’t Bad’. His sequel, ‘Bat Out of Hell-II: Back Into Hell’ had the No 1 hit,’ I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do it). I particularly rocked for the song, ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’.

In 1993, Meat loaf won a Grammy Award for best Solo Rock Vocal performance for the song, I’d Do Anything for Love. He has acted in 65 movies, including, Fight Club, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Wayne’s World.

Meat Loaf’s Dad was a violent alcoholic who would disappear for days at a time and when he did return home, would slap the son and vanish again. His Schoolteacher Mom would hop in to the car and go from bar-to-bar trying to find and bring him home.

His Mom sang in a gospel quartet and once told him, ‘good thing you’re not going to be singer, because you can’t carry a tune in a bucket’. However, in his sophomore year during athletics, when a shot put sailed 62 feet in the air and hit on the head, he discovered he had a three-and-a half octave vocal range.

When his Mom died of cancer, and Meat was 19, he was forced to leave Home as his Dad become increasingly violent, once lunging at him with a butcher knife.

He moved to Los Angeles, started acting, singing in bands, and then bumped in to song-writer Jim Steinman while auditioning for a play. The two then combined well as meat and loaf would, and churned out record-breaking albums that made history.

When Meat Loaf breathed his last, his wife Deborah and daughters Pearl and Amanda were by his side.

Heaven cannot wait: for us, he would be more than an ‘object in the rear view mirror’. There was ‘not a dry eye in the house’ when I mentioned him. RIP Meat Loaf.

More meaty stories arriving in the weeks ahead. Fly with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-03

About: the world this week, 16 January to 22 January 2022, Volcanoes, Hostage-Taking, Indian Classical Dance, and the flames of India’s War Memorial.

Everywhere

Volcanoes Erupting

Tonga, officially called the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian country in the South Pacific Ocean: an archipelago consisting of about 169 islands, many of which are uninhabited. It is 1800 km from New Zealand’s North Island. Tonga has a population of about 104500, with 70% living on the main island, Tongatapu.

Most of the islands have white beaches, coral reefs, and are covered with tropical rainforest. Tongatapu, is protected by lagoons and limestone cliffs. It’s home to the rural capital of Nuku’alofa, as well as beach resorts, plantations and the ‘Ha’amonga’a Maui’, a monumental stone coral gate trilithon-an ancient structure consisting of two large vertical stones supporting a third stone set horizontally across the top-called the Stonehenge of the Pacific.

Last Saturday, an undersea volcano, called, ‘Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai’, which was in deep-sleep for the past seven years, woke-up and erupted in what is believed to be the biggest on Planet Earth in the past 30 years. It triggered a tsunami, which waves flooded Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa. The volcano spewed volcanic ash blanketing the country’s islands, posing a serious health risk, and contaminating water supplies. The fury of the volcano left the country reeling under the impact.

Tonga has experienced a succession of natural disasters, in recent years. In 2018 Cyclone Gita-a Category-5 tropical storm-ripped through the islands; in 2020 Cyclone Harold severely disrupted normal life, and now this. Thankfully, loss of human life was a minimum.

Tonga is a very devout nation, with most Tongans belonging to a Christian Church. They need to get their prayers together to shake the might of God above. If faith can move mountains, surely it can stop an undersea volcano in its fiery, reckless track!

Hostage Taking

On 17 January, this week, Malik Faisal Akram, 44, a British National strolled in to the Beth Israel Congregation in Colleyville, Texas, United States(US), as it live-streamed its Sabbath morning service on Facebook and Zoom, at around 11 am. Using a fire-arm he took four people, including the Rabbi, as hostages, disrupting the religious service. And began a ranting standoff with police for more than 10 hours. He released one man, unharmed, at about 5pm. Then an FBI Hostage Rescue Team swung in to action, entered the building, and killed the hostage-taker, safely rescuing all hostages.

Malik Faisal Akram demanded the release of Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86 year sentence at a nearby facility in Texas. She was convicted in 2010 on seven charges, including attempted murder and armed assault on US officers in Afghanistan.

Aafia Siddiqui is a Pakistani scientist who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, and obtained a doctorate from Brandeis University. She was taken into custody, for questioning, by the Afghan National Police in 2008, who said they found handwritten notes referring to potential targets of a ‘mass casualty attack’. When a group of Americans attempted to speak to her, she grabbed a US soldier’s rifle and opened fire on the interrogation team. However, no one was hit.

A jury in the United States found her guilty, leading to the 86 years prison sentence. Over several years, there has been many protests for her release, one argument being that she was framed.

Malik Faisal Akram was given to believe that an attack on Jews would stir the US into releasing Aafia Siddiqui, as he was convinced that Jews pulled the strings in Government. Experts say truly believing various anti-Semitic tropes could have led to the situation, and we need to continually call out various kinds of damaging slurs anytime we hear them.

Indian Classical Dancing

In India, when you mention ‘Kathak’ the name that immediately springs forth and dances in your mind is, Birju Maharaj.

Kathak is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. The term Kathak is derived from the Vedic Sanskrit word ‘Katha’, which means ‘story’. Kathak dancers tell various stories through their hands and extensive body movements, but most importantly through facial expressions. It also calls for nimble footwork.

Kathak is one of the most difficult classical dances of India. The Sangeet Natak Academy – India’s doyen and apex body which promotes the arts – recognizes eight classical Indian dances: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri, and Mohiniyattam.

The music that accompanies a Kathak performance is, by traditional Indian instruments such as Sarangi, Sitar, Manjira, Tabla, and Harmonium. Kathak is found in three distinct forms, called ‘Gharanas’, named after the cities where the Kathak dance tradition evolved: Jaipur, Benaras, and Lucknow. While the Jaipur gharana focuses more on the foot movements, the Benaras and Lucknow Gharanas focus more on facial expressions and graceful hand movements. That’s Kathak for you!

Pandit Birju Maharaj, India’s finest exponent of the classical Kathak dance died of a heart attack in Delhi this 17th January, at the age of 83. He was the torchbearer of the Kalka-Bindadin Gharana of the Lucknow style of Kathak dance, and was also a composer, singer, and choreographer. Initially, his name was ‘Dukh Haran’, which was later changed to ‘Brijmohan’, a synonym of Krishna. Along the way, Brijmohan Nath Misra was shortened as ‘Birju’.

He also revelled as a singer, poet, orator, painter, and an outstanding drummer – playing the Tabla and the Naal. He played the Sitar, Sarod, Violin, and Sarangi with no formal training. Beyond all this, he was a master story-teller.

A man of his calibre has to be crowned with numerous awards, and Pandit Birju Maharaj was no exception. He was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award at the age of 28 (one of the youngest to receive the award), and received the Kalidas Samman, Nritya Choodamani, Andhra Ratna, Nritya Vilas, Adharshila Shikhar Samman, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Shiromani Samman, and the Rajiv Gandhi Peace Award, apart from an honorary doctorate from Benaras Hindu University. He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian order.

The world of Indian cinema turned to this genius whenever it required authentic Kathak dance to carry forward its storyline.

Pandit Birju Maharaj choreographed exquisite sequences in iconic Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’: one featuring Amjad Khan-the Gabbar Singh of Indian blockbuster, Sholay fame – as Nawab Wajid Ali Shah surrounded by his queens. The other featuring a solo by Saswati Sen – a senior disciple of the Pandit. He also choreographed Bollywood Actress Madhuri Dixit twice, once in ‘Dil Toh Paagal Hai’, and again in ‘Devdas’ – Kaahe chhed. A song, ‘Aan Milo Sajana, sequence in the Hindi film ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’ was also guided by him.

Pandit Birju Maharaj won a National Film Award for Best Choreography in 2012, for the song ‘Unnai Kaanaathu Naan’ in the Tamil film Vishwaroopam where he taught Actor Kamal Hassan-a talented dancer himself-Kathak steps. Following through, he won the Award again for the song, ‘Mohe Rang Do Laal’ in the Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone starrer, ‘Bajirao Mastani’.

For the Pandit, dance was like connecting with the Almighty and he preferred to stay away from rauchy songs. Kamal Hassan was the only male actor he has ever choreographed for.

Pandit Birju Maharaj had a passion for cars and gadgets. He would have become a superb mechanic if not for the heavenly pull of Kathak. He could effortlessly knock down Televisions and Mobile Phones and assembly them back with the ease of a dance movement. He was a big fan of Hollywood movies, with Jackie Chan and Sylvester Stallone being his favourites.

The Pandit stayed active on Stage and ran a Dance School, ‘Kalashram’, until his death. He leaves behind five children- two sons and three daughters, and five grandchildren -on the last count. His wife passed away, 15 years ago. Sons Deepak, Jai Kishan, and daughter Mamta are prominent Kathak dancers. Girls are not permitted in to the Kathak family tradition but Mamta danced firm, was persistent and relentless and carries forward the tradition in her own way.

The Flames of a War Memorial

The landmark, India Gate in New Delhi was built by the British in 1931, when they colonised India, as a War Memorial for British Indian soldiers-90,000 in total-who died between 1914 and 1921 in the First World War, in France, Mesopotamia, Persia, East Africa and elsewhere, and in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. The names of 13,300 servicemen including some soldiers and officers from the British Army, are inscribed on the walls of the gate.

After independence in 1947 and following the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1972, a structure consisting of a black marble plinth with a reversed rifle, capped by a war helmet and bounded by four eternal flames, was built beneath the archway. This structure, called Amar Jawan Jyoti-Flame of the Immortal Soldier-has since 1971, served as India’s tomb of the unknown soldier. On normal days one of the four burners are kept alive, but on important days like the Republic Day, all four burners are fired. This flame is called the Eternal Flame, and has never been extinguished.

In 2019, India built The National War Memorial near the India Gate as a national monument to honour and remember soldiers of the Indian military who fought in armed conflicts of independent India. The names of 25,942 armed forces personnel killed during the armed conflicts with Pakistan and China as well as the 1961 War in Goa, Operation Pawan, and other operations are inscribed on granite tablets in golden letters and an eternal flame was lighted here to honour them.

This Friday, India merged the Amar Jyothi flame with the Eternal Flame at the National War memorial. This because the names of all Indian martyrs, from all the wars, including 1971, and wars before and after it are housed at the National War Memorial. Hence, it is only fitting to have the flame paying true tribute to martyrs at one unique place. One Sun is great, imagine having two Suns?

More classic, flaming stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Sing and dance with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-02

About: the world this week, 9 January to 15 January 2022, a colourful Actor reaches the stars, a country fights over fuel price hikes, a Prince loses his Titles, a Tennis Champion is deported-almost, a rat hero dies, and a style icon becomes a follower-gathering hit on Instagram.

Everywhere

Colour in Black & White

Actor Sidney Poitier, 94, died on the evening of 6 January 2022 in his home in Los Angeles, just when I was near the end of wrapping-up my last week’s World Inthavaaram. And I kept him warm for this week.

Sidney Poitier was one of the greatest film actors of the past century-a legend of our times. He blazed trails as a black actor who rose to fame during a time when there were few starring roles offered to African Americans. He set a standard for those who came after him and showed us, ‘how to reach for the stars’. Beautiful, brilliant, graceful, and elegant are just a few of the many words used to describe him.

He received three Academy Awards nominations, ten Golden Globe Awards nominations, two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, six British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) nominations, eight Laurel nominations, one Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG) nomination. He won one Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for ‘Lilies of the Field’ (1963), playing a handyman who helps a group of German-speaking nuns build a chapel…Wooh, I am almost out-of-breath!

Poitier’s entire family lived in the Bahamas, then a British Crown colony, but he was born, rather unexpectedly, in Miami, United States (US), while his parents were visiting for the weekend, which automatically granted him a US citizenship. He grew up in the Bahamas, but moved to Miami at age 15, and to New York City the next year.

He went on to become a stage actor and over time worked his way into Hollywood. Some of his best films are: ‘To Sir, with Love’; ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’, and ‘In the Heat of the Night’.

Poitier first married model Juanita Hardy in 1950 and then separated from her in 1965. He married a second time, to Joanna Shimkus, a Canadian actress in 1976, who starred with him in ‘The Lost Man’: Joanna ‘found her man’ and they remained married for the rest of Poitier’s life. Meanwhile, he filled the gap with a nine-year relationship with actress Diahann Carroll.

He had four daughters from his first marriage and two from his second. In addition to the six daughters, Poitier had eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. That’s the measure of the man.

Some of his famous quotes are: “I always wanted to be someone better the next day than I was the day before”; “A person doesn’t have to change who he is to become better.”

Beyond the quotes, he leaves behind…a lot!

Kazakhstan

This is a story playing over the past three years, from France to Ecuador, Zimbabwe to Lebanon, and in Pakistan and Iran. When Governments try to let the market determine energy prices (linked to increased taxes or reduced subsidies on fossil fuels) they are confronted with mass uprisings and turmoil, as the new policy invariably leads to an increase in fuel prices. An unprepared administration cracks down with excessive force. This amplifies public anger, which boils over into calls for, suddenly discovered, greater democratic rights.

Now, mirroring the trend is Kazakhstan, a Central Asian country endowed with an abundant supply of accessible mineral and fossil fuel resources. The end of price controls for Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), a popular, affordable fuel, in early January sparked protests- the largest since the collapse of the Soviet Union, three decades ago – in the oil-rich area of Western Kazakhstan.

Things escalated quickly across the country as demonstrations expanded to include calls for political reform. The Government shut down the internet. And protesters seized the airport and burned down some government buildings. A Russian-led military alliance deployed about 2,500 ‘peacekeepers’ at the President’s request. Then, security forces were given the shoot-to-kill order.

At least 164 people have been killed, more than 2,000 injured and thousands detained. The Government insists the country is stabilizing and that buildings overrun by protestors are now back under its control.

This is becoming a familiar story and maybe Governments should be better prepared before announcing ‘powerful uplifting changes’.

Melange

In other news, World No 1 Tennis Champion Novak Djokovic who was involved in a messy serve, smash, rally, and lob match with Australian Vaccination Rules was allowed to play in the Open, as decided by a Judge of an Australian Court, umpiring the rule-break.

However, it turns out that the Champion and falsified facts in relation to his December 2021 Covid-19 infection, which he used as an ace to clear the net of Australia’s Rules to play in the Australian Open Tennis Grand Slam, where he plays to defend his title. He also admitted to breaking isolation rules while being Covid19 Positive.

But this Friday, Novak Djokovic’s Australian visa was again cancelled just days before the start of the Australian Open. The Australian Immigration Minister, Alex Hawke, exercised a personal power to cancel Djokovic’s visa, likely to result in the world No 1’s deportation and putting him out of contention in the tournament. The decision means that Djokovic could be effectively barred from re-entering Australia for three years unless he can show, in future attempts, that compelling circumstances exist, such as compassionate or Australian national interest grounds.

I’m glad that Australia is one Country that ruthlessly sticks to its Rules. The tournament is now positively open for others to win.

This week, Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom’s (UK) Royal Family was dragged deeper into the headlines-staying, Ghislaine Maxwell – Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking Case. A United States federal judge denied the Prince’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Virginia Giuffre, who claimed that she was sexually trafficked to the Prince when she was underage.

The Crown stepped into action-with the Royal Shoes-and stripped the Duke of York’s military titles and ‘the clothes’ of royal patronages have been returned to the Queen’s Royal Chest. Prince Andrew will also stop using the style ‘His Royal Highness’.

That’s a naked enough story. There’s indeed a limit to what clothes can cover-up?

A Rat Hero Dies

This week, a landmine sniffing expert, a mine-clearing African Giant Pouch Rat, running around lightly with the name ‘Magawa’ died at the age of eight.

Magawa was the most successful rat trained by the Belgian charity APOPO, to give a tails-up alert to human handlers about landmines so they can be found and safely deactivated. In 2020, Magawa was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal for its heroism. It was the first rat to be given the medal in the charity’s 77 year history.

The PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals) Gold Medal is an animal bravery award that acknowledges the bravery and devotion to duty of animals. An animal can be awarded the Gold Medal if it assists in saving human or non-human life when its own life is in danger or through exceptional devotion to duty. Wow, that’s amazing!

APOPO is an acronym from Dutch, which stands for ‘Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling’, or in English, ‘Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development’. APOPO is a global non-profit organization that researches, develops, and implements detection technology for rats for humanitarian purposes such as clearing landmines and detecting tuberculosis.

APOPO has Belgian roots with operational headquarters in Tanzania and further operations in Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique and Ethiopia. Bart Weetjens is the founder, who came up with the idea while wondering whether the rodents, that he kept as pets, could be used for finding landmines and other explosives.

Magawa was trained by APOPO, which has been raising the animals – known as HeroRATs – to detect landmines since the 1990s. The animals are certified for the job, after a year of intense training.

Bred in Tanzania, Magawa underwent the one year of training before moving to Cambodia -where up to six million landmines are believed to be still alive -to begin his high-stakes, bomb-sniffing career. In a five-year period, the rodent sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives in Cambodia.

Trained to detect a chemical compound within the explosives, Magawa cleared more than 141,000 square metres of land -the equivalent of 20 football pitches with a capability of searching a field the size of a tennis court in just 20 minutes-something that would take a human, with a metal detector, between one and four days.

Magawa weighed 1.2 kilograms and was 70 centimetres long. While that is far larger than many other rat species, it was still small enough and light enough that it did not trigger mines if it walked over them.

Magawa retired last June, after ‘slowing down’ as it reached old age. It was in good health and spent most of last week playing with its usual enthusiasm. But, by the weekend it started to slow down, napping more and showing less interest in food in its last days.

Last week, APOPO declared that a new batch of young rats was assessed by the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) and passed ‘with flying colours’.

Make rats your best friend, buy a trained rat: don’t know what they can sniff out!

Please Yourself.

Make-up mogul Kylie Jenner has become the first woman to reach 300 million followers on Instagram – the photo and video sharing social networking service.

Ariana Grande, previously the app’s most popular woman, is now tied in second place with Selena Gomez. The singers have 289 million each.

But, Football’s Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo remains Instagram’s most followed person, now with more than 388 million followers. Next up is Ronaldo, the first person to reach 200 million followers. Fellow footballer Lionel Messi has also broken the 300 million milestone.

Other accounts in the top 10 belong to former wrestler The Rock, Reality-TV personality Kim Kardashian, and singers Beyonce and Justin Bieber.

More explosive and without-make-up stories coming up ahead. Sniff with World Inthavaaram and gather more followers.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-01

About: the beginning of the year, the world this week, 2 January to 8 January 2022, Elizabeth Holmes, Desmond Tutu, James Webb, Richard Leakey, Apple, Narendra Modi, and Novak Djokovic.

Everywhere

Elizabeth Holmes

Dropping out of a famous College in America -and often finding brain-ticking space in your Dad’s garage-is the surest way to building up on a great start-up idea, turning it into a World-filling Company, and stardom. Apple, Microsoft, Google…used this mantra to get to where they are now.

Then came Elizabeth Holmes also using the garage path. She founded a Company called Theranos in the year 2003, at age 19, shortly after dropping out of chemical engineering at Stanford University, United States (US). Theranos is a combination of the words, ‘therapy and diagnosis’.

On its birth, Theranos was spoken of as a breakthrough health technology company, with claims of having devised blood tests that required minuscule amounts of blood and could be performed rapidly, using small automated devices that the company had developed. The firm promised it would revolutionise the healthcare industry. But it began to unravel in 2015, after a Wall Street Journal ‘Sherlock Holmes’ investigation, that its core blood-testing technology did not actually work. Theranos was officially closed-down in 2018. Elementary, Dr Watson!

During its growing-up years, Theranos was able to raise more than USD 900 million from Venture Capitalists including billionaires such as media magnate Rupert Murdoch and tech mogul Larry Ellison, and at one point was valued at USD 9 Billion. It was also considered the darling of Silicon Valley and Elizabeth Holmes was placed on a ‘Steve Jobs Pedestal’.

This week, in California, after nearly four months at trial, Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of conspiring to defraud investors. Holmes was convicted on four -conspiracy to commit fraud against investors and three counts of wire transfer fraud – of 11 counts, acquitted on four counts and the jury could not reach a decision on three counts.

Holmes knew the product she was selling to investors was a sham, but remained tight-lipped and hell-bent on the firm’s success. Lab directors told Holmes about the flaws in Theranos’ technology but were instructed to downplay their concerns. At the same time, Holmes told investors that the technology was operating as planned.

There was also another angle of blame on Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani, Holmes’ former business partner and long-term boyfriend. Holmes has accused Balwani, 19 years her senior, of emotional and sexual abuse. She described an intense relationship, in which Balwani controlled how she ran Theranos, who she spoke to, how she spoke to them, and what she ate. He has denied the allegations. Their decade-long relationship came to an end around the same time he stepped down as Chief Executive Officer in May 2016. He faces a separate trial next month.

This tarnishes the image of Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs like never before. And the now 37 years old Elizabeth Holmes could face more than 20 years in prison.

Desmond Tutu

This week Nobel Peace laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, aged 90 years, who passed away on 26 December 2021 in South Africa was cremated by a green, climate friendly process called Aquamation. He has specifically requested this method before his death and wanted his funeral to be a non-ostentatious one.

Aquamation, or Alkaline Hydrolysis, consists of cremation by water rather than fire. In the process, the body is immersed for three to four hours in a mixture of water and a strong alkali like potassium hydroxide in a pressurised metal cylinder, and heated to around 150 degrees Celsius. Through the process, the entire body is liquified, except for the bones, which are dried in an oven and then reduced to dust (…unto dust you shall return). Alkaline Hydrolysis is sometimes referred to as flameless cremation.

Desmond Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and a human rights activist. He bravely opposed apartheid in South Africa and won the Nobel for his non-violent struggle against apartheid.

He served as Bishop of Johannesburg and then as Archbishop of Cape Town, in both cases being the first black African to hold the position.

He was, kind of, best friends with Nelson Mandela and participated in peacefully dismantling apartheid in South Africa when Mandela was released after 27 years in jail and later took over the reins of government as the first black President.

Desmond Tutu married Nomalizo Leah Shenxane, a teacher whom he had met while at college. He leaves behind his wife and four children. One of his daughters married her partner, an atheist woman Professor in the Netherlands, and he was supportive of the union. Though same sex marriage is legal in South Africa, the Anglican Church insists that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. He had said, “I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this”.

His daughter said of him, “My Dad has a real gift of being on the right side of an issue, not from the point of the argument of right and wrong, but from the point of caring for people on the margins. Who is the least powerful one in the configuration? What is the most loving thing in any situation? That generally leads him in the right direction”.

His remarkable warmth and mischievous humour were recognised by world leaders, many of whom consider him to be their moral compass.

The world will miss his liberal kind. Sleep well Reverend Desmond Tutu.

Richard Leakey

It’s almost common knowledge, and agreed by most Scientists, that the human species-now living with the name Homo Sapiens-first emerged somewhere in Africa about 2.5 million years ago. This is based on fossilised bones and skulls that have been uncovered in East Africa and dated accurately by radiometric dating. These age of the bones and skulls discovered range between 25,000 and 4.4 million years and show different stages of human evolution. These fossils have been uncovered by paleoarchaeologists: scientists who study the material remains of the entire human evolutionary line.

The story of human origin goes like this: For 99.9 % of our history, from the time of the first living cell, the human ancestral line was the same as that of Chimpanzees. Then, about 6 million years ago, a new line split off from the Chimpanzee line, and a new group appeared in the open Savannas (grass lands and wood lands) of Africa, rather than in the Rainforest Jungle. The old ‘Rainforest Group’ continued to evolve separately, and two of its species remain in existence to this day: the common Chimpanzee and the Bonobo(an endangered Great Ape).

The new ‘Savanna Group’ evolved, over the millennia, into several species (how many is not entirely clear, but at least 18 different ones – all bearing the Genus Homo), until only one was left: us, Homo Sapiens.

Until the 1950s, European scientists believed that Homo Sapiens evolved in Europe, or possibly in Asia, about 60,000 years ago. Since then, excavation of fossil bones in East Africa, pioneered by famous palaeontologists, Mary and Louis Leakey, has revealed that Homo Sapiens may have emerged in Africa much earlier.

To bring you on step. The first early human fossil bones were found in Europe- of Neanderthals in Germany in 1857 and in France in 1868. The Java Man was found in Indonesia, in 1894. The Peking Man was found in China in 1923–1927. And more recently, confirmation of the Dragon Man – a more than 1.4 million years old skull found in China’s Harbin in 1933.

Confusing, what do we make of all of this?

Then steps-in, Richard Leakey, the son of Mary and Louis Leakey, a Kenyan paleoanthropologist (studies human evolution through fossil and archaeological records) who helped uncover evidence to prove humankind evolved in Africa. He nailed it.

Leakey’s expeditions in the 1970s altered our understanding of human evolution, especially with the discovery of a 1.9 million year old skull of Homo Habilis in 1972 and a 1.6 million year old skull of Homo Erectus in 1975.

In 1984, his team including Kamoya Kimeu-considered one of the greatest fossil hunters of all time-uncovered a near complete Homo Erectus (Homo Ergaster) skeleton on the banks of the Nariokotome River, near Lake Turkana in Kenya that became known as the ‘Turkana Boy’, a youth – 7 to 11 years old – who lived 1.5 to 1.6 million years ago. This was the most complete early human skeleton ever found and became a game changer in understanding the very early history of mankind.

Richard Leakey then went on to unlocking more secrets of our evolution.

In 1993, a small propeller-driven plane piloted by Richard Leakey crashed, crushing his lower legs, both of which were later amputated and thereafter he lived with artificial legs. In later years his kidneys refused to function and he survived, with reasonable health, on a kidney transplant-donated by his brother.

This week, on 2 January 2022, the famed anthropologist who was nearly 77 years old passed away in Kenya.

Leakey was also a conservationist, leading the charge to try to wipe out the poaching of African elephants and rhinos, although his methods were often considered controversial – He once burnt down a whole stack of poached ivory.

Later, he tried his hand at Politics too and leaves the world with the title of paleoanthropologist, fossil-hunter, conservationist, and politician.

James Webb

The James Webb Telescope Observatory, built by the US and named after one of the architects of the Apollo moon landings, was launched into Space on 25 December 2021 by an Ariane rocket from the Kourou, in French Guiana. Webb is the world’s largest space telescope and is the successor to the Hubble telescope.

The mission’s goal is to show the first stars to light up the Universe. The Webb telescope has a life of 10 years (compared to the Hubble’s 30 years) has a 6.5 metre(m) mirror, weighs 6200 kilograms and can withstand temperatures of (-) 230 Degrees Centrigrade.

In about two weeks after launch, Webb will unfold from its compact launch configuration into the operational configuration, which is nearly the size of a Tennis Court. This week saw the observatory’s secondary mirror locked into position on the end of three 8 metre long booms. It sets the stage for the all-important unpacking of Webb’s primary mirror -the biggest reflecting surface ever sent into orbit. The mirror’s size will enable it to gather the faintest signals in the most exquisite detail. But the reflector will be useless if the light it collects cannot be directed into the telescope’s instruments. This is the role of the 74 cm-wide secondary mirror. Sitting out in front, it will bounce back into the heart of the observatory whatever the main mirror sees.

Webb’s primary mirror consists of 18 hexagonal segments made of gold-plated beryllium, which is light-weight and holds its shape at very low temperatures. The gold coating makes for near-perfect reflection in the infrared-the wavelength of light in which the pioneer stars will be seen to shine.

Now we have Eyes at a distance of 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth looking deep into Space. Wonder what it would see?

Apple

Apple became the first US company to be valued at over USD three Trillion on Monday as the tech company continued its phenomenal share price growth, tripling in value in under four years. A pandemic-era surge in tech stocks has driven the major US tech companies to new highs, pulling US stock markets with them. Apple got past USD 2 trillion in 2020. Apple alone is now more valuable than the combined values of Boeing, Coca-Cola, Disney, Exxon-Mobil, McDonald’s, Netflix, and Walmart. Its shares have risen 38% since the beginning of 2021, one of the largest gains on the Dow Jones industrial average stock market index.

Narendra Modi

The Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Modi, was on a visit to the State of Punjab – bordering Pakistan- to inaugurate new projects and also address a rally in the city of Ferozepur, ahead of State Elections. He arrived at Punjab’s Bhatinda Airport this Wednesday morning, and was supposed to fly to the National Martyrs’ Memorial and later to the rally in a helicopter. But the helicopter trip was delayed by bad weather and poor visibility. And the convoy finally took to the road. On the way the PM’s Convoy got stuck, almost trapped for about 20 minutes on a flyover, some 30km from the memorial due to a blockade by protesters, in what is being seen as a mighty serious security lapse. The protesters were demanding the resignation of a cabinet minister whose son has been accused over the deaths of farmers during the Farm Laws repeal agitation. The PM turned back to Bhatinda Airport and and then flew to New Delhi.

Seems that the Farmers were tipped off by the Punjab Police -acting on the behest of the Sate Government-when it was the sworn sacred duty of the Police to ensure contingency plans and safety of the PM of the Country.

The security breach, a first of its kind, caused a major uproar all over India with people demanding punishment for those responsible: Punjab being awfully close to Pakistan and previous shooting incidents in the area coming back to memory.

This is an unacceptable unprecedented situation and a severe wake-up call to the security think-tanks and Politicians. I would like to see some heads roll-top down.

Novak Djokovic

With the Australian Open Tennis Tennis Tournament set to begin in Australia the World No 1 Champion Novak Djokovic-a noted vaccine sceptic-played into a controversy resulting in being served with a quarantine in an Australian Hotel.

Djokovic boasted of getting a vaccination exemption, on unexplained medical grounds, when rules said that all players in the Australian Open must be double-jabbed.

Someone messed-up by giving a free-pass Visa and someone else woke up in time to stop him at the Airport in Australia for not being vaccinated, and promptly had his Visa cancelled. He now faces an unceremonious deportation, while the legal rules play across the net with him sitting it out on his Hotel bench. Should not Djokovic be more responsible? Watch out for that ace.

More fascinating and wild-eyed stories about people and communities coming up in the weeks and months ahead. Play and serve World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-End

About: the world this week, 26 December 2021 to 1 January 2022, the end of 2021 -what it did to us and the beginning of a brand new year, 2022 – new stories to tell.

Everywhere

America

The Ghislaine Maxwell -Jeffrey Epstein story occupied the best spots and was massaged well in the news of the world. In one of the most high-profile convictions of a woman for enabling a sex trafficking ring, Ghislaine Maxwell, the 60 years old daughter of disgraced British media tycoon Robert Maxwell, was found guilty of grooming and trafficking girls for pedophile sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to savour. Epstein, killed himself in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges himself.

The pair enticed girls as young as 14 to engage in ‘so-called massages’, in which sex abuse came to be taught as ‘casual and normal’, with vulnerable victims showered with money and gifts. One kind of Sex Education?

The conviction was a major victory for the more than 100 accusers who fought for over a decade to have Epstein and his co-conspirators face criminal charges.

Ghislaine probably came to this level of ‘moral corruption’ due to a dysfunctional childhood, physical and verbal abuse by her father, who in 1991 vanished from the deck of his private Yacht, Lady Ghislaine (named after her), off the Canary Islands. His body was later found floating in the sea. Soon it came out that Robert Maxwell had raided the Mirror Group’s Pension Fund of GBP 440 million as part of a scheme to artificially inflate the company’s share price at the expense of his employees. Robert Maxwell had risen from extreme poverty in a Czechoslovak Jewish settlement and most of his family was murdered in the Holocaust. He went on to become a British Army war hero, then an academic publishing magnate, a Labour Member of Parliament, and eventually owner of the Daily Mirror, one of the United Kingdom’s biggest-selling newspapers.

Ghislaine Maxwell could face about 65 years in jail and the sentence is yet to be pronounced.

Cricket

Australia and England are playing for the Ashes Cup in Australia, and this week the land of cricketing great Don Bradman bowled a new hero. Test debutant Scott Boland starred his name in the record books becoming an instant hero in Australian cricket with an astonishing six-wicket haul that wrapped up the Ashes on day three of the third test in Melbourne this week. Plucked from obscurity when called up by selectors on Christmas Eve, the 32 years old Victoria paceman finished with outrageous innings figures of 6 wickets for 7 seven runs in 4 overs, sending his home crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground into a joyous tizzy.

Along the way he matched the 19-ball record for the fastest five-wicket haul in tests shared by England’s Stuart Broad at the 2015 Ashes, and Australia’s Ernie Toshack in 1947.

Boland is only the second indigenous Australian to play Test Match Cricket after Jason Gillespie. Boland grew up unaware of his Indigenous heritage, which includes links to the Gulidjan people, an Aboriginal tribe from the western part of his home state of Victoria.

Australia now take an unassailable lead in the five match series, that spills over to the new year 2022.

India in Precaution Mode

While the World went ‘oo-la-la’ over booster shots of the COVID19 Vaccine, India calmly announced a measured plan to tackle the new variant. For the first time since the pandemic, vaccinations for children is set to begin and those in the age between 15 & 18 will get their first shot from 3rd January 2022 onwards. Healthcare and frontline workers will get a ‘precautionary dose’ beginning from the 10th January 2022, and those over 60 years with co-morbidities can roll up their sleeves also from the 10th January.

I like that new variant term, ‘precautionary dose’ that ‘boosts’ your immunity, and there’s no Greek in it.

The End of The Year – The Year that Was

Over the past year 2021, we have been overwhelmed by a quick spreading, hydra headed pandemic that refuses to die down. And we still do not know how it all began – the origins-in China. We spent the year challenging the Greek Alphabet, to the very end, on finding names to name.

We have been flooded with a deluge of water from never-ending rains and a hurricane of storms, and cooked-on another extreme-by fires flaring up in one country after another. The smoke was hard to miss. Climate change was written all over the land, the seas, and the sky. We even tried to find a way to hold the Tempest with a Hamlet’ian ‘to do or not to do’ in a summit in Glasgow and tried to declare things are being controlled-though the action was missing. Blah, blah, blah?

We were struck by the chaotic exit of the United States and allied countries from Afghanistan leaving it to the gun-wearing, long beard-wallahs to just walk-in and take-over the country. Conquering never looked so easy. And the Taliban kept the girls out of school and from an uplifting education. They promised a better version of themselves, but the old stripes were unmistakable and hard to change.

The last remains of dissent in Russia was locked-out, locked down -and maybe knocked off -with opposition politician Alexei Navalny sent to a penal colony prison, when he dared to return home after recovering from a ’state of poisoning’. Russia’s appetite for coercion was on full display with a troop build-up near Ukraine, complemented by a sophisticated disinformation campaign that questioned Ukraine’s very right to exist.

Over the year, we saw new leaders take over: in the USA it was Joe Biden from Donald Trump, in Israel Naftali Bennett from Benjamin Netanyahu, and in Germany Olaf Scholz from Angela Merkel, among others. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson cruised along in the United Kingdom and made one more baby during the year, while Vladimir Putin forged himself in iron and Xi Jinping built himself into a China Wall. He tried crossing the Himalayan Wall and ran into India’s 56 inch-chest Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Now both sides are watching their boundaries…and their chests of armoury.

In Myanmar, winning the Nobel Peace Prize wasn’t enough to keep its civilian Leader Aung San Sui Kyi in democratic power, and was shot out by a military junta sending the prize winner peacefully to count bars in jail. The Burma teak is being tested like never before.

In Japan, a Princess married a commoner giving up her royal titles to cherish her love, and left the land of the Rising Sun to rise elsewhere. In France, Josephine Baker a professional entertainer famous for the banana belt skirt dance and a World War -II spy was inducted in the Pantheon in Paris – the highest honour in France. And she became the first black superwoman in this region.

In Space, USA’s NASA flew a helicopter called Ingenuity on Mars in a first of its kind in another Planet, after successfully landing its Perseverance Rover on Mars. And thrillingly repeated the helicopter flying feat many times over.

2021 was the year when the full and far-reaching impact of social media, its misappropriation and how or whether it could be tamed, was actually felt. Facebook learn it the hard way and tried damage control by ‘meta’morphosing itself in to a new name.

India won the Miss Universe Title after 21 long years and suddenly India, despite its multiple contradictions, showed its beauty spots, again. India’s Prime Minster (PM) withdraw a path-breaking New Farm Laws threesome after almost a year of incessant meaningless agitation by opponents to change. He stepped back, acknowledging failure to convincingly explain the ‘shooting’ benefits to old-habits rooted farmers. During the year India’s PM has gone about execution and implementation in a quiet, tireless, fast-paced manner, and the results are showing in all States he has touched. He would easily be My Person of the Year.

India’s first ever Chief of Defence Staff was martyred in an unbelievable peace-time Helicopter crash, taking with him some of the finest Officers of the country. India was shocked beyond tears and a Nation rose in unison to pay a deserving tribute. I expect the reasons of the crash to be found during 2022.

In the Tokyo Olympics 2020 held in Japan after a pandemic delayed and modified start in 2021, India did surprisingly well, the best in over four decades, which brought cheers to a billion hearts. India won 7 medals, 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 4 Bronze: its richest ever haul and finest performance of all time. Notable was in Hockey, where India got its stick work together and was back to winning ways after a 41 year medal drought: they won a bronze medal.

In the Paralympic Games that followed, India did even better with 19 medals (5 Gold, 8 Silver, and 6 Bronze)and – the highest in its history.

It is ‘No time to die’ sang Billie Eilish in the James Bond movie of the year, and ABBA make a comeback, while Britney Spears got her freedom back after years of a strangulating conservatorship. Oops, we hope to see her sing one more time. Olivia Rodrigo climbed the music charts with a new ‘Driving Licence’, while Yohani & Satheeshan’s, ‘Manike Mahge Highe’ and Pawan Ch & Mangli’s, ‘Saranga Dariya’ stole my heart.

Space became closer to Earth as people began flying to the edge of Space and back in double quick time. A Virgin start was followed by Amazon and then SpaceX.

While all this was happening, America continued to kill itself in the numerous gun-shooting incidents sprayed through the year.

2021 appears to have been a year of warnings, about our relationships with technology, the planet, and those who govern us, whether elected or self-appointed.

Somehow, we thought that the year 2021 will be better than the year 2020. Well, almost. But I’m hoping 2022 will be ‘the bridge over troubled waters’ enabling us to cross over to doing all the great things we wanted to do over the past two years. We are wiser and like the spider endlessly building its web despite severe ‘tearing’ setbacks, we move on to building stronger. We need to keep at it.

I came across this Donella Meadows – a Systems Thinker – quote while reading Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics, “Let’s face it, the universe is messy. It is nonlinear, turbulent, and chaotic. It is dynamic. It spends its time in transient behaviour on its way to somewhere else, not in mathematically neat equilibria. It self-organizes and evolves. It creates diversity, not uniformity. That’s what makes the world interesting, that’s what makes it beautiful, and that’s what makes it work”.

We have arrived here riding on the shoulders of our forefathers – from the hunter-gatherer mode to today’s variegated lifestyles. We need to grow the bone and muscle in our frames and shoulders for future generations, to climb upon. Let’s be mindful and collaborate with one another to uplift mankind and life on Earth. 2022 may not be any easier and could bring with it all kinds of struggles, old and new, and we need to be ready – with our minds – to handle it. That’s the superpower all of us have!

Happy New Year 2022.

More delightful ‘week stories’ coming up in the year ahead. Live with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-52

About: the world this week, 19 December to 25 December 2021, the thing of the year, the country of the year, signs of an invasion, bad behaviour by lawmakers, an antediluvian egg, and movies – in and out of prison; and a stylish, smashing brother helps.

Everywhere

My ‘Thing Of The Year’, the coronavirus and its evolving mutations, continues to hold the world in thrall, and by the throat. The latest avatar, Omicron, is already dominating infections in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and most of Europe. To give a statistic: Covid19 deaths in the US now exceed all deaths, military and civilian, in all American wars since the Revolutionary War (1775-76).

India is watching with ‘masked breath’, the cases are slowly growing in numbers and that dreaded word, ‘lockdown’ is unlocking in our minds. Many of us hope it dare not get a stronghold, the way it tossed us up, gasping for breath, in the so-called second wave.

Latest studies say that the Omicron variant isn’t as bad as the Delta variant, but certainly more infectious. We just need to keep ourselves ahead of the spikes: do what it takes to stay safe this Holiday Season – get and wear that armour.

With Christmas approaching, I hope everyone’s wish is a ‘stocking filled with the belief that the world will see the last spike of the coronavirus in 2022 – and others of its kind’. It may be a tough load for Santa to reindeer-in through the chimney, but faith is everything.

Italy

Italy was crowned the ‘Country of the Year’ by The Economist newspaper, in its annual honouring of the country that, in its view, improved the most in the year 2021: mind it, the award is not given to the biggest, the richest, or the happiest country! Central to the honour was Mario Draghi, described as a ‘competent, internationally respected Prime Minister’. Meanwhile, disgraced former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is modelling a comeback! Auguroni (Best Wishes).

Russia and Ukraine

Russia invaded the headlines this week, firing the eternal question, ‘is Russia going to annex Ukraine -like it did Crimea-are Russian forces getting ready for war in Ukraine?’ Oops, since when did invasions become fashionable again; ask the Vikings in Valhalla?

It was only seven years ago, in 2014, that Russia seized and then annexed the southern Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, when Ukrainians were busy deposing their pro-Russian President. And Russian-backed separatists captured large swathes of Ukraine’s two eastern regions collectively known as the Donbas.

There is a mind problem here with Russia developing a mindset that Russia and Ukraine are one nation, after the fall of the Soviet Union: a twin brothers-separated-at birth-thing. Russian is the second most spoken language in Ukraine after Ukrainian. Another cause for Russia’s concern is that Ukraine is ‘sleeping with’ NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and may marry into the Western Alliance. And Russia is demanding guarantees that the wedding will never happen.

NATO is a defensive alliance and its Secretary General, has made clear that any military support would be purely along those lines. The UK is set to help Ukraine build two naval bases, at Ochakiv on the Black Sea, and at Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov. The US’ anti-tank Javelin missiles have also been sent to Ukraine and two US Coast Guard patrol boats have been given to the navy. And Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is watching closely.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is looking for a clear timeline from the alliance. Wedding bells adding sound to the jingle of Christmas?

Russia is threatening military measures, and the US says if it invades Ukraine it will hit back with sanctions on an unprecedented scale. This is a place to watch. Maybe it’s just a Russian posturing, to prevent NATO from marrying more nations and bringing many children into the world opposed to Russia…and in Russia’s backyard.

India

India’s Opposition continued to ‘dishonour’ Parliament – in my view – sulking and striking over a well-deserved suspension of 12 fellow Members of Parliament (MP) for unruly, unacceptable behaviour, in the previous session. And wasting tax-payer’s money. Late in the week, another Quiz-Master turned MP joined the gang after flinging the Rule Book at the House Speaker. The best part is, these MPs wore the suspension as a badge of honour and along with ‘their partners in crime’ ensured Parliament work was disrupted.

MPs should set an example by setting in motion thoughtful discussions, artful debates and, agreeing to agree and agreeing to disagree.

Meanwhile, the Government rammed through Lower & Upper Houses of Parliament some much-needed electoral reforms, linking the unique Identification, Aadhar Card, with the Voter’s Identity Card – an obvious attempt a controlling election voting fraud.

The Government also tabled a bill, after Cabinet approval, to increase a woman’s age of marriage to 21, from the earlier 18, bringing it on par with a man. Women should be able to make better choices at this age and overcome a constant Indian pressure to marry-off the girls when they are just beginning to get the hang and the bang of things.

Dinosaurs

Over the years, we have become used to news of Dinosaur bones being discovered while digging in some corner of the World and put together to find a big name for it: many have landed up in museums where we can see the past ‘assembled and standing still in front of us’. Dinosaurs were real.

Now comes a more real story, announced by Scientists this week, about an unprecedented fossil, a perfectly preserved baby dinosaur curled up, almost life-like, inside its egg and obviously preparing to hatch, just like a chicken. The fossil is about 70 million years old.

The egg is around 17 centimeters (cm) long and the Dinosaur is estimated to be 27 cm long from head to tail. The researchers believe as an adult, had it lived, it would have been about two to three meters long. The fossil preserves the embryonic skeleton of an Oviraptorid Dinosaur, which has been nicknamed ‘Baby Yingliang’ after the name of the Chinese museum which houses the fossil. Baby dinosaur bones are small and fragile and are only very rarely preserved as fossils, making this a very lucky find, indeed.

All birds directly evolved from a group of two-legged dinosaurs known as Theropods, whose members include the towering Tyrannosaurus Rex and the smaller Velociraptors. This find is expected to shed more light on the links between dinosaurs and birds, among other things.

The specimen was among several fossils discovered about two decades ago in the China’s City of Ganzhou in the south-eastern province of Jiangxi but not recognised to be fossilised dinosaur eggs until 2015, when evaluated by an expert. The fossils were acquired in the year 2000 by a director of a Chinese stone company called Yingliang Group and ended up in storage, largely forgotten until about 10 years later, when museum staff sorted through the boxes and came across the fossil during the construction of Yingliang Stone Nature History Museum. Eventually, the egg shell slightly cracked and the fragile bones inside became visible, prompting a peek-in.

Researchers then led a study of the fossil, which was published in the journal iScience this week. Well, they hatched the egg for us to see.

Please Yourself

Over the week I watched the magnificent Sandra Bullock movie, The Unforgivable’ about a woman who tries to re-enter society, after serving a 20 year sentence in prison: to a society that is unforgiving and refuses to allow her to forget her past. Her only hope for redemption is finding her younger sister who she was forced to leave behind without a care-taker. Her mom dies in childbirth after giving her a little sister. And upon the death of her Dad she brings up the sister in her childhood home until ‘the crime’ when the Sheriff who comes over to evict them is shot dead in the ensuing war of words.

The end brought tears to the eyes with the sisters ‘closing the gap’ with a simple hug and the body language doing all the talking. Brilliant. Before the end there is a twist, which tells us what actually happened on that fateful day. Watch the movie and find out for the sacrifices made by a sister to protect her 5 years old sibling and the never give-up spirit in finding and connecting with her again. Give purpose to life on Earth!

I had also watched the Rajinikant Tamil movie ‘Annaantthe’ and found it dumb to the core. But, I loved the way a brother does everything possible to be understanding, and building back the life of his sister, without showing himself-until the end, when the job is done. Here too the story ends with a hug, though a noisy one.

The sister elopes with her lover, when the brother fixes-up a marriage, and thereafter suffers terrible misfortune in business due to an ‘underworld rowdy gang’. And the brother comes to the rescue, unnoticed by the sister. Again, the brother raises the sister from a young age, when the parents die. He dotes on her expansively and refuses to fall in to the age-old trap of ‘finishing off a runaway bride’ to save the ‘family honour’.

Any sister would love to have such a brother watching over from behind and giving you the muscle to face and climb out of a treacherous situation. Call it strengthening the wings for the flight of life. And a permanent life support.

The superb Actor that Rajinikant is, there are not many film makers and directors who have done justice to his capabilities, calmly using his unique style. And Rajini has allowed himself to be dragged along the beaten path…punching dialogues, flicking cigarettes, and other things as well. He can do better.

More stylish sibling love stories coming up in the weeks ahead, hug World Inthavaaram. Careful when you break those eggs for breakfast – there may be a baby Dinosaur sleeping inside.

Season’s Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year 2022.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-51

About: the world this week, 12 December to 18 December 2021, tearing tornadoes, F-1 racing, a new Miss Universe cat-walks, an ancient Temple shines, a hero flies away, and an animal shows off its thousand legs.

Everywhere

Amercia’s Tearing Tornadoes

We have, during the course of our life, torn paper, clothes, or many other things on numerous occasions, and rightfully or wrongfully worn deliberately torn jeans as well. Now Nature is doing about the same, with 30 tornadoes tearing through and ripping apart six states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee, of the United States (US). This happened last Friday and Saturday. The pictures of the devastation-before and after-showed shreds and tatters like pieces of clothing, the mangled remains of houses, cars, railway carriages, and residential communities. More than 70 people have died in the mayhem caused by the tornadoes.

“It’s changed the landscape, here in Mayfield (one of the affected areas),” said an Official. “We’re seeing destruction that none of us have ever seen before”.

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air, in contact with the ground, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud. They can have wind speeds between 180 and 480 km per hour. Tornadoes occur most frequently in North America, particularly in central and southeastern regions of the US colloquially known as ‘tornado alley’; the US and Canada have by far the most tornadoes of any countries in the world.

Formula -1 Motor Racing: New Formulas

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a Formula One (F-1) motor racing event that takes place every year on the Yas Marina Circuit located on the Yas Island of United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Grand Prix launch was first announced in early 2007 at the Abu Dhabi F-1 Festival in the UAE and the first race took place on 1 November 2009.

This year’s Abu Dhabi F-1 Championship has a new winner. Belgian-Dutch Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing-Honda won the Drivers’ Championship for the first time in his career. Four-time defending and seven-time champion British, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes finished runner-up. Mercedes won the Constructors’ Championship for the eighth consecutive season. But there was a controversy on the conduct of the race and decisions made by the Race Director.

Let’s take a ‘pit stop’, and get familiar with a few F-1 terms, before we drive on.

Pole Position: is the most favourable place for a car to start the race, situated on the inside of the front row. It’s a place that has to be earned, going to the driver with the best qualifying time.

Pit Stop: This is a permitted stop during the race to change tyres. Current F-1 regulations dictate that a F-1 Driver has to make at least one pit stop, of the about 3 allowed stops. This is because at least two different tyre compounds have to be used during a race. The harder tyre, referred to as the ‘prime’ tyre is more durable but gives less grip, and the softer tyre referred to as the ‘option’ tyre gives more grip but is less durable. And the racing team has to be smart to use pit stops to the advantage of the Driver in the hot seat and the race track.

Safety Car (SC): In F-1, if an accident or lousy weather prevents normal racing – a caution period – from continuing safely, the Race Director will call for a ‘safety car’ period, which would see marshals wave yellow flags and hold ‘SC’ boards. The SC limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack during the period and enables the clearance of any obstruction under safe conditions, especially for marshals. The SC which generally consists of an aptly modified high-performance production car that enters the track ahead of the leader. Depending on the regulations in effect, competitors are not normally allowed to pass the safety car or other competitors during a caution period, and the safety car leads the field at a pre-determined safe speed, which may vary by series and circuit. At the end of the caution period, the safety car leaves the track and the competitors resume normal racing.

Now, over to the controversy.

Verstappen took the pole position in Abu Dhabi, ahead of Hamilton, ‘earning it’ on performances over the week. During the race, Hamilton had a better start and took the lead into the first turn. At turn six, Verstappen attempted to pass, forcing Hamilton to evade by going off the track. Emerging from the corner still in the lead, Hamilton was instructed to give up the advantage he had gained. The pair settled in their positions until the first round of pit stops, with Hamilton gradually extending his lead. Later, a virtual safety car period allowed Verstappen to change tyres without losing track position; however, despite the tyre advantage Verstappen was unable to challenge Hamilton. With seven laps remaining, the safety car was brought out again for a crash involving another car. Red Bull used the opportunity to give Verstappen a fresh set of soft tyres, while Hamilton, still on his now-quite-old hard compound tyres, was not pitted. The Race Director took the decision to allow the five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to un-lap themselves before restarting the race with only one lap remaining. Upon the restart, Verstappen quickly passed Hamilton and held him off for the remainder of the lap to win the race and the championship. Mercedes immediately lodged two separate protests against the race’s result. Both protests were rejected, and Mercedes said it intended to appeal the decision, but later announced that it has decided against it, ‘in the spirit of the game’. The winner takes it all!

Motor Racing happens in the circuit and off the circuit as well. And all the while, the mind races tirelessly in many lanes.

Meanwhile, soon after the race, maybe to enliven his racing spirits, Lewis Hamilton was knighted this week, with Britain’s Prince Charles doing the honours. Henceforth, it will be, Sir Lewis Hamilton.

India’s Meow Comes After 21 Years

India’s ‘cat works’- including the original sound – and the usual cat-walking, won the day at the 70th Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, which culminated this week at The Universe Dome, Eilat, Israel.

Miss India-Universe, Harnaaz Sandhu, 21, was crowned Miss Universe 2021 in a stunning display of presence of mind, beautiful costumes, and among other things, meowing like a cat. The first runner-up was, Miss Paraguay Nadia Ferreira, and the second runner-up, Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane. Andrea Meza, Miss Universe 2020, crowned the new Miss Universe 2021.

That’s an amazing sequence: a 21 year old winning a Beauty Title for her country, after 21 years, in the year 2021. Wish Mathematician Ramanujan (and Hardy) was around to find any fascinating meaning to this number combination.

The last time India won the competition was in the year 2000 when Lara Dutta wore the Miss Universe tiara; and the same year that Priyanka Chopra won the Miss World Title. Sushmitha Sen was the only other Indian-the first ever -to win a Miss Universe Title in 1994; and the year that Aishwarya Rai won the Miss World Title. Those were the days when India won beauty titles on the double. This means Harnaaz Sandhu was just born when the Miss Universe crown was finding head space on Lara Dutta.

Harnaaz was born in Chandigarh in a Punjabi family and schooled at the Shivalik Public School. She started modelling at a young age, gradually walking her way to beauty pageants and won her first Beauty Contest in 2017 as Miss Chandigarh. This was followed by the LIVA Miss Diva Universe 2021 Title. While she was growing in beauty, she has also acted in two Punjabi movies.

After School, Harnaaz Sandhu studied Information Technology to earn a Bachelor’s Degree, and is now pursing her masters in Public Administration. She draws inspiration from her mother, who broke generations of patriarchy to become a successful gynaecologist.

She has a talent for mimicry and can mimic almost anyone, including animals and when during the contest, host Steve Harvey challenged her, she actually meowed like a cat. I could hear my neighbour’s cat (I don’t have one) meow in delight, acknowledging an original.

Harnaaz showed a great sense of style in her choice of outfits. In the finals she wore a silver gown- a sign of victory- inspired by Phulkari motifs, a geometric design unique to Punjab, designed by fashion designer Saisha Shinde. Embellished with sequins, stones, and embroidery, the gown featured a deep V-neck and a thigh-high slit in the centre, which complimented Harnaaz’s hour-glass figure. The winning sparkle was there for all to see through!

Her superb answer to the question of what advice she would give young women on coping with pressures of every day life was, ’to believe in themselves, to understand that they are unique and that is what makes them attractive. Stop comparing yourself with others and instead focus on significant issues affecting the globe’.

This beauty surely has the strength of inner beauty, and the brains. Cats Beware.

Kasi Vishwanath Shines

Varanasi, located on the banks of the River Ganges, in India’s Uttar Pradesh State, is regarded among the holiest of Hindu cities.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple, in Varanasi’s Vishwanath Gali, dedicated to Lord Shiva, is one of the most famous and important places of worship in the Hindu religion. Varanasi was called Kashi (shining) in ancient times, and hence the temple is called Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Inside the Temple is the Jyotirlinga, or Jyotirlingam – a devotional representation of the Hindu God Shiva Vishveshvara or Vishwanath- which has a very special and unique significance in the spiritual history of India. It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas- the holiest of Shiva Temples in India. The main deity is known by the names Shri Vishwanath and Vishweshwara, literally meaning Lord of the Universe. The Temple is referred to as a central part of worship in the Shaiva philosophy (worship of Lord Shiva) in ancient Hindu scriptures.

The Kasi Vishwanath Temple had been demolished by many Muslim rulers during the numerous invasions of India: the last was by Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal Emperor who constructed the Gyanvapi Mosque on its site. The current structure was built on an adjacent site by the Maratha ruler, Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore in the year 1780.

Many Indian saints such as, Adi Sankaracharya, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Swami Vivekananda, Bamakhyapa, Goswami Tulsidas, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Sathya Sai Baba, Yogiji Maharaj, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Mahant Swami Maharaj, and Gurunanak have been in the Temple, in the past.

A visit to the temple and a bath in the holy River Ganges is one of many methods believed to lead one on a path to ‘moksha’ (liberation from the cycle of life). Thus, Hindus from all over the world try to visit Kasi once in their lifetime. There is also a tradition that one should give up at least one desire, after a pilgrimage to the temple, which would also include a visit to a Temple in Rameswaram (another one of the 12 Jyotirlingas) in Tamil Nadu, South India. People take water samples of the Ganges to pray at the temple and in return, bring back sand from near that temple.

Over the years, the Kasi Vishwanath Temple had literally lost its shine and the locality became wildly crowded and deeply congested with houses and shops making the best of any available area, in and around the Temple.

Then came India’s Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, who represents Varanasi, having been elected twice to Parliament from the Varanasi ‘Member of Parliament’ Constituency. The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project was conceived in 2019 to connect the iconic temple and the ghats along the River Ganga. And to ensure an easy flowing movement of pilgrims and devotees between the ghats and the temple: earlier, they had to pass through stifling, congested streets. Over 300 properties have been acquired to implement the project with about 1,400 shopkeepers, tenants and homeowners rehabilitated. More than 40 ancient temples were rediscovered during the works, which were restored without any change in the original structure.

The temple area which was only three thousand square feet before the renovation has now grown to about 5 lakh square feet.

The testimony of the success of the project is the fact that there is no litigation pending in any court of the country regarding acquisitions or rehabilitation related to the development of the project.

This week, on 13 December, PM Modi inaugurated the completed works of the first phase and visuals of the ancient Temple were magnificent. “It is a symbol of our spiritual soul, it is a symbol of India’s antiquity and traditions, said the PM.

I’m almost 60, and maybe I should make that trip to Kasi?

Another Hero Flies Away

In last week’s deadly helicopter copter crash, which martyred India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, the lone survivor was Group Captain Varun Singh. And after a final struggle in Hospital he succumbed to wounds sustained in the crash. This wipes out the entire passenger list on that fateful day. Now it’s time the Government gets to the bottom of what caused the crash.

The Land of a Thousand Legs

When it comes to strange animals, there is no country in the world more fascinating than Australia, and throwing-up unique hidden ones ever so often.

Now Scientists in Australia have discovered a millipede with more legs than any known animal. The pale-coloured millipede has more than 1300 legs in an elongated body of about 95 millimetres length. It was found almost 60 metres underground in a mining region in Western Australia and has been named Eumillipes Persephone. In Greek mythology, Persephone is the Queen of the underworld – that’s a well deserved name! The previous record holder was a California millipede with 750 legs.

Millipedes first appeared more than 400 million years ago and there are about 13,000 known species. Most millipedes are blind, colourless and are presumed to live on fungi. They are believed to be the first animals to conquer land. Wow, that’s an awful lot of leg.

More shining stories coming up in the weeks ahead, meow and discover more legs with World Inthavaaram.

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!

Everywhere

Roads

Hijab

Oratory, Elections

Nightingales

Cricket

Please Yourself

Everywhere

Spotify in a Spot

Medley

India’s Budgeting

Australian Open Tennis Aces

Everywhere

Webb Eyes

A Honest Coup

India’s Republic Day

Faith Matters

Homecoming

Please Yourself

Everywhere

Volcanoes Erupting

Hostage Taking

Indian Classical Dancing

The Flames of a War Memorial

Everywhere

Colour in Black & White

Kazakhstan

Melange

A Rat Hero Dies

Please Yourself.

Everywhere

Elizabeth Holmes

Desmond Tutu

Richard Leakey

James Webb

Apple

Narendra Modi

Novak Djokovic

Everywhere

America

Cricket

India in Precaution Mode

The End of The Year – The Year that Was

Everywhere

Italy

Russia and Ukraine

India

Dinosaurs

Please Yourself

Everywhere

Amercia’s Tearing Tornadoes

Formula -1 Motor Racing: New Formulas

India’s Meow Comes After 21 Years

Kasi Vishwanath Shines

Another Hero Flies Away

The Land of a Thousand Legs

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