Tag: Chennai Floods

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2023-49

About: the world this week, 3 December to 9 December 2023; Depends on context antisemitism; Ukrainian Sniper; new Woman Chess Grandmaster; India State Election results; Chennai underwater; TIME’s person, athlete, and CEO of the year.

Everywhere

Last week, the temporary halt in the Hamas-Israel War was just that and Israel got back to raining its fire-power on Gaza. There are still 138 hostages – including men, woman, and children in the captivity of Hamas.

Meanwhile, every day, new heart-wrenching details of the savagery of Hamas was made public by Israel based on reports of the released hostages. And the stories of barbarism is blood-curling and horrific. Can humans ever do this to another of their kind?

Israel is now expanding its military operations to the South of Gaza and has also come up with a plan to flood the Hamas’ underground tunnels with sea-water pumped from the Mediterranean Sea, so that the Hamas rats would emerge from their holes.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have stormed into the City of Khan Younis and are now operating in the heart of the City. It’s mostly house-to-house combat at this stage. The IDF has surrounded the house of Yahya Sinwar – the Leader of Hamas in Gaza – believed to the mastermind behind the 7th October attack on Israel. It’s a matter of time that they flush him out.

On Thursday the sea-water did its work and about 100 terrorist rats were caught, stripped down to their briefs (to prevent a show of any suicide vests) and taken way for ‘grilling’ and imprisonment.

Over 1200 people have been killed since the resumption of fighting.

‘Depends on the Context’

This week, the Presidents of America’s Ivy League Universities, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Pennsylvania (Upenn) spoke before America’s Congress. They were given one simple question to answer, “Does calling for genocide of Jews break the University code of conduct, and is it considered harassment?” It should have been a simple ‘Yes’. Instead, they said it ‘Depends on the Context’ and it depends on whether the speech turns into conduct. This damning reply caused a huge uproar and brought forth outright condemnation from America’s Leaders, across fields. Their failed moral leadership has led to moral decay of University campus culture. And these antisemitic incidents are seen as not just a mere anomaly.

There is a severe call for President Claudine Gay(Harvard), President Sally Kornbluth (MIT), and President Elizabeth Magill (Upenn) to resign, or be fired from their positions. Or does it depend on the context?

Ukrainian Sniper

The Ukrainian Sniper had lain still for hours in near freezing temperatures when the command came to take the shot at a Russian soldier almost 4 kilometres away. ‘You can’, his Spotter said, and Vyacheslav Kovalskiy, 58, pulled the trigger. The rest, they say, is history.

The bullet took about nine seconds to reach its target – the Russian soldier doubled down and fell. Ukraine said the shot set a new sniping distance record, breaking the previously acknowledged mark by more than 850 feet.

The record was also a shot heard around the world of snipers, group of highly skilled shooters who have long pushed the boundaries of just how far a bullet can travel with accuracy.

This is also a morale boost shot for Ukrainian forces, fighting to hold their ground against the invading Russians. Distances can kill.

Chess Grandmaster (GM)

The young Indian Chess prodigy, GM, Rameshbabu Praggnanaandhaa,18, has been all over the news in recent times and his elder sister was feeling left out. Then she must have decided ‘enough is enough’ and late last week, the sister – Vaishali Rameshbabu – became India’s third woman Chess Grandmaster. She achieved this with two consecutive victories at the Ellobregat Open Chess Tournament in Spain, which made her ride past the 2500 mark ‘Elo rating’ to become GM.

She said, “For many years I was living as Prag’s (Praggnanaandhaa) sister. Now slowly, I think it’s getting to Vaishali. I am very proud of being Prag’s sister, but I also want my name. I think I would like to be remembered as one of India’s greatest Woman Chess Players”. Prag became GM in 2018 at the age of 12 – the second youngest at the time to achieve this.

Vaishali’s inspiration has been the first and second Indian Woman GM’s before her, Humpy and Harika. Koneru Humpy is the world’s youngest female player to become GM, in 2002, at the age of just 15. Harika Dronavalli became GM in 2011. And there are about 80 Indian players, in total, who became GM’s, and are in the same league.

Vaishali and Prag also become the first-ever brother-sister duo in the history of chess to be GMs. Also the first time that we will see a brother and sister playing together as candidates. This will happen in April 2024.

What is the ‘Elo rating’?

The Elo rating system measures the relative strength of a player in games such as Chess compared to other players. Its creator Arpad Elo was a Physics Professor in the United States (US) and a Chess Master who worked to improve the way the US Chess Federation measured player’s skill levels. Each player’s Elo rating is represented by a number that reflects that person’s results in the previous rated games. After each game, their ratings are adjusted accordingly to the outcome of the encounter. As a general rule of thumb a player who is rated 100 points higher than his opponent is expected to win roughly five out of eight (64%) games. A player with a 200 point advantage will presumably win 3 out of 4 (75%) games. Most Grandmasters have a Elo rating of between 2500 and 2700. International Masters have between 2499 and 2400.

The Elo rating system was officially adopted by the US Chess Federation in 1960 and by FIDE (The International Chess Federation) in 1970. World Champion, GM Magnus Carlesn holds the record for the highest Elo rating ever achieved by a human player. He reached an impressive 2882 in the year 2014.

India Election Results

Counting of votes for seats in the Elections to the State Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Chhatissgarh, and Telangana took place on Sunday, and it was a cool, thumping win for the Bharatia Janata Party (BJP). Most of the Exit Polls were off-target and at best they could sense the direction the wind was blowing. India’s grand old party, The Congress, won in the State of Telangana where the BJP, which was not expected to win, put up a good show, made inroads, and improved its seats from 1 to 8. The emphatic wins were also an affirmation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s hold on the electorate. And he is hoping to see his party, the BJP, win a third consecutive term in the parliamentary Elections coming-up in 2024.

In Chhattisgarh out of the 90 seats, the BJP won 54 and the Congress 35; in MP out of 230, the BJP won a historic never-before 163 against the Congress’ 66; In Rajasthan out of 199 the BJP won 115 to the Congress’ 69. In Telangana the Congress won 64 out of 119 with the local Party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) winning 39 and the BJP 8. The BRS was in power for a decade, since the formation of the new State of Telangana, and had grown arrogant and corrupt – shown the door by the people.

The counting in the State of Mizoram happen on Monday and a local party Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) won a spectacular mandate of 27 out of 40 seats becoming a party other than the Congress (1) or the BJP (2) set to form the Government. Its Leader Lalduhoma is an ex-Indian Police Force (IPS) officer and served as security-in-charge of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1982.

He then quit the IPS and became a Congress Party Member of Parliament (MP) in 1984. He later, resigned from Congress and became the first MP to be disqualified under the anti-defection law in November 1988. Lalduhoma played an active role in ending the insurgency in Mizoram, which paved the way for the signing of the Mizoram Peace Accord in 1986. He later formed the Mizo National Front (Nationalist) which was renamed Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) in 1997. In 2003, he won the assembly polls as a ZNP candidate. And later went on to form the ZPM as an alternative to the Congress and the Mizo National Front (MNF), which between them, always ruled the State of Mizoram.

Congress’ Revanth Reddy took oath as Chief Minister(CM) of Telangana on the 7th December and so did Lalduhoma in Mizoram. The other States are still to produce their CMs.

The Chennai Deluge

Cyclone Michaung originated as a low-pressure area in the Gulf of Thailand and crossed into the Bay of Bengal becoming a deep depression on 2nd December. It then developed into a cyclonic storm and was named Michaung (pronounced ‘Migjaum), which means ‘strength and resilience’. The name was suggested by Myanmar and named by the World Meteorological Organization.

This week, Cyclone Michaung found its strength and resilience wrecking havoc in Chennai, floating the city and challenging the storm water drain works done to prevent such kind of flooding. Areas were inundated with water and the wrath of the Cyclone knew no bounds, submerging homes, and drowning cars.

As heavy rains brought the city of Chennai to a crying halt, ahead of Cyclone Michaung’s landfall the rainfall was called historic and unprecedented, a 47-year high. This is said almost every year, with the previous one being left behind in all aspects. The rainfall, surpassed the figures of 2015, when intense floods had claimed 199 lives. This time Chennai received 44 centimetres (cm) of rain in Perungudi area and 43 cm at Meenambakkam in just 36 hours.

Chennai’s Southern suburbs were most affected with more than 1000 people evacuated from their homes in Pallikaranai, Perungudi, Thoraipakkam, and Sholinganallur. They struggled under 5 feet of water on day 3.

India’s Prime Minister, who is the head of the National Disaster Management Authority (NMDA), was quick to sanction INR 561.29 crore under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) for India’s first urban mitigation project focussing on Chennai. And represents a proactive measure to address challenges posed by urban flooding and enhance Chennai’s resilience to natural disasters.

Meanwhile, boats were playing on the roads with food and essentials being delivered to people caught in the waters. It would take a few days for the flood-water to recede and then the State Government is expected to be taken to task and face tough questions.

TIME Magazine’s Athlete, Person, and CEO of the Year

This week, Argentina’s Football Captain, Lionel Messi, 36, was named as TIME’s 2023 Athlete of the Year. Messi played a star role in Argentina winning their first World Cup title in 36 years when they beat defending champions France in the final in December last year. Messi also won the Ballon d’Or for a record-extending eighth time.

Messi wins the TIME award for the football influence he has brought over to the United State (US) since joining Inter Miami and elevating the profile of the sport in the US

Lionel Messi had no shortage of offers when he left Paris St Germain earlier this year, choosing to sign for Major League Soccer (MLS) Inter Miami despite being linked with his former team Barcelona and a big-money move to Saudi Arabia’s side Al-Hilal. Messi shocked the globe by turning down a contract from a Saudi club reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year and announcing in June that he was signing with Inter Miami.

It wasn’t just the move that was stunning, but the size and scope of the deal. In addition to the more than USD 20 million a year Inter Miami would pay him, he would be granted an ownership stake in the team upon retirement and an unprecedented cut of revenues earned by a league media partner—in this case, Apple. It was a deal that not only reflected Messi’s undiminished talent on the field but also set a new standard for athlete leverage and empowerment.

Messi wearing a pink Inter Miami jersey made an instant impact at Miami, scoring 10 goals in seven Leagues Cup appearances as he spurred them to victory in the tournament which features MLS teams as well as sides from Mexico.

Messi’s arrival in the US also made waves off the pitch, causing a massive spike in searches for match dates and tickets to see him in action, with fans also buying up his official pink Inter Miami shirt. The price of tickets to Inter Miami games skyrocketed, while Apple TV, which has a 10-year partnership with the MLS, saw a significant increase in subscriptions.

TIME said, “Messi managed to do what once seemed impossible: turning the US into a soccer country.”

His games took on the feel of a religious revival. After Messi scored a goal against the New York Red Bulls in August, rapper Fat Joe posted on Instagram a video of himself, nearly in tears, shouting “Messi! Messi! Messi!”

TIME has chosen American Singer-Songwriter, Taylor Swift as Person of the Year, and OpenAI CEO since 2019, Sam Altman as CEO of the Year.

Taylor Swift’s, The Eras Tour – now made into a film – occupied much of this year 2023. It began in Glendale, Arizona in March 2023, and is set to conclude in 2024. Each show spans three and a half hours, with a set list of 44 songs divided into 10 distinct acts that conceptually portray Swift’s ten studio albums. The tour was a commercial success and received critical acclaim. It became a cultural and economic phenomenon, bolstered by globally unprecedented ticket demand and fan frenzy.

TIME has this to write , “While her popularity has grown across the decades, this is the year that Swift,33, achieved a kind of nuclear fusion: shooting art and commerce together to release an energy of historic force”.

Taylor Swift beat Barbie and King Charles-III to the title.

I have written about Sam Altman in last week’s post World Inthavaaram – 48.

https://kumargovindan.com/2023/12/02/world-inthavaaram-2023-48/

The Person of the Year, Athlete of the year, and CEO of the year, reflects TIME’s assessment of the individuals who most shaped the headlines over the previous twelve months, for better or for worse.

More timely stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Lift yourself with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2021-46

About: the world this week, 7 November to 13 November 2021, the world flies again, hybrid warfare on the borders, India’s highest civilian awards, floods in Chennai, and a Penguin gets lost.

Everywhere

This week the United States opened its borders to vaccinated international travellers, after nearly twenty months of being under the Covid-19 pandemic covers – with or without masks. And swarms of hugs and kisses stung the Airports. Looked like the old times were back, again. But it’s not over, say Epidemiology Experts and this week we saw a surge of cases in Germany, in Austria, and some other parts of the world. When will the spike break down?

Hybrid Warfare, heard of the term, have you? How about ‘encouraging a migrant crisis’. That’s what Europe’s last-standing Dictator, the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko seems to be doing. He has been ruling the country since 1994, and he kept winning election after election with fluent ease in what is considered ‘simple electoral fraud’ by most of the world. Last year’s Presidential Election-the sixth-went the same way, which independent digital exit polls said that Lukashenko might have lost to the opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya – who later had to leave Belarus and take refuge in neighbouring Lithuania. The results of the election also led to widespread protests in Belarus.

Numerous countries refused to accept the election results, as did the European Union (EU), which imposed sanctions on Belarus to punish it for violence, repression and election fraud. Subsequently, Lukashenko was accused of hounding political opponents, displaying strong-man tactics, following that story of forced diversion – from Lithuania to Belarus-of a Ryan Air Jet carrying an opposition journalist and his girlfriend. And more sanctions were screwed-in.

On the heels of the such kicking sanctions, Belarus seems to have adopted a different kind of silent, retaliative action, called hybrid warfare by Poland-one of the affected countries. Belarus encouraged migrants mostly ethnic and religious minorities from Iraq, Africa, and Asia to travel to Belarus with easy Tourist Visas and then drove them to the Border of the three neighbouring EU Countries of Poland, Lithuania and Latvia where they simply cross on foot. Funnelling migrants in this manner, over the week, thousands of migrants piled up on the Poland – Belarus Border looking to cross over. They have set up makeshift camps in freezing conditions near the border and the pressure is on Poland to whether to yield to their charms.

This is a new kind of warfare, happening in other parts of the world too, and weapons have to be found beyond the barb-wires, water cannons, tear-gas, and pellet guns!

India’s Highest Civilian Awards

The highest civilian awards in India are, the Bharat Ratna, followed by what is called the Padma Awards: the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan, and the Padma Shri, awarded each year about the time of India’s Republic Day, in January. The awards recognise people who have made pioneering contributions across diverse sectors, delivered outstanding service to humanity.

Over the years, I’ve never paid much attention to the Padma Awards: It was a kind of rigmarole, year after year. But this time, I was forced to look-up and take notice: such was the stunning achievements of many of them, who came from extremely humble and variegated backgrounds. It finally showcased a deeper, honest, and vibrant India.

Previously, selected persons recommended the nominations, and departing from tradition India opened-up the nomination process to the public at large, thereby making it a people’s movement. The ‘People’s Padma’ marks a paradigm shift for building a New India recognising India’s unsung heroes – those working quietly at the grass root levels.

This week India’s President presented The Padma Awards to 141 awardees for the year 2020, as the ceremony could not be held last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The list of 141 awardees included 7 Padma Vibhushans, 16 Padma Bhushans and 118 Padma Shri Awards.

And for the first time, in a very long time, I got the feeling that the people who received them, without doubt, truly deserved them. With the Awards being India-centric, I did not expect non-Indian citizens to be accorded the honour. However, not just one or two, but ten foreign nationals, Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), Non-Resident Indians (NRI), Persons Of Indian Origin (PIO) have also been honoured this year.

Here comes some stories, about some of the ‘melange of winners’.

Known as the ‘Tree Goddess’ in her Halakki Tribe, Tulsi Gowda, 77 years old, hailing from Honnali Village in Karnataka, won a Padma Shri. She is an environmentalist who has planted over 30,000 saplings and has been diligently involved in environmental conservation for the past six decades. Tulsi looked after the nurseries of the Karnataka Forest Department where she spent over 50 years, starting-off working as a daily wage earner and later as a permanent employee. She has extensive first-hand knowledge of the trees and plants of the forest, which she learnt by seeing, feeling and smelling, earning her another nickname, ‘Encyclopaedia of the Forest’. That’s hard to beat!

She walked bare-foot in Rashtrapathi Bhavan to receive the award, wearing only a sari-the traditional dress of her tribe-draped to cover-up as a blouse as well, with multiple coils of black beads and corals adorning her neck. It was an image, which will stay green -growing like a tree-in the mind, for time to come.

Another spectacular person, Transgender Manjamma Jogati, theatre actress, singer, and performer of Jogti Nritya – an ancient folk dance form of Karnataka won a Padma Shri for her contribution to Arts. She is also the first transgender President of the Karnataka Janapada Academy, which is the State’s top institution for folk arts.

Born as Manjunath Shetty but aspiring to be a woman, she became a ‘Jogappa’ at age sixteen realising her true sexual identity. Jogappas are an ancient transgender community who dedicate themselves to the service of Goddess Renuka Yellamma – they are considered married to the Goddess and leave their family homes.

She was disowned by parents and took to the streets, begging for a livelihood; was sexually assaulted multiple times and even attempted suicide by drinking poison. Manjamma learnt to perform the traditional folk dance Jogati Nritya for survival and became so good at it that she took the dance to platforms across the nation popularising it, to wide acclaim. Manjamma became a permanent dancer in a Jogati dance troupe called Kaalavva and performed on over 1000 stages. She later took over the troupe, on the death of her mentor, making the dance even more popular.

On walking up to receive her award Manjamma Jogati made those unique gestures, which is a signature tune of her community, to bless and drive away the evil eyes on the President of India.

I shall cut short the long story on the multifaceted winners of the Padma Awards with Dwarf Athlete K J Venkatesh receiving the Padma Shri for excellence in para-sports.

Venkatesh is an Indian para-athlete and shot putter from Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. – It’s just a coincidence that there are so many winners from the State of Karnataka. Is there something about the State? – He won his first gold for India in the shot put in 1999 in Australia. Earlier, in 1994, he represented India at the 1st International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Berlin, Germany. Venkatesh entered the Limca Book of Records when he made a world record by securing six medals in various sports at the fourth World Dwarf Games in 2005.

Venkatesh suffers from Achondroplasia and stands short at a height of 4 feet 2 inches. In a rare gesture, the President came down to his level when handing over the Award. Achondroplasia is a genetic disorder with dwarfism being a primary feature. In this condition, the arms and legs are short, while the torso is typically of normal length. And the faculties of the brain and intelligence are not reduced in any way.

There are so many other uplifting stories of great resilience, but I’ve decided to ‘stay short’ enjoying this space, and leave the rest for you to delve into. For e.g., the story of a 65 years old, Orange Fruit Vendor, Harekala Hajabba, who saved from his daily sales to build a School in his Village is awfully inspiring. He was recognised with a Padma Shri. And yet again, he’s from Mangalore, Karnataka. Get these stories across to your family and friends so that they learn the lessons of struggle and climb their own ladders.

Floods in Chennai

It was almost ‘deja vu 2015’ for the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu with incessant rains for over ten days, caused by the North-East Monsoon and a depression in the Bay of Bengal, battering the city and water rolling over many floors and unchartered areas. The City was once again caught ill-prepared and the usual blame game muddied the waters further: the previous Govt did this…did not do that…kind of stuff. Whatever, it’s time to stop passing-the-buck, get down to the drawing board, and talk to finding solutions that float or stay well above the water level.

Going beyond the usual, oft-spoken, rain managing infrastructure, my solution is to make the Buckingham Canal, River Adayar, and River Cooum a combined Thames of Chennai- get water to flow in them so that we ‘boat round’ Chennai; establish a well-connected superb storm water drain system; evacuate people from frequently flooding low areas; and designate certain lands – as ‘rain-soak parks’ to absorb the spills… If you can’t get the water out, get it in and learn to live with it!

We ride on the shoulders of those before us and there is no reason why we cannot keep our head above the waters. Pick-up a book – an old story- turn a leaf, find a solution.

A Rare Visitor

This week, Birdlings Flat, a small settlement on New Zealand’s South Island had a rare visitor, an Adelie Penguin. The ‘permanent resident’ of Antarctica had traversed 3,000 kilometres of icy waters to find himself far from home and looking sad and lost on new and puzzling shores: the South-Eastern coastline of New Zealand. Locals immediately found a name for him, ‘Pingu’ – they called.

It’s only the third recorded instance of a live Adelie Penguin – a species that makes its home on the Antarctic Peninsula – making it to New Zealand. Its arrival is a reminder of the threats the birds like Pingu face from warming waters, increased competition over food supplies, and changing habitats.

Pingu wasn’t trying to get back into the waters and fearing he could be vulnerable to dogs, the locals called the Christchurch Penguin Rehabilitation Centre, who promptly send an Official to give a look-in and talk to Pingu. ‘Apart from being a bit starving and severely dehydrated, he was actually not too bad, so we gave him some fluids and a fish smoothie’ said the Official. Pingu was then released into the Bay, hoping that he may be able to make the journey home. Must have brought his ‘penguin compass’ with him?

I wish he had come over with his partner. It could have been a dream honeymoon trip, and Jacintha Arden willing, could perhaps have settled-down in New Zealand.

More hybrid stories coming up in the weeks ahead. Stay afloat with World Inthavaaram.