WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-21

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

Everywhere

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

America

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes, ’n how many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

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

That too many people have died?

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

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

Davos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ukraine

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

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

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

Monkeypox

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Booker Prize

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-20

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

Everywhere

America Keeps Shooting

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

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

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

The crime was termed as a racist hate crime.

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

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

Badminton

A First Ever Historic Win for India

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boxing

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

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

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

Music

The Sounds of Ukraine

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

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

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

War

Mariupol Goes

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

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

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

Entering NATO

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

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

Please Yourself

A Matter of Faith

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-19

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

Everywhere

Sri Lanka: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

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

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

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

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

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

Ukraine and the Laws of Motion.

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

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

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

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

Under Cover in Afghanistan

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

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

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

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

Northern Ireland… Belfast…Belfast

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

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

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

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

Mounting Mount Everest: Kami Rita and Lhakpa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bongbong Philippines

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Forbidden Country

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

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

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

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

Please Yourself

The Asteroid that Finished-Off the Dinosaurs

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

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

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

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

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

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-17

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

Everywhere

The War in Ukraine

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sound of Macron

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tesla to Twitter

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

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

Welcome to a not so boring Twitter SpaceT?

India: Harmony, Squirrels, and Troubled Neighbours

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

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

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

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

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

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

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-16

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

Everywhere

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

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

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

The Last Man Standing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hanuman and Jahangirpuri

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At Home in China

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

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

Champion of The Earth

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

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

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

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

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

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

Please Yourself

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

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

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

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

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-15

About: the world this week, 10 April to 16 April 2022, of course Ukraine, a shooting in the USA, the virus in China, India flies a new plane and shows off its foreign policy, and the festivals we celebrate.

Everywhere

Ukraine

Surely, the hunger for Ukraine to survive and chase out the invader is much more than Russia trying to find nazis in Ukraine or blindly obey the orders of its maniac Boss. Whoever has the best reason and the passion to win the war will ultimately prevail. But the damage and destruction to man and material is monstrous. Will it be possible to resettle and rebuild again?

Russia has probably discovered that it is better to search for nazis in Russia itself. Russian troops seem to be gradually vacating areas cleverly made impregnable by a rock-solid and determined Ukraine. Russia is moving to the Eastern part where they think the chances of hatching some kind of a victory, besides finding hidden nazis, is better than an egg on the face!

Towards the end of the week one of Russia’s most important warships – the guided missile cruiser Moskva- the flag ship of its Black Sea Fleet was abandoned, and sank to settle down at the bottom of the Black Sea. It was destroyed by a cruise missile attack by Ukraine. This is a massive blow to Russia, which will be hard for it to accept. Ukraine said it effectively used the Neptune cruise missiles to attack Moskva and destroy the ship. And of course, Russia says an on-board ammunition explosion caused a fire, which ‘killed the ship’. Either way Russia has a serious problem.

Ukraine is trying to get control of the skies and believes it may decide the outcome of the war. History tells us that in the David versus Goliath Battle, David won. And there is nothing more powerful on Earth than a group of determined people fighting to stay alive. Every day, the stories of strength, heroism, and conviction coming out of Ukraine is overwhelming.

Despite all the noises the war rages on, and maybe it will stop when Russia decides – after being whacked by Ukraine, on land, sea, and the air. And never capable of admitting it.

United States of America

The shootings are back with a bang. At least 16 people were injured – five in critical condition- in a shooting at a subway station in Brooklyn, New York. The shooting happened this Tuesday during the morning rush hour. The attacker showed a clean pair of heels, fleeing the crime scene immediately after the attack.

Police say, the incident is not being investigated as an act of terrorism. And a motive is yet to be established.

Later in the week, Police arrested a Frank R James, 62, accused of the shooting carnage. James had set off smoke grenades in a commuter packed sub-way car and then fired 33 shots with a 9 mm handgun.

Police found him – on a tip-off – at a McDonald’s outlet in Manhattan’s East Village neighbourhood. James was gone when police arrived, but they soon spotted him at a busy corner nearby, when Police cars zoomed-in, Officers leapt out, and soon had him ‘peacefully’ handcuffed.

In recent months, James has railed in online videos about racism and violence in the US and about his experience with mental health care in New York City. Some pointers there, and the reasons need to be unravelled.

Pakistan

This week, Pakistan’s Parliament elected Shehbaz Sharif as its new Prime Minister (PM) following the ouster of PM Imran Khan, in a vote of no confidence. Earlier Imran Khan fended-off every kind of fast, swing, and spin bowling before being declared out due to a decision by the Third Umpire who went strictly by the Rule Book aka The Constitution. Team Imran – Members of Parliament of Imran Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Party – resigned en masse, boycotting the election of the new PM.

Shebaz Sharif is the younger brother of three-time PM Nawaz Sharif. He is the president of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) – ’N’ for Nawaz Sherif the founder- party. Previously, he served as the Chief Minister of Punjab three times, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of Punjab.

The Government will hopefully stay in place until August 2023, when general elections are due. Until then, anything can happen. And no PM had ever completed a full five-year term in Pakistan’s 75 years history. Maybe a handful more of PMs lying up ahead?

China

The strangulating lockdown in China’s City of Shanghai continues from the beginning of last week. Shanghai is battling one of China’s biggest outbreaks since the coronavirus first came into being in the city of Wuhan about 800 km to the west. This week, on Thursday, cases touched a new high of 27,000 nos.

With the strictest ever curbs, millions in the city are increasingly frustrated, confined inside their homes, struggling to get daily supplies, with reports of shortage of essential items including medical supplies, doing the rounds. For many, their patience has worn thin and is likely to burst, spilling contents all over China.

Meanwhile, the World better keep a watch on what China eats for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

India

India Flies

This week, the first ever ‘Made in India’ civil Dornier aircraft took to the air and successfully kept its flight path: the plan is that it will provide connectivity to remote towns of northeast India. This is being described as a significant landmark in India’s aviation history.

The 17 seat, Dornier 228 Aircraft undertook the commercial flight from Assam’s Dibugarh to Arunachal Pradesh’s Pasighat on 12th April, taking the Ministers in the Government for a safe ride in the path-breaking flight.

The Dornier is manufactured by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited with technology transfer from Germany, which owns the original Dornier.

India’s New James Bond

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) is doing his Job with flying colours taking India’s Foreign Policy to new independent heights and connectivity. He even earned praise from Pakistan’s now ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan who said that India has a strong, independent Foreign Policy. And nobody can dictate to India.

On India’s ‘warm energy’ relationship with Russia, EAM Jaishankar said that those who are looking at India’s energy purchases from Russia would be better served if they turned their attention to Europe. He said, “We do buy energy that is necessary of your energy security. But I suspect, looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon. So, you may want to think about that”.

With that kind of energy levels, later in the week, though a wee bit slow on the draw, Jaishankar came out with all guns firing. When United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said that the US is worried about India’s Human Rights Record, Jaishankar slightly lifted-up his cowboy hat and said that India too is concerned about US’s human rights record. ‘I would tell you that we also take our views on other people’s human rights situation, including that of the United States”.

In the South of India, in the dirt trails of the olden days, when movie Superstars such as M G Ramachandaran (MGR) and Shivaji Ganesan ruled the silver screen of Tamil Nadu cinema, there was another contemporary, a handsome actor called Jaishankar, who, though could not compete with the two big stars, did soft romantic and action movies and earned his badge as the ‘James Bond of Tamil cinema’. Jaishankar even did Western type cowboy-horse-gun movies and grew his spurs.

Now, I know the name Jaishankar can make a big punch and fire a gun –It has a history, mind it!

Please Yourself

This week a cornucopia of Festivals are being celebrated or were celebrated in India and across the World, and as a friend of mine who works in NASA said in a forwarded message, listing the many festivals: ‘divided by race / religion, but let’s stay united as one mankind’.

We have: Ramadan fasting underway; Ram Navami – Lord Rama’s Birthday, Good Friday – commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins; Cheti Chand- arrival of spring and harvest and new year for Sindhi Hindus; Vaisakhi/Baisakhi – harvest, again; Puthandu-Tamil New Year’s Day; Chaitra Navratri Parana-the day following which new beginnings can be undertaken…Festivals remind us of the goodness in each one of us: let’s put it to great use by shrinking our differences and expanding our agreements.

More festivals and tales shooting up in the weeks ahead. Shield yourself with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-10

About: the world this week, 6 March to 12 March 2022, war grows, Ganga flows, Covid19 again, rains floods, elections and elections, tree driving, and a pig heart.

Everywhere

Ukraine: Fighting Back

“I am prepared to die for my country, for what I love,” said a Ukrainian in perfect English. “Putin doesn’t understand we don’t want his authority-his world. All of us here know what we want-the right to live our lives, the right to choose who leads us. That’s our right, not Moscow’s.” That sums up the steely, courageous mood against all odds, which has invaded Ukrainian minds.

It’s over two weeks since the Russian invasion and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky is holding-on with his people in the capital Kyiv amidst the mad, relentless attack on his country. He has been on a continuous talking spree to world leaders explaining the situation, and trying to enlist their understanding and support. His speech to the United Kingdom’s (UK) House of Commons received a standing ovation. “We will fight until the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost,” he said. Brave words, which will go down to the wire.

The city of Kyiv has been transformed into a fortress and from the looks of it, the people are determined to defend the city to the last man standing. Almost 40,000 volunteers joined the Territorial Defense Forces in the first two days after the invasion began. In Kyiv alone, 18000 people picked up weapons when authorities called for volunteers and reservists to do so.

Those who couldn’t join the forces are helping in other ways: making Molotov cocktails, sewing camouflage nets for barricades, distributing food, hot drinks and cigarettes to those standing guard. They are raising money for the military, building more road blocks, and even painting over traffic signs in an attempt to confuse the invaders.

Over the week, Russia bombed a Hospital in the city of Mariupol that injured 17 people, including children, women, and doctors. Three died, among them one child, a girl. Civilians are being increasingly targeted and this is a huge cause of worry, as is the precision of Russian weaponry becoming suspect.

India successfully evacuated nearly all its citizens and students in Ukraine. Many would not budge without their pet cats and dogs, which also earned space in the Operation Ganga flights. One man, an Orthopaedic Doctor chose to be different. He had a pet panther and a jaguar and refused to leave without them. Last heard he was hunting for food to feed them. Another who was shot, during the Russian shelling, was rescued and taken home in an Indian Airforce Plane.

While we talk about Ukraine, think about Afghanistan and Myanmar where its people invaded their country causing endless internal strife. And Taiwan living in constant fear of a Chinese invasion. Another rogue nation North Korea is busy firing missiles into the Ocean, what if they turn and attack South Korea? The possibilities for war is limitless. In Taliban’sAfghanistan it’s Day 175 since girls have been banned from returning to secondary school: teenage girls remain stuck at home, waiting for the Taliban to decide the future of their education. And they are busy lecturing Russia and Ukraine to talk it over and take things cool. Wow!

This week, the US further turned the screws on Russia by banning all imports of Russian Oil, Gas, and Energy. US based companies such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut, Coca-Cola, temporarily closed their stores in Russia to show their solidarity with Ukraine. And in return, Russia threatened to seize all these abandoned assets. Well, that’s another front opening in this war!

I often wonder what did the Ukrainian people do to deserve this: homes destroyed, lives shattered, and tens of thousands crossing the Borders into Poland, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia as refugees.

A third round of talks between Ukraine and Russia was unproductive. And they are still talking. Ukrainian President Zelensky indicated he might not want to join NATO after all-as they are cold towards them. He might also give up in some eastern provinces which Russia recognised as Independent. These maybe the building blocks for further negotiations.

South Korea’s New Unfavourable President

This week, South Korea chose the opposition conservative People Power Party’s candidate, Yoon Suk-Yeol, as the country’s next President following a tightly contested Presidential Election, the closest in its history-with the final count separated by less than 1%. He takes over from the outgoing President Moon Jae-In, who held three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an attempt to bridge the gap between the Koreas.

Yoon, a political novice, scraped out a victory over the liberal Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-Myung, based on promises to tackle class inequality. Both presidential candidates were considered widely unpopular throughout the campaign. And voters appeared so disenchanted by the frontrunners that local media dubbed the vote as ‘election of the unfavourables’. However, polling day saw a high turn out, with 77% of eligible voters casting their vote. Yoon Suk-Yeol’s victory over his rival Lee Jae-Myung is far from decisive. The razor-thin margin being a sign of just how bitterly divided politics in the world’s tenth largest economy has become.

Except is authoritarian regimes, where we may never know until the very end, most democracies are deeply divided over many factors, with new fault lines and fissures discovered all the time.

New Zealand and The Virus

New Zealand defences against the first two waves of the Covid19 pandemic was the sturdiest, the toughest, and the tightest. Only a few viruses slipped through, which were caught at the borders and mercilessly thrashed. When the world was baffled on how New Zealand did it, the mutated virus -the Omicron fellow- heard, and taking law into its hands invaded New Zealand like never before. Daily infections climbing into Space-as high as over 20,000- which is the highest ever in the country since the pandemic began. However, deaths were insignificant with over 90% of the weakest population vaccinated against the virus. Vaccination works.

The cases are beginning to dip and I’m sure New Zealand would be wiser at the end.

The virus is indeed a great leveller. You cannot take it for granted.

Australia’s Emergency

New Zealand’s big island neighbour had a different kind of problem: unending rain, growing floods; it’s becoming harder to live in Australia. Over the past week, severe rain along the country’s eastern coast has caused some of the worst flooding in Australian history and inundated swaths of two of its largest cities, Sydney and Brisbane. The provinces of New South Wales and Queensland have been pummelled by heavy downpours that have caused floods, and Sydney was hit by widespread flash-flooding.

The situation forced Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison to declared a national emergency this week. It was the first time that a national emergency-a legislative power created after the deadly wildfires in early 2020-had been declared.

Experts say the flooding emergency has been worsened by climate change and a ‘La Nina’ weather phenomenon. A La Nina develops when strong winds blow the warm surface waters of the Pacific away from South America and towards Indonesia. In their place, colder waters come up to the surface. In Australia, a La Nina increases the likelihood of rain, cyclones, and cooler daytime temperatures.

Whoever coined the term ‘Down Under’ probably knew what was coming!

India’s Five State Elections

Finally the last of the five States, Uttar Pradesh, that went to the polls to elect its new Legislative Assembly finished voting in the final phase on 7 March 2022. And once the voting was over that evening, Exit Pollsters started shouting out their kind of voting, and the prediction was that India’s ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will win in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkhand, Manipur, and maybe Goa. While Punjab will go to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) presently governing the Union territory of Delhi.

The counting of votes was on 10 March 2022 and the results were generally on predicted lines. The BJP smashed many ceilings in winning 273 (with its allies, 255 on its own) out of 403 seats in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh where it was the incumbent governing party. The election strategy of pushing for a ‘double-engine’ (Centre and State ruled by one Party) growth seems to have worked, and it fired on all cylinders. The Grand Old Party of India, The Indian National Congress (INC) was decimated in the State winning a miserly 2 seats. Overall, it was mauled at the hustings in other States and left licking its wounds. It had bungled and messed-up big time in Punjab and ‘reaped a bare minimum support’ from the voters.

The BJP went on to record remarkable victories in all other states except Punjab where the AAP, which has the broom as its symbol swept-off every other party including the BJP with a magical, massive, first ever win – 92 out of 117. In Uttarkhand the BJP won 47 out of 70; in Manipur it won 32 out of 60; and in Goa it won 20 out of 40.

The BJP shattered a battery of records in Uttar Pradesh with its present Chief Minister(CM)Yogi Adityanath, nearing 50, becoming a tall leader in his own right. He is the first CM to retain power in 37 years; the first CM to complete a full tenure and be re-elected; the fifth CM to win a second consecutive term; first BJP CM to return to power; first MLA to become CM in 15 years and the first CM to break the Noida Jinx. According to legend, whichever CM visits the city of Noida during his tenure either loses the next election or does not complete his tenure. Many past CM’s used to deliberately avoid this city and those who dared, succumbed to the fate of the Noida Jinx.

The State of Punjab saw an incredible performance by the AAP which won a landslide of 92 seats of a total of 117. There is also a story there.

Maybe this is the year of the Comedy Actors getting their timing right, fighting it out in the world of Politics and leading the charge afterwards. Punjab’s Bhagwant Singh Mann who is the Chief Minister-elect is a comic poet, writer of political satire and competed in the popular Indian TV show, ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ in 2008. He is currently a Member of Parliament for the AAP and was chosen to lead the Punjab Elections based on a public poll in which 93% wanted him to become the Chief Minister of Punjab. That’s almost an Indian Zelensky!

One ‘handed-down’ lesson from the elections is, ‘never take the voter for granted’.

India’s Tree Scooter

India is the world’s biggest producer of areca nut, with an output of 1.2 million tonnes in the year 2020-21. Much of this is produced in the southern coastal states of Karnataka and Kerala.

The areca nut is the seed of the areca palm and is commonly referred to as betel nut. It is known to be a major ‘cancer causing nut’; as with chewing tobacco, its use is discouraged by preventive efforts. Consumption by hundreds of millions of people worldwide is described as a much neglected global public health emergency.

On the brighter and taller side, 50 years old Ganapathi Bhat farms areca nut in the coastal town of Mangaluru in India’s Karnataka State. He faced a problem: regularly scaling palm trees as tall as between 60 and 70 feet to inspect and harvest his crop. Too old to climb, and unable to find cheap labour, Bhat took it upon himself to invent a device that would make climbing areca nut trees easier.

Starting in 2014, Bhat spent around INR 4 million on research and development. After four years of climbing work, he and his engineer partner came-up with a working prototype of a ‘Tree Scooter’. It consists of a small motor; a rudimentary seat, which straps a person to the seat and to the handlebars in a kind of tree-embrace; a set of climbing wheels, foot-bars; and the handle bar of a scooter with hand-controlled accelerator and brakes, which is revved to swiftly move up and down the tree and brake to a stop where required.

Bhat has sold more than 300 of the ‘tree scooters’, which cost about INR 62,000 each.

Last seen he was effortlessly zipping up and down trees grabbing the fruits of his labour!

Pig Heart

In the United States, 57 years old David Bennett had terminal heart-disease, was confined to a bed, and was given no chance of survival – certain sudden death.

However, in a ground-breaking experiment, Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Centre, were granted a special dispensation by the US medical regulator to carry out a heart-transplant from a genetically-modified pig. Bennet thus became the first person in the World to receive such a heart, and would otherwise have died sooner.

He underwent the surgery on 7th January, and in the weeks afterwards he spent time with his family, watched the Super Bowl, and spoke about wanting to get home to his dog, Lucky.

But his luck ran out, and his condition began to deteriorate over the past week. And he died this week on 8 March. Bennett knew the risks attached to the surgery, acknowledging, before the procedure, it was ‘a shot in the dark’.

More light stories to dispel darkness coming up in the weeks ahead. Climb with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-09

About: the world this week, 27 February to 5 March 2022, war, a country fights for its life, Operation Ganga, Justices, and floods.

Everywhere

Russian Aggression

This week was almost surreal with a full-fledged war developing right in front of our eyes and we being powerless, in the face of numerous odds, to do anything to stop the fighting; despite all the right noises we made at the start. And we, Homo Sapiens, thought we had advanced far enough to call weapons of killing and destruction, that we had cleverly invented, just that. And not use them at all.

The war in Europe between Russia and Ukraine galloped across new frontiers driven by an irrational President of Russia. Sirens howling, guns firing, tanks rolling, missiles flying, and people fleeing to basements of buildings for cover or to the borders, from the ever-growing hot-spots. Unbelievable that this happening in our time when we thought the World’s superpowers would behave with utmost sacred responsibility.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is fast acquiring a pariah status for his dangerous act of invading Ukraine and the unholy, brutal devastation unleashed in the process. If he had hoped for a quick victory it evaporated in the face of fierce resistance by Ukrainian soldiers and its armies of citizen volunteers.

Let’s face it. Russia is attacking-without the slightest needle of a physical provocation-a sovereign, independent, fledgling country, Ukraine, on a perceived, imagined threat to itself, despite it having one of the world’s most advanced and sophisticated security apparatus. In the aftermath of its break-up from the Soviet Union, Ukraine had given-up its nuclear arsenal to Russia with a guarantee that its sovereignty and borders will be respected. Its people freely and overwhelmingly chose to align with the West-the market of the European Union, for their betterment – it’s their choice, and rightfully so. And they were taking the first baby steps in joining the defensive North Atlantic Treat Organization (NATO) – for their own safety against the bewildering next-door giant. The Russian President decided that he did not like a neighbour freely doing all of this-sleeping with the enemy of his mind-hence the invasion. The goal seems to be to overthrow the democratically elected Government and perhaps install a puppet regime that would dance only to its tunes on strings pulled from Moscow.

Death defying circumstances such as these often throw up a hero, and a young Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky, 44, is turning out to be exactly that. He refused to be cowed-down by the might of Russia and lay down arms; and in what I call a ‘Winston Churchill moment’, broadcasted to the Russian people on the ills of war, appealing to their belonging as people from the same land, and a call to reign-in their wild President. And to his own people he inspired and motivated them to come out and fight this together, shoulder to shoulder. Blood, sweat, and tears.

When offered an escape from Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, by the United States, Zelenskyy was awfully quick to reject it saying. “I need ammunition, not a ride.” It showed selfless leadership and a kind of ‘Hollywood courage’. Zelensky has suddenly emerged as a convincing war-time leader alongside the greats of Winston Churchill and George Washington. He has rallied the nation with his addresses and video selfies and given voice to Ukrainian anger and defiance of Russian aggression.

Going back to his origins, Zelensky’s entry into politics is a case of life imitating art; reel turning into real. Initially, he performed on Ukraine’s version of the American dance competition, television series ‘Dancing with the Stars’, which in turn is the US version of the UK series, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. The show pairs celebrities with professional dancers. And from 2015 to 2018, he played a history teacher frustrated with corruption who accidentally becomes President of Ukraine on a popular TV show called ‘Servant of the People.’ Zelensky then parlayed his success into politics, running for office in 2019 on the back of a political party named after his show, ‘Servant of the People’. He went on to win with 73% of the vote, promising to fight corruption and bring peace in the faction-riddled east of the country.

Zelensky is the son of Jewish parents. He married his school-mate Olena Kiyasko in 2003 and the couple have a daughter, Aleksandra, and son Kyryli . Wife Zelenska studied architecture at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Kryvyi Rih National University.

Ukrainians have been fending off the Russian army for over a week. But attacks have intensified on cities throughout the country: in Mariupol, Kharkiv, and the capital, Kyiv. Now, Russian forces have made key advances on Kherson-a strategic Black Sea port in southern Ukraine. And suddenly Russia is seen to be attacking on all fronts.

Meanwhile, the toll on civilians is mounting with an estimated 2,000 civilians dead as more than 1 million fleeing the country as refugees.

The US, UK, and other Western countries came to Ukraine’s aid by imposing economic sanctions to cripple Russia. The measures imposed are so potent that they have triggered chaos in Russia’s Trillion Dollar economy and prompted Vladimir Putin, to issue nuclear threats by putting the country’s nuclear forces on watch. The instant impoverishment of a big economy is unprecedented and will cause alarm around the world. The West’s priority appears to be, to win the economic confrontation with Russia.

Germany has long soft-peddled policies targeting Russia, but its chancellor, Olaf Scholz, made a moving and extraordinary change, committing an additional USD 100 billion to defense-spending immediately, shipping weapons to Ukraine, and ending the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was constructed to bring gas from Russia to Germany.

Switzerland, which steadfastly held a neutral position over so many decades decided to give up its neutrality and joined the sanctions bandwagon, sanctioning Russia and closing its airspace to Russian aircraft. These are never-before decisions – waking up other kinds of ‘unknown’ powerful sleeping giants.

Civil activism is the lifeblood of free societies, and Ukrainians have been excelling, including the sunflower lady, who cursed Russian soldiers; civilians lining up to collect arms and make Molotov cocktails, or change out street signs to confuse the invaders; and breweries retooling to produce weaponry. These stories will live and be told to build a new nation.

The United Nations is struggling to tame the Russian rogue, but Russia’s veto power renders any effective action from emerging, beyond some kind of a strong-worded condemnation. India abstained from voting due to its own compulsions. I wish it had voted along with the majority of nations, condemning Russia’s unwarranted aggression. India is a great civilisation and has always stood by dharma. I hope it shows more backbone in the days to come.

Now, the build-up on the other side. Russia friendly Belarus announced it was revoking its non-nuclear status after a referendum, allowing Russian weapons to be placed in Belarus. The move provoked rare protests in the country. What’s even more alarming is that Belarus may be preparing to send its soldiers into Ukraine in support of the Russian invasion.

There was a fire near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant- the Zaporizhzhia Power Plant responsible for about 20% of Ukraine’s power generation- following ‘unacceptable’ Russian shelling in the vicinity. And there is an imminent danger lurking in such places. For e.g., if something were to happen to this nuclear power station, the impact could be ’ten times larger’ than the Chernobyl disaster. With missiles shattering buildings and killing civilians in Kharkiv, Mariupol and Kyiv, and Russia continued to warn of further escalation, there is little reason for hope for an immediate reduction in hostilities.

Where do we go from here? How do we stop the war in the event there is no clear victory on either side and the fighting drags on?

Russia and Ukraine have met on the border of Belarus to hold two rounds of negotiations, but nothing concrete has emerged, as yet. Still, the two sides are talking. Sooner or later, if a deal is to be reached, concessions will need to come from both sides.

Ukraine will certainly not undergo any ‘denazification’ by ousting its own democratically-elected government led by President Zelensky who happens to be Jewish. He is the strongest person to negotiate with at this stage.

On the Ukrainian side, Zelensky may need to promise Ukraine will not join NATO. This is at the core of Putin’s illogical reasoning for the invasion, and he is unlikely to back down from this demand. Russia will press for demilitarization in Ukraine, and it will be a non-starter for the Ukrainians. But they might well be willing to think about it once peace is clearly established: maybe accept limitations on the amount and types of weapons they can maintain, and also agree not to have foreign forces based in Ukraine. Of course, hedges should be built-in if there is an external threat to Ukraine.

Crimea appears destined to remain under Russia’s control, and Luhansk and Donetsk may likely be granted significant autonomy within the Ukrainian system.

Ukraine will expect commensurate concessions from Russia. Paramount among them will be a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. The withdrawal will need to be accompanied by a drastic reduction of Russian forces away from Ukraine’s borders, including eastern Ukraine, Belarus and the Black Sea. Ukraine cannot be expected to rebuild and return to peacetime life with the Russian mill-stone around its neck.

There is talk of imposing a No-Fly Zone over Ukraine, which experts say, should not be done. A no-fly zone is airspace where certain aircraft are not allowed to enter. In the context of conflicts and wars, it is typically used to stop banned aircraft from entering airspace to launch attacks, transport troops and weapons, and conduct surveillance. But then, you need someone to enforce it, which may trigger its own problems. It is best US and NATO avoid stationing their forces in Ukraine; the intent being to avoid pushing a nuclear superpower into a corner when it has no other option than to use it.

The concessions that come with negotiations are often painful when they are a climb-down from the original hard stances. But they are infinitely preferable to an indefinite continuation of battle, and even when conflicts are driven by irrational acts, the logic of diplomacy can take hold. The World prays that is the case here. Meanwhile two countries are being destroyed and one of them can stop it.

Operation Ganga

India has near about 20,000 of its nationals, including students studying in Ukraine, and this week India scrambled its forces to get them out safely, naming the mission as ‘Operation Ganga’. Besides evacuation, another goal was to provide humanitarian assistance to Indians who had crossed over to the neighbouring countries of Ukraine: Romania, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia.

Operation Ganga is being planned and executed by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Armed Forces. Airlines that were roped in are Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Air India Express. Four Union ministers were flown to the neighbouring countries to expedite the evacuation.

The first flight happened on 26 February and over 10,300 Indians have been brought back to India, in 48 flights in a massive exercise. Most had crossed the borders into neighbouring countries. However, one Indian student lost his life in the city of Kharkiv due to Russian shelling, when he went to buy groceries during the curfew relaxation period. Along with him, ten others died in various attacks by Russia. Another was reportedly shot and is recovering in hospital.

Supreme Court Justice

US President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise by nominating the first Afro-American woman Justice to the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson a 51 years old former public defender turned federal appellate judge. She’s been a leading contender to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer (who she clerked for). Now, the Harvard-trained judge hopes to head to the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson may be confirmed as soon as April this year.

The US Constitution states that Justices ‘shall hold their Offices during good behaviour.’ This means they can serve for life– their terms only ending if they resign, pass away or if they are impeached and convicted by Congress.

The President nominates someone for a vacancy on the Court and the Senate votes to confirm the nominee, which requires a simple majority. In this way, both the Executive and Legislative Branches of the federal government have a voice in the composition of the Supreme Court.

Australia Down Underwater

Australia is experiencing its worst floods in decades. Intense rain and record-breaking floods have hit eastern Australia.

A river in the northern New South Wales town of Lismore broke its banks and rose to a level of near about 14.40m, which quickly earned it a place between the ‘once in 500 years to 1000 years flood event’. And in Queensland, the Brisbane River flooded, causing extensive damage.

Nothing better explains the speed and severity of the flooding than the sight of some people with their cars, and a few horses being caught on a bridge over the Richmond River on Woodburn, outside Lismore in northern New South Wales when rising floodwaters cut them at both ends leaving them stranded in the middle, overnight. They could be rescued only in the morning, when the lights came on. Such was the suddenness of the water rise.

This is becoming a recurring event in Australia. Either it’s fire, water, or spiders and rodents giving them one hell of a time.

I’m not leaving Australia, not yet: the last news, I spin this week is the unexpected passing of legendary Australian Cricketer, Spin-bowler Shane Warne at the age of 52, due to a cardiac arrest. His spin was so good that even God did not know it was coming! RIP Shane Warne: you did teach India how to spin better.

More fire and water stories spinning-up in the weeks ahead. Live with World Inthavaaram.

WORLD INTHAVAARAM, 2022-08

About: the world this week, 20 February to 26 February 2022, war-an invasion, chess, a not so noble gas, elections, and a Western movie that hopes to lasso a barnful of Oscars!

Everywhere

War (and Peace?)

Finally, after weeks of invasion of the media by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the stalemate ended. And the world’s worst fears came true: Russia ‘royally’ invaded Ukraine through the Donbas region on 24 February 2022 calling it a ‘special military operation’ with the goal of ‘demilitarising and denazifying’ Ukraine: it made claims (false) about genocide perpetrated against ethnic Russians in the eastern parts of Ukraine, and they asking for help as one of many reasons.

I never knew invading another Country was so easy-never mind the preparation-without any kind of overt provocation by Ukraine. And all along implying that it was going to happen.

Read the basics of the build-up of the story at:

https://kumargovindan.wordpress.com/2021/12/26/world-inthavaaram-2021-52/

We have to give it to the United States (US) for using their superior ‘intelligence’ with President Biden’s relentless invasion theory bearing fruit. But they could do nothing to prevent it. Ukraine, despite its intent, has not yet joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). If it had, NATO troops can enter Ukraine to defend it. Now, the best that NATO can do is watch from across the Borders. And keep gathering intelligence.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “We do not intend to occupy Ukraine. To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside: if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history. All relevant decisions have been taken. I hope you hear me”.

The scope of the Russian attack appears to be massive, with cruise and ballistic missiles targeting infrastructure near major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Dnipro.

This come days after Putin recognised the independence of Ukraine’s two eastern areas of Donetsk and Luhansk and ordered Russian forces into these regions as what he called ‘peacekeepers’, wow! And this also comes weeks after Russia amassed over 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders.

A fantastic case of Russia being the criminal, the prosecutor, and the judge – all rolled into one tank and shot into Ukraine.

Recall, Russia seized Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in 2014, and pro-Russia rebels have since been fighting Ukrainian forces in the eastern areas of Donetsk and Luhansk. More than 14,000 people were killed in that conflict.

Ukraine is also known for the Chernobyl Nuclear disaster – considered the worst nuclear disaster in history – that occurred on 26 April 1986 in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union. Russia would be looking to seal off this site to prevent any new kind of new danger spilling over from the, now shut-down and boundary isolated nuclear power plant. Well, it did just that on entering Ukraine.

Three decades ago, the newly independent country of Ukraine was briefly the third-largest nuclear power in the world. Thousands of nuclear arms had been left on Ukrainian soil by Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. But in the years that followed, Ukraine made the decision to completely denuclearise – destroying or returning its nuclear arsenal to Russia. In exchange, the US, the United Kingdom(UK), and Russia would guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty and border security in a 1994 agreement known as the Budapest Memorandum. Now Russia has failed that trust. And the US and UK too?

It beguiles me, what do you call such a reckless invasion by a responsible nuclear superpower? Can it ever be trusted? Russia’s action is unacceptable and condemnable. It sets a dangerous precedent in attacking an independent country on fictitious, flimsy reasons; a country that has chosen its own path and has not shown any unprovoked military aggression against Russia.

What options does Ukraine have? Fight it out or lay down arms-to avoid bloodshed -talk it over with Russia and accept not to join NATO, for a start? Where does the United Nations (UN) come in, when will it grow teeth?

There is enough of Russia for Russia. Otherwise there is all of Space to occupy, if they can. Live and let live!

Chess

‘I was just enjoying myself’, so said 16 years old Chess Grandmaster (GM) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa from Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, when he stunned the World No 1, Magnus Carlsen, in the eighth round of the Airthings Masters Online Rapid Chess Tournament. He became only the third from the country- after Viswanathan Anand and Pentala Harikrishna – to earn a victory over the Norwegian Chess superstar, in any form of the game.

Praggnanandhaa is a chess prodigy, the fifth-youngest person ever to achieve the title of GM, behind Abhimanyu Mishra, Sergey Karjakin, Dommaraju Gukesh (Gukesh D), and Javokhir Sindarov. He is the younger sibling of Woman GM Vaishali Rameshbabu.

Praggnanandhaa won the World Youth Chess Championships Under-8 title in 2013. In 2016, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest international GM in history, at the age of 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days.

We have a new King in the Castle. And he comes armed with a coolness beyond his years and ash smeared on his forehead. Mind it!

India has nearly 70 GM’s now, up from 20 in 2007. Twelve of them are women. That’s a formidable army: Russia, and others, beware!

Radon

The ‘Airthings’, in the Rapid Chess Tournament Title, quickly caught my eye before Praggnanandhaa could make his next move. What is Airthings?

Established in 2008, Airthings is a global tech company which aims to educate people on the prevalence of Radon, as well as other indoor air contaminants, and develop technology solutions to help people measure the dangers lurking inside homes and tackle them to live a healthy indoor life.

Airthings makes user-friendly Radon detectors to measure Radon levels in Homes and Buildings akin to the common smoke detectors. Radon testing for homeowners has been stationary for almost 30 years. Traditionally, people only had two options: call a professional to test radon levels, or purchase a single-use charcoal test which was then sent to a laboratory for the results. Airthings broke this tradition by designing, making, and supplying affordable Radon and other indoor air quality sensors trying to make them essential and a universal element in every building.

Next, what is Radon, why does it need to be measured?

Radon is an inert, colourless, odourless, radioactive, noble gas, present in the atmosphere in trace amounts; produced by the natural breakdown or radioactive decay of uranium and thorium present in rocks, soil, and groundwater. Since it emanates from the earth’s crust, the level of Radon at a place varies depending on the uranium content of the location. When Radon deteriorates, it releases radioactive energy, which is a health hazard. And can cause lung cancer. People can be exposed to the gas primarily from breathing Radon in the air that comes through cracks and gaps in buildings and homes from the base foundation. There is Radon in water too, because it can permeate well waters, hot and cold springs, making water unsafe to drink. When these gases are confined inside houses, it accumulates to dangerous concentration levels.

Outdoors, Radon disperses rapidly and, generally can be ignored. Breathing Radon over time increases risk of lung cancer and is the second leading cause of lung cancer (in the US, for one). Only smoking causes more deaths.

Indoor Radon can be controlled and managed with proven, cost-effective techniques based on Testing. If Radon levels are high, a certified Radon service professional can fix the problem.

A , 0 to 48 Becquerels/cubic meter (Bq/cubic meter) level of Radon is safe and normal. If it reaches 100 Bq/cubic meter, a ventilation solution has to be found. Guidelines suggest a mitigating action if levels are at or above 148 Bq/cubic meter . Usually, Radon problems are fixed using an underground ventilation system or by increasing the rate of air changes in the building-through fresh-air and exhaust fans.

I brought this up to bring awareness on indoor pollutants, especially Radon, as I could hardly see it ‘permeate’ our knowledge!

Elections

Elections seen to be always happening in India’s noisy democracy, in a never-ending cycle. An election buzz seems to be everywhere, every few months.

This week saw the counting of the Urban Local Body Elections in the State of Tamilnadu-held after 10 years -where the party ruling the State romped home. But not before the national party, ruling at the Centre made its mark in the State. Analysts are out there, with their calculators trying to work out the math from the wins and losses.

I think people voted for continuity to see that the party which just won the State Assembly Elections, also rules the Local Bodies. No excuses hereinafter, for the winners. Deliver, or pack and leave.

Meanwhile, State Elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, and Uttarakhand are in various phases of completion. Punjab, Goa, and Uttarakhand voted on a single day on 14 February. Manipur votes in two phases on 27 February and 3 March 2022. Uttar Pradesh is voting in seven phases: 10 February, 14 February, 20 February, 23 February, 27 February, 3 March, and 7 March 2022.

Counting of votes for all the Sates that went to the polls over the past weeks of February is scheduled on 10 March 2022. Testing times ahead.

Please Yourself

This week I found time to see the power of The Power of the Dog, a movie expected to make a big bite at the Oscars with an awesome 12 nominations in various categories in the 94th Academy Awards Night, coming up later in March 2022. I read that this year it will be hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer, and Wanda Sykes.

The Power of the Dog is a powerful, haunting, psychological Western movie thriller where instead of guns you have the bango, the piano, the cattle, the landscape, and the raw cowhide doing the shooting. It is based on Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel of the same name. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Phil), Kirsten Dunst(Rose), Jesse Plemons(George), and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Peter), and is directed by New Zealand Director, Screenwriter, and Producer, Jane Champion.

A wealthy American ranch in Montana, is run by brothers Phil and George. While Phil is blunt, cruel, and aggressively emulates his late mentor Bronco Henry in his traditional rawhide cowboy dressing, George is cool, polished, a perfect gentlemen with suit, tie, and hat to boot.

During a cattle drive George falls for inn-keeper Rose who is a widow with a teenage son, Peter. George lifts Rose to the ranch after marrying her, and sends her son to College to study medicine-surgery. Phil plays on the emotions of Rose with his coldness, pushing her into drinking, turning her in an alcoholic wreck, all the while mocking Peter’s effeminate manners.

Peter comes over to the ranch during a College break, feels his Mom’s condition, and snares and dissects a Rabbit to show-off his dissecting skills. He is befriended by Phil after Peter catches him bathing in a secluded pond and masturbating with a Bronco Henry scarf around his neck. Peter also discovers a stack of the magazines of nude men with the mentor’s name on them near the secret pond.

Phil teaches Peter to ride a horse and even starts making a lasso of raw cowhide for him to twine their friendship. Their warmth irks Rose and drives her further in an abyss. And one day, in a drunken stupor, she defiantly sells unused hides – normally burnt off by Phil – to a native Indian, when Phil & Peter are out for a ride together.

When Phil discovers his hides are gone, he creates a ruckus, and is unable to complete twining of the lasso he was working on. Peter offers him some hide he had himself cut-off, using a surgeon’s gloves, from a cow, which had died of Anthrax. Phil works through the night, with Peter watching, to finish off the lasso inadvertently allowing an injured bloody wound in his hand to soak in the solution used to soften the rawhide. During the process Phil narrates a story of Bronco Henry saving his life in freezing weather with the heat of his body and does not answer Peter’s question of whether they did it naked. Peter, in turn tells him about having to cut down the corpse of his alcoholic father who had killed himself by hanging. And that his father told him he was not ‘kind enough’.

The next day Phil is found sick in bed and later dies (of Anthrax – says the Doctor). George is puzzled about the Anthrax as Phil was awfully careful in staying away from dead cattle.

In the end Peter, who avoided Phil’s funeral, smiles on seeing his Mom embrace George outside the ranch, and perhaps live happily ever after. He pushes the Phil-made lasso, with a gloved hand, beneath his bed. You need to figure out yourself on what happened to Phil – that’s an unspoken, but ‘clear’ mystery.

Superb acting by the cast, especially Benedict Cumberbatch, and Kirsten Dunst who drinks into the character.

I found the music score, composed by English musician Jonny Greenwood who is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, filling the film to the brim. Made me grow my ears!

More Eastern and Western stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Wars do not work-live peacefully 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!

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