Attukal Pongala

Ok, for the uninitiated ,before u start wondering whether its some sort of exotic delicacy , lemme tell you it’s a religious festival held in Kerala.
Its an all-women affair. On Pongala day, women make an offering to the Attukal Devi , or the deity of the Attukal temple.(by the way, Attukal is the name of a place in the city. Which city? Now here’s a tongue twister- Thiruvananthapuram.A slightly less taxing version is Trivandrum.) Incidentally, it’s the capital of Kerala) Attukal Pongala day comes once a year, on a particular day. This year, it was today. And I participated. It’s the second time for me.
On this day, the entire city gears up for Pongala. It’s a holiday for the city. No vehicles are allowed on the roads once Pongala officially starts. People, mostly women, as only women are allowed to make this offering, come from all over the state & even outside it.
Its an amazing ritual to participate in. you can make any sort of sweetmeat using ingredients like rice, cane-sugar, milk, coconut & sometimes a special type of beans. Its prepared in little earthen pots, on a hearth that’s built out of bricks and dry wood. Although, nowadays you c lots of aluminum vessels. The hearth is simplicity incarnate. You balance the pot on 3 bricks and stuff the kindling in the spaces between the bricks.
The hearths are lit only after a flame, that’s believed to be passed on from the temple after the devi puja, is provided. The smoke and ash that’s given out from these hearths very nearly blind you, especially if there’s any wind.(In fact, I think that this one day contributes about as much CO2 as a whole week of traffic would.) its tough to stand barefeet in the scorching heat, with your eyes watering from the thick smoke of a million hearths, but in the end it gives you a sense of accomplishment like no other.
Once the Prasad (offering) has been prepared the women wait for a pujari( priest) from the temple to come & bless their preparation by sprinkling holy water on it. Priests are send out simultaneously in different directions, to cover maximum possible area.
There’s usually a rush to prepare the Prasad within the temple premises, but it’s quite impossible to accommodate the huge number of women. So we see hearths lining all the roads and by lanes, as far as 15kms (diameter) away from the temple.
All essential services, like food, water, beverages, etc are provided for free by clubs, residents associations & associations. But almost every home in the city is open to strangers, so that they can light their hearths. The people of the city usually provide food, water & basic requirements to those who make use of their compounds for the ritual.
Although, there are Pongalas in many different Devi temples, Attukal Pongala is by far the biggest. Lakhs of People believe in Attukal Devi’s powers, as can be seen from the huge turnout.

Rang De Basanti

saw it a coupla days back.lovely visuals.i loved the way youth bonding was depicted. plus it touched a lot of relevant topics-religion, politics, duty,issues about our country,etc.i totally enjoyed it. but...the 2nd half was a lil too much. i mean 2 guys shooting down a defence minister with so much ease? plus no matter how much of an evil dude ure dad is, i dont think u would actually shoot ure dad. yeah mayb it was patriotism in the movie, but no way is that gonna prompt any1 2 gun down his dad . that requires the brand of patriotism possessed by bhagat singh & co. and i dont think thats 2 b found in this generation, never mind what the movie shows. nope.

another thing, now everybody probably wants to party late into the night to some rocking music, hang out with gals/dudes, race around in jeeps and bikes , doing everythin thats cool while believing that they're patriotic.

Vehicular Emissions

Vehicular Pollution.

Environmental pollution & degradation is an issue that’s not being taken seriously enough. Though governments across the world are very much aware about it they aren’t really doing anything about it. Contrary to the general opinion, I do think that we still have time (very little, actually)and that we haven’t actually crossed the point of no return. As the saying goes, better late than never.
A good place for policymakers to start would be by targeting vehicular emissions.
As lifestyles improve radically, the number of private passenger vehicles on the roads has increased exponentially over the past few years. And luxury vehicles comprise a large part of this number. The figures are bound to increase further. I think this is an easily controllable/ manageable issue ,at least in terms of policy and implementation ,as opposed to infrastructure needed to tackle say , deforestation.
A number of steps govts could adopt are:
1) Encourage car-pooling by providing perks in terms of free car servicing, occasional gas vouchers or even special parking passes. Car-pooling could be a simple but very efficient means to cut down emissions as well oil consumptions.
And a good solution to those traffic congestions.
2) Okay, this ones gonna create a problem but hey, no pains no gains. Increase road tax and levy additional tax on luxury vehicles, using some sort of tiered system based on car model & fuel consumption ( the owners can very well afford it & besides they are the biggest oil guzzlers around.). This step will bring down the numbers and actually increase car- pooling.
3) This ones just based on plain optimism. Governments should make the public transport systems much more effective and passenger friendly, not to mention environment friendly. Citizens should be encouraged to use PT much more. All Govts should come up with MRTs (mass rapid transport ) such as metros, subways,etc
4) Last but not the least, newer technologies, like hybrid cars, should receive much more exposure , even down 2 grassroots level. This can done by better media coverage( at least in India) and reduction of prices. Governments should take initiative in ensuring that such technologies become easily available. While the Toyota Prius, for example, is in vogue in countries like the U.S, developing countries ( which, ironically, have the largest markets for vehicles) are not perceived as possible markets for such technologies. I don’t think labels are going to help anyone. Both the tech makers and govts need to join hands in this respect.

I think there should a mass movement on this issue. Apart from the policymakers, it’s up to us, the general population, to take an initiative.
So what are u waiting for?

Layman's Review of DB Books

I’m reading DVC for like the fourth time and each time I’m awed by the fact that Dan Brown has put together a near perfect novel. Ok so maybe some of the facts are debatable, but the book is still a breakthrough in terms of concept and the size of the conspiracy. The way he links little pieces of the jigsaw to give us the big picture is amazing.
But I really don’t know if the movie will be as good. I mean its gonna be tough to convey some of the stuff the way the book does. Ok I’ve always been biased against the screen versions of books but it’s not without reason. Look what they did to ‘Gone with the Wind’
I’ve also read his Angels & Demons, Deception Point and Digital Fortress.
Of these, A & D come a close second in my DB booklist. It lost out cos towards the end it becomes unbelievably dramatic, almost hindi filmy like. You’ll know what I mean if u have ever watched one. What I love about this one is the cool stuff about the elements and the placement of the clues.
Next comes Deception Point. It’s a pretty good read. Again we have a conspiracy of mammoth proportions. And again it begins to drag towards the end. But this one would make a pretty good Hollywood movie. Its satisfies all the criteria- beautiful people, romance, unlimited action (death and destruction), and most important of all, potential for jaw- dropping- million-dollar special effects.
Digital Fortress does not make it to my list. It’s incredibly (yawn). Hell, I don’t even remember what it was all about. I just remember checking the cover more than once to ensure that I was actually reading a book by Dan Brown. This book is easily his worst.

A coupla things about his books- they’re almost always set in a very short time period. About 24hrs.
And its always easy to guess who done it- suspect somebody totally out of the circle of suspicion. Admitted that’s the same with 90% of the stuff v read. Remember the author wants to shock you.

All said, I’m waiting breathlessly for his new book.