Deepa's Jottings

It was an unusual way to end a predominantly techie meet...the FOSS.in (Free and Open Source Software annual meet which happens at the J N Tata Auditorium) closed with a keynote address by Kalyan Varma, who is well-known in software,photography, and wildlife circles.The tagline for this year's meet was, "Talk is cheap. Show me the code"!After the "workouts" discussions and reports were over, the well-"connected" audience settled down for the keynote address:Kalyan, about whom I have written in Citizen Matters here and here , put the finishing touches to his presentation:He then talked about "Free World:Sharing and Caring".He started out…

It was an unusual way to end a predominantly techie meet...the FOSS.in (Free and Open Source Software annual meet which happens at the J N Tata Auditorium) closed with a keynote address by Kalyan Varma, who is well-known in software,photography, and wildlife circles.The tagline for this year's meet was, "Talk is cheap. Show me the code"!After the "workouts" discussions and reports were over, the well-"connected" audience settled down for the keynote address:Kalyan, about whom I have written in Citizen Matters here and here , put the finishing touches to his presentation:He then talked about "Free World:Sharing and Caring".He started out…

I belong to a volunteer group called Clean and Green, which has been going out on trips to the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and cleaning up as much of the plastic trash as possible in the time available. On the last two occasions, Wipro has both sponsored the trip, as well as providing volunteers to help us with our task.I thought I would post about how a cleanup usually happens....this is probably the 16th or 17th such trip we are making. This time, the trash collected in two hours was 167 kg, and I am happy to say that the amount…

I belong to a volunteer group called Clean and Green, which has been going out on trips to the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and cleaning up as much of the plastic trash as possible in the time available. On the last two occasions, Wipro has both sponsored the trip, as well as providing volunteers to help us with our task.I thought I would post about how a cleanup usually happens....this is probably the 16th or 17th such trip we are making. This time, the trash collected in two hours was 167 kg, and I am happy to say that the amount…

I regularly visit this lady cobbler in J P Nagar 3rd Phase:I am always impressed by her cheerful, smiling demeanour,and struck up a long conversation with her today. Her name is Mariamma, and she hails from a village near Tiruvannamalai.She says she has four  children. "They are all grown up, and are working," she says. Her husband passed away a few years ago. Though there is usually a stigma attached to the profession of a cobbler, she did not let this deter her, and plies her trade happily. She says her little stall keeps her occupied, and keeps her from…

I regularly visit this lady cobbler in J P Nagar 3rd Phase:I am always impressed by her cheerful, smiling demeanour,and struck up a long conversation with her today. Her name is Mariamma, and she hails from a village near Tiruvannamalai.She says she has four  children. "They are all grown up, and are working," she says. Her husband passed away a few years ago. Though there is usually a stigma attached to the profession of a cobbler, she did not let this deter her, and plies her trade happily. She says her little stall keeps her occupied, and keeps her from…

I received the monthly update from Max Mueller Bhavan (Goethe Institut) and it was heartwarming to see this announcement:Inauguration of the new Solar Roof4.30 p.m. on November 20thWe are proud to announce a unique initiative - the installation of a photo-voltaic system on the roof of the Bhavan - one step forward in the movement towards conservation of scarce resources and utilisation of renewable energy. The implications of this project, executed by IBC Solar under the Solar Roof Project India of dena, the German Energy Agency (Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH), are expected to radiate far beyond the walls of the Institute!The…

I received the monthly update from Max Mueller Bhavan (Goethe Institut) and it was heartwarming to see this announcement:Inauguration of the new Solar Roof4.30 p.m. on November 20thWe are proud to announce a unique initiative - the installation of a photo-voltaic system on the roof of the Bhavan - one step forward in the movement towards conservation of scarce resources and utilisation of renewable energy. The implications of this project, executed by IBC Solar under the Solar Roof Project India of dena, the German Energy Agency (Deutsche Energie-Agentur GmbH), are expected to radiate far beyond the walls of the Institute!The…

Vijay Narnampatti and I had been to Seshadri Road yesterday to talk to the members of the Empowered Committee as they inspected the road, on which dozens of majestic trees are slated to be felled.While we were waiting for them, this caught my eye....I am going to let the banner speak for itself!Comments, though, are welcome! ⊕

Vijay Narnampatti and I had been to Seshadri Road yesterday to talk to the members of the Empowered Committee as they inspected the road, on which dozens of majestic trees are slated to be felled.While we were waiting for them, this caught my eye....I am going to let the banner speak for itself!Comments, though, are welcome! ⊕