Environment

Last week,a mammoth conference of psychiatrists was organized at Bangalore. The Annual Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society, We had more than four thousand psychiatrists attendingIt was declared as a green conference and in place of the usual mementos for speakers, six hundred saplings were planted, at Turahalli Reserve Forest.The forest department organized a memorable function on the day before the event. The Indian Psychiatric Society is the first professional organization to take this initiative and I hope more will follow! Additonally, all the conference halls were named after birds!Kudos to Dr R Raguram, who is theProfessor & Head of…

Those familiar with cricket would know that "doosra" is a cricket term that refers to a type of delivery bowled by off-spin bowlers (just like a "bouncer" is bowled by fast bowlers). Off-spinners generally bowl off-breaks. A doosra is the opposite of an off-break, i.e. it spins in the direction opposite to an off-break, taking the batsmen by surprise because the delivery he receives would not be what he expects.  "Doosra", an English play written and directed by Anand Raghav and performed by Paradigm Creations seems to have lived up to its name and surprised many who saw it. Sanjay Mysoremutt,…

Those familiar with cricket would know that "doosra" is a cricket term that refers to a type of delivery bowled by off-spin bowlers (just like a "bouncer" is bowled by fast bowlers). Off-spinners generally bowl off-breaks. A doosra is the opposite of an off-break, i.e. it spins in the direction opposite to an off-break, taking the batsmen by surprise because the delivery he receives would not be what he expects.  "Doosra", an English play written and directed by Anand Raghav and performed by Paradigm Creations seems to have lived up to its name and surprised many who saw it. Sanjay Mysoremutt,…

Doosra's protagonist is the Game of Cricket itself. The changes in the game are depicted through the life of an ambitious and talented 20 year old Ganesh who gets to represent the country. Driven by power, politics, money and pressure, Ganesh's metamorphosis illustrates the changing phase of the game which, over the years has grown from a much loved sport to a commercial venture. The play offers the perspectives of a father who believes in the values of the game, an obsessed fan with a love and hate attitude, a victimized team captain, a bookie who represents the darker side of the…

Doosra's protagonist is the Game of Cricket itself. The changes in the game are depicted through the life of an ambitious and talented 20 year old Ganesh who gets to represent the country. Driven by power, politics, money and pressure, Ganesh's metamorphosis illustrates the changing phase of the game which, over the years has grown from a much loved sport to a commercial venture. The play offers the perspectives of a father who believes in the values of the game, an obsessed fan with a love and hate attitude, a victimized team captain, a bookie who represents the darker side of the…

Till about a week ago, the answer to this would have been, "Only CTS-2010 Standard cheques will be valid after 31st Dec 2012". The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the date for banks and consumers to meet the standard to 31st March 2013, vide circular dated 14th Dec 2012.  What does this all mean? CTS = Cheque Truncation System The basis of CTS technology lies in the use of images of cheques (instead of the physical cheques) for payment processing. So cheques will not physically travel to the originating bank for clearance, but instead, scanned images will be transmitted. This will also eliminate the concept of…

Till about a week ago, the answer to this would have been, "Only CTS-2010 Standard cheques will be valid after 31st Dec 2012". The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the date for banks and consumers to meet the standard to 31st March 2013, vide circular dated 14th Dec 2012.  What does this all mean? CTS = Cheque Truncation System The basis of CTS technology lies in the use of images of cheques (instead of the physical cheques) for payment processing. So cheques will not physically travel to the originating bank for clearance, but instead, scanned images will be transmitted. This will also eliminate the concept of…

We are talking a lot about banning plastic bags now, and in BTM Layout, I came across this sign (at Disney Bakery):This (apart from the multi-spelling of "environment") set me thinking. There seems to be a lot of greenwash going around. How, if plastic is banned, are we willing to sell it? Is this not just one more way of making money? I think it's time to BAN plastic bags, not just SELL them. ⊕

The Salvinia Molesta covering the surface of our little Puttenahalli Lake has not deterred all the birds! Our regulars, the Purple Swamphens, Purple Heron, Pond Herons among others had refused to leave the lake even though the invasive aquatic fern was spreading on the water. They have now been joined by a Grey Heron, a couple of Cormorants and Kingfishers! The Kingfisher especially is good news. It means that the water below the Salvinia is still fresh and alive. These were just a few of the birds we spotted in the midst of what seems like a 1001 tasks we…

We are talking a lot about banning plastic bags now, and in BTM Layout, I came across this sign (at Disney Bakery):This (apart from the multi-spelling of "environment") set me thinking. There seems to be a lot of greenwash going around. How, if plastic is banned, are we willing to sell it? Is this not just one more way of making money? I think it's time to BAN plastic bags, not just SELL them. ⊕