Tree? Don't bamboozle me!

Is it a tree? Is it a shrub? Is it a weed? No, it is a grass silly!  We learnt that Bamboo was one of the fastest growing grasses in the world when we were in the fifth standard.
But the Law in India says that the bamboo is a tree, for heaven's sake. And the Law is an Ass!
The British, wily as they were, promulgated the Indian Forests Act (1927), and classified a scientifically recognised grass as a tree. the reason was probably that you could get a hell of a lot of revenue from the bamboo.

With 1500 documented uses of bamboo as food item, building material, utility material, as medicine and even fabric, Bamboo is one of the most useful plants available to mankind.

Apart from this mindboggling range of products, Bamboo has other properties which make it invaluable to us.

Most importantly bamboo ois the poor man's wood, but all the retrograde laws  and taxes bar the poor man from access to bamboo.

Inthe North East of India, the flowering of the bamboo is an event that leaves its mark on an entire generation. It is said that when the bamboo flowers misfortune comes. Read about it here
In Sikkim, in Shillong, in Assam, and in Jharkhand, I've sampled different delicious dishes with bamboo as the base ingredient. 

The Supreme Court has clearly stated in its ruling that Bamboo is to be treated as a grass, but the IFA has not been amended. Getting the grass off the 'tree' list will actually help in the better growth of bamboo.

So please follow the link, read the online petition and sign the appeal to save our bamboo forests and plantations, so that bamboo becomes freely cultivable and available.
Bamboo is not a tree petition

10 things about RTE Act

The Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education Act, 2009: has ten functions


• It makes education Free
• It makes education compulsory for the state to provide
• It provides for Curriculum to be in consonance with Constitutional values
• It addresses Quality of Teachers
• It sets norms for Quality of schools
• It has a Social Reform function (25% seats in private schools)
• It removes child labour
• It de-bureaucratizes transfer certificates
• It provides for Participation of Civil society in Education (SMC)
• It removes oppression of Examinations

The first realisation is that we are dealing with an Act, not a policy or scheme such as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The common school policy formulated by Bihar is a very good one, but could not be implemented yet because it was policy, not law. But in the case of the RTE Act, the states do not have the option to keep it on a shelf. It’s been passed by Parliament, and out of the hands of the State Governments. Since it is a Central Act, it has to be implemented and there’s no scope for stalling.

[ The Act makes it compulsory for the State to provide free and equitable education to all children]
It has been observed that there have been fundamental changes in social legislation in India during recent times. The first was Right to Information (RTI), the effects of which have been widely experienced. The second was the Right to work, (NREGA). The Right to Education is the third link in the chain. The results of the RTI and right to work have been experienced and widely reported. Maybe they have some defects or limitations, but there’s no question that RTI and NREGA have had an impact on government and civil society.

[Photo: Two kids at their Midday Meal provised in a State run school in Bihar ]

Constitutionally speaking, the Right to Education Act surpasses the first two, because it is the result of an Amendment of the Constitution of India, an amendment which gave children the fundamental right to education. Last fortnight there were two notifications, one was of the Act and the other was the notification of the 86th Amendment to the Constitution. Article 21 A could not be notified unless the law was in place. Now that the Act is in place, the notification is achieved.

The Act comes into force on the 1st of April 2010

Mamta's Election Train

One really didn't expect Indian Union Minister for Railways Mamta Bannerjee's Railway Budget to spring any surprises - populism is what one expected from Didi, and that's what was received.
More new trains, more routes, more accidents?

One thing was interesting though ... it's that cancer patients will be able to get free rides in the Sleeper Class ... how exactly will the system work? Let's wait and see.

Blessings to you

Once in a while, something really heartwarming lands up in your inbox, and you want to share it. Put it up for posterity, maybe.
It's the season of Lent, and a time for reflection. I'd like to thank my uncle, Henry Hulley, who sent me this all the way from Australia.
Whoever took the time to pen this verse, you've probably spread a great deal of happiness around cyberspace. Thanks!

Dear Lord,
Every single evening

As I'm lying here in bed,
This tiny little Prayer
Keeps running through my head:


God bless all my family
Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm
And safe from harm
For they're so close to me.


And God, there is one more thing
I wish that you could do;
Hope you don't mind me asking,
Please bless my computer too.

Now I know that it's unusual
To Bless a motherboard,
But listen just a second
While I explain it to you, Lord.


You see, that little metal box
Holds more than odds and ends;
Inside those small compartments
Rest so many of my friends.


I know so much about them
By the kindness that they give,
And this little scrap of metal
Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them
Much the same as you.
We share in what life brings us
And from that our friendships grew..

Please take an extra minute
From your duties up above,
To bless those in my address book
That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach

To each and every friend,

Bless each e-mail in-box

And each person who hits 'send'..

When you update your Heavenly list

On your own Great CD-ROM,

Bless everyone who says this prayer

Sent up to GOD.Com

Valentine's Day and beyond!

friend commented that I haven't been posting my poems . I do confess to having murdered verse or worsE once in a while. Here's a poem I wrote some years ago. It's sort of a 'Hallmark type pome' which could be on a Valentine's day card, eh?

Lyric

They declared that Rhyme was Dead,
Declined to state the reason.
But it was true, the Wise man said
That Rhyme was out of season

And matching words were such a bore
Rhythm an onerous task
Pentameter was no more
Than dregs in an empty cask …

“We poets strive to break the chains

Of sonnet, ode and dirge

Not one link should us restrain

Or balk creative urge …”

And so they wield their pens of steel

Shed blood of Royal Blue

Their course is set on even keel

The target swift and true.

They sing of pain and acid rain

Of war and toxic showers …

But love of you is my refrain

I hope you liked the flowers.

Frank Krishner 1994, Sikkim

More Poems by FK

Lonely Tunes

Why the mineral-rich states are the most fucked up states in the country…??

Why are all the tribal areas in India forever plunged into a state of unrest ? From the Himalayan Ranges of the North -east to the forests of the plains and the shores of the Andamans ... is it just greed? Are the tribals being stripped of every piece of dignity they have, and what will be left are the plastic smiles for the camera?

Just done with watching Barkha Dutt's 'We the People" on the topic of the Maoist Muddle , and the last half of the Doha Debates where MJ Akbar and  Sachin Pilot on one side, and teesta Setlvad and Seema Mustafa on the other debated whether Muslims were being targetted in India. While the first show, as expected, went around in circles, the motion was resoundingly defeated in the BBC show.

A young man  from Jharkhand has started his blog LOSER's SPACE and the banner question in red at the start of this post is actually the title of his first post. Do click on the link and read his post!

Right to education : vexing problems

The Right of Children to free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 received the assent of the President of India on 26th August 2009, and the same was notified in the Gazette of India, New delhi, Thursday, August 27, 2009 [Bhadra 5, 1931].


It is an Act to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years.
Under the Act, section 2 [n] defines a ‘school’ as those institutions imparting elementary education, and includes schools that receive funds from the government and unaided schools not receiving government funds. ‘Elementary education’ means the education from grades 1 through 8.


While the government shall provide free and compulsory education to every child, parents who do not avail of this facility and send their kids to private schools shall not be entitled to make a claim for reimbursement of expenditure incurred on elementary education in such schools.

In other words, any old rickshawallah cannot demand admission to DPS.

However Minority schools and unaided schools shall admit to the extent of at least twenty five percent of the strength in class one, children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups from the neighbourhood, and the school will be reimbursed according to government rates per child. Of course, if the school is operating on land donated by the government, then it is not entitled to reimbursement.

The state government will be framing the rules under the Act in consonance with the model rules provided by the centre. I will be raising some of the issues that are being thrown up as Bihar grapples with 'how' to implement the Act in my blog Frank Opinions as we go along.

This post and others are here because feedback from thinking citizens is necessary. Links to this blog and the comments are being sent to relevant decision makers in order to broaden the RTE debate.

Bihar and the Right to Education

At the State Consultation on the Right to Education on Thursday, the Government of Bihar gets ready to tackle the implications of the Right to Education Act. The Act, as you know, has been passed, and the President of India has given assent. The next step is the notification of the Act, which is the final step, making it into Law.

Kids between the ages of 6 and 14 are to be given access to free and compulsory education across schools in India, but the states have the flexibility to frame their own rules for implementation under the Act and that's why Bihar will see a series of consultations in order to get the rules ready.

The Act is a justiciable act... which means that infringements can be challenged in any court of law in the country.

 This will prove to be a major headache for the provinces, especially UP and Bihar, because of the sheer size of the various problems that have to be tackled in order to bring a semblance of equitable and qualitative education to children.

Every child will not only have access to school, but what is great about the act is that a rickshaw puller who lives on the outskirts of fashionable Patliputra colony will have the right to demand education for his daughter in the primary section of Notre Dame Academy, and the same will be applicable for a truck driver on Asiana More who can ensure that his kid studies at Delhi Public School.

Brahmin or Dalit, Musahar or Mohammedan, all will have equitable access according to the law. Even Madrasas [ Islamic schools]will have to abide by the government regulations and ensure miimum standards of education. Hopefully, private 'Hole in the wall' schools will be a thing of the past.

Things are going to get very interesting after April 2010!
[I took this photograph at a Bihar Government health camp campaign in a government school]

Mama Mia! What a Flick!

I never thought Meryl Streep could be so deliciously funny and that Pearce Brosnan was deliciously banal. But oh, boy! The film is every ABBA fan's nightmare and dream come true rolled into one. The songs which we thought were so fantastically emotional when we were teenagers were placed in such everyday and comic contexts, that I was laughing and yelling out the songs at the same time. That was at about eleven in the night on the Tibetan New Year : the year of the Male Iron Tiger. HBO made my New Year Celebration rock!

In the UK, this film had beaten the Titanic at the Box Office!

Mamma Mia! received 'mixed reviews' from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 53% of critics gave the film positive reviews based upon a sample of 168 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The Times gave it four stars out of five. Channel 4  said it had "all the swing and sparkle of sequined bell-bottoms." BBC Radio 5 Live's film critic Mark Kermode delivered an all-singing, all-dancing review, describing the experience as 'the closest you get to see A-List actors doing drunken karaoke'.The Guardian was more negative, giving it one star, stating that the film gave the reviewer a "need to vomit" while Bob Chipman of Escape to the Movies said it was "so base, so shallow and so hinged on meaningless spectacle, it's amazing it wasn't made for men".The Daily Telegraph stated that it was enjoyable but poorly put together ("Finding the film a total shambles was sort of a shame, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll go to see it again anyway."). Empire said it was "cute, clean, camp fun, full of sunshine and toe tappers."

The casting of actors not noted for their singing abilities led to some mixed reviews as well . Variety stated that "some stars, especially the bouncy and rejuvenated Streep, seem better suited for musical comedy than others, including Brosnan and Skarsgård."Brosnan, especially, was savaged by many critics: his singing was compared to "a water buffalo" (New York Magazine), "a donkey braying" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) and "a wounded raccoon" (The Miami Herald), and Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing Charlotte said he "looks physically pained choking out the lyrics, as if he's being subjected to a prostate exam just outside of the camera's eye.

The thing that I loved about the movie was the off-key singing. It has an ordinary, everyday charm.  Get the DVD... I  recommend it! definitely rewatchable, reprisable, reusable, rewindable. !!!

Year of the Male Iron Tiger

Okay, so most of you were busy with your Valentine's Day stuff, I'm sure. How could you miss it!

While the major portion of the Indian Television time was taken up with the re-hashing of the Pune blasts, there was some space given to the Great Indian Preoccupation with Valentine's Day.

I remember a time when the local card store owner went "huh???" when we asked for Valentine Day cards. This was as recent as 1986. Our generation would get creative with 'All Occasion' cards.

And then came the Satellite TV invasion.

MTV suddenly began singing and dancing in Hindi, and ARCHIES came up with a dozen frothy reasons to sell merchandise.

I would think that North Indians had their own Valentine's day ... The one where married females starve themselves and turn hungry eyes to the moon .. It's called Karva Chauth, and in translation it sounds a lot like Bitter Fourth - but let's leave it at that.

I'm peeved because as a person from the Hills of the North East, there was a rather important even celebrated on the Fourteenth of Feb this year - one that's far more interesting than luke warm Valentine's Day , and it has a lot of great food linked to it as well. I'm talking about Losar -- being celebrated with such gusto in my native Sikkim, while every dhobi and his donkey in Bihar was braying about 'Bhalentine's Divas'.

Losar is the Tibetan New Year, and this year it's the Year of the Male Iron Tiger. The Chinese New Year falls on the same day as the Tibetan one.The word of Losar is a Tibetan word which means New Year. The word is composed of two characters: LO and Sar. Lo means Year and Sar means New.

The celebration of Losar can be traced back to Tibetan pre-Buddhist period. At that time, Tibetans were followers of the Bon religion, and held a spiritual ceremony every winter! Well, it's the time where we relish Gyathuk, and lots of Chhang. I should have been in Bodh Gaya today...  That's a part of Bihar which would have seen some great celebrations.

 

In years gone by, certain streets in Calcutta would come alive with the Indian Chinese community celebrating the New Year in a big way! There's nothing to beat the 108 dish banquet that affluent Chinese people serve!

 

Anyway, my celebrations in Patna were very low key, and my neighbours must have been thankful!

Say it in Maithili

News is on about what is arguably the world's first e-magazine in Maithili.

Maithili is the North Bihari lingo that's kin to my own Nepali.

Lot's of Chhai and chha.

There is a lobby in Bihar which is striving for the recognition of the Maithili Language.

You know what they say about Mithila Brahmins!

Actually, Nepal has radio stations and TV stations broadcasting in Nepali, but Bihar has none.

Anyhow

Here's the link
Check it out and post a comment.
Jai Ho!

Out with gaylaxy?

The new issue of Gaylaxy is out.

Improved version.

Haven't figures out how to download it and save a copy for reading at leisure.

A PDF format for easy download would be appreciated.

Of course, the flavour is 'love', because February is Valentine's month.

Predictable, what?

I haven't had the time to read everything yet, so expect a more in-depth review later.
here's the link, just click

Manohar, Momos, and Mainstreaming

News Item : Sangama and Karnataka Sex Workers Union congratulated Elavarthi Manohar the first Vice-Chairperson of the India CCM (Country Coordinating Mechanism) of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria on his return from Delhi  Thursday.

I remember sitting with Manohar, introducing him to Momos at a tiny joint called Ming's Chimney near the AN College in Patna in the year 2002. Manohar, a relentless campaigner for Queer Rights, had come to the city, as part of an HIV-AIDS related assignment, and had contacted me because he had heard of the work that we were doing to support males in gender distress and our efforts at AASRA to bring the queer rights discourse to mainstream society.He founded and nurtures 'Sangama', an NGO on Queer Rights in Bangalore and is recognised as the force behind the sex workers union.

Manohar has often been misunderstood within the Gay and Transgendered community as well, because of his identification as a Bisexual. There are many Gay people who regard Bi people as straights masquerading as queer and so on. Manohar is a prolific writer, trainer, and campaigner, and has always fought for the rights of sex workers and sexual minorities for the past 17 years.

 "He has built democratic and transparent mass-based community organisations that advance the varied interests of these marginalised communities,’’ says Geetha, President, Karnataka Sex Workers Union. Manohar designed and led many campaigns to change laws that discriminate against sexual minorities and sex workers, including Section 377 of IPC and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA.

Hearty Congratulations, and best wishes, Manohar E!

Who is a teacher?

This is a question that I would like to throw to my readers.
Who is a teacher? What are his or her qualities?

In several places in India - in the North East, Bihar, and even in Bengal, I have heard people say that people who do not get employment anywhere end up as teachers.

I have heard college students in Bihar say that in their colleges, teachers teach less and absent themselves more. they say that teachers are more interested in money than in teaching.

India is supposed to be very attached to its Gurus, or at least we claim that the Guru-or teacher- is one who needs to be respected.
Generally, what do you think of teachers?
What are the qualities of a good teacher?

The Citizen Journalist

In these days of the IT revolution, citizen journalism points to what the meaning of 'Free Speech' and 'sharing information' is all about.

Chhattisgarh (CG) is a small state in central India, carved out in the year 2000 for its predominantly indigenous population called Adivasis (original inhabitants). The Indian constitution lists them as “Scheduled Tribes,” constituting 8 percent of the population. 75% of the tribals live in the central region of India.
Adivasis are the most deprived section of Indian society, occupying the lower rungs on the development  indicator ladder.
The tribes  have little or no political voice. CGnet was launched to help them make their voices heard. CGnet is the people’s Web site of Chhattisgarh, where everybody is a journalist. It is a citizens’ journalism forum whose mission is the democratization of journalism, where journalism is not restricted only to journalists.

Currently, not only are there no professional tribal journalists in Chattisgarh, but there are no 'professional journalists' who can communicate with tribals directly. Literacy rates are low, because there is no education facility that teaches in any tribal language, despite provisions in the Indian constitution for affirmative action for tribals in jobs, education, and land issues. This has resulted in a divided society and an absence of dialogue between the tribal and non-tribal communities.


Community radio could be another solution, but the only radio station is the government-owned All India Radio, which does not broadcast any news bulletins in local tribal languages. Community Radio is still in its infancy in India, and largely run by Colleges or rich NGOs.

According to a survey by Delhi-based alternative media organization Charkha at the time of the start of CGnet, reporting on issues of common people in the local newspapers was an astonishingly low 2 percent.

Citizen journalists of CGnet have helped expose human rights violations that the mainstream press has missed. Some of the stories have been picked up by the mainstream media and attracted the attention of human rights activists.


Adivasis have a rich oral tradition. All their poetry and songs pass from one generation to the next orally. CGnet intends to record these oral treasures digitally in order to save their rich tribal languages and cultures.

CGnet has trained some young Adivasis in simple tricks of citizen journalism, such as how to record and convey their concerns over mobile phones using the built-in camera. These images are then uploaded on the Web site and discussed on the forum through e-mail.

Click here for the CGnet website and have a look. Do return here to leave your comment on what you experienced. 

Similarly, every young person  and not-so- old person can become a citizen journalist. Blog, comment, express your viewpoint, it doesn't matter whether you are from Bihar, Bundelkhnad, or the back of Bondookistan!

Race and Rant

I've had it. Fed up to the gills with all this 'Aussies are racist' claptrap.

First we had the Indian Media bleating about the bush and adding fuel to allegations of 'Racist attacks' on Indians in Oz.

Now we have news that at least two of those incidents were in fact created by Indians - one was an insurance fraud attempt, and the other was some Indian guys popping off another Indian guy.
For those people in the Indian media who still want to harp on 'sentiment', one would like to point out that unlike the caste-ridden and inefficient Police system in India, and unlike  our rickety Justice delivery system, the Aussies actually implement the Rule of Law. So instead of whipping up hysteria, let the Law in that Country take its own course.

The Rule of Law is something that's taking a big beating in India, isn't it?

Look at Raj Thakery, Bal Thakery and all those seditious creeps holding Bombay and the rest of Maharashtra to ransom.
You think the cartoon  is racist?

Yes?
Now what exactly are the great Thakerays telling the North Indians?
In so many words .. F' off you Biharis, UP wallahs and other S-O-B's.
And with all you worthy people in Maharashtra shutting up and s(h)itting around twiddling your thumbs and making no noises, aren't you abetting racist chaps like the T's.
Isn't threatening not to allow Pakis or Aussies to play cricket in Maharashtra racist and as jingoistic and  stupid as hell?

Wise man says: People who live in Glass house, shouldn't throw rocks. As Khushwant Singh pointed out recently, Oz has been a tremendous friend to India whenever we were in need.

Also, to get a better perspective, read this
A tale of two cities


It’s Sydney vs Melbourne, and also New Delhi vs Canberra, PAWAN LUTHRA opines

Sydney and Melbourne both have their share of international students. Youngsters of Indian origin have been arriving by the planeloads in the past few years as the education boom in Australia has fuelled their desire to come to Australia and seek greener pastures. While the ratio is more in favour of the Garden State, both cities have a high visibility of Indian students as they work at 7-11s, fast food outlets and petrol stations. Yet the violence against Indian students is deeply contrasted between Sydney and Melbourne.
for the whole story click the link below

Read it here

Gazing back at the Grammys

India: 1st February 6:30 am: The Grammys - LIVE!
It was an amazing show. The 'Gramaphone Awards' are like no other show on Planet Earth, and this year the performances were pristine.

The 52nd annual Grammy Awards show  became a validation for two avenues of country music's future: the introspective pop-country exemplified by Taylor Swift and the confident, rootsy, adventuresome trad-country-centered music championed by the Zac Brown Band.
Maybe its  'hill' roots, or the fact that we've listened to Jim Reeves and Hank Snow from the womb, but without a doubt, simple, soulful, Country serenades send me into rapture. Country Music is an excellent way for Indian people to learn the lingo. The themes are so familiar: land, family, the simple life.

20-year-old Taylor Swift solidified her hold on country music after a year of firsts, ranging from CMA awards to CMT awards to an MTV VMA award, Saturday Night Live appearances, international touring and record-breaking sales. Her total of four Grammys trailed Beyoncé's haul of six trophies, but Swift significantly snared the all-genre album of the year prize for Fearless, her second album, which continues to set sales records.

The ZBB's first-ever Grammy culminated a breakout year in which the Atlanta-based band made giant strides in music. Intersting to see that the members of the band -- in accepting the all-genre award for best new artist -- first thanked members of their marketing and management team. The realities of music these days!

Keith Urban, with his win for male country performance, established his primacy as leading contemporary male country figure.

Country Music is great to listen to on a lazy aftrenoon, or on a Hard day's Night, when you've been working like a dog, an you should be sleeping like a log!