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Lenses for Dogs
Blind dogs or dogs with eye problems can now wear special lenses to see. Dabbu, an eleven-year-old Lhasa Apso, lost his left eye in an ugly fight with a street dog. Lately, he was losing vision in the right eye too because of a cataract. And has been stumbling around his owner’s house in Calcutta, bumping into things and being rather miserable. Lenses for Dogs [Illustration by Shiju George] But Dabbu was lucky....
Kids Learn to Fight from Politicians
July 15: It happened in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. A man saw a few children abuse and fight each other, and break furniture. He asked them what they were doing. Giggling, the children replied, “We are acting out a Sangsad ( Parliament ) scene.” It was a pretty good imitation of the unruly scenes in the Bangladeshi Parliament. Kids Learn to Fight from Politicians [Illustration by Shiju George] But Bangladesh President Shahabuddin Ahmed did not find the incident funny, however....
This Bird Paradise Stinks!
March 19: Are you a bird lover? If you live in Delhi, then the river Yamuna is the place to go to. Yes, that same river that was once Delhi’s pride but has got reduced to a polluted dump with mounds of plastic islands floating on its surface and toxic effluents flowing in from fields. And yet, birds flock to the Yamuna. Perhaps because there is no other river or wetland region in Delhi, which is predominantly a dry city, says a report in The Hindu....
The Final Descent
March 26: After 15 years in the skies, the Russian-made Mir space station finally returned to earth on March 22. Its burning remnants could be seen as they shot across the sky over the Fiji islands. The Final Descent [Illustration by Shiju George] Mir means both ‘peace’ and ‘village’ in Russian. It housed 104 astronauts in its lifetime, 62 of whom were from other countries, including seven Americans. Mir’s first component was launched in 1986....
The Night of the Women
The Night of the Women [Illustration by Shinod AP] March 19: A few days ago, the streets of Bogota, the capital of South American country Colombia, wore a very unusual look at night. Not one man was visible outside. Bogota’s eccentric mayor, Antanas Mockus, had declared March 9, 2001, as the Night of the Women. All the city’s men were ordered to stay indoors and leave the city free for women that night, says a Guardian News Service report in The Hindustan Times....
Prisoners Ride on Fried Snack Success
September 30: It all began with ‘bhajiya’ (fritters). A few years ago, prisoners of Sabarmati jail in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, began a ‘bhajiya’ corner. They sold crispy ‘bhajiya’, a favourite snack of Gujaratis, in the shop. Predictably enough, the snack was a big draw among people. Sales touched Rs. 20,000 per day. Inspired by the runaway success of their venture, the prisoners have decided to diversify. They have proposed a series of profitable ventures that they would like to set up in the coming months....
Dia's Story
Dia, an 80-year-old labourer of Indian origin, lives in the corner of a cotton field in the western province of Kanchanaburi, Thailand. His rundown shack contains very little besides a military medal and a few clothes. The medal is a remnant of Dia’s eventful, if tragic, past. It is a past that has included a stint at Myanmar (then Burma), as a prisoner captured by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II (1939 – 45)....
From Prisoners to Teachers
July 1: Life in a prison can be quite depressing. Where prisoners are kept away from their near and dear ones. But now things in Delhi’s Tihar Jail are changing. The prison authorities have decided to bring about some light into the lives of the prisoners. True, the prisoners are here because of crimes they have committed. But, if something can help them become better human beings, there is no reason why they should not be encouraged....
A Debt Repaid
February 14: More than 60 years ago, the Maharaja of Jamnagar, a princely state in Gujarat, offered shelter to 600 Polish child refugees who had got orphaned during the Second World War. The children were housed near Balachadi, near Jamnagar. It was a deed that the Poles did not forget. For, as the news of the devastating earthquake that hit Gujarat spread across the world on January 26, the Polish government was among the first foreign nations to rush in with aid....
Roy of Light
November 4: While cities and towns have the privilege of an electricity connection, there are still a number of remote villages in India that lack this facility. Their homes remain shockingly dark, even on the threshold of the twenty-first century. It’s a reality that the Indian government has done little to change. Providing electricity to all of India appears to be beyond its reach, even today. So the loudest cheers must be reserved for the man who says, yes, it’s possible to light up all the villages in India, even the poorest, most remote ones....