435 items in this section. Displaying page 30 of 44
Duped Again
October 21: There are two Indias – the India of the powerful, privileged classes and the India of the masses. The powerful have good jobs and enviable lifestyles while the masses are precariously perched on the brink of survival. A large proportion of the masses lives in villages, which, as Mahatma Gandhi said long ago, is where the real India lives. Ill-fed, ill-clothed and ill-educated. Time and again, this real India finds itself being taken for a ride....
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....
Simputer: The Low-cost Computer
September 23: For all those who thought computers were expensive items and not in the list of “essential buys”, think again. A new computer is here, priced at an easily affordable Rs 9,000 (about $200)! And cheaper than a colour TV. Does that grab your attention? It is called Simputer. And it’s the answer to your prayers. As the name suggests, Simputer is not for the hitech geeks! It is a simple computer meant for those who think that a mouse is a small rodent and that a RAM is a male goat....
Dead Poet's society
October 28: Do any of these names make your heart sing a sonnet – Oliver Goldsmith, Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Byron? All of them are famous poets of England of long ago. But where has the poetry of these poets gone today? Is it only to be confined to a select few intellectuals, the older generation, and to the dusty cobwebbed shelves at home? Dead Poet’s society [Illustration by Sudheer Nath] Will the younger generation sweep aside the lyrics of Madonna and Michael Jackson and read classical English verses that are literally poetry-in-motion?...
This Park Bench has an Address
November 18: Park Bench, Portland Square, Bristol. No, this is no cute address given by some children to their favourite bench. Rather, in the latest demonstration of just how finicky the British can be to minor details, a humble park bench in the town of Bristol, is soon going to have an address. And given its own postcode to boot. This means that if someone sends a letter to the above address, it will reach the Park Bench....
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....
Homing in on Prisons
September 9: Lately, newly-weds in Iran have been facing an unusual problem. They just can’t find homes to live in after they get married. This is because there is a shortage of housing in Iran. To help solve this housing crisis, Iran’s government is planning to turn military centres and prisons into housing units for newly weds. A housing ministry official was quoted in a news item in the Times of India as saying, “A plan has been drafted for turning military centers and prisons into economical 50 square metre housing units for newly married couples....
Woman who Terrifies Burma's Military
Woman who Terrifies Burma’s Military [] September 23: Two days ago, commuters at the railway station in Myanmar or Burma’s capital city Yangon (earlier spelt Rangoon), were confronted with a scary sight. A posse of policemen in riot gear, was swarming all over the station. No, it wasn’t a dreaded terrorist attack that they were guarding against. They were preventing a frail 55 year-old woman from boarding the five pm train to Mandalay, according to reports in ‘The Hindu’ and ‘The Indian Express’....
Underwater Terminator
It is not an animal or disease. It is a collective name given to plants, which live underwater. Algae do not have specialised body parts such as roots, stems and leaves. They range in size from very tiny cells to 30 metre long weeds. A special characteristic of algae is that they multiply very fast. Underwater Terminator [Illustration by Kusum Chamoli] US researchers recently identified the algae, which has caused large-scale destruction of European sea habitats – almost 4,050 hectares of sea habitats along the Mediterranean coast, according to a report in ‘Down To Earth’ magazine....
The Misfortunes of Kera..la
December 9: What are the images that come to mind when one hears the name – Kerala? Beaches, backwaters and… coconut trees. Rows and rows of coconut (kera) trees swaying in the breeze along the coastline, a picture perfect sight in this coastal state in South India. But this image might be in danger of disappearing. A very poor demand for coconuts combined with an all time low price for the fruit, is ruining the thriving coconut business in the state....