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The Truth about Zoos
Last week we carried a piece about the relevance of zoos as the last refuge of endangered species. But in India it appears that zoos should be the last place for animals of any sort, let alone the endangered variety. It is no secret that most Indian zoos are in a bad state. Although zoos claim to educate people and preserve species, Indian zoos do neither. Most zoo enclosures are quite small, and labels provide little information....
India's first Underwater World
June 24: If you have ever visited an aquariam you would have noticed that the fish look plain bored. Their homes are not very exciting. Nor are the visitors terribly charged up. True, some aquariums are fairly well maintained, but the fact remains that they rarely attract hordes of visitors. The government of Maharashtra has suddenly woken up to the fact that this is a fishy state of affairs. And it wants to make amends. So it has entered into a partnership with a Singapore-based company to create India’s first underwater world, or oceanarium....
The Plastic Menace
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai city a few months ago, the worst rains in decades. The downpour literally brought the city to a standstill. And all because of discarded plastic bags. Plastic bags or polythene bags are essentially made of petro-chemicals. These bags are very thin and in a strong wind can fly away from garbage bins and land on drains and rain-water channels. The bags then clog the drains as they do not let water to flow through....
The Earthworm's Good Turn
Every day, countless dustbins are emptied in dumping grounds. A lot of this garbage ends up polluting the ground water and also the rivers and seas. Actually, a large part of this junk, especially the biodegradable waste (waste that can be decomposed) can be disposed in a more efficient manner, without polluting water bodies. Many countries are now doing it by using a cheap and eco-friendly option – the earthworm. Yes, earthworms have been in the business of decomposing waste and enriching the soil for thousands of years....
Monsoon in Mumbai
To the people of Mumbai, the thought of rain is as natural as breathing. And they think they are always prepared for it. As the temperature drops, and there is a slight nip in the air they cannot help thinking of piping hot pakoras and garam chai or hot tea. But the visitor often drops down from the sky unexpectedly. It has the power to disrupt the lives of the people. Like it did recently....
Puppets on a String Dance Again
Vishnudas Bhave’s puppets had to go through a long ordeal before they finally got to the right place and in the hands of the right people. It was not just a long journey but a tough one too. This story dates back to the year 1843, when the father of Marathi theatre, Vishnudas Bhave created his puppets, in Maharashtra’s Sangli district. They were not ordinary wooden puppets. They were so life-like that it seemed they would talk to you any moment....
The dabbawalas of Mumbai
Late every morning at Mumbai, in India, rows and rows of neatly stacked dabbas (boxes) with weird markings on the top are trundled across busy office buildings. At fifteen to one, a cloth capped man delivers one of these cylindrical boxes on my table in the Fort area. At once I open the case and find the lunch my mother had packed. Hot lunch delivered at the doorstep. Is this the same food my mother packed for me?...
Asia's First Floating Museum
October 16: Wouldn’t it be exciting to visit a war museum of vintage aircraft on a huge ship floating in the ocean ? And when the ship in question happens to be INS Vikrant, the experience promises to be truly memorable. INS Vikrant is India’s first aircraft carrier and came into service in 1961. Once the hallmark of the Indian Navy, it has been decommissioned for some time now. This means that it is no longer in use....
Rat Menace
August 12: About 26 people in Mumbai and nearby Thane died recently due to a strange fever. Initially the doctors in Mumbai were unsure which disease had afflicted these people, because no tests were conducted to find out the nature of the fever. Most patients had avoided getting the test done because it cost a lot of money (Rs. 750) and they did not see why they should spend so much money for what appeared to be just an ordinary fever....
Ali Sardar Jafri
He was a poet who spoke out for the poor. He was also one who truly believed that India and Pakistan could be friends, if the countries tried hard enough. From the time he was arrested for writing against British rule in India, to when he climbed onto the famous Lahore “peace” bus with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee last year, Ali Sardar Jafri spent his entire working-writing life speaking out for what he believed in....
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