Just An Idea..

India is a country where a major part of the population still does not have access to a very basic right called education. Why can we not adopt a teach India model - Akin Singapore which makes it mandatory for every citizen to go for a military training, we too should seriously make it a mandate for every literate graduate to spend atleast 1-2 weeks every 2 years to teach in rural and urban schools. These graduates acting as faculty would definitely help in education of the masses and to speed up the process of living a better life. Such people could be then given some brownie points (for example…a certificate of appreciation from HRD after completion of 3 such interventions?)..... We cannot be dependent on the Government for everything. As a responsible citizen we have to give back to this civil society. It should be part of our DNA.
Infact the ‘Teach India’ campaign launched by Times of India has already given us an excellent opportunity to try out such a thing.

Planting a Tree

It is always a pleasure to watch a thick cover of greenery anywhere we go.People often maintain beautiful gardens in and around their houses.But what about public areas like streets, sidewalks, pathways etc.Nobody seems to bother about them.

So taking some initiative and planting a tree in a public area is definitely a very good idea. To undertake this task the first thing to do was to procure a tree sapling.The options available were either to go to a nursery and buy one or pull out a sapling that happened to grow wildly on its own.
After procuring the plant, I had to look for a suitable place for it to grow. Walking along one of the roads near my house, I spotted a perfect place.The idea was to have easy accessecibity to the plant so that I clould check on it and also to ensure that it would not get damaged and get adequate sunlight, water etc.
Finally I managed to dig a hole and plant the sapling.The result was definitely very pleasing and it made me give a pat and a big smile to myself.Doing such things always makes one happy.If you don’t believe me try it yourself :-).

Independence Day....

On 15 August 1947, India became an independent nation. This was preceded by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's famous speech titled Tryst with destiny.

“At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance..... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again.”

This year we celebrated our 61st year of independence and it is indeed a matter of great pride and joy for all of us.

We have marched into the 21st century today. The younger generation does not know much about what happened sixty years ago except what is written in history books. But rightfully so because as the saying goes...Time heals everything, and humans must live in the present and aspire about their future.
So every year people do look forward to 15th August, but from the point of view of a national holiday when they can relax. I personally do not remember doing anything substantial to celebrate this day over the years maybe except participating in school functions.
This year was no different. But even then in my heart of hearts I bear strong patriotic feelings towards my country. It definitely made me think about what I could do to make this day a better experience rather than a usual holiday.

While watching television I happened to view an extremely interesting feature.This was about how a group of young people celebrated this day by spending it at an orphanage.
What was different was that they spent the day renovating the orphanage. The place was painted, decorated with some new facilities and utilities provided for the children.
These people were no professionals but a bunch of enthusiastic youngsters who successfully implemented a very good idea. Most of them were trying their hand at these odd jobs for the first time in their life. But it led to excellent results.
I shall try and do something similar in future

The position of the Prime Minister of our country is indeed a highly respected and important one.Given a chance to hold this position I would use this opportunity to make the young generations aware of how they could contribute in the development and building of our country.One requires a sense of belonging to be a part of anything. I shall try and bring about this spirit in the people. If each one of us could do a small bit, it would go a long way in ensuring the prosperity and growth of our nation.

I feel very very proud that I belong to this beautiful nation called India.

Jai Hind

Reducing water demand

Simple techniques can be used to reduce the demand for water. The underlying principle is that only part of the rainfall or irrigation water is taken up by plants, the rest percolates into the deep groundwater, or is lost by evaporation from the surface. Therefore, by improving the efficiency of water use, and by reducing its loss due to evaporation, we can reduce water demand.
There are numerous methods to reduce such losses and to improve soil moisture. Some of them are listed below.
Mulching, i.e., the application of organic or inorganic material such as plant debris, compost, etc., slows down the surface run-off, improves the soil moisture, reduces evaporation losses and improves soil fertility.

Soil covered by crops, slows down run-off and minimizes evaporation losses. Hence, fields should not be left bare for long periods of time.

Ploughing helps to move the soil around. As a consequence it retains more water thereby reducing evaporation.

Shelter belts of trees and bushes along the edge of agricultural fields slow down the wind speed and reduce evaporation and erosion.

Planting of trees, grass, and bushes breaks the force of rain and helps rainwater penetrate the soil.

Fog and dew contain substantial amounts of water that can be used directly by adapted plant species. Artificial surfaces such as netting-surfaced traps or polyethylene sheets can be exposed to fog and dew. The resulting water can be used for crops.

Contour farming is adopted in hilly areas and in lowland areas for paddy fields. Farmers recognize the efficiency of contour-based systems for conserving soil and water.

Salt-resistant varieties of crops have also been developed recently. Because these grow in saline areas, overall agricultural productivity is increased without making additional demands on freshwater sources. Thus, this is a good water conservation strategy.

Transfer of water from surplus areas to deficit areas by inter-linking water systems through canals, etc.

Desalination technologies such as distillation, electro-dialysis and reverse osmosis are available.

Use of efficient watering systems such as drip irrigation and sprinklers will reduce the water consumption by plants.