The worst job in the world. A video on manual scavengers in India.

Not too long ago, when that particular day was hot, and I was particularly thirsty, I went to the fridge and fished out a small tetrapak of strawberry flavoured milk which I had bought a few days ago. I began tearing the transparent plastic cover to remove the straw when it struck me how little actions can have bigger implications. Its beside the point the milk didn't taste good.

I wasn't really drinking the milk because the realization left me agape. For momentary pleasure, I was creating waste of gargantuan proportions. I could suddenly envision so many of those tiny plastic covers half torn, choking our seas and rivers and the earth, the zillions of straws and cartons piled up becoming islands of waste floating in the vast oceans.
I could always justify myself that I consume such a drink once in a bluemoon (which means, next to never). But it still seems so criminal in my eyes.
I can't clear up the waste, the authorities don't care even if you tell them, and looks like people don't care as well.

So I decided that we will make better choices.
Next time I go on a journey, I will drink coconut water or sugarcane juice or drink water from the bottle I carry from home. And I won't buy biscuits, chips, or chocolates when there are better things to eat like bananas, green chana or roasted or boiled peanuts.
At least this way I know that people selling under a hard sun will have a buyer and I feel better.

Another decision that we forced on my family was to remind my parents to carry bags whenever they go out. I have aways done it. But they forget. It seems like everyone is an impulsive buyer now and its unavoidable. So next time they step out of the house I shove a couple of bags in their hands. They don't like it. But I know that they're appreciating it because most shops are grateful when you refuse their plastic carry bags. And who doesn't glow under gratitude.

I also made sure that my father returns every plastic cover that supermarkets like More wrap the vegetables in. This is not an area where we should blindly ape the West. If they've destroyed their part of the earth with excessive packaging, we should not do the same.

I've never seen such shocking footage in my life on the news. How could the ministers have just stood by and watched. There were people moving around as if nothing had happened, as if there wasn't a man with a severed leg lying on the road in a pool blood. He was begging for help and no one moved a muscle. Not the ministers who govern our country, who the cop was assigned to protect, or other officials or fellow police. Not even the press who stood by and watched him bleed to death, stood by and heard his anguished wail, recording him dying.
I can't believe something like this has happened. Why do Indians just stand and stare when someone is injured in an accident or attack, or is raped in public.
This is such a sad day.
Silence is also complicity in the crime.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cop-attacked-murdered-ministers-helpless/108438-3.html?from=tn

Vente Flash : des prix venus d'ailleurs…‏

"-tu vois ce que je vois ?
-Me dis pas k'se pas VRAI ?!
- Non !!! "

Ils n'en reviennent pas eux non plus !!

cdiscount

I heard a strange call this morning and I rushed outside to see who was calling out and I saw an old man with a small tin box hung on his shoulder by a leather strap and an umbrella in one hand. He was calling out and walking with a brisk pace.
I hadn't seen someone like him for years. When I saw him, I knew instantly that he was calling out to mend torn umbrellas or broken sandals or anything that would require repair using a needle and thread on leather or canvas or the like.
Not many people repair their slippers these days. Or even umbrellas. Its all thrown away.
I wondered who would employ his services. And I can't even imagine how he would feed himself or his family. The max he could ask for a job done would be Rs.10 or 20. What can you buy with that much.
Its so hard to earn a living that way. I wonder if he has a family to look after.
I'm sure they are a dying breed. Even people who come around homes to sharpen knifes and scissors. In a few years' time, perhaps they won't be needed anymore.

There are only two major Muslim festivals, if you don't count the birthday of Prophet Muhammed pbuh. Siddiq http://profiles.tigweb.org/siddiq92 emailed me wonderful photos of how Eid is celebrated the world over among different Muslims communities from China to Africa and Asian and European countries.
The best thing I like about Eid is that its a low key festival. You don't need to decorate your homes or cut trees, there's no need to buy gifts for everyone and you don't even need to buy new clothes or jewellery except for Eid ul Fitr where its only recommended that you wear new clothes if you can afford it. The only highlight of the day are the Eid prayers at the idgah, and the obligatory charity for both festivals. Ofcourse everyone looks forward to the biryani feast.
So its a quiet and peaceful day without any fanfare.
My aunt who is quite religious told us how she celebrates eid in usa with lights and gifts and calling people over only beause she didn't want her children to think that only Christmas is fun and bright with coloured lights. I thought it wasn't quite right, the way she thought.
I personally don't like the idea of gifting because its always so commercial and people have forgotten that the best gift you can give someone is what they need, not what they want. Moreover it creates some kind of culture where its expected of someone to give a gift at that particular occassion and if they don't, they're not looked at in a good light. So its a cycle of give and expect.
I also didn't like her idea of lights in the house and outside. I know she has been doing it for many years now. I think its a waste of electricity. And you don't need to proclaim that its your festival. The spirit of Eid is only prayer and charity, so in my opinion, giving importance to fickle matters like lighting your house and giving gifts etc, thinking children would gravitate towards another religion ruins the essence of Eid.
Well, it is everyone's right to celebrate the way they want to, but I can't seem to embrace this idea.
Its probably the simplest festival in the world, and a festival that enjoins people towards giving charity and helping the poor. And that's where its celebration lies.

I was reading about Prophet Dawud pbuh, and his fasting is considered the best among all humans because he fasted every alternate day. Muslims fast during the holy month of Ramzan, but there are also other days when we fast like on Mondays and Thursdays or Wednesdays included, also on the three brightest days of each month. This apart from voluntary fasting during important months in the Islamic calendar , like the month of Muharram for instance.
I think everyone the world over should fast regardless of whether they are Muslims of not and fast in the Islamic way, which is, to not eat anything or drink anything from dawn until dusk.
Imagine how much food the world would save and how many resources we could conserve.

Sanjay Pandey,Deccan Herald News Service, Oct 19,Lucknow:
Monday, October 19, 2009

Owl, believed to be the carrier of “Lakshmi” the goddess of wealth, may come to the rescue of the “cash-starved” Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur Zoological Garden.

In an attempt to earn some additional money, the authorities of the Kanpur Zoo have launched a unique owl adoption scheme under which any person can adopt an owl provided he is ready to shell out Rs 10,000 annually.
The zoo officials, however, maintain for the record that the scheme has been launched for the benefit of the people, who can now “please” goddess Lakshmi by adopting her vehicle. Kanpur Zoological Garden Director K Praveen Rao says that the scheme offers an opportunity to the people to please the goddess throughout the year rather than only on the day of Deepavali.

The names of the persons, who adopt the owls, will be displayed on the enclosure of the owls, Rao said.“It will also help in sending a message among the people not to kill the owls, which are on the verge of extinction and have been declared endangered species,” he said.People in Uttar Pradesh hunt and kill the owls for performing exorcism by the “tantriks” especially on the day of Deepavali.
Owls are sold for as much as Rs 2 lakh on Deepavali day, confided Arif Mohammad, a Lucknow based dealer in birds.

“It is very easy to hunt the owls, which generally reside at deserted places and buildings as they nest in dark places,” Arif said.

Sources, however, said the scheme had been designed to augment the coffers of the zoo, which always faces a resource crunch. “There are five owls in all at the zoo and if they are adopted, it could bring a hefty Rs 50,000 annually,” said an official.

I see bullock carts pass by my home every day and its so tempting to want to jump on one and take a ride. I can't get enough of the sounds of the bells tied to their horns or the klok klok of their hooves.