Obama- a man of spirit

It's finally over and yet it's just begun.

The grand Obama victory rocked the world. It was a day of History for the Black population and I am sure that Martin Luther King (God bless his soul) is rejoicing over the his dream come true.

Thanks to a stupendous growth in technology, ours is a constantly shrinking global world. We in Bangalore have been closely following the presidential debate whenever we could escape the burgeoning traffic snarls, the innumberable releases, and the humdrum housekeeping that seems to just go on. We have most certainly been mesmerized by Obama's oratory skills, and hung on to every word that he uttered, marveling at the poetic nature of his speeches.

His family looked picture-perfect. A quiet dignity showed on their faces. Surely they must have always been conscious of being watched and their every move being weighed? It didn't seem to matter, though.

Sometime mid-week the mails began to pour in my mailbox from friends overseas- the excitement was palpable. Some of them were even voluteering for their local Obama supporters and were keen to share their experience with the rest of us out here. The local news channels opened out a popularity voting line as well and I almost felt part of the US election. That's when I recalled an old childhood song: It's a small world after all.

Hooo, and it's gettin' smaller.

Today we can go as far as the moon if we want to. We can move faith and belief, if we want to. We can 'turn the knob' to tune into the emotions of a land thousands of miles away, if we want to. We can hope that one land's change can make this whole world a better place to live in. We can hope that war and terror can see an end.

Perhaps it is to set a few things right in the world, that God plays His trump card every now and then.

Now we can believe that, can't we?

'Yes we can.'

Ah, now that's going the Obama way!

Veg-o-ramic view!

Art o' Living'ers profess vegetarianism. I know of many ardent meat lovers who have to work real hard at saying 'no' to a portion of chicken tandoori masala. I guess I'm lucky in this regard coz' I am a veggie by birth and didn't need to 'convert'. :-)

A vegetarian diet is said to be good for the human digestion. It is said that it takes upto 72 hours for the average human being to digest a portion of meat (I said 'average'- can't speak for Superman though!). Now we all know that no one really waits for 72 hours before getting all set for the next meal. So that's how the human digestive system is made to work overtime.

Even our teeth are said to be more green-friendly. Check out our strong molars, for starters.

That said, I'm not criticizing meat lovers; only pointing them to t' other side of the dining table.

Now look at yet another table which has a comparative view of herbivores (eat only herbs) and carnivores (eat only meat). This was taken from an article online on vegetarianism. I reckoned it could be of academic interest to readers.

Carnivore	Herbivore	Human
has claws	no claws	no claws
no pores on skin; perspires through tongue to cool body	perspires through millions of pores on skin	perspires through millions of pores on skin
sharp, pointed front teeth to tear flesh	no sharp, pointed front teeth	no sharp, pointed front teeth
no flat back molar teeth to grind food	has flat, back molar teeth to grind food	has flat, back molar teeth to grind food
small salivary glands in the mouth (not needed to pre-digest grains and fruits)	well-developed salivary glands, needed to pre-digest grains and fruits	well-developed salivary glands, needed to pre-digest grains and fruits
acid saliva; no enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains	alkaline saliva; much ptyalin to pre-digest grains	alkaline saliva; much ptyalin to pre-digest grains
strong hydrochloric acid in stomach to digest tough animal muscle, bone, etc.	stomach acid 20 times weaker than that of meat-eaters	stomach acid 20 times weaker than that of meat-eaters
intestinal tract only 3 times body length, so rapidly decaying meat can pass out of body quickly	intestinal tract several times body length (plant foods decay slowly so can take their time to pass through the body)	intestinal tract several times body length

Well, that's the science of vegetarianism.

Speaking of the art of v., I came across this great looking veggie blog. Look at all the colors!



Here's a stunning veg 'art-la-carte' which I clicked at a recent wedding reception. Each veg- exhibit was lovingly carved with great care and creativity. Made of green pumkins and carrots and cucumber and turnips...


Lord Vishnu made of green pumpkin


A green Swan songLord Shiva carved out of eggplant

Ah, 'nuff said, I'm all hungry for some green salad!

On fun, feasts, and fireworks

Finally, Divali's arrived this morning after much wonderin', waitin' and wishin'.

After a frenzied shopping spree for gold, sweets and fireworks, folks in town would be quickly working on the goodies.

The early morning hours ushered in some 'bang-bang' on the streets, and that's precisely when the neighboring dogs woke up from their slumber and ran for cover.

The evening's going to be, er, interesting. If it rains, the fireworks will fade away sooner than later. Then I can call it a silent night and grab some shut-eye.


I mean, if people have become even a bit more conscious of global warming and pollution, they'd take a green hint and simply light a few lamps to celebrate Divali.

But will they? Only time will tell.

I'm all for planting trees which is exactly what the project Mission Green Earth is trying to promote. But hey, we need to give trees some clean air to breathe. Else, we will only have pits where trees once stood proud.


Pic from the web

Speaking of pits, here's a real 'eco-tastrophe' from Pittsburgh. Straight out of the green zone. More due to steel plants actually, but fireworks also add to the smoke, apparently.

Had me thinking hard about fun, fireworks and a fiery future...

Different beats, this Divali!

Pic taken from the web

In just a few days' time in India, rockets will soar, bursting into tantalizing colors against the velvety backdrop of the night sky .

Heralding another dynamic Divali.

Earthen lamps decorating the porch of every household will lend the night a soft, ethereal look.

Clad in shimmering silks and shining in gold, it's a day when the average, well-to-do Indian woman strives to catch the attention of the Celestial Gods.

Divali's a day when blessings come in boxes lined with sweets and nuts and dry fruit.

A time when hitherto unseen neighbors emerge out of the woodwork to chat you up.

Dogs don't do Divali. It's actually a time of fear and frenzy for every cautious canine. For God's creatures are bright and beautiful, but with sensitive ears.

Like every year, I do hope that we have a light and bright Divali. And that the only sounds that I get to hear are the peals of temple bells and the sound of children's laughter.

Have a safe and wonderful Divali.

Sobha Developers takes a green foot forward

With all the 'tree hugging' I have been upto in my recent blogs, the Universe brought me into the (green) limelight last week.

Mission Green Earth- Stand Up and Take Action- is a global, joint endeavor of United Nations Environment Programme, and the Art of Living Foundation. The campaign comes under the broader 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One of these goals is to END POVERTY by Yr 2015. Another goal is to save the planet by having global citizens plant one hundred million trees all around the world by Yr 2009. Other Millennium goals include bringing primary education, health and hygiene to the world's population.

I was asked to represent the Art of Living in a tree planting session undertaken by Sobha Developers, a leading, quality-conscious real estate developer group. I was so honored to represent Gurudev's Global, vast Vision, and braving the hot sun, I happily made my way to Devenahalli. The site was not too far off from the airport. That afternoon, under much fanfare, members of Sobha group planted 150 trees around their Villa project. The group also stood up and solemnly took the Millennium Pledge.

It was great fun. I really appreciate the energy of the entire group, under their charismatic leader, Mr Ravi Menon, the Vice Chairman of Sobha developers.

Here are a few pictures of the event:



The engineers and others gathered at the site before tree plantingMr Ravi Menon, Vice Chairman of Sobha Developers

The first Green Giant goes into the soil! More to come!

I for one plan to go the whole hog into the Tree planting drive, and us volunteers in Sanjaynagar, with our teacher Komalaji's untiring zeal, plan to meet up many schools, colleges and corporates to 'green up' the Earth, for our children and generations to come...