Barunjha’s Blog

Sometime you need to write more than you want to convey, sometime you convey more than what you wish too.  Thanks to multiple channels of communication. You write a hundreds of pages to make world see a view but when a view conveys what can be an epic…..

Beautiful or ugly I don’t know, humane or harsh I can’t decide … I stand there, numb. So much of it at once, awed I am.

The Flood Control Unit of Irrigation Department along with local administration has swung into action to reach out to people with timely relief and aid. View at one of the many flood relief camp erected (above).

© Barun Jha 2009.

Half finished bridge piers and flood. The rivers of awdhara group of rivers in North Bihar are flowing beyond their brim. Hmm… It will rain soon let’s return home now.

© Barun Jha 2009

The mighty stands alone and survives it all. Heavy flood water engulfs as far as you can, what used to be green paddy fields.

© Barun Jha 2009

Clubbing all the adversities together, flood and drought they are perennial, yet they come every year. Only if I would have known which would come next?

© Barun Jha 2009

Few cheats and cracks to turn your office green. Some are simple others needs disciplined effort. But result is all same, a lot of savings and pride for your organization.

So let’s start. Disposable cups are really a nuisance, don’t you think so?  Carry your own coffee mugs to office next time and avoid using disposable cups. This way you will be saving a lots of trees uses to make those paper cups. You will also reduce piles of solid waste and add to nation’s saving which is spent on waste treatment. If you travel to work, here is another chance to turn green. Start car pooling today. You will save a lot on your gas (fuel) bills and will develop some really good friendship.

Once inside office be a little concerned like printing, lighting. Print only when it is absolutely necessary. Avoid as far as you can. If you print, try your best to use both sides of paper. Your office is brightly light, it is fine but there is ample scope of energy saving.

Ask and motivate the facilities people of your organization to go for task based lighting. Focus lights where you need it most. Change to CFLs, they are cost effective and energy saving and better still go for LEDs. You can do similar thing at your home too. When you are leaving home for office and leaving office for home, turn off fans, lights and appliances which are not in use.

We have a habit to get our clothes washed after wearing once. Next time take a look, isn’t it clean, do it really need a wash. Avoid washing if they are clean. Fix a time frame and get your office air-conditioning up by a degree. If you are living in a hot places which needs air-conditioning round the clock, dress properly. Business formals in London and in New Delhi need not to be same. There is logic in it. See it don’t keep yourself blindfolded.

And Spread awareness.

Overflowing Bagmati as it caresses the new highway under construction

One should not write it, it is not fair. For me, I always wanted it to rain. Rain, it is the most wanted thing in any part of country at present.  But how did it happen?  Just a week before things were dry, a storm of dust rose as the wind blew. But it is the same land submerged deep into water. Water everywhere, it didn’t rain. “Curses are there for the people and for the land” said one “what will do with so little water?” said the other. Contrast, each one had their own opinion.

For last week, like here, it rained heavily in upper catchment, the dams overflew, barrages were toppled, the flood control and flood routing guide bunds are running up to its brim. A breach took place, not very long probably a hundred feet. People alarmed the concerned beforehand that the danger is coming. But who cares, everyone loves a good flood (the details I will post sooner the waters nears me and real business starts).

Disclaimer: This post in no way supports superstition and related practices but at the same time respects acts that come from human instincts of survival on this Planet.

The coverage in international and national media regarding naked girls being made to plough fields for rain left me nothing but offended. Not because those desperate farmers whose life and livelihood is at stake, took such dire step but because of the mindless criticism and insensitiveness shown by the so called elite, urban, educated gentry (the same people who says eggs comes from refrigerator). These skeptics who do not understand what faith is and what is superstition are everywhere copying the text of news article from Reuters and posting them in public sites and their public blogs. I was equally offended by the suggestion that anything bad happening in India, in Bihar is trait of Biharis. How easy it is to make a generalization. Isn’t it?

Science and meteorology has repetitively failed in predicting monsoon. Then, to whom should these farmers go? They called it height of superstition. If you call it superstition, it is not specialty of Bihar but a general attitude prevalent in all corners of the world in one form or other. The authenticity of news in Reuters is doubtful and it becomes hopeless when people copy it mindlessly in their blogs and public sites. Indian media need to shed their “follow west” attitude and be more sensitive to the ground realities. Even the tradition of dancing naked to bring rain is nowhere related to Bihar, it is something totally western.  It is very easy to comment but come to Bihar and have a look on the countryside. Then only you will realize the ground realities.

I do not call it a superstition because when your survival is at stake the animal instinct inside you comes alive and you go to any step to save yourself. Do not generalize. The story on the other part maybe in contrast to what you believe. A section of a community with a strong will power and consistent faith resort to some age old practices in adverse circumstances and perform that in action. Until and unless you know the truth, human psychology and impulse behind these actions you cannot call then superstitions. The pressure of no food, no harvest is terrible for a family dependent solely on agriculture. Sitting in your cozy room watching TV and browsing net, you will never get to understand that.  Across the world you will find many bizarre ways in which rural/tribal (and even the so called civilized, urban) people tries to connect with God in at different times.

Anyways you do not call it trivial, barbaric and uncivilized when high heeled models go bare on the ramps. We need not to be condemnatory just because it is being done by immaculate, innocent villagers whom you call ignorant and illiterate.

Be good humans (if you are human) and drop the perception that everything bad happens in Bihar. Pray for rain, good rain wherever required and in Bihar too.

PS: It rained fairly well last night and night before in various parts of Bihar (i.e. on 26^th and 27^th July 2009). (Yes …I am ready to go naked and dance in open if that is all it takes to persuade God for rain).

We all use refrigerators to store things and food items at low temperatures. At home we use it mindlessly and for almost all food items. Here are some cool tips that can save you a lot on electricity bills making you a little richer and greener.

Refrigerator doors which do not seal use more energy to cool things than one that seals completely. So, make it a habit to check and make sure that door seals when you close your refrigerator door. This will reduce your energy consumption. The position of refrigerator at your home also determines the energy consumption. Do not place your refrigerator near heating appliances (ovens), heating ducts and windows and other openings from where heat is likely to come in.  If the temperature of food items to be stored is higher, more energy will be consumed. Hence, allow food items to cool off (if hot) before you put them in. Take precaution when storing liquid, uncovered liquids give vapors/moisture; this adds to compressor workload and increases energy consumption. Always store liquids in cans covered with lids. Clean condenser coil maintains the efficiency so clean the coils regularly. These coils are found in back or in bottom of refrigerator. Regularly defrost manual manual-defrost refrigerator as frosts build up decreases the efficiency. Maintain only the required and recommended temperature. And finally, only store things that need low temperature for storage.

For long term savings, look for energy star/ BEE star ratings. Purchase one with low electricity consumption, even though their cost is higher but in long term saving on electricity bills levels that and add benefits to your pocket.

I do not understand why we are so indifferent towards our environment? Count the members of fan clubs of Bollywood glitterati in social media, it will run into millions but when it comes to gather people for a cause like environment, education, healthcare and better living , you won’t feel that you are living in a country with a billion citizen.

One such campaign is being run by Greenpeace which aims to step up pressure of the citizen on Indian Government to speed up and adopt the renewable energy in our energy deficient country. What I have analyzed as the cause of the problem is that we don’t give a damn where does our electricity / energy comes from subject to the condition that the bulbs at our places are light. Even we do not care that the bulb is an incandescent one and we should replace it with Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFLs) for better. We say “Chalta Hai” to the fact that around five CFLs can be used with same energy that we use to light a single incandescent bulb.

Recent developments at world stage and stand taken by India clearly show that we care for the Earth. PM Manmohan Singh deserve appreciation for that at the same time we all need to support of him to take the mission of sustainable development way forward. Let’s stand together and put the required pressure on all corners of Indian Government so that the step by prime Minister doesn’t end up in being a tale not so good to tell.

Renewable energy is the future of India and that is the truth. Instead of investing in coal and gas based mega projects in future lets develop our renewable energy sector. We have a lot of potential in this case. Coal based plants has side effects and one is damage to forest and environment.  Anyone who has visited hilly state of Meghalaya knows it well, what the mindless coal hunting and hunger do to the environment.

Indian Government needs to know what we’re seeing across the country – floods in one place, droughts in another. Unless we step up pressure and they act things will only get worse.

Click here to show what a current generation of Indians can do.