Vasantahabba festival – A Distant Memory!

June 18, 2010

How would you relish a jugalbandi of Taufiq Qureshi on tabla and Niladri Kumar on sitar; or Nirupama and Rajendra’s dazzling display of kathak; delightful Qawwali by Warsi brothers; or an Indo-rock fusion session by Indian Ocean; or listen to the soothing Carnatic classical on Saxophone by Kadri Gopalanath… How would you like it if all these enchanting performances are served free…

While you wonder how such an eclectic collection of artistes can happen, let’s take short ride out of the bustling city of Bangalore. Moving on the Pune-Bangalore highway, you have to take a right turn at the Dasarahalli junction. Then after you cross the Jalahalli airforce station, move towards Hesaraghatta village. Once you cross the Hesaraghatta lake, you should ask directions for Taj Kuteeram hotel. Next to it is the mecca of Indian dance learning, the ‘Nrityagram‘ dance village. Nrityagram used to host an annual national level dance & music festival named ‘Vasantahabba’.

First held in 1990, Vasantahabba was the brainchild of Protima Gauri Bedi, who wanted to create a ‘Woodstock’ festival for classical dance and music in India. It is heart rending to note that today this enchanting event is no more. Dance and music lovers who once flocked every year on the first Saturday of February, rue the loss of this fascinating program has not happened since 2005.

Witnessing Vasantahabba was like an annual pilgrimage for dance and music devotees. They knew it happens on the first week of February every year, heralding the arrival of spring season (‘Vasanta Habba’ literally means spring festival in Kannada). Every year, music aficionados of all hues descended on Bangalore and proceeded towards Nrityagram.

Vasantahabba - The Nrityagram Odissi ensemble
Vasantahabba – The Nrityagram Odissi ensemble

The pilgrimage metaphor fits in fine – just like pilgrims going to Vaishnodevi or Shabarimalai chant ‘Jai mata di’ and ‘Swamiyye Ayyappo’, devotees noisily congregated in hordes to the remote village beyond Hesaraghatta lake. From 1990 to 1999, they would fit inside a cramped amphitheatre to witness a dawn-to-dusk festival. The stage is built like a Greek amphitheatre, with its architecture inspired by Hampi’s ruins. Later during 2001-2004, large TV screens were installed outside for the thousands who could not get inside. They cherished the seeds and soil packets given by the Nritygram Foundation as token of respect. Just like in any temple, the sanctum of stage was revered by the devotees.

Obviously, with such hype about it, you had to reach the venue at least two hours early to get a seat inside the amphitheatre. There was space only for 5,000 people to sit and the 15,000 who would turn up every year, had to manage standing throughout the night at the edge or sit in front of the projector TV screens outside. Fortunately, I and my friends ensured that we always got a seat inside. But in 2003, our gang could not get inside until midnight despite having our privileged press id!

Vasantahabba - Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and his son
Vasantahabba – Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and his son

Dancers and musicians of national and international repute performed on this revered platform. Each artiste was given about an hour to perform and sometimes, the audience request for an encore used to hamper the schedule. I remember in 2001, the Taufiq Qureshi performance went on beyond dawn.

The program schedule of this dawn-to-dusk festival had a typical structure. Just as the crowd settled, the lights would come on along with a reverberating sound of Dollu drums filling the air. Belliappa’s troupe’s Dollu Kunitha drummers would produce a rhythmic and heart thumping beat. Soon, renowned actress Arundhati Nag (affectionately called ‘Aruakka’) would come on stage and introduce the program’s background and the artistes who would perform tonight. The first one by the Nritygram ensemble headed by Surupa Sen would unravel a plethora of performances.

Vasantahabba - Bhangra by Butasingh and team
Vasantahabba – Bhangra by Butasingh and team

So between 6.30pm in the evening to 6.30am on the next day, we could enjoy world class performances of at least 10-12 celebrated artistes. Here is compilation of famous artistes who have performed at Vasantahabba:

Odissi dance – Bijoyini Satpathy
Kathak – Nirupama and Rajendra
Contemporary dance – Astad Deboo
Kalaripayattu and contemporary dance – Daksha Seth and her famous daughter Isha Sharvani
Hindustani classical on guitar – Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and his son
Hindustani and Trance fusion – Taufiq Qureshi on tabla and Niladri Kumar
World music – Raghu Dixit’s band Antaragni
Carnatic classical on Veena – Suma Sudhindra
Carnatic classical on Saxophone – Kadri Gopalanath
Fusion classical– Shubendra on sitar & Saskai on cello
Carnatic vocal – Bombay Jayashri
Qawwali – Warsi brothers
Indo-rock fusion – Indian Ocean

It is obvious that an event of such mega scale cannot be held without the support of large hearted sponsors. The organisers were adamant on keeping the entry free in accordance with Protima Bedi’s vision of popularising dance and music among the masses. Corporate and individual sponsors kept the event alive by funding the artiste fees and event organising costs.

Our gang at Vasantahabba
Our gang at Vasantahabba

Sadly, Vasantahabba has not been held since 2005. The problem first arose when huge relief efforts were undertaken for the Indian Ocean tsunami that happened in December 2004. Many of the corporate sponsors diverted their social responsibility funds to tsunami relief. The event was never held again and Nrityagram later blamed it on the global financial crisis. However, a point to be noted is Bengaluru Habba, another mega cultural festival that happens in the heart of the city, has not suffered a similar fate! Since Nrityagram has not commented on the fate of Vasantahabba, it is assumed that the festival has been scrapped for good.

Now, we can only reminisce the fading memories of Vasantahabba where we friends used to congregate once in a year and feel nostalgic about it!

Checkout our story on Pune’s Vasantotsav in Pune – 10 years of musical excellence

– Fact file –
Organiser – Nritygram Foundation
Place – near Hesaraghatta
ht tp://www.nrityagram.org/contact/contact.htm

– Reference –
http://www.vasantahabba.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasanta_Habba
http://virtualthoughts.org/2010/vasantahabba-will-this-spring-fest-return/

Rushikonda Beach – The Perfect Weekend Getaway

Manasi

June 14, 2010

Have you ever been so rejuvenated that you actually felt like getting back to work on a Monday morning? Life is nothing but a mind blowing experience and our job is just to find those special moments which make it worth living. I found one of those special moments prancing on the golden sands of the Rushikonda Beach with the water tickling my feet!

Rushikonda Beach is considered to be one of the most untouched beaches in Andhra Pradesh. Situated at a distance of about 10 kms from the city of Vishakhapatnam (Vizag), it serves as perfect weekend getaway. We fell in love with the place at the very first glimpse! The road from Vizag which leads to

the beach is extremely scenic with the Ramakrishna beach on one side and the mountain on the other. We arrived at the Haritha Beach Resort in Rushikonda. This resort is well placed on the top of a hill and one can descend to the beach by a flight of stairs. All the rooms at the resort are sea facing with extremely reasonable tariff rates. It has an amazing sea food restaurant known as ‘Off Shores’ right next to it, which also serves as a pub.

The name Rushikonda means ‘Hill of the Sages’, it is named after Saptarshiswaralayam, the temple of Lord Shiva built on the coast by seven sages. The beach is spectacular with patches filled with golden sand on one side and a rocky area on the other. This particular rocky area serves as a perfect spot to witness the sunset in the evening. However, one piece of advice to travellers: never take off your shoes when you are sitting on these rocks, for the water is waiting to steal them away!

Rushikonda Beach Bheemli beach — Bheemli beach, Wikimedia

On our first day at the resort, we decided to explore the place a little. We hired a taxi for the day and our first halt was the Bheemli Beach (Bheemunipatnam), the ideal place for rejuvenation. This beach is extremely serene with the Bay of Bengal reaching out to its coast. The town of Bheemunipatnam has an interesting past; it was a flourishing port established by the Dutch settlers in the 17th Century. Unfortunately, there is no sign of a flourishing port now; all that remains is a Dutch cemetery and a light-house by its coast.
The cemetery was known as ‘Hollander’s Green’ and contains graves with memorial tomb stones of Dutch and English settlers. The most captivating tomb stones are the ones built in a conical shape with Dutch inscriptions. Recently, the local people have built statues of Buddha and the five Pandavas on the beach. A fascinating mermaid sculpture also sits on the rocks by the sea, whose origins are unknown. We spent most of our early morning, playing at this beach and struggling to build a sand castle! There is nothing more mesmerizing than a day at an untouched beach listening to the silent lull of the tides.

Rushikonda-Beach-01 — Morning at Rushikonda Beach – Wikimedia

Our next halt was the well known Ramakrishna Beach near Vizag. This beach has an extremely high ocean current and it is not at all advisable to enter this beach, as it has proven to be fatal in the past. However, one can enjoy these scenic waters by a ship/boat cruise which is conducted every half an hour at a reasonable rate.

Moving on, our next destination was the Kailasgiri Hill Rope Way. A short ride on to this hill gives you a spectacular view of RK Beach and Rushikonda Beach on its either side. It has a children’s play area and a toy train which goes around the hill giving you a breath taking experience of the ‘City of Destiny’.
Once you drive out of Kailasgiri Hill and head towards Rushikonda, you would come across ‘Bay Leaf’, an ayurvedic spa resort. This is an ideal place for all those out there looking for a calm afternoon to unwind. We discovered this place during a search for a restaurant one afternoon.

The food here is very good and holds a personal touch to it. It also has beautiful cottages for a night stay. The spa treatments include chocolate and milk spa ritual, hot stone massage, ayurvedic facial and hair treatment and many more such relaxing treatments for a peaceful mind, body and soul. The overall experience on this particular weekend along with the spa treatments was completely pleasurable.

— Fact-file —

Nearest Town – Vishakhapatnam

Transport – By taxi or local bus from Vishakhapatnam city

Place to stay – Haritha Beach Resort (APTDC), Rushikonda

Other attractions – Borra Caves, Arakku Valley, Matsyadarshini (Aquarium)

Food – sea food, especially prawns

Defining Nostalgiphilia

Levine Lawrence

May 31, 2010

Have you met people who begin every sentence “in the good old days…”

– Do you have an old BSA bicycle, or a Remington typewriter or Windows 3.0 PC which you cannot throw away since your father got that as birthday gift…

– Do you stop on the road to relish ‘burf ke gole’ without bothering about the harmful colour and the dirty water…

– Have you observed that some people stop everything they are doing to be lost in thoughts when they hear a Geeta Dutt or a Mohammed Rafi song…

Beware; it could be the classic case of ‘Rustic Retro’. This is a rash like itching symptom of a dreaded disease called ‘Nostalgiphilia’ that afflicts mainly those urbanites who are above 30 years, artistically inclined and who have a lot of free time to feel nostalgic. Too many films, poems, paintings have been melancholied about this disease. Medically, this disease is described as a serious psycho-somatic condition, where the patient is forever lost in melancholy. ‘Melancholia’ is clinically classified under ‘schizophrenia’, but symptomatically it is similar to asthma since it can be aggravated by both environmental and genetic factors. (Refer: Wikipedia)

The typical symptoms of Nostalgiphilia are easy to identify.

While surfing the TV channels, the afflicted will get stuck at the 150th rerun of Malgudi Days or Star Wars movie.
Every time their friends and relatives visit, Nostalgiphiliacs will pull out old wedding or vacation tour albums and start explaining each photo even though they would have shown it earlier.
While discussing about a serious topic, some of us digress from the topic talking about an experience from a bygone era. But for Nostalgiphiliacs such a digression is a default setting and they would not want to come back!
They cannot simply eat a rare seasonal fruit; there has to be a lengthy narration of how sweet the fruits were in those ‘boole bisre din’.
If by chance, you ask them how to make the thread strong for flying kites or ingredients of mango pickle… you will be buried in a torrent of nostalgic downpour!

Once someone gets Nostalgiphilia, there is no cure. The disease can only be controlled with a daily dose of harsh reality; but otherwise it is a bleak scenario of the rest of the family members who have to endure the pain. Family members can take care by avoiding simple triggers that can aggravate a situation.

Nostalgiphilia - Indian nostalgic things

Typical triggers to be avoided are:

Do not expose Nostalgiphiliacs to old antiquated items like a tape recorder, granpa’s clock, film camera or even an old milk powder tin. They will start their melodrama, “Meri bachpan ki Amulspray aur Lactogen ka dabba… jisme mein pal bada… jisme meri maa dal aur masala rakha karthi thi…”
Do not mention how prices are rising day by day. You wouldn’t want to endure a lengthy lecture on what prices were in 1960s and 70s.
Do not switch to Vividhbharati radio during lazy Sunday afternoon if you do not want to ruin your weekend by listening to the whole history of how Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote his poems in prison!
Do not pull out old family albums and gramophone records in the presence of Nostalgiphiliacs.
Bioscope, Burf-ke-gole, gramophone, inland letters, Bril ink, Camel pen, etc are some of the items to be avoided.

This website is dedicated to all the people who are valiantly struggling to overcome Nostalgiphilia. We need support from people of all walks of life to manage this social evil. Please mail your comments and suggestions at info@caleidoscope.in

Reference: wiki/Nostalgia

Image – Pixabay

5 Thirst-Quenching Wine Cocktails for a More Refreshing Summer

Caleidoscope

May 20, 2010

Don’t you have any plans to go to the beach this summer yet? Don’t be a bummer. Start moving by mixing up some cocktails and surely the fruitiness of these tropical drinks would let you remember the undeniable hint of summer. Here are five thirst-quenching cocktails that would lift your spirits this summer.

White Peach Sangria

Looking for something light and bright cocktail for summer evening outdoor parties with friends or neighbors? Turn your classic white wine Pinot Grigio into White Peach Sangria with mango-flavored rum, peach schnapps, limes, oranges, lemons, lemon-lime soda, and other ingredients.

There is a typical 4-ingredient recipe for this cocktail, though. First, make sure to wash four white, slice each of them, and muddle the sliced ones in a pitcher containing a ¾ cup of peach brandy. In the same pitcher, mix a bottle of Moscato of your choice and one liter of plain seltzer water (sparkling peach water will do). Finally, stir gently.

Serve it with a glass full of ice. For the final touch, garnish the sangria with a slice of peach or two. If you are not going to serve it immediately, place it in the refrigerator. It is best served cold.

Rosé Berry Bliss

Rosé Berry Bliss is a sparkling wine cocktail that has an adorable pink or red theme—an elegant drink to serve for any fancy or casual affairs, holidays like Mother’s day, and other spring and summer parties. Pulling this drink’s recipe is the easiest way to entertain in style.

This simple recipe is comprised of one-liter lemon-lime soda (for a beautiful sparkle), one 12-ounce package frozen pink lemonade, one cup of blueberries, and a 750 ml-bottle of Clos du Bois Rosé. All you need to do is mix all the ingredients at once and refrigerate for at least an hour.

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries. If you run out of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries can serve as substitutes. Also, you can try adding apricot juice and nectar as an alternative to lemonade for a more exciting twist.

The Something Blue

If you are not into pinkish and reddish themed wines, you might want to consider serving warmer colored cocktails like The Something Blue. The name is derived from an old Victorian saying: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue,” which means having these elements in a wedding will make a bride lucky.

This lucky charm is also simple to make. It is a three-ingredient cocktail that includes one an ounce of ginger ale, two ounces of white wine, and two ounces of Hpnotiq Liqueur. Pour all the three in your champagne flute, then the bubbles from the soda will do the mixing for you.

Kir Royale

If you are feeling too lazy this summer but want to have an elegant drink, try making this easy-to-make Kir Royale. It is one of many cocktails that are considered as one of a kind in their simplicity. It is one of the famous French cocktails made with a measure of blackcurrant liqueur, also called as crème de cassis.

If you have never heard about crème de cassis, wine enthusiasts consider it as any wine’s (Dry Prosecco from Italy, Cava from Spain, or other Sokolin Wines) best friend. It is a sweet liqueur combined with the flavor of black currants that works perfectly with a dry white wine.

To have one, pour 1/4 ounce of crème de cassis in a wine glass, then slowly pour two ¼ ounces of dry white wine. You can modify and adjust the volume of liqueur to complement your sweet tooth —the more liqueur, the sweeter.

Furthermore, there is no need to stir if you pour the liqueur first as it will naturally mix it with the wine. Conversely, you have to stir if you place the wine in the glass first before adding the liqueur.

Bishop Cocktail

You are wrong when you think leftover red wines that are out of your expectation should be thrown away. Wondering about what else you can do? You can go classic and mix up a Bishop cocktail!

Grab three cups of light rum, half a cup of lime juice, a tablespoon of simple syrup and mix these three with a cup of leftover red wine. You might find it rum-wine sour; however, give it a try, and it can work wonderfully in your glass. Also, do not skip the rum! Others would recommend it as a shortcut; but no, it is unnecessary.

Takeaway

Summer has always been the season of cold and refreshing beverages. People will not opt for something boozy, but lighter and more fruity like cocktails. These drinks will make people intoxicated yet sober, causing everyone to be more hype along with the summer vibe.

Author’s bio: Scarlett Wells is also an expert in the food industry. Her expertise and skills about food and beverage pairing have helped her in becoming an effective mentor inspiring everyone to maintain a fit and fab lifestyle.

Glorious journey through Western Ghats

Monica Levine

April 30, 2010

Traveling by train has been always a pleasure, where we can leisurely spend time relishing the changing landscape disconnected from all our work. If you are an offbeat traveller, you will have all the more pleasure enjoying the nature’s beauty. One of the most glorious journeys through Western Ghats which I have ever travelled was the train journey from Mangalore to Bangalore, which was an unforgettable experience.

I had always heard a lot about this train route (called the ‘Green Route’ by trekkers) from my better half and other friends, who cherished memories of trekking there, in there college days. I had travelled earlier on this route, but those bus journeys on treacherous roads were horrifying. So it was little hard to visualise this romantic image as they had explained.

Finally, the day came when we got a chance to go to Mangalore for a relative’s wedding. As usual I had to book our tickets keeping my husband’s tight schedule in mind. The journey from Bangalore was in the night so we could not see the route. But while returning back, we ensured to travel during the day so that we did not miss experiencing a journey we have waited so long. Rather than the wedding, I was all the more excited about the travel from Mangalore to Bangalore.

When we entered the compartment, there were just four people to accompany us. In the seat opposite to us, a grandma sat with her daughter and a new born baby. Beside us at the side window seat was a heavily built businessman who was very busy with his business calls over phone.
When the train started, it all felt the same, but as the train gathered speed, I was able to feel the warmth of nature in my eyes. I had ensured to book a window seat keeping the picturesque journey in mind, but my calculations went wrong! Being a regular traveller, the businessman told us that we are sitting on the wrong side, since the scenes would be visible from his window. It was obvious that I had to plead with him to let me take his seat and he politely obliged.

Glorious journey through Western Ghats

Till the train reached Subrahmanya Road station, I was wondering why people exaggerate things so much. The route had the usual scenery of rice fields, arecanut plantations, shrubby forests and tiny villages. But once we crossed the station, there was lot of hustle-bustle happening; passengers began moving towards the doors in their compartments to catch the panoramic view. My husband, who was patiently sitting in his seat, took out his camera and rushed to the door with a broad smile…

All the doors and windows of the train were packed with passengers who were relishing the marvellous sight of the green ghats… Even I was struck by the beauty of the green valley. However, it was not all the same with my fellow travellers. The grandma who sat opposite me was busy cuddling her grand daughter not much bothered by the scenery. For her the beauty was in her granddaughter’s smile! The businessman he had moved to our seats was now enjoying sound sleep and was snoring away to glory…

The excitement of the journey started from Subrahmanya and continued till Sakleshpur. The time spent between these two stations promises an unforgettable experience of Western Ghats. Marvellous views of the tropical evergreen Shola forests that blended with the verdant valleys, gentle waterfalls nestled in the folds of the hills, gushing streams, breath-taking bridges and endless tunnels. Yedakumari is the midpoint station that comes between Subrahmanya and Sakleshpur. Picturesque beauty of the steep gradients from Yedakumari displays nature at its best.

Trekkers from all over are fascinated by this destination and throng the place just after monsoon. Yedakumeri railway station is only place to stay overnight for trekkers. The stretch between Mangalore and Bangalore consists of both ghats and plains sections. The stretch between Subrahmanya and Sakleshpur is a ghats section of 55 km with 110 curves, 57 tunnels, 15 gradients, and 67 bridges with fascinating views.

sakleshpur to mangalore railway

The train journey between from Mangalore and Bangalore, via Sakleshpur and Hassan, was built in 1979 with the commissioning of the metre gauge track for traffic. But after almost one-and-a-half decade, traffic on this route was stopped in 1996 for the gauge conversion work. After an enormous delay due to neglect by the state government and the railways, the work on broad gauge conversion was completed, and movement of goods trains began as trial run in January 2006. The route was formally commissioned for the movement of passenger traffic in December 2007.

The train we traveled had 12 coaches pushed by three engines. While we are busy watching those beautiful curves, we did not realise that there were two engines at the back of the train and one in the front, which were puffing with all their energy to push the train up the steep gradient through the valley. I thought I was the only one so excited to enjoy the thrill of the picturesque journey. However, when the train went through the tunnels there went a huge roar of the travellers in other compartments. It was hard to explain why they were shouting! But this magical journey made all of us so excited.

The scenery changed dramatically as we reached Sakleshpur, and the normal routine journey ensued with tiny villages and farms floating by. Till we reached Bangalore we were relishing the beauty of the journey in the pictures captured in our camera. Long after we ended our journey, I still cherish those memories and they will remain a part of me forever…

Factfile
Train route – Bangalore – Mangalore – 330 kms
Ghat section – Subrahmanya – Sakleshpur – 55 km
Place to rest – Yedakumeri railway station
Reference – http://www.hmrdc.com
Wiki/Green_Route

Terrarium – The magical Miniature Earth

Levine Lawrence

April 14, 2010

Terrarium Do you remember the word ‘Biosphere’ from your biology classes… “It is the global sum of all ecosystems which integrates all living beings and their relationships. The concept of biosphere indicates that the earth itself is a living organism, both physically or metaphorically, which is also known as the Gaia hypothesis”. Does the concept sound too metaphysical…

Many times it is hard for us to understand that all living things are independent as well as dependent of the biosphere. To make it easy to understand, why not create a model of biosphere at home!?! Sounds too scientific… It is interesting to know that many so called scientific things are simple to learn and recreate!

Plants can create their own biosphere and can live independently without outside supply of air and water! To understand that difficult-to-digest fact, let’s create a ‘Terrarium’. Terrarium is a covered glass container which contains a miniature garden of soil and plants. It is fascinating to know that plants survive very well in this closed airtight container. Simply speaking it is the opposite of an aquarium where you nurture plants instead of fish!

Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, an English doctor created the concept of Terrarium (also known as the ‘Wardian case’) more then a hundred years ago. Ward noticed that ferns and grasses continued to grow in a tightly closed glass container in his home. He realized that the plant stayed alive because of the water that transpired from the leaves, condensed back into the soil and kept the moisture content constant. The principle helped in the successful transportation of plants on long ocean journeys t bring in rare specimens to the botanical gardens in England; coffee plants from Arabia to Brazil, rubber plants from South America or Rafflesia from East Indies.

terrarium containers Can we create a Terrarium at home… how difficult it is master this technique… All you need is a bit of patience and ingenuity to develop this type of terrarium. Any kind of bottle or glass container can be used to create this magical ecosystem. There are mainly two types of Terrarium:

* Wet or Moist Terrarium – contains moist soil with tropical perennial plants which can sustain in indoor lighting
* Dry or Desert Terrarium – contains mixture of gravel, sand and soil planted with cacti and other desert plants

Wet Terrarium

Clean and dry out a glass container. Even an old discarded, leaky aquarium can make an excellent terrarium case. Spread one inch layer of gravel on the bottom. This provides good drainage for the plants. Add a 1/2 inch layer of activated charcoal on top of the gravel. This filters the water and can help cut down on any foul odour. Add a 3 inch layer of soil on top of the charcoal/gravel layers. Place plants in desired arrangement and pull soil back to plant. Start with the smallest plants if you are planting multiple plants. Cover with airtight glass lid or plastic cling wrap. Place the Terrarium near the window to give enough lighting.

Dry Terrarium

Cover the bottom of the Terrarium with 2-inches of gravel, then with 2 to 3 inches of a mixture of sand and soil. Insert cacti and other desert plants with the help of slender wooden forceps. Place a few stones, pieces of dead cactus and yucca stems on the ground, to give an artistic effect. Cover with airtight glass lid or plastic cling wrap. Sprinkle ground around the plant with water and keep the Terrarium in a sunny location.

Once you master this technique, you can gift Terrariums as eco-friendly gifts to your friends or even start a business selling these magical pots!

– Factfile –
Materials Needed – Glass container, Fish bowl, or plastic bottle
First layer – stone pebbles or gravel
Second layer – activated charcoal
Third layer – potting soil with little organic manure
Plants – Money plant, Syngonium, spider plant, etc

Reference –
Field Book of Nature Activities and Conservation, William Hillcourt (1961)
http://www.beekerswords.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org

Eco-friendly Ideas for Future – Part II

Levine Lawrence

April 14, 2010

In our previous post on eco-friendly ideas we covered some of the best ideas to bring sustainability in our living. This post is the continued part of the Eco-friendly ideas for future part I. Please leave your opinion on the comment section of this post.

Banana Fibre

Human beings have used various types of fibre for clothing and furnishing. Cotton, silk, jute, synthetic fibre, etc. How about Banana fibre! Innovators in south India have used this fibre to weave various types of clothing and furnishing material. The Banana fibre could be the wonder fabric that can provide a new revenue stream for both handicraft artisans as well as farmers. It is flexible enough to be woven into mats and bags, as well as flattened into paper. There are enough producers to support an export market.

Biodiesel

Eco-friendly Idea - Biodiesel

Biodiesel is an innovative fuel made from vegetable oil which can be used for standard diesel engines without any alteration in the machine. This is nature’s gift for an oil starved India. Even farmers can make oil in their village and run their diesel gensets or tractors.

Eco-friendly Idea - Biodiesel

Biodiesel is an invention that took nearly 100 years to be commercially utilized. IISc scientists rediscovered an idea suggested by Rudolf Diesel and have set the stage for another farmer driven fuel revolution. Making Biodiesel is no rocket science. Many innovators have made it at home through a process called ‘Transesterification,’ which removes unwanted components from vegetable oil and renders it a ‘methyl ester’. However, the fuel vs. food controversy has stifled its acceptance due to govt. curbs on methanol usage is a catalyst.
Details: http://www.svlele.com | http://www.treeoilsindia.com/

Sun Burnt Brick

Soil Stabilized Brick or sun burnt brick is a simple innovation that can prevent topsoil degradation and tree felling for burning bricks. Instead of buying regular burnt bricks, create your bricks at your building site, using the ratio of 80% soil, 15% sand and 5% cement.

Eco-friendly Idea - Sun Burnt Brick

The bricks have to be pressed using a manual powered machine and sun dried. Flyash Bricks are also becoming the trend in areas near to any thermal power plant. The powdery ash collected at the plant is being mixed with cement to create a light weight sturdy brick which is cheap and eco-friendly.
Details: http://civil.iisc.ernet.in

Ice in desert

Eco-friendly Idea - Yakhchal

How do you make ice in hot desert so that you can relish your icecream… simple, build a Yakhchal, which is the finest example of earth based architecture. By 400 BC, Persian engineers had mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the hot, dry desert climate of Iran. The ice was brought in during the winters from nearby mountains in bulk amounts, and stored in a Yakhchal, or ice-pit. These ancient refrigerators were used primarily to store ice and food for use in the summer. Details: http://www.eartharchitecture.org

Eco-friendly Ideas for Future – Part I

Levine Lawrence

April 14, 2010

Eco-friendly planting ideas There was a time when all we commoners could do was talk about environmental degradation and heave a sigh that nothing much can be done about it. “If we need development, we need to sacrifice the environment!” That was the standard refrain. Fortunately, things have changed for the better off late, and for all of us who care about the earth, there is a new way – ‘Sustainable development’. It means there is a way to develop our society using some good ideas that can enable us to lead a better life without harming the environment. Fortunately, these eco-friendly ideas are not such a burden on your budget!

Here is a growing list of simple yet innovative idea collected from all over the world. Some of them are ancient and some are modern. If you find a better idea than these, please mail us the details. We will reward you and put up the idea on our site with your byline!

Turbo Ventilator

A strange looking device is dramatically changing the ambience in buildings! ‘Wind Driven Turbo Ventilator’ is a mechanical device that provides continuous airflow on any roof with a high capacity per vent. Made of stainless steel or aluminum, it offers maintenance free performance. This ventilator does not require electrical energy; instead, it operates utilizing wind energy to induce airflow by centrifugal force.

Eco-friendly Turbo Ventilator

The Turbo Ventilator’s operation is shockingly simple! Inside a building, hot air rises up and collects underneath the roof. The hot air pushes itself out and starts running the ventilator. Immediately, fresh colder air rushes in from the windows below. Today, you can see many factories that have installed these Turbo Ventilators which gives a return on investment in a short period of time.
Details – https://www.anantlaxman.com

Bamboo Architecture

Eco-friendly Bamboo Architecture

Can the humble bamboo be a construction material in modern housing? Due to its strength and durability, bamboo has been extensively used for scaffolds and supports in construction of permanent structures since ancient times. how can forget the chinese bamboo hut! Today, Bamboo reinforced houses are built by a firm named ‘WonderGrass’. This new concept is enabled by light weight architecture and treated bamboo. Clubhouse inside a corporate house such as Cisco Systems in Bangalore built completely out of bamboo.

The Composite Technology park in the TIFAC lab inside RVCE College in Bangalore has created various types of bamboo composite building material embedded in a plastic polymer.

Details – www.tifac.org.in | https://www.bamboo-inspiration.com

Bamboo Cycle

Eco-friendly Bamboo Cycle

Can you use bamboo composites to create anything else… the possibilities are mind boggling!
In Bangalore, Vijay Sharma, a manufacturer of office furniture, and Vaibhav Kaley a bamboo architect, have developed a bicycle made of bamboo and fibre, by replacing 3.5 kg of steel chassis.

Details – http://handcraftedbikes.blogspot.com/

Concentrated Solar Thermal Power

All of us know that sun’s energy can be converted to electric power by using Solar Photo Voltaic cells made of silicon chips. However, since these cells cost a lot, the idea has not gained much acceptance. Thankfully, there is another idea which can create enormous amount of power using solar thermal power. Remember the solar water heater… The thermal power unit takes the same principle of converting solar power into latent heat; rather it concentrates the heat and creates super heated steam. The steam is then run through a turbine which creates electric power.

Concentrated Solar Thermal Power

The Solúcar PS10 project is an 11MW Solar Thermal Power Plant in Southern Spain plant, which is a first-of-its-kind Solar Central Receiver System using glass-metal heliostats to produce electricity. Google.org is investing in eSolar Inc., a California based company specializing in Solar Heliostat Concentrators which are power plants of 25MW base units consisting of several thermal receiver towers, each with a field of heliostat mirrors and a central power block. In India, Gadhia Solar is implementing smaller thermal power units of around 1-2MW in rural areas.

Details – https://en.wikipedia.org | http://solarcooking.wikia.co

Eco Friendly Ideas for Future-Part II

Green Wedding – Making our wedding eco-friendly

Levine Lawrence

April 12, 2010

Green Wedding

How do bring in green aspects in our day to day life… If it is hard to shift move into an eco-friendly lifestyle, can we do something unique in any of our special events so that they stay memorable for us as well as our friends and relatives… How about mixing your ideas on eco-friendly lifestyle with the most memorable day of your life… How about making our wedding eco-friendly? Green wedding!?

That’s exactly what a couple in Bangalore did in the last wedding season. B N Shivashankar & Family have always been a socially conscious family and they are ecological activists as well. They run an NGO named ‘Jeevana Mukthidhama’, which is a large tree memorial park for war heroes and famous personalities. The park has trees planted on the ashes of dead along with an epitaph.

So when the wedding of B N Dayal Bapu and Megha H was planned, the family thought it would to be different and to help Bangalore to become a bit greener. The idea was simple: distribute saplings to guests as complimentary gifts; cut down on plastic usage; and serve organic food. Through these activities, the idea was to build eco-consciousness among commoners and have awareness talks by eminent personalities, such as Basavanagudi MLA Shri Vijayakumar who spoke to the media.

Invited guests were pleasantly surprised by this gesture. In all, 2000 Honge (Pongamia) saplings were distributed to the guests and the couple planted a sapling in front of the G N R Kalyan Mantap in Jayanagar T Block. Volunteers from Lets Integrate For Environment (LIFE) enlightened the guests and distributed the saplings.

No doubt, the print and TV media were all over the place covering this unique event. Let’s hope this green wedding practice becomes a fashionable trend among the younger generation.

– Factfile –

Wedding organiser: B N Shivashankar & Family
Date: 10 May 2009
Place: G N R Kalyan Mantap, Jayanagar

Kodachadri – a breathtaking experience

Nagaraj

April 11, 2010

Every time I and my best pals go on a bus trip to the Western Ghats, a fight breaks out among us on who will sit next to the window. This time as well, I won the fight. I can fight another hundred such battles, to get the closest position to experience the divine beauty of lush green covered mountains of Western Ghats.

The local bus was filled with the fragrance of jasmine coming from the garlands hung on the photos of Yesu, Allah and Ganesha placed above the driver. Watching the gently drizzling rain, trees covered with thick green growth, flow of cold breeze – a sense of warmth filled up our hearts. There was a feeling of relief on our face since the so called year-long plan for this trek has finally materialized. I began to enjoy every bit of this journey of lifetime with my eyes glued to the window glass freshly sprinkled rain drops. The bus winded up the ghats and headed towards Kodachadri.

Kodachadri

The name ‘Kodachadri’ is derived from two words, ‘Kodacha’ or ‘Kodashi’ and ‘Adri’, a Sanskrit word. According to local sources ‘Kodacha’ means upside down and the ‘Adri’ refers to the peak of the mountain. It is linked to a legend about Lord Hanuman when he dropped the Sanjeevini Parvat while returning after reviving Lakshman, it fell upside down thereby creating the place ‘Kodachadri’ (upside down mountain). It is also believed that Guru Adhi Shankaracharya did his meditation on top of the mountain. He is believed to have sat on the ancient rock cenotaph on the peak named, ‘Sarvajna Peetha’.

The bus took a deep breath and stopped at Nagodi village to drop us, and continued on its seemingly everlasting journey. This is the right place to begin the trek to Kodachadri. The trek is approximately 10 km from the base to the peak, which can take around 5hours from Nagodi village. Another alternative is to reach the peak by boarding a jeep at Kollur, which is helpful for those who cannot walk.

Kodachadri

However, for a lifetime experience, I suggest one should do the trek journey to see the variety of flora and fauna. Further, the trekker’s path offers vantage points for spectacular scenery of the surroundings. People trekking for the first time should take care to travel with lots of water and start early in the morning.

There is a small canteen at the foot hill; make sure to pack refreshments since you will not find any other shop on the trekker’s path. Keep an eye out for the blood sucker leeches which would be in abundance during rainy season. A local treatment to keep leaches away is to apply a mixture of tobacco and lime soaked in water on your legs.

On the summit, the only means of food and shelter is the Bhat family. The family charges a small amount of money for food and blanket. The Karnataka state government has plans to make an all season metaled road the road right up to ‘Shankarapeetam’. However, environmentalists feel that this development would destroy the tranquility as well as disturb the natural habitat of many species in the region.

Kodachadri

The main attraction of this place is the trek itself and the sunset. The sunset view seen from the Kodachadri peak on a clear day is an enchanting experience. Sunrise can also be seen from another hillock just behind tourist bungalow. It is mesmerizing to just stand on the hill-top and experience the cold breeze whispering the secrets of natural beauty. Do not wonder if you feel like god since the place itself is like a true heaven on the earth!

Fact file –
• Nearest Town – Kollur around 20 km away
• Transport – travel from Kollur by jeep on a 40 km long winding mud road with many hair-pin bends. Bus available from Shimoga city
• Nearest Railway station is Kundapura on Konkan Railway route.
• Other attractions – Mookambika Nature Camp – 4 km south of Kollur
• Food – carry your own food for the trek
• More info – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachadri https://usandeep.com/trekking/kodachadri.html

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