Inspirations from Auroville

I visited Auroville - "City of Dawn" near Pondycherry on October 3, 2014.
The timing of visiting this inspiring place on the auspicious day of Vijayadashmi Day - the day of new beginnings - was a precursor of inspirations to come from this visit.

According to Wikipedia
Auroville is an experimental township in Viluppuram district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, near Puducherry (a.k.a Pondycherry) in South India. It was founded in 1968 by the Aurobindo Ashram's "The Mother" and designed by architect Roger Anger. Construction of the central place of meditation - the Matrimandir was completed in 2008.

After the informative video about the township and its "heart" and spiritual centre - the ancient Banyan and the Matrimandir - at the centre of the worship revealed that the central crystal sphere disperses a ray of sunlight into the meditation centre.

 
The exhibition at the visitor's centre highlight the various sustainable practices instituted at Auroville. 

The 1 km walk from the visitor's centre to the Matrimandir viewing area is dotted with plaques with information about what flowers stand for - the one that stood out for me was that the Morning Glory stood for Gratitude.

There is a field of solar panels in the final stretch to the centre of the township.


It was exciting to learn Auroville is a living example of the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -
a Sanskrit phrase which means "the world is one family."


The sustainable developmental practises of Auroville include

Empowerment of Women through Employment in SME including handicrafts exhibited in the boutiques within the township and in chains throughout the country.
Afforestation
Use of renewable energy.


Reducing, Reusing, & Recycling Waste and many more ecologically and economically friendly practices.
 

Nobel Peace Prize 2014 and the International Day of the Girl Child

I was very happy to read that the Nobel Peace Prize this year was awarded jointly to an Indian and Pakistani committed to the cause of education and liberation of children.

The Nobel Prizes website had this announcement on October 10, 2014 (exactly three months to date to the ceremony in Oslo on Human Rights Day - 10th December):

The Nobel Peace Prize 2014 was awarded jointly to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-10/how-is-malala-yousafzai3f/5806212
"The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism." 

We must not forget its shared between a man and a woman as well!!

"Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on the day she was notified of her win of the prestigious prize invited Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif to the ceremony where she and fellow awardee India's Kailash Satyarthi will receive the prestigious honour.
To quote a Rediff Live report:

"I myself requested that honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and honourable prime minister Nawaz Sharif bothjoin us," she said while mentioning that she had already spoken to Satyarthi on inviting Modi and Sharif to join them in the Norwegian capital Oslo for the award ceremony in December.


At a time when relations between South Asian neighbours India and Pakistan is strained the Peace Prize being shared by individuals sharing a passion for the rights and right to education of future generations is telling. Indo-Pak relations remain strained since the cancellation of talks earlier in the year, exacerbated during the UN session in  New York and as a result of shelling by Pakistan along the international border, as well as repeated attempts by terrorists to infiltrate into Indian territories through the Pakistani border just as the state of Jammu and Kashmir recovers from devastating floods and a low-key Eid celebration.  

Perhaps the awarding of the Peace Prize to an Gandhian educator and liberator of child labourer from India and young girl from Pakistan passionate about educating the girl child in particular and children in general is a harbinger of good times for the region. The Nobel Peace Prize gets the rewarded cause in the news and gets funds and volunteers flowing into the celebrated cause. 

The education and empowerment of future generations is a timely cause and needs the interest and funds that will flow in as a result of the sharing of the 8 million Swedish Krona peace prize. 
At today's (International Day of the Girl Child) exchange rate the prize share per participant in Indian rupees is 3,38,51,781.78/- ( ~ Rs. 3.4 crores or 33.8 million!).

 (Above a message from the Indian Minister for Women and Child Development on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child  - a cause relevant to both Nobel Peace Prize recipients)

Another lady minister from Indian - the youngest, the Human Resources Development minister Smriti Irani on the day of the announcement of the 2014 #NobelPeacePrize launched a social awareness programme for the girl child "I Am" at a school here, expressing the hope such programmes will empower especially those who are struggling to have two square meals a day.

This win is quite unexpected especially when bettors had favoured the pope or just Malala not a sharing of the prize with Kailash Satyarti. 

http://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/nobel-peace-kailash-satyarthi/
 
The Nobel Peace Prize is always controversial not always well received. Envy may be a factor but in many cases its the fact that the winner doesn't seem as deserving as nominees that year.

This time too there are tensions and unhappiness in the midst of the general mood of good cheer. Personal reactions in India to the 60-year-old child rights activist's win and media reports to the 17-year-old 's win can be sidelined when one thinks about the amount of interest and funds that will flow into this deserving cause.

Both the Guardian and the BBC highlight the tensions,

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29568637
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/10/malala-yousafzai-nobel-peace-prize-pakistan-reaction

As one headline claims:

Nobel peace prize winners say award is a boost for children’s rights worldwide!

Three Cheers for the Nobel Peace Prize winners!
Three Cheers for Child Rights!

TN Power Crisis: Its Time to Go Solar

How can the economy grow and the state and national GDP develop in a power crisis?
Today's front page and city and state pages of my daily newspaper was filled with news of the power crisis in Tamil Nadu. It may not seem like news to outsiders when power cuts are more frequent here than most other Indian states. Its a miracle the news wasn't on the financial pages yet but if load-shedding happens then its only a matter of time.

Power cuts may not be as frequent as they were in Chennai six months back but the increased tariffs and the proposals to limit power to industries will hurt MSEs more than the larger players, who themselves will feel quite a punch.

The all-powerful TNEB's power crises could send the Tamil Nadu economy down the drain.

A situation already in the works if the Central Statistics Office figures are to be believed. Bihar that appears in international lists of poverty-stricken places seems to have the fastest growth while TN - where ground realities look better than the much touted Gujarat Model has the slowest GDP  growth.

 The answer to the power crises may lie in the ultimate source of energy. The sun.
It may seem an obvious solution in sunny India but despite the JNNSM being announced five years ago state implementation has been poor.
If Indian space research can take us to the surface of Mars then definitely with political will and policy impetus Indian scientists and the solar business community can make solar energy the obvious and affordable alternative to a iffy grid!

Check out these solutions:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-infra/worried-about-spike-in-power-bills-go-solar/article6439354.ece
http://www.regenpowertech.com/96/solar-inverter

The Village Cluster Development Model

Some points I agree with some points I don't but overall this is a good way forward: http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/developing-model-village-clusters/article6420016.ece

This statement I'm uncomfortable with:

"It should be clearly understood that it is an iron law of economics (without a single exception) that as countries get richer, the share of agriculture in GDP, employment and land use declines over time. If India aims at achieving affluence over the coming decades, it must be prepared for massive urbanisation. "

... but its a statement that gets repeated by most economists - can't there be development without urbanization. With the connectivity we have today and return to the land movements happening can't one envisage a developed world without overburdened cities and urban population clusters?
Any thoughts?
Compare and contrast with the article mentioned yesterday: 

Polak, Paul “How to Solve India's Poverty Crisis”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-polak/how-to-solve-indias-pover_b_4086236.html

 

And his recommendations to combat poverty in India and the world and find opportunities in the problems of extreme (rural and urban but esp. the former) poverty:

• a billion poor farmers around the world lack access to affordable income-generating tools & insurance to face financial challenges.
• one billion people in the world go hungry on any given night, and an equal number lack access to affordable nutritious foods 
• billion people live in rudimentary shelters ...ready market for $100 to $300 houses with market and collateral value that could start them on the road to the middle class
• one billion people have neither latrines nor toilets. 
• one billion people have no access to electricity.
• One billion or more don't have access to decent, affordable schools.
• one billion people lack affordable and professional health services. 
• one billion use cooking and heating methods that make them sick and pollute the air.