In a country of a billion people, all aspiring towards a first world lifestyle, the impossibility of the situation is striking. Not only are there not enough resources to go around, the very basis of the development module followed by the west is discriminatory, and it would come crashing down way before everybody could reap the benefits.
That is not in any way to say that the standard of living and prosperity of the common man can not be vastly improved. It just requires a sea change in the way the ideals of development are envisaged and the benchmarks for progress are set.
Rather than aspire to burn fossil fuels at the rate an american does or deplete ocean resources like the Japanese, one should treasure our sustainable lifestyle and strive to enhance it from within.
The average Indian uses far less natural resources than any first world citizen. Be it fossil fuels, water, productive land or ocean. Instead of trying to indescriminately increase the amount of resources consumed one should be trying to maximise the standard of living through a participatory and bottom up technical revolution.
We send our children to schools and colleges in order that they may get educated and have a better life than us their agrarian or woking class parents. When will we realise that we are creating an army of diguised slackers who sit in government jobs and produce precious little. Even say the child does do well and fein a direction in life and make a good living, he is still working up a path made by colonial powers, a path of discrimination and inequality. A path which is simply not designed to be inclusive or for that matter relevant to the context of our country.
The child thus grows up to be a disllusioned youth, unemployed or finding himself reduced to 'menial labour' after the promise of a white collar job and an assured income. Should we not stop weaning our youth away from a plethora of indigenous knowledge and life systems in order that he may ape the west and turn out a lost baseless adult without a clue as to where he fits in?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Paris,
Or rather Europe, as its my first experience is as developed, actually more so than I had imagined. There seems to be so much order in the city. Such an old city at that. I know Delhi is an old city, but that's not eve in the same league. Much older though it is, the medival ruins and ravaged old cities of Delhi are far from the development miracles of Paris. Streets shake beneath my feet disconcertingly as i drink cider in a roadside bar at 4 inches above the cycle track at Denfert Rocherau. Thousads of skeletons lie buried beneath me, not to mention 3 metro lines including a direct high speed RER to the airport De Gaule. It really is amazing to see the order that prevails in the public space. there are lights every where and people actually follow rules. Not tat it is stayed, there is every it of individuality and acts against the system, yet these come grounded in a basic order and a highly evolved sense of space usage in order to maximise throughput. There are a lot of cars, the buses huge as tey are run on te tiniest of streets. But everyone has a place, and every one has a light. No one horns at each other and they literally wait at empty crossings. but the time it takes them travel is drastically reduced. at any rate the tension involved definitely is.
The metro system is amazing too, evidently displaying the sheer wealth amassed by the colonial empire . . . it is so convenient, and it cuts across the reasonably large city with ease and fluency. Merged with the velos on hire and pavemets ad curb cuts every where, it makes for an amazingly convenient and efficient system. I saw a senior governmnet official with a fancy hands free on the most unassuming of cycles, busily talking into his hands free. Can we ever raise the standard of our cities, our people to this level. Its desirable i will have to admit, there's so much in it for all of us, but the fact that there are way too many of us looms large. Left skint broke by British, with a currency worth nothing, I don't know why the world revolves as it does, but I sure don't like it! Perhaps we need to evolve a drastically different strategy . . .
When I see musicians in the metro or poor people begging, I again wonder how these people are poor. Dressed properly, drinking some fancy looking wine often playing some freaky instrument. I saw a duo with a double bass and a accordion! And there was a folk singer belting out David Bowie in Chatlet, full with amp and mic. In the blistering chilly air that thunders down the subterranean tunnels the music takes on an ethereal charachter, very timeless. Rushing to and fro some kissing, a few lingering on to hear the song, magical.
Parc de la villete and the suburbs today! And hopefully the Gare du Orse :)
The art of painting on walls. Subversive. Explosive. Infantile yet skilled.
Only recently have the youth in Delhi got their hands on the can and headed out to do some serious tagging. The drop in the price of what's known as a dollar can, influx of graffiti tourism is what I can figure . . .and of course the city obliging us with flyovers practically everywhere! Zine was the first tag I noticed around and it spread all over the place, followed by a bunch of others adorning or defacing to some the walls of the city at large.
Over the last six months I have seen more and more appear, elaborate signatures, scrawled tags, artistic stencils, jilted romantics, plain trippers and even spread the message evangelists are now to be seen on this once virgin and seemingly infinite canvas. Perhaps it’s a case of you only see what you want to, but I have always had the impression that graffiti was a first world game and unless some political cause or religious fervor was fueling the adventurous, it remained in college campuses and gents rest rooms.
We paint with brushes and blackboard paint, it’s the cheapest, I remember as a kid writing up save the narmada slogans to protest the sardar sarovar dam. Slap slap with a brush to get the message across. In Calcutta, the writing on the wall, though invariably undecipherable to a non Bengali was that of inherently artistic people. In Delhi we have none of that! The most common graffiti I saw as a kid growing up in Delhi was FUCK OFF, often misspelled and I'm guessing scrawled by some drunk with left over spray paint from a car touch up. It wasn't till I hear of the wall project in Bombay that I realised what Delhi is missing out on. Far from artistic creativity, in Delhi most obvious graffiti walls function as urinals. From this we shall rise!!
Let us all rejoice in being toys, and letting our voice be heard. Let cars not rule our planet, let the haze of oil and its myriad incarnations be lifted, let us produce for once not consume . . . at the risk of sounding like Obama, we need a change.
Daily consumption of Oil stands at a staggering 90 million barrels a day Out of which USA guzzles over 20, China 7.5, Japan 5, Russia, Brazil, Germany, Canada and India around 2.5!
And production peaked at 80 mb/day last year!
with an approximate 250 billion barrels, that gives us 3000 days or less than 10 years at consumption levels . . . in short . . . OIL IS OUT!!
And in case you're thinking 'ok, i'll walk and cycle', oil is electricity, its plastic, its even food in lots of cases and it is definitely trade . . . collapse of the world as we know it is imminent :-)
I'm pretty sick of it anyway, there are too many people and too much isolation! Living in a city of 16 million and feeling alone is a paradox that is going to get us! Well at any rate the earth and life will survive, and we deserve to die for all the life we've snubbed out so what the hell ;-)
What really gets me is fully aware of this USA continues the thermodynamic whoopee with fossill fuels, waging wars to secure the same! When you're up against a wall you can really become myopic!!
pulga is half an hour walk across the river from barseni, the road end. we stayed at the forest rest house above the village (get permission from the forest office in Bhuntar). An old world wood and stone bungalow set above the village, really nice place, spent the day exploring the swagini maidan and trying to get as much altitude gain as possible. the fresh bread and pizza at pulga took us by surprise.
21 05 09
pulga to khirganga
12 km - 6hrs
a well defined path embarks from barsheni up the parvati, there is also a smaller path on the opposite side, but we were warned of avalanches. up till nakthan the climb amongst boulders and the odd patch of forest is on the easy side. after crossing the river there is a steep ascent to the top of the ridge where the khirganga hot spring emerges. we got a room in the only untented building masquerading as a dharamshala which had apparently been lost to an avalnche a few years previously. we spent the next day at khirganga again climbing up past some meadows above the hot spring and its assortment of shacks.
23 05 09
khirganga to tunda bhuj and on to laile
18km - 7 hrs
picturesque forest climb interespersed with a few meadows and several streams where we met the gaddi just getting ready to go further up. we reached the meadow of tunda bhuj at around 12:30 and decided to move on. the next two hours we walked out of the tree line and across the river onto this large meadow with several campsites. it then proceeded to rain on us and the weather worthiness of our tent was seriously tested, it did make it through despite us having to line it with our plastic sheets in several different spots depending on the occasion!
24 05 09
lalie to pandu pul
6km - 4 hours
amid our attempts to find a suitable glacier poking stick, obviously after crossing the tree line, and vain attempts to dry our tent, we managed to leave the grassland. going down to cross the river to thakur kuan on a cable span where we met the last of the gaddi's. a couple of hours walking along the valley with kullu eiger looming ahead and we reached the massive boulder bridge on the parvati famed as pandu pul. here we were engulfed in a sudden snowstorm which forced us to take shelter in a cave shelter with copious snow and ice for company. the storm was intermittent, but came down reenvigorated ever half an hour or so forcing us to camp outside the cave. when it cleared we managed to get enough fire wood for dinner, though we had to use the muddy parvati water as the nearest clear stream was across the river and down the valley, 20 minutes away.
25 05 09
pandu pul to bara dwari thatch
10km - 6hrs
the walk past the eiger and the onto the final stretch of the parvati river has a spectacular view of the two parallell ridges of the mantalai damn bisecting the valley with the parvati glacier beyond. after the initial climb from the pandu pul, much of the way is level meadow, but large snowfieldsforced us to ascend on morraine and scree. by early afternoon, we reached the large boulder patch just before the mantalai dam, decided not to proceede further as the afternoon is not conducive for beginning a walk on the glacier! camped near the river at bara dwari thatch cooked up dinner in gale force winds, pondered over which valley we would have to turn into and turned in.
26 05 09
bara dwari thatch to mantalai
5km - 5hrs
Walking along the parvati, we ascended the parallell ridges to view the spectacular frozen mantalai and the undulating snow fields of the receeding parvati glacier all covered in fresh snow. slowly poking our way forward through rapidly softening snow, we found an open temple poking through the snow. true to schedule at 13:30 the snow engulfed us, seemingly coming from all directions! desperate searches for shelter bore no fruit, and we had to clutch our plastic sheets and plod on till we found a campsite. A small rocky meadow with a semi frozen lake as water supply, overlooking the nallah we had to cross to get any further. Here I undertook the adventure of making rotis for dinner!
27 05 09
mantalai to glacial camp 1
An early start down to the stream which was forded with due numbness of feet following. reached the base of the off shoot valley to the east that we had identified from the survey of india map, opposite the hanging glacier. Slowly traversing up the steepening snow slope, we saw what appeared to be the lowest point in the snow ridge ahead. We mistakenly tried to approach it instead of skirting around on the rocky ridge, and hard snow did us in, a 30 foot fall arrested by a gap in the snow field where a naullah was gushing down. Some drying out and then some rock slimbing got us to the top of the ridge predictably to see a whole lot more climbing ahead! Done in for the day we decide to camp to some apectacular views of the parvati running down from mantalai.
28 05 09
camp1 to camp 2
melted lots of water and amidst cups of hot tea and biscuits made off by 8:30. 3 hours of solid climbing up on steadily softening snow and we ascended into what felt like a glacial meadow with a gateway in the ridge leading onto the to the main glacier at the far end. Prespiring from a tiring climb and running out of water, we were suddenly in a white out. Painfully we made it through the strong winds to a seemingly secure spot behind a snow mound on the far side near the gap in the ridge.
30 05 09
camp 2 to camp 3
It snowed down on us that night, and the next morning it continued till 10:00. we were getting worried as we were getting on to emergency stocks and retreat was looming, but it cleared and we were quickly off. Through the gap in the ridge and onto the most spectacular glacier cradled amidst high mountains, but no sooner had we taken in the view it dissapeared in a white out. We were forced to sit out the day in our tent and it finally cleared only once the sun had moved into setting mode.
30 05 09
across the pass to chochden
18km - 8hrs
Camped at 5000 m we slept fitfully to wake up to a spectacular panoramic view the chortens of the pass visible on the near ridge. Shoes frozen solid, we didn't put them in the sleeping bags, we waited for the sun to thaw them up a bit. Down and up to the pass, across the vast glacier, skirting round a huge depression just under the pass. Spell bound by the view at the pass, we glissaded down to the pin in no time. The survey map indicdated staying on the right bank of the pin but it appeared too snow bound for us and we crossed over. This proved fortituous as there was a discernable path and we made good headway on the scree interspersed with snow nullahs. As we approached the bend in the valley where the trail to bhaba valley disappears into an enticing valley we met a pair of yaks. There are several camp grounds, but the streams appear and dissapear mysteriously behind massive piles of scree. We camped above the bridge.
30 05 09
chochden to mud
12km - 4hrs
all along the road lined with green and purple mountains the walk was an easy downhill barring a few snow cornices which cost lengthy detours and adventures on scree. Crossing into mud we found that we were the first people to cross this season . . . too early.
back to the urban jungle of Khirkee extension . . . it never ceases to amaze me. the diversity, density and discernible random juxtaposition of disparate and vastly different contexts under the towering apartments vying each other to stake claim to the skies over roads shaped out of generations of muck!
its no place to live, but fascinating none the less . . . the contrast of the glittering mall that has sprung up across the road further intensifies the complete lack of control and warped scales that our city functions within.
i got back on my cycle today, '98 is the last time i can remember riding it. nice sleek street bike, bsa mach 1. a decade of lying on my mom's landing, and it cost me just 600 bucks to get it back on the road . . . its going to take a bit more to get me into shape though, i damn near passed out by the time i reached vasant kunj from yusuf sarai! well the plan is to do some mountain biking . . . lets see how far that goes, but i think a week of early morning rides is definately in order, its a nightmare otherwise, in the day i mean to ride a cycle!
Water is essential for civilization, and has governed the settlement pattern and urban form over the years. The mark of a good Monarch after his defense has got to be his prowess at irrigation. A perennial water supply, bountiful harvest, pleasure palaces (what we would call air con today!) all attributed to this marvelous substance which has enveloped our planet, cushioning it from the big bad universe.
Addressing population in developing cities
Living in the dense metropolises of the day, rapidly growing with scarce if any real planning and in many cases infrastructure. Grids of tube wells puncture the earth, glacial fed rivers have been reduced to toxic wetlands, water is carted around in trucks across our cities at increasing prices. What was available at a road side ghada at the chowk is now in a 10 rupee bottle which is a large constituent of the ever piling landfills. The dreadful condition we have descended to and I say descended because (before we were colonized and presented with a bureaucracy) pre globalisation our cities were quite the model water systems. The Old Delhi railway station was after all built on the Roshnara bagh. Chandni chowk itself had a canal flowing through the centre. I’ll admit the stresses to the environment were negligible in those days, I’m not shunning development either but give a man an inch and he’ll take the mile. Apathy and indifference of the average person is facilitated by a sewage system, piped water and hopefully an stp of some sort. Traditional systems are steadily disappearing most get built over in the urban sprawl, some get pillaged for material others just lie defunct.
Learning from some of the age old systems for maximising the utility of rain water and aquifers alike may not be as far away as it looks today!
i'm hoping you're listened to me, otherwise i'm going to be in a lot of trouble . . . the thing is i really give up, i can't figure it out at all . . . . i'm at the proverbial 'loss' . . !
one needs a dad i guess . . . . i feel so nomad, rooted beyond belief yet disconnected . . . . not three . . . . but 4 dots . . . ! i tried reading
Desmond Morris
(the naked ape) to see if at least i could get the monkey things right! it did make me feel better i must admit, but no answers . . . what d'u say when our earth gives up on us? if we were made to procreate, why don't i feel the urge? not small tinges . . . the need to root, spread and infect the world with more screaming kids which turn into polluting humans? doesn't somehow sound real anymore . . . forgive me . . . !
the need to absolve intensity with reason
trash the stable . . . shake the still
no the birds gave up ages ago . . . and yes mumbo jumbo . . . hot . . . . i think i shouldn't do this . . .
Well here I am . . . in Chandigarh, supposedly the mecca of urban planning in India. As fate would have it I’m here to accomplish one of the most convoluted and despicable tasks. Fake drawings for approval of an obscenely opulent tempelesque golf course resort at manesar for the mammoth Indian tobacco company. I can hardly decide what part of it is more loathsome!
Well there is this architect here (Mr. Verma) an old dude who as been at it since Corbusier got his way . . . his setup is quite interesting, Joshi ji his pahari major domo is actually what I mean. His take on Corbusier is a far cry from what we are lead to believe in college . . . anyone could have cut the land into rectangles (read 'burfi to koi bhi kat sakta hai'), that’s hardly urban planning he says . . . he also systematically took apart the framing controls, lack of an expansion policy and the sheer lack of understanding of an Indian town structure.
CampBharat is up pretty much the same street, big American architect trying to make a Indian style hotel in India . . . go figure
There are a few things which strike me as distinctly strange about the place . . . the sheer lack of identity borne with unfettered uniformity across the city. All markets look the same, streets and crossings could be any other, the most harsh surroundings for someone new to a city. It reminds me of one argument I heard for the organic Indian urbanism, read Islamic urbanism that said the galis were narrow and winding to threaten invaders and make the city more secure. In a perverse 20th century way, le corb seems to have done exactly tat. And 50 or so years since, the place is still pretty characterless, though it has been invaded by biharis and nepalis and just about any strereotype you could see in an average Indian city, somehow nothing seems in place, its like a people undergoing continuous adjustment.
But one thing i must say corbu figured out . . . road cross sections . . . 2 lane per direction for MV traffic (including buses), segregated NMV lanes, adequate pavements and generous ROW's with double layered planting . . . low pavements with kerb cuts, round abouts at all the intersections, only one entry per face for each sector . . . service lanes at commercial areas . . . quite impressive, its not as if i'm going there for the first time, but first time after i learnt how roads work . . !
and so many trees . . . variety and abundance . . . joy!
But just imagine what Virender Sehwag would be going through at the moment. He bowled that one over and that turned the tables completely. There was no need to get two spinners in action and he could have so easily managed with Mishra bowling from one end. Sehwag conceded 22 in one over and that was a deadly punch really!
It's not raining at the moment, it's not drizzling too. It's just a mizzle and when I say that, it means that there are only a few spots of rain in the air. The rain was never heavy enough for the play to be called off.
Yuvraj Singh is absolutely livid with the work of the groundsmen here. He wants the main covers to come onto the square rightaway, the game has been called off, I just can't understand why the groundsmen are delaying things.
Virender Sehwag is not happy with the ongoings at the moment, the rain has eased out for sure. The umpires are not happy with the groundsmen here, the covers haven't yet been pulled in.
Kings XI are ahead of the D/L Equation by 6 runs now. So, if the game stops here, Punjab will race away with a win in this contest.
It was constantly raining right from the start, now the intensity has picked up. The umpires confer in the middle and they have signalled the groundsmen to bring on the covers.
