Birds of Paradise !! - கூடையில் என்ன பூ ??

வாழ்க்கையில் ஏற்றமும் இறக்கமும்  !  அண்ணாமலையான ரஜினிகாந்த் லிப்ட் படிகளில் மேலேற, சரத்பாபு கீழே இறங்குவார் !  - ஒரே பாடலில் வாழ்க்கை மாறும்.  பால்காரரான சைக்கிள் ஓட்டும் அண்ணாமலை –

 

கொண்டையில் தாழம்பூ,  நெஞ்சிலே வாழைப்பூ !! (அது என்ன நெஞ்சிலே !!)  - படம் பார்ப்பவர்களை பார்த்து -  கூடையில் என்ன பூ  - என வினவுவார் ?  - கேள்வி -  இது என்ன பூ ??  - to those who cannot read Tamil – identify this flower ?!? 

Among the most amazing creatures in the world, more than 40 species of this most attractive birds  live in New Guinea’s Indo-Pacific rainforest, one of the largest intact tropical forested areas on Earth.  Most are distinguished by striking colors and bright plumage of yellow, blue, scarlet, and green. These colors distinguish them as some of the world's most dramatic and attractive birds. Males often sport vibrant feathered ruffs or amazingly elongated feathers, which are known as wires or streamers. Some species have enormous head plumes or other distinctive ornaments, such as breast shields or head fans.  Here is a photo of the bird from Sandiegozoo website.  

 

The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of the species, the majority of which are sexually dimorphic. The males of these species tend to have very long, elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. A number of species are threatened by hunting and habitat loss.  

It is a plant – known as false bird of Paradise !! H. rostrata is a very large, evergreen perennial with banana-like leaves up to 2m long. In spring and summer it produces hanging inflorescences made up of bright red bracts, each tipped with yellow and green, with yellowish-white flowers  

Heliconia rostrata, the hanging lobster claw or false bird of paradise, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to El Salvador, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Ecuador, and naturalized in Puerto Rico. Other heliconias grow in an upright position (e.g. Heliconia bihai), their cup-shaped flower bracts storing water for birds and insects. This plant, however, has downward-facing flowers, the flowers thus providing a source of nectar to birds.  

Heliconias are known to those who grow them as a host flower to many birds, especially the hummingbirds. Because of its unique characteristics, it is often used as a specimen for tropical gardens. Along with the Kantuta flower, Heliconia rostrata, known as patujú, is the national flower of Bolivia.

 

Interesting !

 
With regards – S.Sampathkumar
20.3.2023 

Ducks in Cricket !!

Unlikely you would have heard of  Cricketer -  Edward James Gregory but can you link him to Greame Watson and Mathew Sinclair !!   The first two were Australians while the third was a Kiwi !

Edward James Gregory (1839 – 1899)  played in the first recognised Test in 1877 between Australia and England at  Melbourne. Ned was the father of a famous Australian cricketer, Syd Gregory, and brother of Dave Gregory who captained the first Australian eleven in England in 1878. Ned was also father-in-law of Harry Donnan. In the latter part of his life he was custodian of the Association ground at Sydney ground.  Ned Gregory and Nat Thomson are indicated by Wisden to have been born on the same day, and thus jointly were the earliest-born Australian Test cricketers.  That is trivia and not the answer though !

Another disappointing day for Indian fans at Vizag.  Mitchell Starc produced a masterclass in new-ball swing bowling before openers Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head hammered rapid fifties to complete a knockout performance against India and level the series 1-1. India received a thrashing like no other in Visakhapatnam - their heaviest defeat in terms of balls remaining - when they were bowled out for 117 in just 26 overs.  Starc was the tormentor in chief with his 5 for 53, his ninth five-for in ODIs, and gave Marsh and Head freedom to bat with no scoreboard pressure; Marsh raced to 28-ball fifty before Head got to his in 29 balls and Australia chased the target down in just 11 overs.

Suryakumar Yadav walked in looking to make up for his first-ball duck from the first ODI, but he suffered the same fate when Starc swung the ball into him again, and had him lbw for another golden duck. In what was another repeat from the first ODI, KL Rahul came in trying to survive a hat-trick delivery. He did that successfully, but could not last too much longer.  

A simple Q – how many ways can a batsman get out without facing a ball [on record !] ….the first possibility is getting ‘run-out’ before facing a ball… then the way Lendl Simmons got out in an IPL match  – stumped off a wide ball – the delivery would not count and scored card would read : Lendl Simmons out stumped 0(0)…………. You will see the illumination – and batsman clearly out of frame …

In cricket, a duck is a batsman's dismissal without troubling the scorers ie., not making any run !!  Batsman out on  their first delivery faced is known as a golden duck.  The term is a shortening of the term "duck's egg", the latter being used long before Test cricket began. Wiki records that when referring to the Prince of Wales' (the future Edward VII) score of nought on 17 July 1866, a contemporary newspaper wrote that the Prince "retired to the royal pavilion on a 'duck's egg' ".   The name is believed to come from the shape of the number "0" being similar to that of a duck's egg, as in the case of the American slang term "goose-egg" popular in baseball and the tennis term "love", derived – according to one theory – from French l'œuf ("the egg").   

The first duck in a Test match was made in the first Test, between Australia and England at Melbourne in March 1877, when Ned Gregory was caught by Andrew Greenwood off the bowling of James Lillywhite.   A high-profile duck occurred on August 14, 1948, at Oval - Sir Donald Bradman strode to the crease for his final innings in Baggy Green; two  balls later,  had to return to the Oval dressing room, having recorded the most famous duck in Test cricket history.  Bradman was bowled second ball by Eric Hollies, a Warwickshire leg-spinner ending  a legendary career with 6,996 runs, and the famous average of 99.94.   Australia won the match by an innings, and so Bradman did not get to bat a second time.   Indian all-rounder Ajit Agarkar had the  nickname "Bombay Duck" after being dismissed for ducks five consecutive times in test matches against Australia.

To conclude with answer to the Q at the start Edward Gregory was the first batsman to be out for duck in Test;  Greame Watson the first to register a duck in ODI – in the 2^nd ODI at Manchester on Aug 24, 1972; Mat Sinclair was the first to get a duck in T2oI  - coming in the very first T20I at Auckland on 17.2.2005 – between Australia and New Zealand.

Regards – S. Sampathkumar
20.3.2023 

Special people of Triplicane - the tenacity of PM Narayanan

Nice smile – how often do you smile ! or does all people smile ?  -   Heard somewhere - "If you see someone without a smile today,  give them yours" …… a smile [sirippu] costs nothing, yet could change the way people look at you.  Please read this bio-sketch  fully – and you would appreciate the sheer grit and tenacity of this smiling person ! 

Like every other  Triplicanite, he played Cricket on the streets, at beach and .. .. – don’t ask what is great about that !! – remember, a match before Peyalwar sannathi (underarms match) – he opened – I watched a low full toss sent soaring high to Bharathiyar illam (compare it with Dhoni 112M hit off Mckay at Adelaide Oval) – remember him keeping wickets and bowling without a run-up too  - remember to read this para again once you finish reading the last line. 

21 June 1975 -  Lords (no TV but we read about that later) Clive Lloyd’s  West Indies defeated Australia, 291 to 274, to win the first-ever Cricket World Cup, the Prudential Limited Overs World Cup – 60 overs aside game contested by 8 Nations.  June 1975 also saw Suez Canal being reopened  for the first time since the Six-Day War eight years earlier.  O 25^th June 1975, Nation was up for a rude shock as Emergency was declared  by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of prevailing "internal disturbance’.  The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be cancelled and civil liberties to be suspended.   No political post this – while some may read back happily those days, for sure this man would have only sad memories of that day !! 

At Thiruvallikkeni there are two Brahmothsavams every year – by June it would Aani brahmothsavam of Sri Azhagiyia Singar.  On 25^th June 1975 it was Thiruther – thousands had gathered to have glimpse of Sri Thelliyasingar on the massive thiruther – it was a bit delayed and there were so many people on the streets unaware of the impending disaster.  Nearer Balusserry Chits – the turning after Gangaikondan mandapam (TP Koil St – Singarachari St) – the massive thousand+ ton weighing thiruther could not be controlled – in the melee some people fell down!

 Thiru ther photos of recent years

The man in the photo – most Thiruvallikkenivasi would know is Narayanan (Punnai Madapusi Narayayan).  Understand that this village is nearer by ancestral village of Dusi Mamandar, in Kanchipuram Vandavasi route.  He was born in 4.6.1959 in a middle class family; his father was employed in LIC,  lived in the house in front of Thavana uthsava bungalow, cohabiting with many other tenants.  He joined Samarao school, later studied at NK Thirumalachar National Boys School, later joined Vivekananda College did Bachelor of Arts  - something very important hit him in between is the story ! 

On that fateful day – it was the time for reopening of schools and Narayanan was studying  X1 – a  smart active teenager.  Most youth of Triplicane were in and around the Temple thiruther doing odd jobs but when the massive ther went out of control, some fell down, some were trampled, some had bruises all over – all of them were fortunate, as one person died;  Narayanan fell down, right infront and the massive wooden wheel over 9 ft and weighing 100s of tons crushed him.  He was pulled out – he recalls that he  was bleeding profusely, his Cricket friends and locals were of great help, he was taken in the car of Dr Vadhiraja rao to Royapettah Hospital and the nightmare would remain etched in his memories.  He is able to recall the names of Doctors – one of whom he recalls to be the brother of Cricketer Bharath Reddy.  .. .. and he came back home one short on 19.9.1975  - yes 3 months in the hospital and returned with amputation of Right leg over the knee.  Cannot walk ! –  weak and bleak future threatening.  Do not want to describe more – have seen him immediately after and even yesterday when I was hearing, some tears did roll in my eyes !! 

It would have been a sad and tragic story of remorse and melancholy but Narayanan proved to be a man of iron will, strong mind and exceptional ability to adapt.  He recalls the motivation and support provided by his Cricket friends and neighbours as he started living a new life – one where he would have needed support in every step ! 

He completed his SSLC (11^th those days), PUC and did graduation in the prestigious Vivekananda, enlisted at Employment exchange and under PD quota got support. He first joined Civil supplies and later joined Indian Oil Corporation on 5.11.1984 

That would be a mere statement but those 9 years between 1975 to 1984 challenged him physically, emotionally, psychologically and financially too.  He overcame all that.  In between, he cycled – yes a very great accomplishment for one who had amputation above knees, used to travel long distances to and cycled his way to office.  

Perhaps His would rank as a very special love story!  Ms V Vijayalakshmi living in the same TP Koil Street (officers’ laundry) fell in love and their romance continued for some years with opposition from parents ..  .. .. the happy ending was they tied the knots on 1.7.1988. Great appreciations to this lady, who married  knowing fully the situation.  They are living happily ever after – have two children – a daughter, married since and a son – both of them presently living in Sydney, Australia.  She retired as a teacher from NKT National Girls High school with special ability in Arts & Crafts and ofcourse, in motivating and guiding !

 

PM Narayanan for sure had difficulty in walking, yet cycled, later bought a TVS scooter.  He is a graduate and had passed Typewriting Higher and joined IOC as Typist, steadily rose up, becoming Accounts Officer in 2002 and retired as  Deputy Manager, Finance in IOCL in June 2019. This might make a sad story but Narayanan remained cheerful, witty and active all along. He represented IOC in various disciplines of Sports – more specifically – Chess, Carrom and Bridge.  He was the Secretary of Sports and Recreation Club for many years and was very active inside office mingling with all colleagues and outside too. 

 

He attributes his present status to his wife, many a friends who supported him during his difficult days, with special mention of Tin Rangan.  He is very devout and says it is Sri Parthasarathi Emperuman who has provided him goodness all in his life and also Yoga Muneeswarar temple in front of Royapettah Hospital where he prayed on the day of his discharge.

 

Most people would have given up cursing fate, crying all time about that fateful day- for sure, it changed his life BUT, he stood up literally and kept walking / cycling to reach greater heights.  Yesterday at his home, he was composed, definitely would have felt tragic of that incident but it is the true story of a Man who has overcome odds to lead a happy contented life, smiling and remaining cheerful.  Hats off Narayanan, I am one of your innumerable fans !!

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
19.3.2023 

the Attar attraction ! @ Charminar

Many youth are addicted to body sprays, perfumes and .. .. I generally do not use any perfume ! – yet was attracted by this shop and bought two little bottles, more because –  the display  was tempting !, its owner was charming ! and I thought of my maternal grandfather !! 

The Qutb Shahi dynasty  ruled   Golkonda.  After the collapse of Bahmani Sultanate, the Qutb Shahi dynasty was established in 1512 AD by Sultan-Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk, better known though less correctly referred to in English as "Quli Qutb Shah".  One of his best remembrances, is the Charminar -   (lit. 'four minarets'), a monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana.  Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana.  While both historically and religiously significant, it is also known for its popular and busy local markets surrounding the structure.  Around Charminar there are hundreds of shops and pedlars selling – ornamental bangles, pearls, corals, perfumes, dresses and more !!  

Summer is on in Chennai – sooner sweltering heat can really dampen the spirits, making us feel irritable and deprived of energy. To escape the body odour, people use, talcum powder, body sprays and fragrant.   These sprays come infused with enchanting fragrances that keep one smelling fresh for long hours. Some of them also come packed with antibacterial properties and take the problem of body odour head on. 

Aromatics, so called because of their distinctive perfumed smell, are substances derived from crude oil and, in small quantities, from coal. Aromatics are hydrocarbons, organic compounds that consist exclusively of the elements carbon and hydrogen – without which life would not be possible on Earth. The main aromatics are benzene, toluene and the xylenes; they are used as starting materials for a wide range of consumer products.  Aromaticity is a chemical property in which a conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibit a stabilization stronger than would be expected by the stabilization of conjugation alone. It can also be considered a manifestation of cyclic delocalization and of resonance. 

Away, this advertisement was irritating to say the least – the  so called ‘Axe effect’  drawing  women in hordes to a male who has sprayed himself liberally with the Axe deodorant.  The Axe brand of deodorants from Hindustan Unilever primarily targetted young males. ..... and then there was this  newsitems   ..... "Unable to attract even a single girl, frustrated man sues Axe"  -  published in many newspapers including TOI itself.    The news was not real though  !!! 

Have seen and smelt a perfume called ‘Attar’.  Also known as Ittar, it   is an essential oil derived from botanical or other natural sources. Most commonly these oils are extracted via hydro or steam distillation. Attar can also be expressed by chemical means but generally natural perfumes which qualify as ittars are distilled with water.  The oils are generally distilled into a wood base such as sandalwood and then aged. The aging period can last from one to ten years depending on the botanicals used and the results desired. Technically ittars are distillates of flowers, herbs, spices and other natural materials such as baked soil over sandalwood oil/liquid paraffins using hydro distillation technique involving a still (deg) and receiving vessel (bhapka).  The word is believed to be a derivative from Persian meaning perfume.   

The Egyptians were famous for producing perfumes throughout the ancient world. They were formulated from plants and flowers before they could be added to other oils.   Liquid perfumes used to be a mixture of oil and crushed herbs until  discovery   with roses.    

In my recent visit to Hyderabad and Charminar, passing through – this shop selling perfumes was quite attractive and a conversation with its owner Mr Abdul Sami Bhojani was enthusing.  Here are some photos of the shop as also its owner. : 

In 2022, Nelly Attar danced on her way to Mount Everest becoming the first Arab woman to summit K2. In Saudi Arabia, where women have been discouraged from physical activity, she’s become a role model, inspiring millions to get moving.   She’s danced on technical Ama Dablam and on mellow Kilimanjaro.  This 5’2” powerhouse trained to climb the world’s highest peaks from a home base of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  That’s hot, flat desert, not mountain snow and ice.   

Before concluding, my maternal grandfather worked for a Company - Maschmeijer Aromatics, the makers of musks and fragrances.  Maschmeijer Aromatics India Limited was setup in 1960 in collaboration with the world famous Maschmeijer Aromatics B.V., Amsterdam for the manufacture of musks and fragrances. It was in Pallavaram.   Besides their products, they used to print colourful calendars which I used to distribute to the elite few close people of my grandpa. In the  photo at the start  – the two white bottles were purchased from Bhojani, the other two are Maschmeijer products. 

Interesting ! 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
16.3.2023 

Life is all about handling change !! மாற்றம் என்பது மானுடத் தத்துவம் !!

Long ago – the song ‘Naattiya kuthirai’ from Chandralekha was hailed and in present times, we hear Ranjithame, ranjithame ..everywhere !!   Life is all about handling change ! and the best way forward perhaps is weeding out unwanted things, thoughts and more ! – never carry hatred or pains of old !!  How fresh and recent is your wardrobe ! – most of us keep too many clothes, far more than what is actually required. The trick is in discarding old and throwing out those which we have not worn even once in the past 6 months or so.

மாற்றம் என்பது மானுடத் தத்துவம் !!  ’நாம் சில ஆண்டுகள் முன்பு வசித்த இடம், நாம் படித்த பள்ளி, பல ஆண்டுகள் முன்பு சென்ற ஊர் - இங்கெல்லாம் செல்ல நேர்ந்தால் - நாம் கூறுவோம் - 'இந்த இடம் மிகவும் மாறி விட்டது !!" சில சமயங்களில் நீதிகள், நியதிகள் கூட நாட்டுக்கு நாடு மாறும் தன்மை கொண்டன.

திருவாசகம் தந்த  சைவ சமய குரவர்  மாணிக்கவாசகர் அருளிய சிவபுராணத்தில் ஒரு பாசுரம் :

மாற்றமாம் வையகத்தின் வெவ்வேறே வந்தறிவாம்

தேற்றனே தேற்றத் தெளிவே  என் சிந்தையுள்

ஊற்றான உண்ணாரமுதே உடையானே !! 

பல்வேறு மாறுபடுதலையுடைய, ஒவ்வொரு க்ஷணமும் மாறிக்கொண்டே இருக்கும்  உலகத்தில்,  வெவ்வேறு பொருளாய்க் காணப்பட்டு வந்து, அறிவாய் விளங்கும் தெளிவானவனே ! அழகனே,  என் மனத்துள் ஊற்றுப் போன்ற பருகுதற்கு அரிய அமிர்தமே, தலைவனே,  எல்லாவற்றையும் உடையவனே - உன்தாள்களே போற்றி! போற்றி !!

Change is a part of life. Nothing can be static for too long. . Change is inevitable. It is a fact of life that individuals, organisations and nations alike have no choice but to deal with changing scenarios. Those who are able to acknowledge this fact and cope with change  survive better. Changes can be in relationships, goals, lifestyle, job roles, - wherever they are, whenever they come, try and  embrace this aspect and go along with the ups and downs of life. Instead of losing our hearts, we should learn from the issues in our life.  Change happens differently to everyone, and it can affect people adversely. It is easy for some people to handle it, while for others, it is difficult.   Simply, it is always difficult to swim again the current !

Life is the result of a series of changes from birth to death. Be it physical, emotional, career or relationship. The life we lead today is the result of the acceptance of change by nomadic peoples.  Resistance to change  only causes pain.

Most of us know the Pareto theory of 80-20 !!  - a familiar one that  asserts that 80% of outcomes (or outputs) result from 20% of all causes (or inputs) for any given event.  In business, a goal of the 80-20 rule is to identify inputs that are potentially the most productive and make them the priority. This 80-20 rule is frequently used in business and economics, and would be applicable concept to any field. Wealth distribution, personal finance, spending habits,  can all be the subject of the 80-20 rule.

Quality over quantity is the belief that garment maker Pareto instills in every garment it makes. As soon as you enter Pareto's site, it states that "women wear 20% of their closets, 80% of the time," and you can find that 20% here. The label only releases six to eight additional styles per year — brands tend to launch collections every season — and spends a year perfecting all the details.    

The poem begins with the noise of weapons which could be heard right from the battlefield itself. There was a war going on in the field of battle where King  had lost most of his men. He himself was deeply wounded and was made to uplift by Sir Bedivere. Sir Bedivere was considered to be the last of all knights. He made the King support himself by making him sit on a raised platform right near the ocean where a full moon could easily be seen. King starts speaking telling how  mighty nature is  and how and from where he took up the sword to become a king and how he was coerced into his present condition. He also tells him how he feels sad about the death of his brave men whom he lost in the war. He asks his trusted deputy  to take his sword and place it right back in the middle of the water from where he received it.

That was a great poem by - Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his first pieces, "Timbuktu".  

One of his memorable works is - MorteD’Arthur -  set in  medieval atmosphere, clear from the expressions ‘the armed heels,’ ‘the white samite, my sillies, wonderful, the brand Excalibur, etc.  The poem is set on a battlefield where the sound of weapons could be heard easily. The poem is actually in the form of conversation that goes on among King Arthur and Sir Bedivere in the form of alternate verses.

Le Morted'Arthur ( "The Death of Arthur") is a 15th-century Middle English prose reworking by Sir Thomas Malory of tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin and the Knights of the Round Table, along with their respective folklore  and one oft repeated piece from this poem is : 

‘old order changeth .... yielding place to new’ ~ change is permanent and things do change in life.  Those  immortal lines of Alfred Lord Tennyson “the old order changeth, yielding place to new, and God fulfils Himself in many ways, Lest one good custom should corrupt the world”

Unlikely that this tender coconut trader knows of Alfred Lord Tennyson, but throwing out the useless is his daily chore ! – perhaps we too shall learn and follow

Regards – S. Sampathkumar
16^th Mar 2023 

Barbaric humans, cruel killings ! - Octopus farming !!

A Hollywood movie that too James Bond movie – happening in India !!

After fleeing knife-throwing twin assassins Mischka and Grishka in East Berlin, mortally wounded British agent 009, dressed as a circus clown and carrying a counterfeit Fabergé egg, crashes into the British ambassador's residence and dies. MI6 immediately suspects Soviet involvement and, after the genuine Fabergé egg is to be auctioned in London, sends James Bond to identify the seller.  Bond infiltrates a floating palace in Udaipur and meets its owner, Octopussy, a wealthy businesswoman, smuggler and Khan's associate. She also leads the Octopus cult, of which Magda is a member.  

James Bond movie – Octopussy released in 1983 was  the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by George MacDonald Fraser, Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson.  The film's title was from a short story in Ian Fleming's 1966 short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights, although the film's plot is mostly original.  The events of the short story "Octopussy" form part of the title character's background and are recounted by her in the film.

An octopus is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda. The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish and more.  Like other cephalopods, an octopus is bilaterally symmetric with two eyes and a beaked mouth at the center point of the eight limbs. The soft body can radically alter its shape, enabling octopuses to squeeze through small gaps. They trail their eight appendages behind them as they swim. The siphon is used both for respiration and for locomotion, by expelling a jet of water. Octopuses have a complex nervous system and excellent sight, and are among the most intelligent and behaviourally diverse of all invertebrates.

Octopuses appear in mythology as sea monsters like the Kraken of Norway and the Akkorokamui of the Ainu, and probably the Gorgon of ancient Greece. A battle with an octopus appears in Victor Hugo's book Toilers of the Sea, inspiring other works such as Ian Fleming's Octopussy.  

Not a post on James Bond or on movies but on a ethical dilemma centering around Octopus.  BBC states of a plan to build  the World’s first Octopus farm, raising deep concerns among Scientists over the welfare of the famously intelligent creatures.

The farm in Spain's Canary Islands would raise about a million octopuses annually for food, according to confidential documents seen by the BBC.  They have never been intensively farmed and some scientists call the proposed icy water slaughtering method "cruel."  The Spanish multinational behind the plans denies the octopuses will suffer.  The confidential planning proposal documents from the company, Nueva Pescanova, were given to the BBC by the campaign organisation Eurogroup for Animals. 

Octopuses caught in the wild using pots, lines and traps are eaten all over the world, including in the Mediterranean and in Asia and Latin America.  The race to discover the secret to breeding them in captivity has been going on for decades. It's difficult as the larvae only eat live food and need a carefully controlled environment, but Nueva Pescanova announced in 2019 that it had made a scientific breakthrough. The prospect of intensively farming octopus has already led to opposition: Lawmakers in the US state of Washington have proposed banning the practice before it even starts.

Nueva Pescanova's plans reveal that the octopuses, which are solitary animals used to the dark, would be kept in tanks with other octopuses, at times under constant light. The creatures - the species octopus vulgaris - would be housed in around 1,000 communal tanks in a two-storey building in the port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.They would be killed by being put in containers of water kept at -3C, according to the documents. Man’s cruelty crosses all boundaries when it comes to money making !

Currently there are no welfare rules in place, as octopuses have never been commercially farmed before. However studies have shown that this method of slaughtering fish using 'ice slurry' causes a slow, stressful death. The World Organisation for Animal Health says it "results in poor fish welfare" and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) - the leading farmed seafood certification scheme - is proposing a ban unless fish are stunned beforehand. Some supermarkets have already moved away from selling fish that have been killed using ice, including Tesco and Morrisons. Prof. Peter Tse, a neurologist at Dartmouth University, told the BBC that "to kill them with ice would be a slow death … it would be very cruel and should not be allowed."

Adding that they were "as intelligent as cats" he suggested that a more humane way would be to kill them as many fishermen do, by clubbing them over the head. What a lousy suggestion – killing – death is for sure and you want to term it humane-killing !!  - greed for money, killing in large numbers. More the kill, more the money – how sad. 

The global octopus trade is now estimated to be worth more than £2.2bn.  To supply "premium international markets" including the US, South Korea and Japan, Nueva Pescanova wants to produce 3,000 tonnes of octopus a year. This equates to around one million animals, with some 10-15 octopuses living in each cubic metre of tank, according to campaign group Compassion in World Farming (CiWF), which has studied the plans. 

In a statement to the BBC, Nueva Pescanova said: "The levels of welfare requirements for the production of octopus or any other animal in our farming farms guarantee the correct handling of the animals. The slaughter, likewise, involves proper handling that avoids any pain or suffering to the animal ..." In the wild, octopuses are fiercely territorial agile hunters. Nueva Pescanova is proposing that the farmed animals be fed with industrially produced dry feed, sourced from "discards and by-products" of already-caught fish.  The initial brood of 100 octopuses - 70 males and 30 females - would be taken from a research facility, the Pescanova Biomarine Centre, in Galicia, northern Spain.

Along with the welfare of the octopuses, CiWF has concerns around the wastewater produced by the farm, which would be pumped back into the sea. Octopuses produce nitrogen and phosphates as waste. "  Around 350,000 tonnes of octopus are caught each year - more than 10 times the number caught in 1950 - which is putting pressure on populations. Nueva Pescanova stated that "aquaculture is the solution to ensuring a sustainable yield" and that it would "repopulate the octopus species in the future."  

Barbaric humans !

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
16.3.2023

  

gaze and intrusion of media into the private life of Mr Sridhar Vembu !!

திருவள்ளுவர் வாய்மொழியாம் திருக்குறள் ஒன்று : 

ஆற்றுவார் ஆற்றல் இகழாமை போற்றுவார்

போற்றலுள் எல்லாம் தலை. 

இந்த உலகத்தில் தாம் எடுத்துக் கொண்ட செயல்களை இனிது முடிப்பவரின் வலிமைகளை அவமதியாமல் இருப்பது, தமக்குத் தீங்கு ஏதும் வராமல் காப்பவர் செய்யும் காவல்கள் எல்லாவற்றிலும் முதன்மையானது.  செயற்கரிய செய்யும் பெரியோர்களை போற்றி புகழுதல் சால சிறந்தது.  அவற்றை செய்யாதோர், வாய்மூடி மௌனமாக இருத்தலே நலம். 

We try to be  judgmental and feel that our perspective is always right ! – more so, with the media, which tries to tarnish the image of good people in the society.

The subject matter   பேசப்படும் பொருள்   of something such as a book, lecture, film, or painting is the thing that is being written about, discussed, or shown. Subject matter experts, also called SMEs, are professionals who have advanced knowledge in a specific field.  SMEs are people who have accumulated professional knowledge in their field but unfortunately, media often portrays people in poor light – either with bad intentions, popularity, getting limelight or pronounced bias !! 

Serious Software, Friendly Company.  ~ reads their Web.  Software is our craft and our passion. At Zoho, we create beautiful software to solve business problems. We believe that software is the ultimate product of the mind and the hands.  This company was earlier known as   AdventNet, Inc. AdventNet expanded operations into Japan in 2001.  In 2009, the company was renamed Zoho Corporation after its online office suite.  It was not only change in the name but a paradigm shift  in geography: While AdventNet Inc was a US company with an India development centre, Zoho Corp is incorporated in India and the company’s Pleasanton, California, centre remains the global headquarters.  Sri Vembu, worked  out of the Pleasanton office which is sales-facing,  then shifted to Chennai and .. .. .. now to Tenkasi, nearer Courtallam. 

‘தேனருவித் திரையெழுப்பி வானின்வழி ஒழுகும்’ is how it is hailed … ‘Thiru Kutrala Kuravanchi’ written by ThiruKooda Rasappa Kavirayar praises the place Courtallam and ThiruKutrala Nathar, the deity at this place.

Sundarapandiapuram is a panchayat town in Tenkasi district, known for its scenic beauty,  and this became a household name after Maniratnam film ‘Roja’.  Searching the web about this GREAT HERO, I read that his father hailed from -  Chidambaranathapuram, a small village  around 30 km down the Kaveri, not far from the Kollidam branch of the river.   Our hero was born and spent his childhood here.  The man, Sridhar Vembu has featured few times in Forbes and every other Business Magazine and   awarded India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in 2021.  He has put the small Mathalamparai on global map.

There are two news items on the same person – one on his personal life and the other in what he has been doing professionally and the way he is changing the lives of downtrodden.

First, the bad – the one in Forbes which read :  ‘in High Stakes Divorce Battle, Estranged Wife Of Indian Software Tycoon Claims He Transferred Ownership Without Telling Her’ .. ..

It expands that  Sridhar Vembu is the founder and CEO of privately held Zoho, a maker of cloud-based business software. Vembu, who owns a majority stake in Zoho with his siblings, started the business as AdventNet along with two siblings and three friends. Zoho grew 38% in the past year to hit 80 million global users as of July 2022.  Vembu has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Princeton and started his career at Qualcomm in 1994. Zoho's 375-acre campus in Austin, Texas is on the site of a former farm.  Some excerpts of that news report : 

The soon-to-be ex-wife of Zoho cofounder and CEO Sridhar Vembu alleges he abandoned her and their special needs son and is keeping them from receiving their fair share.  After nearly a quarter of a century living in the San Francisco Bay area and running business software provider Zoho from there, Indian-born Sridhar Vembu decided to go home. The CEO and cofounder of Zoho, which Forbes values at nearly $5 billion, left California and settled into Mathalamparai village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. “I want my employees to live in these villages because it brings a lot of cross-fertilisation of ideas,” Vembu told Forbes India in June 2020. “I decided that if I’m going to start these rural initiatives, I’m going to need to set myself up in the village, too.”

Zoho was embracing remote work before it was cool. Zoho expands by building offices outside big cities and helping employees enjoy a more affordable lifestyle while growing local economies. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) is a mandate for most companies, but Zoho gave back to communities long before it was fashionable.  Transnational localism is Zoho's secret sauce for building software that meets the needs of individual markets. Zoho brings opportunities to people in small towns and villages. The additional benefit is that the current workforce issues of inflation, long commutes, and general life/work imbalances are alleviated.

Today there are many small Zoho offices located across India. These offices function as spoke locations where employees collaborate across departments and work areas.  

That prompted Mr Sridhar Vembu to offer a very detailed explanation on twitter on his personal problems, about his son who is affected by autism, his estrangement, the divorce suit and more .. .. for sure, these are sad state of affairs and absolutely, absolutely – one’s private affair which you, me, and the whole world need not be talking about.

Before concluding, read this too – sourced by DNA  .. .. Normally, good schools charge a hefty fee from their students. However, in Tamil Nadu, a school pays its students a hefty stipend to learn. This school is being run by Sridhar Vembu, billionaire philanthropist who has shifted base to rural Tamil Nadu. Vembu's company Zoho Corporation made a profit of over Rs 2,700 crore in 2022-2023. The company is completely boot-strapped -- over 80 percent of the stake are with Vembu. At this level of success, entrepreneurs tend to gravitate towards luxury. However, the Padma Shri awardee chose the path of philanthropy and charity. Vembu is the 55th richest person in India.

In 2019, Vembu returned to India permanently. Instead of adopting a cosmopolitan lifestyle, he turned towards the rural area. He made his office in Tamil Nadu's Tenkasi district. The reason behind this was that he wanted to bring software development to villages. He wanted rural talent to get jobs in India's flagship import, IT services. In the year 2020, Sridhar Vembu opened another startup in the field of rural education. He wanted to provide free primary education to children via his school. In 2005, he had opened the Zoho School, an ed-tech company that skills and upskills people. Most of those who work at Zoho are the students of this school. The Zoho School has trained people without any technical education to become software engineers.

Zoho School had started with just two teachers and six children. Today, it has over 800 students. 90 percent students of this school are from Tamil Nadu. The school is at Tenkasi. This school pays Rs 10000 as stipend to its students. Admission in this school is not based on marks or grades but on the ability of the individual.

Vembu lives in the Mathalamparai village. He loves village life. He cycles around. In old interviews, he has talked about never raising capital to run the company. He said doesn't want to move away from the company by selling equity. Here is one man who has really changed the lives of many.  He has taught them skills relevant  for real software careers. They  do not collect fees from their  students but pay a handsome stipend of Rs.10000/- per month.    

We are really fortunate to have a good, kind-hearted, caring, tech-savvy leader living in our midst.  Long live noble people who care for others.

 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16.3.2023.