threat of another tsunami in 2009 !!!

Dear (s) 

There are some frantic messages circulating on internet urging people to stay from the beaches all around in the month of July. It speaks of a prediction of another tsunami hitting on July 22^nd 2009 coinciding with sun eclipse. The warning states that it will badly hit countries like Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak), Singapore, Maldives, Australia, Mauritius, Si Lanka, India, Indonesia, Philippines are going to be badly hit. It requests people to stay away from the beaches in July. It has a pictorial warning as well. Whilst this is appreciable in so far as concern for fellow brethren, have received another well researched mail from a friends which sounds much more sense; and some more is added to that.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

“Comments: Unless some extraordinary coincidence occurs, the only true statement in the preceding message is that a solar eclipse will be visible in some parts of the world on July 22, 2009. Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, not eclipses. 

Though astronomers have long been able to predict eclipses by tracking the orbits of the sun and the moon, no such capability exists for earthquakes, nor is there any known correlation between the two phenomena. In the last 110 years or so, there have been about 85 really big earthquakes," Professor Kerry Sieh of Singapore's Earth Observatory explained in a statement to Channel News Asia in April 2009. "And only two of those occurred on the same day as an eclipse. And even those were a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse. They happened in a different place from where the eclipse happened." NASA's Dr. James Foster concurs: Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions do indeed occur at times of eclipses. But records show that they occur with no greater frequency or power than on days when full Moons or new Moons occur (without eclipses), when all the planets line up on the same side of the Sun or on days when the Moon is in a crescent or gibbous phase. As special as eclipses are, they simply don't have a known impact on any geophysical phenomena. 

This is from the Earth observatory website in Singapore : The Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) has received several inquiries from the media and the general public about a rumour circulating in emails and blogs recently that a major tsunami triggered by a solar eclipse on July 22nd 2009 will devastate the southeast Asian region. EOS affirms that, to date, scientists have not found any significant correlation between solar eclipses and earthquakes. Since 1900, for example, of 82 earthquakes greater than magnitude 8 worldwide, only two occurred close to the time of a solar eclipse. However, these were not only partial eclipses but also far from the locations of the earthquakes. At present, no scientific methods or technologies exist that can pinpoint precisely the timing, location or magnitude of earthquakes. 

Additionally, if you look closely at the supposed earthquake sites in the picture in the email below they are all located in the Pacific Ocean near Japan or China and it would therefore be extremely remote for there to be any significant impact on India. 

It is good that this has triggered a review of your BCP preparedness but I would not attach too much importance to it.” +++++++++++++++++++++++ 

With regards - S Sampathkumar.

PS: a message circulated to my friends on 29^th May 2009 … now posted on the blog.

Kadai-ezhu-vallalgal : Kolli malai Ori and the sentiments behind !!

Over centuries there have been Kings and Kings…. What set apart the famous  from others was their great virtues of valour and benevolence. There have been some Emperors known for their - benevolence, generosity, charity, humanitarianism, bountifulness, large-heartedness, magnanimity …… Tamil literature is ripe with Kings who were greatly appreciated for their philanthropy. Those benevolent donors were called ‘Vallals” in Tamil.  The Sangam era eulogies them as ‘Seven great donors’ [Ezhu vallalgal] ~ in fact there were 3 sets of them and this particular post is more about the ‘last set – popularly known as “Kadai-ezhu-vallalgal”’.

Thirukovilur, famous for Sri Ulagalantha Perumal temple sung by Azhwars, is associated with vallalgal.  The Kadai ezhu vallalgal were : “Thirumudi Kari, Paari, Valvil Oari, Adiyaman, Perumpeyar Began, Aai Andiran and Nalli” – the sangam literature  eulogizes their philanthropic qualities.  All of them were very generous, benevolent kings who felt that service to the people was their duty. The notable aspect was the avowed friendship between Kings and Scholars.  Scholars advised the Kings on correct way of ruling. During this period great poets like Kapilar, Paranar, Nakkeerar, Pisirandaiyar, Avvaiyar – all flourished.  The Kings respected and took great care of poets of wisdom.  Agriculture, industry, crafts, trade and arts flourished during this time thus spreading prosperity all around.  The Kings were concerned of the welfare of their subjects.  They did not erect statues of themselves but built Temples, Forts, Dams and more for the wellbeing of their kingdom.

Pari, the vallar is perhaps most read about.  He acquired fame by leaving his chariot to allow the ‘mullai’ creeper to grow. "முல்லைக்கு தேர் கொடுத்தான் பாரி" .  He had two daughters by name -  Angavai and Sangavai  - who were also very good in literature and poetry.  They are referred in Purananuru also.   Quite unfortunate that in the supposedly comic scene “Vaanga Pazhagalam” Solomon Pappaiah introduces Sivaji to his daughters using not so decent language and those two daughters who are shown as black and somewhat ugly are named ‘Angavai and Sangavai’… Vivek’s dialogues are replete with vulgarity and do not befit the scene.  Then there was Ori - கொல்லிமலையை ஆண்ட, கொடைவள்ளல் ஓரி.

Kolli Hills are featured in several works of classical Tamil literature such as Silappathigaram, Manimekalai, Purananuru andAinkurnuru. The King of Kolli, Ori’s  valour and marksmanship are sung by several poets, and his exploits are a popular part of folklore. Ori is said to have killed a lion, bear, deer and a boar with a single arrow.  Wikipedia notes that Valvil Ori was a Vettua Gounder who ruled over the Kolli Hills in Tamil Nadu,  around 200 CE and is regarded as one of the greatest archers the country. 

The district administration has been conducting the Valvil Ori festival, flower expo and tourist vizha at Kolli Hills in August. Cultural programmes, folk dances, dramas highlighting the life of Valvil Ori and programmes by school children are to be held ~ and here is something read in Indian Express of date.

Any government function would have a multitude of leaders and cadre of the ruling party swarming the venue. But in contrast, the Valvil Ori festivities held at Semmedu atop the Kolli hills are bereft of political leaders, particularly State ministers and their supporters. It is quite common for political leaders, including State ministers and members of Parliament and the Legislative Assembly, to stay away from the hills for fear of a myth of losing their office once they participate in this festival, which is held every year.  It looks like a lasting myth that Ori, the ancient king, may spell trouble to those in power.

The report in Express reads that “It has become a strong belief over the years that political leaders or bureaucrats would lose their position if they garland the Ori statue or attend the festivities coinciding with Aadi Perukku” said an official who had served at the hills. Certain incidents that took place in the past seem to have lent credence to it. DMK chief Karunanidhi went out of power when his government was dismissed in 1976, after he visited the hills and honoured the ancient king. Late DMK veteran Veerapandi Arumugam also lost key portfolio in 1990, a tribesman recalled.

Invitations for the festival would have the names of State ministers and legislators in bold letters, but they seldom attend the event. This year too, State ministers chose to stay away. The fear of Valvil Ori even made new Collector M Asia Mariam to stay away. On Monday, she chose to keep herself busy with the routine public grievance day programme at the Collectorate. Officials said the Collector had to attend the grievance day event as it was her first day in office after taking charge on Sunday, a holiday.  District Revenue Officer K Palanisamy declared open the festival. The only face of a prominent politician seen at the function was C Chandrasekaran, MLA of Senthamangalam Assembly segment. Since he is a tribesman, be was brave enough to be present. More often, the privilege of garlanding the idol of Valvil Ori goes to low level staff of the Rural Development Department. This time, office assistants — P Venkatachalam and K Kandasamy — and Murugesan, manager of a government-run cottage, garlanded the Ori statue at the break of dawn. Revenue Divisional Officer M Kannan also garlanded the statue.

~ that is rationalism !!

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

2^nd Aug 2016.

Photo and news credit : The Indian Express.

remembering the blow out in Amalapuram 1995 ~ the sufferers !!

Telugu movie Arya released in 2004 had  Allu Arjun in the main lead. The song "Aa Ante Amalapuram" became famous in Andhra Pradesh giving  Allu Arjun an  identity.   Amalapuram is a town, in East Godavari district in the state of Andhra Pradesh,  60 km from Rajahmundry city at Konaseema delta, the triangle formed by the waters of the Godavari River.

I still remember that night in Feb 1995, when me and my colleagues of Oriental DO Kakinada travelled in a car.  As we were getting nearer  – from a few kilometres distance itself, I was able to see orange flames leaping above paddy fields – there were crowds visiting the place – the coconut trees in vicinity were scorched due to intense heat – someone suggested that one should not be seeing the flames with naked eyes and everyone was trying to hold dried coconut tree branches – heat could be felt as we went nearer – the flame was visible from a distance … it appeared that there was nothing till say 2 feet from the ground – then there was the flame, like a giant torch ….  There were hoses directing water at the flames (do they use water ? or was that done to reduce the heat) – but hardly it could go near, it appeared that the water that went in an arch was vanishing midway, due to the intense heat……….

I had in June 2014,  posted about the loss of lives in the GAIL blast killing more than dozen of people in Nagaram village near Amalapuram in Andhra – the scene described in the first para is what we saw when a blow-out occurred in Jan 1995 and when Pasaralapudi village near Amalapuram became a tourist spot. It raged for about 45 days before Niel Adams, an expert from Russia capped the well.  The KG basin (Krishna Godavari basin) is a proven petroliferous pericratonic basin formed on the continental passive margin located on the east coast of India; the basin reportedly contains about 5 km thick sediments with several cycles of deposition, ranging from Late Carboniferous to Pleistocene age.

In those days (of Mid 1990s) it reportedly was a loss of more than 15 lakhs per day besides crores worth equipment damaged in the fire and that was at a time when Govt was actively speaking on disinvestment.  It was blow out internationally spoke about – and certainly not the first nor the only of its kind.  It put East Godavari on map to people hitherto unknown – at the same time exposing the unpreparedness of events of such magnitude.  Whether it was gross negligence, faulty equipment, operator failure (human error), freak accident – none were sure – and there were reports of intensity flaring up 1 million cubic metres of natural gas a day, which was far excessive of the targeted flow of the well.  

In such intense heat, the property nearby too suffered – some houses reportedly cracked – for sure lot of vegetation and many birds suffered.  Even in the recent blast, a newspaper report suggested that hundreds of birds got killed and many wounded.  We read newspaper reports of  an expert Neil Adams coming and papers were giving details of capping operations, though not too intelligible to commoners like me. Adams was reportedly a veteran having put out many such fires in the post-Gulf War Kuwait and elsewhere, still  the fire at Pasarlapudi was not to be doused in a day or two.

Fortunately, there was no reporting of spewed toxic gases – in India any way there is not much of tort litigation, which in some other Country would have flared up in high numbers considering the effect it had on the locality.  It was reported that the ONGC took four days to move equipment to train water jets at the fire, and by the time they started upping the pressure, the fire was weeks old and had risen more than 100 meters high. 

Read about the operation that a rig was placed to dig a relief well, into which the mud sludge was pumped in – and initially there were apprehensions and hurdles from the villagers on that.  The water jets used cooled the surrounding area allowing the ace fire fighters to move in closer. – without commenting on the expertise of the operations, one thing was clear – it affected the villagers paddy fields, coconut trees, and the many shrimp farms in that area.  A small % did some business selling products to many tourists who turned out to see the flaming torch.

For sure, there are no comparisons, the present one is a massive blaze reportedly caused by a leaking gas pipelije explosion, killing people. In that earlier one, though crores were lost, not many human lives fortunately were. Times have changed – Firstpost reports that  Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister N Chinarajappa, District Collector Neetu Prasad and GAIL authorities would distribute a compensation of Rs 3.80 crore to 19 people who lost their lives in the gas pipeline blast incident.   Rs 20 lakh each will be given to the family members of the 19 deceased, who lost their lives on that day and the total amount of compensation will come to Rs 3.80 crore," it said, adding that Rs 50,000 each would be paid to 18 people who received severe burn injuries in the blast and are undergoing treatment at Amalapuram, Rajahmundry and Kakinada hospitals. The total amount of compensation for injured people will be Rs 9 lakhs. All payments will made in the form of Demand Drafts (DD) as directed by the district collector," it said.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

30^th June 2014.

Most inputs about the GAIL blast taken from India today.

Horse Reckless set to receive PDSA Dickin Medal

Reckless, who served during some of the bloodiest fighting of the Korean War, has been posthumously decorated for bravery  !  In the U.S., the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a "police action" as it was an undeclared military action, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.   In South Korea,  reference was   "625" reflecting the date of its commencement on 25 June.

It is the bloody Korean War that began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, came to the aid of South Korea. China, with assistance from the Soviet Union, came to the aid of North Korea. The war arose from the division of Korea at the end of World War II and from the global tensions of the Cold War that developed immediately afterwards.  Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the closing days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, and liberated Korea north of the 38^th parallel. U.S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split in to two separate governments. Both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of Korea, and neither side accepted the border as permanent. The civil war escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union and China—moved to the south to unite the country on 25 June 1950.

There were to be  dramatic reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of conflict became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38^th  parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate. North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign.  Years later, the  fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed after thousands of deaths.

Away in United Kingdom, the Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest award of the honours system. It is awarded for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" to members of the British armed forces. It may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours.  Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. These investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace.  The award was instituted in 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction.

Now in news, is a war horse that carried 9,000lb of supplies and walked more than 35 miles in a single day in Korea,  awarded the animal version of the Victoria Cross.  The chestnut Mongolian mare, called Reckless, became the 68^th  animal to receive the PDSA Dickin Medal, the animal version of the Victoria Cross.  The horse  carried ammunition and wounded soldiers during the Korean War. Though wounded twice, Reckless lived until she was 20 and died in 1968.

Under heavy bombardment she made 51 trips in a single day during the battle for Outpost Vegas in March 1953, according to official documents.  In the five-day fight, 28 tons of bombs were reportedly dropped and the terrain was described by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Geer as a 'smoking, death-pocked rubble'. The chestnut Mongolian mare named Reckless, bred as a racehorse’s journey with the US Marine Corps began in 1952 after she was bought for 250 US dollars. Soldiers nicknamed her Reckless because the gun she carried ammunition for - the Recoilless Rifle - was so dangerous it was coined the 'reckless' rifle.

The horse was wounded in combat twice, given the battlefield rank of corporal in 1953, and then a battlefield promotion to sergeant in 1954, several months after the war ended.  She was nominated by historian Robin Hutton who spent six years researching and writing a biography about her.   Her relationship with the soldiers underscores the vital role of animals in war, not just for their prowess and strength in battle, but for the support and camaraderie they provide to their fellow troops. Reckless is the 68th recipient of the medal, awarded by the PDSA veterinary charity and billed as the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross — Britain's top award for military bravery. 

Maria Dickin, founder of animal charity the PDSA, established the Dickin Medal in 1943 for outstanding acts of bravery in war. Most have gone to homing pigeons. Around 37,000 US and 1,000 British soldiers died in the Korean War, which lasted from June 25 1950 to July 27 1953.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

27^th July 2016

News & Photo source : www.dailymail.co.uk