Winter is coming to northerly latitudes … A beautiful look at an early snowfall.
Phil Koch posted this photo to EarthSky Facebook this week. He calls it ‘Horizons.’
A record snowfall fell in Wisconsin over this past week. Phil Koch of Milwaukee captured an image and wrote to EarthSky:
And so winter begins in Wisconsin.
Source…..www.earthsky.org
Natarajan
She doesn’t just share pictures – she shares the many stories of success, failure, hopes, dreams, desires and so much more behind the faces that make it to her well-known and loved Facebook page. Meet Karishma Mehta, the human behind Humans of Bombay.
In November 2010, a young man named Brandon Stanton started taking pictures of people in New York City and sharing little vignettes of their lives on a Facebook page called Humans of New York (HoNY).
Brandon Stanton
India too sprouted several “Humans of ” pages overnight, but most of them have either vanished as quickly as they came or languished for lack of attention.
Karishma Mehta
The following of this page has grown by leaps and bounds to reach four lakhs in a short period of time, entirely due to Karishma’s meticulous efforts in capturing poignant photographs and stories of the many Mumbaikars she meets every day.
“Tell me your story,” she often requests of the old and young and middle-aged she meets on a daily basis. But ask her the same question and she laughs – “That’s why I am behind the camera, and not in front of it. In all probability, if someone stops me on the road, says ‘can I take your photograph?’, and asks me to share my story, I would say ‘no’!”
“I couldn’t conceive for a very long time, even though I was going through extensive treatments. Finally years later, something in my treatment ticked and I was pregnant. You know how it is with Indian families – everyone begins to guess the gender of the child before it’s even born, but I never took part in that – I was only concerned with the health of my baby.
When I delivered, everyone was excited to know the sex of the baby and my whole family was really happy to know that it was a baby girl. I remember hearing, ‘oh my god, it’s a girl!’ and I just kept thinking, ‘oh my god, it’s a healthy child.’ I thanked God with all my heart for blessing me with Motherhood that day and everyday of my life. She’s 22 years today, and still the best thing that ever happened to me.”
She listens to their stories, clicks their photographs, and finally shares her work on the Humans of Bombay page. These are stories of success and failure, hope and inspiration, dreams and heartbreaks – each one unique and memorable.
Karishma started the page in January 2014. “I was just out of college when I started it. At that time, I had been following HoNY closely, so I knew that something like this existed. But I also knew that something like this had not been done correctly in a city like Bombay, which has so many different worlds in it. Thus I started the page pretty much as an experiment to see how it would pan out. But as it grew, my passion towards this work kept growing,” she says.
Born and brought up in Bombay, she describes her life as “a very normal one.” After studying at Bombay Scottish School, she went on to a boarding school in Bangalore for two years. This was followed by three years of college in UK. “I would say I was on the sheltered side…” she remembers.
In the beginning, Karishma’s parents did not understand what she was doing. “They were a bit confused as there was no specific definition for what I was doing back then,” she says. But her friends had been following HoNY, so they knew. “They supported me, gave a lot of healthy criticism, and also encouraged me to not give up. That initial push was very important for me to continue for as long as I have.” She now has the complete support of her parents as well.
Ask her about the experience of collecting such personal stories from complete strangers and Karishma says – “It is not easy to talk to strangers on the road and engage with them in a conversation for five to six minutes…But when you do so, you will be surprised by the kind of things you hear in response to just a simple question! That’s because everybody has a story. Literally every person walking on a street has some story that they want to share. The important thing is to focus on the simple questions that can bring about these very powerful narrations.”
Karishma, a business and economics major, never took any lessons in photography. For her, it has all been about her passion; photography is something that she “learned on the job.” With two interns to assist her she goes out to shoot for about five hours every day and shares one story a day on Facebook, after writing about it and editing the picture. While most of her time goes in maintaining the page itself, she is also involved in some freelance projects that deal with writing.
· · Edited ·
“I was a chef in the Taj banquet kitchen when the gunshots started that night. Initially the news was that it was an internal gang war in a neighbourhood nearby and that it would die down soon. It was only at about 10:30 – 11PM that we understood the magnitude of what was going on. We were 7 chefs in total in the kitchen that night, not one of whom left the Taj despite knowing all exit points. By then the shootout had happened at the Wasabi restaurant and all those who had survived were pouring into the banquet hall and kitchen where we were working. As soon as we had heard about the shootout, we prepared sandwiches for our surviving guests which we then handed out. After this, we entered the corridor to escort our guests out of the hotel through the back entrance. We had successfully helped a few guests when I saw the left profile of a terrorist in a red cap, who began shooting.
I was standing next to a refrigerator, when my head chef and sous chef both got shot. There was chaos, panic and fear as our guests started running everywhere – but by then they had opened fire in all directions. I remember running towards the kitchen and looking around to see that no one else had made it. All of a sudden, everything went quiet and that silence was the worst. I tried looking around for survivors, but it was just me. I stayed there for a few hours, until I realised that no help was coming anytime soon. I walked out of the kitchen and saw all of my colleagues dead on the floor – the whole Taj was deserted. I looked at the refrigerator where I’d been only a while ago and it had 3 bullet holes in it – I’d narrowly escaped death, but it was horrifying to see that my guests and colleagues hadn’t been as lucky. I won’t look back on that day as just a terrorist attack, but a day when many brave individuals looked death in the eye to help others.”
What has been one of the most memorable moments of her life till now? She has an answer this time:
“It is a personal one. Very recently, my sister delivered a baby boy and it was like an I-can’t-describe kind of moment. I was very happy.”
The one thing she is looking forward to for Humans of Bombay?
“I am looking forward to seeing more people open up to share larger aspects of their lives. I have had a series of people who have given me their stories but as soon as they see the reach that the platform has they say they don’t want to share them further. I would love people to realise that sharing is not always a bad thing. You are not always judged. You are not always looked upon negatively. Sometimes, it could actually help you.”
Her advice to people?
“I am a business and economics major and I am doing something that is not directly based on that line. And I don’t think it matters. It is about what you want to do, what you feel will get you to a certain place in life…just go with it.”
Her favourite stories? “I am biased. I like them all,” laughs Karishma.
· · Edited ·
“His family and my family have lived in the same building for years but since his business was in Bombay and Dubai, I barely saw him. This one day, he asked my driver which college I was studying in, he came there, waited for me to finish class and asked me to coffee. We ended up chatting for an hour that day and I was completely enamoured by him — he was such a charmer! His parents wanted us to marry quickly because he was 7 years older – so at 19 I got married to someone who I thought was the man of my dreams…but he was an asshole.
It started at the honeymoon, where I wasn’t allowed to look anywhere but towards him, wasn’t allowed to enter shops which he didn’t like and was supposed to wear only what he wanted me to. We were to visit our relatives in London, so he asked me to wear a salwaar but no jacket…and I remember freezing. When we went back to Dubai, he didn’t allow me to turn on the AC and if I did in the middle of the night because it was so hot – he would smash my perfumes, candles and upturn my entire wardrobe. He would drive his convertible car at the maximum speed and threaten to throw me out if I ever disobeyed him. Once, in between abusing and screaming at me, he pinned me down, forced himself upon me and 6 months into my wedding I was pregnant. He hid my medicines saying I don’t need them — I was throwing up 30 times a day and all the minerals in my body had drained to the point that I couldn’t stand and that’s when he agreed to take me to the hospital. The nurse there saw me once and said ‘I’ve to take you to the emergency room – and had you come a day later you would return to Bombay in a coffin’. When I went home after those 3 days, he pushed me, I started bleeding and he waited 24 hours to take me back to the hospital. On the hospital slip it said ‘bled yesterday and brought to the hospital today.’
He only let me return home because my parents were at Hajj. When I came home, I asked him if I could stay for a night in my own home instead of his – which he flatly refused. I was talking to my mother on the phone for 15 minutes when he called me 40 times, sent his sister upstairs to snatch my phone and sent me a text saying,’If you return to Dubai, I will rip your ass apart’ in Hindi. That’s when I decided I had enough.
The next 6 years were hell for me. He sent me a legal notice saying he wanted custody of my unborn child, but I would never let that happen. So 30 days after I had delivered and my stitches hadn’t healed – I went to the family court to fight for my son. My son has been to more courtrooms in the first 5 years of his life than most people ever would. He bribed people from the court and the judges to prolong this case and if not for this one police man who understood me and helped me – God knows how much longer I would have to continue my fight. In 2012, my hell was finally over. I won all cases because of that one hospital slip and received nothing in compensation from him or his family. He seemed so normal, but he snatched my innocence away. Please, don’t rush into marriage because so often what people appear to be and who they are, is entirely different. 10 years later, I’ve put it behind me because I have my son and my life is for him. He’s all that matters.”
The hard-hitting story of how Zaaria successfully improved her life was widely shared. “It is a very, very powerful story. Zaaria was so strong while narrating it that I was literally shocked,” remembers Karishma. And the best part is that it did not just end there. People actually went ahead and expressed their support for Zaaria.
“She was overwhelmed. She told me that she has got messages from all over the world with people praising her for her courage and bravery…it is just amazing.”
“My mother and I had to come to Bombay to support ourselves, once my father sold our family food business and didn’t support us. She got into the sex trade since that time and I always feel upset because she thinks its ‘dirty work’. Why is it considered dirty? My mother is a woman of strength and I want her and all like her to know that it’s okay.
Dirty are those men who force themselves on us, abuse us and walk away. I was raped as well, but for 7 years I kept it within me because I thought I was dirty. It was only after I came to Kranti and went through intense therapy that I finally found a voice. I will start volunteering with a sex workers’ rights group next month and give speeches and detailed information on the rights of sex workers. I was once blaming myself for being raped, but today I know better — It’s not my fault. I want to inspire the thousands like me, who have kept quite and felt dirty. We’re not dirty ones.”
—
A few months ago the young girls of Kranti were thrown out of their house, by a landlord who refused to pay them back their deposit. These are young girls who are the daughters of sex workers with big dreams. Kranti, nurtures their dreams, gives them a place to stay safe at night, teaches them and exposes them to a new world…one they’d never known before.
We’re starting a campaign to raise Rupees 5,00,000 for Kranti. This money will be used by Kranti to make a home for these girls in a space that’s currently unhygienic, dusty and in complete shambles. They all have to share one tiny bathroom which makes them late for school, there’s no proper construction — just bare, dilapidated walls with no beds.
Lets give these girls a place they can call home.
She conducted a Facebook campaign with the aim of raising funds for an organization called Kranti that helps the daughters of sex workers in Mumbai. While the aim was to collect Rs. 5 lakhs, Humans of Bombay ended up collecting Rs. 6.5 lakhs in just one day.
But what is it that keeps her going out to work on something that does not even pay? “I like listening to people’s stories. I like knowing that the next stranger on the block will have a story that people will appreciate. And I like to be the mediator of that story. The fact that I can bring those stories to the world is what pushes me,” she concludes.
Visit Humans of Bombay here.
Source……….Tanaya Singh……..www.the betterindia.com
Natarajan
In 1964, a new avant-garde artist was introduced to the art scene in the Swedish city of Gōteborg. The fresh new artist was Pierre Brassau and his work received rave reviews from critics and art fans alike.
Brassau featured four paintings in the 1964 exhibition at Gallerie Christinae, and even sold one “masterpiece” to a collector named Bertil Eklöt for $90 (about $650 today). The exhibition featured paintings from artists across Europe, but it was the hot new French Artist who stole the show.
One critic in particular, Rolf Anderberg, was so overwhelmed by Pierre’s talent that he wrote the following review about his work, which appeared in print the morning following the exhibition:
Brassau paints with powerful strokes, but also with clear determination. His brush strokes twist with furious fastidiousness. Pierre is an artist who performs with the delicacy of a ballet dancer.
The reviews were glowing. All but one. One critic’s review was short and to the point: “Only an ape could have done this.”
The opinion was unpopular among the other critics, despite that the pieces of art looking strikingly similar to “art” you commonly see stuck to refrigerators, produced by 2 year olds the world over. It turns out, though, that the “ape” review more or less hit the nail on the head.
Pierre Brassau was actually none other than a young West African chimpanzee named Peter who lived in the Borås djurpark zoo in Sweden. The mastermind behind the hoax was journalist Åke “Dacke” Axelsson. Axelsson worked for the Swedish tabloid Gotebors-Tidningen and came up with the idea of featuring the primate paintings in an exhibition in order to put the critics to the test. Could they recognize the work of true avant-garde modern artists?
Axelsson convinced Peter’s teenage caretaker to let the chimpanzee play with some oil paints and a brush. Initially, Peter ate more paint than he managed to get onto the canvasses; his favorite “flavor” was cobalt blue, a color which featured prominently in his later work. With some encouragement, Peter soon began to develop his artistic skills. Once he finished showing off his artistic talents, producing several paintings, Axelsson chose the four which he considered the most worthy to be displayed, and set about getting them included in the exhibition at the Gallerie Christinae.
Once the hoax was revealed, the critic who had previously compared Pierre Brassau with a ballet dancer, Rolf Anderberg, doggedly stuck by his assessment and stated that Pierre’s work “was still the best painting in the exhibition”.
Peter isn’t the only primate to have found success as an artist. In 2005, the director of the State Art Museum of Moritzburg in Saxony-Anhalt, Dr Kajta Schneider, mistakenly identified a painting as the work of Ernst Wilhelm Nay, a Guggenheim Prize winning artist. In fact, the painting was done by Banghi who was a chimpanzee living at Halle Zoo.
In 2011, Pockets Warhol, a capuchin monkey currently living in a sanctuary in Toronto, had his own art exhibition featuring 40 of his abstract paintings. His paintings have been purchased by people across the globe and sell for as much as $300 each. Proceeds from the sale of his artwork go to helping care for the other residents of the animal sanctuary where he lives.
In 2010, Jimmy, a 27 year old chimpanzee living in Rio De Janeiro, earned national acclaim for his artistic talents. When Jimmy’s caretakers realized that he had become depressed, they decided to give him some paints to brighten up his days. Jimmy showed an instant aptitude for art and has since become a household name across Brazil. He even has an art instructor who visits him 3 times a week.
In 2009, 3 paintings by Congo the chimpanzee sold at auction for more than $25,000. Congo was born in 1954 and produced around 400 paintings during his life. He died at age 10 of tuberculosis. Pablo Picasso is reported to have been a fan of Congo’s work, and in fact owned one of Congo’s paintings, which hung on his studio wall.
Bonus Facts:
Source…..www.today i foundout .com
Natarajan
மீன் விற்கும் ஒரு பெண்ணு, பூ விற்கும் ஒரு பெண்ணும், நல்ல தோழிகள். ஒருநாள் இரவு, பூ விற்கும் பெண்ணின் வீட்டில், மீன் விற்கும் பெண் தங்க நேர்ந்தது. ‘இரவு நன்கு தூங்கினாயா?’ எனப் பூ விற்கும் பெண், மறுநாள் காலையில் கேட்க, ‘அதை ஏன் கேக்குற போ… நேத்துப் பூரா எனக்குத் தூக்கமே வரலை…’ என, சொன்னாள் மீனம்மா.
‘அப்படியா… ஏண்டி?’
‘உன் வீட்டில இருந்த பூவோட வாசம், என்னை என்னென்னமோ செய்துடுச்சு. நெடி தாங்கலை; அதனால, தூக்கம் வரலை…’ என்றாளாம் மீனம்மா.
மனிதர்கள் பலரும், இப்படித் தான் இருக்கின்றனர். வழக்கத்திற்கு மாறான எது ஒன்றை பற்றியும், மலைத்துப் பேசுகின்றனர்; மறுக்கின்றனர். செயலில் இறங்கும் முன்பே, குரலிலேயே களைப்பு காட்டுகின்றனர்.
‘என் கூட வேலை பார்க்கிறவரோட மகன் கல்யாணம்; வா… போயிட்டு வரலாம்…’ என கணவர் அழைக்கிற போது, பெரும்பாலான மனைவியர் சொல்கிற பதில்… ‘எனக்கு அங்கே யாரையுமே தெரியாது; நான் தனியா உட்கார்ந்திருக்கணும். உங்களுக்கு, உங்களோட வேலை செய்யுறவங்களைக் கண்டா, தலை கால் புரியாது. என்னை, ‘அம்போ’ன்னு விட்டுடுவீங்க. நான் வரலை; நீங்க போயிட்டு வந்தாப் போதும்; ஆளை விடுங்க…’
இந்த வசனங்களில், சில மாறுதல் இருக்கலாமே தவிர, பதில் என்னமோ மறுப்பு தான்; பதில் என்னவோ அலுப்பு தான்.
முதன் முதலில் பள்ளியில் சேர்த்த போது, நாம் அழ அழக் கொண்டு போய், இரக்கமில்லாமல் பள்ளியில் விட்டனர். அங்கு யாரைத் தெரிந்தது… பின், பெற்றோரை விடவும், தோழர்கள், தோழிகள் நமக்குப் பெரிதாகி விடவில்லையா?
வங்கி, தபால் நிலையம்…
‘நான் இதுவரை அங்கேயெல்லாம் போனதில்லை; எனக்கு எதுவும் தெரியாது!’ ‘
எங்கே போனாலும், சிவப்புக் கம்பள வரவேற்பும், ராஜமரியாதையும் எதிர்பார்க்கிற குணம், என்ன குணம்!
பள்ளி மற்றும் கல்லூரிக்கு அப்பாற்பட்டு இருக்கிற வெளி உலகமும், ஒரு திறந்தவெளிப் பல்கலைக் கழகம் தான்; அது, எத்தனையோ பாடங்களை பயிற்றுவிக்கிறது. அறிமுகமாகிற நபர்கள், நூற்றுக்கணக்கான டியூஷன் வகுப்புகளை, காசு வாங்கிக் கொள்ளாமல், நமக்கு நடத்துகின்றனர்.
வாழ்வின் உண்மையான சுவையை, நன்கு உணர வேண்டுமானால், முதலில், மனச்சிறகுகளை விரிக்க வேண்டும்.
‘எந்தக் கஷ்டத்தையும் சந்திக்கக் கூடாது; ஒரு கஷ்டமும் கூடாது. மேனா மினுக்கிகளாகவே வாழ்ந்து விட்டுப் போய் விடுகிறேன்…’ என்று எதிர்பார்க்கும் வாழ்க்கை, தேங்கிப் போன குட்டைக்குச் சமம்.
அருவியாய் மாறி, ஆறாய் ஓடி, கடலாய் பரந்து, வாழ்வின் மறுபக்கங்கள் இன்னின்ன என்பதை, உணரத் தலைப்பட முன்வர வேண்டும்.
‘என் மகளை, கண்ணுக்குள்ளே வச்சு வளர்த்துட்டேன்; நீங்களும் இவளை மகளைப் போலப் பார்த்துக்கணும்…’ என்று, கன்னிகாதானத்தன்று, கைத்தலம் பற்றக் கொடுக்கிற தாய் – தந்தையை, நல்ல பெற்றோராக நான் கருதவில்லை.
‘எல்லாத்தையும் நல்லாவே கத்துக் கொடுத்திருக்கோம்; நாங்க விட்டதை நீங்க சொல்லிக் கொடுங்க…’ என்றல்லவா ஒப்படைக்க வேண்டும்?
தாய் வீட்டில் சங்கிலியிட்டு வளர்த்தால் தான், புகுந்த வீடு, பூமாலைத் தோரணமாகப்படும்.
ஒரு சொல் கூடத் தாங்காத பெண்ணாக ஒருத்தியை வளர்த்தால், அது ஒரு மாத, ஒரு ஆண்டு கதையாக ஆகிவிடும்.
இடைஞ்சல்களே இல்லாத தொழில், திட்டாத அதிகாரி, தண்டிக்காத முதலாளி, கொடுத்தாலொழிய வாடகை கேட்காத வீட்டுக்காரர், தவறைச் சுட்டிக் காட்டாத நண்பன் என்றெல்லாம் எதிர்பார்த்து, அப்படி அமையாத போது, இவர்கள் நொந்து கொள்கின்றனர்.
எந்த ஒரு மனிதனது வாழ்க்கையும், மலர் பாதையால் அமைக்கப்பட முடியாது. இடையூறுகளற்ற வாழ்க்கையை எதிர்பார்ப்பது அழகல்ல; அதற்கு பழகுவதே புத்திசாலித்தனம்!
ஆற்றுப் படுகைகளில் கிடக்கும் அழகான கூழாங்கற்களை ரசிக்கிறோம். ஆனால், அது மோசமான உருவத்தோடு தான், தன் பயணத்தை, மலையிலிருந்து துவங்கியது என்பதை நினைவுபடுத்திக் கொள்ள வேண்டும்!
‘எனக்கு எந்தக் கஷ்டமும் தராதே… எல்லாம் நல்லபடி நடக்கணும்!’ எனக் கடவுளிடம் வேண்டும் பக்தன், தவறு செய்கிறான்.
‘எவ்வளவு கஷ்டம் வந்தாலும் அதை எதிர் கொள்ளும் மனத்திடத்தை, பலத்தை எனக்குத் தா…’ என வேண்டுபவனே நடைமுறையாளன்.
நூலாம் படையை, சங்கிலியாக எண்ணுவதைக் கைவிட வேண்டும். சங்கிலியை, நூலாம்படையாக ஆக்குவது நம் சாதுரிய அணுகுமுறையில் இருக்கிறது
Credit ….Input from my friend …. Source ….Lena Tamilvanan in http://www.dinamalar.com
Natarajan
R Srinivasan was in Varanasi for some work. A regular visitor of the ghats, he was surprised to see one of the ghats kept very clean, which stood out in comparison to the others. What’s more, it was kept this way by 3 young oar-boys and their father! This is what he found out on further investigation.
I landed in Varanasi last evening to conduct a workshop for all the call-getters from Indian Institutes of Management. These successful aspirants were arriving from eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Varanasi is the cradle of one of the most ancient civilizations in the world, with habitation of this city recorded as far back as 6,000 years ago. It is a fascinating city on the banks of river Ganges and is one of the most sacred destinations for the Hindus, and also for many from the world who throng to see the magical place. It is in the itinerary of many tourists visiting India and some continue to stay here for years.
I have always enjoyed walking by the ghats and galis of Varanasi. Every visit has been a journey of discovery – of the city and of oneself. As usual, I reached the Dashashwamedh Ghat in the darkness of early morning, after walking for about three kilometres. It was drizzling a little.
The early morning Aarti for Mother Ganges – a river considered to be very pious
I got busy clicking away the magical morning at the ghat – the dips, the aarti, the boats, the colours of dawn. There are 80 ghats and Dashashwamedh is somewhere in between. I proceeded towards the ASSI ghat. Each of the ghats has been built by one kingdom or other from across the country, over the centuries, to shelter the citizens of their provinces when they come to this pious city.
Since the city got settled centuries ago, modern amenities are difficult to come by. The upkeep of Varanasi is far from satisfactory and to the utter shock of most visitors, garbage is found littered in every corner of the street. I keep wondering why. At many locations on the ghats, men relieve themselves, which not only stinks, but also pollutes the already polluted Ganges.
This morning, when I reached the Rana Pratap/Mahal Ghat, I was surprised to see three pisspots neatly lined against the wall in a corner with a note, “kindly do not pollute mother Ganges, use the toilet to relieve yourselves.”
Deepak and Amit proudly posing at their outpost, Rana Pratap Ghat, Varanasi. You can see the toilet corner!
This effort is indeed admirable, especially because it has been envisioned and created by three young Oar-boys who ferry the visitors on the Ganges in their small wooden row-boats. Deepak (13) and Amit (11) along with their elder brother Ravi (19) helped their father in making this happen. Deepak and Amit who solicit customers for the boat rides were filled with pride when they shared about their endeavour. I took their photographs, promising that I will write a story about their conscious effort to keep the ghats clean and tidy. The ghat is stink-free and is a pleasure to walk by.
If only we are conscious of our surroundings, and do our little bit, I am sure we can make a huge difference! Let us strive to make things happen!
– R Srinivasan in http://www.the betterindia.com
Natarajan
Without the control of senses, spiritual practices (Sadhana) are ineffective; it is like keeping water in a leaky pot. Pathanjali (the celebrated sage and author of the Yoga Sutras) has said that when tongue is conquered, victory is yours. While the eye, the ear and the nose serve as instruments of knowledge about one particular characteristic of Nature, the tongue makes itself available for two purposes: to judge taste and to utter words – symbols of communication. You must control the tongue with double care, since it can harm you in two ways. When the tongue craves for some delicacy, assert that you will not cater to its whims. If you persist in giving yourself simple food that is not savoury or hot, but amply sustaining, the tongue may squirm for a few days, but it will soon welcome it. That is the way to subdue it and overcome the evil consequences of it being your master.
விஜயலட்சுமி, படம்: கண்ணன்
இப்போது மக்களிடம் சுற்றுச்சூழல் குறித்த விழிப்புணர்வு ஓரளவு ஏற்படத் தொடங்கியிருக்கிறது. ஆனால் ரசாயன உரங்களின் பாதிப்பு குறித்தும் பற்றியும் நம் பாரம்பரிய விவசாய முறைகளைக் குறித்தும் மக்கள் ஆர்வம் காட்டாத எண்பதுகளிலேயே மண்புழு வளர்ப்பில் ஈடுபடத் தொடங்கியவர் பேராசிரியர் ஜி.எஸ்.விஜயலட்சுமி. தென்னிந்தியாவில் மண்புழு வளர்ப்பு தொடர்பான விழிப்புணர்வை அடிமட்டம்வரை எடுத்துச்சென்றவர்களில் முதன்மையானவர். குறிப்பாக, திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டத்தில் மட்டும் சுமார் 49 மண்புழு வளர்ப்பு தொட்டிகளை அமைத்திருக்கிறார். தமிழக அரசின் பசுமைப் படை சார்பாகக் கழிவு மேலாண்மையை முக்கியக் கடமையாக எடுத்துச் செயல்படுத்தி வருகிறார்; திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டத்தில் சுமார் 10 ஆயிரம் மரங்களுக்கு மேல் நட்டிருக்கிறார். கடல்வாழ் உயிரினப் படிப்பில் இந்தியாவில் முதன்முதலில் முனைவர் பட்டம் பெற்றவர். ஆஸ்திரேலியாவில் 1981-ல் நடைபெற்ற உலகச் சுற்றுச்சூழல் மாநாட்டில் அவர் அளித்த ஆய்வுக் கட்டுரைக்காக அப்போதைய இந்தியப் பிரதமர் இந்திரா காந்தி அவரைப் பாராட்டிக் கடிதம் எழுதியிருக்கிறார். 1975-ல் திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டம் குற்றாலம் பராசக்தி கல்லூரியில் ஆசிரியர் பணிக்குச் சேர்ந்த அவர் அன்று முதல் இன்றுவரை காளான் வளர்ப்பு, மீன் வளர்ப்பு, மண்புழு வளர்ப்பு, மரம் நடுதல் எனச் சுற்றுச்சூழல் சார்ந்த பல செயல்பாடுகளில் தொடர்ந்து ஈடுபட்டுவருகிறார்.
பணி நிறைவு பெற்றுவிட்ட பிறகும் விஜயலட்சுமி ஓய்வாக அமரவில்லை. இப்போதும் அதே சுறுசுறுப்புடன் செயல்பட்டுவருகிறார். “பராசக்தி கல்லூரியில் கிடைத்த ஊக்கத்தால் கழிவுப் பொருள்கள் உதவியுடன் காளான் வளர்ப்பு, மீன் வளர்ப்பு போன்றவற்றில் ஈடுபட்டேன்” என்று சொல்லும் அவர், 1962-லேயே இந்தியாவிலேயே முதன்முறையாகக் கல்லூரி அளவில் பராசக்தி கல்லூரியில் சாண எரிவாயு அமைப்பு நிறுவப்பட்டிருந்ததைப் பெருமையுடன் குறிப்பிடுகிறார். அப்போது அமைத்த சாண எரிவாயு அமைப்பு இன்றுவரை தொடர்ந்து செயல்பட்டுக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது என்பதை ஒரு குழந்தையின் குதூகலத்துடன் தெரிவிக்கிறார்.
பராசக்தி கல்லூரியில் சாண எரிவாயு அமைப்பிலிருந்து கிடைத்த கழிவுப் பொருள்கள் மூலம் மீன் வளர்த்திருக்கிறார். சாதாரண நீரில் மீன் வளர்ப்பதைவிட இந்தக் கழிவுப் பொருள் நீரில் மீன் வளர்ப்பதால் பத்துப் பதினைந்து நாட்களுக்குள் மீன் உணவான மிதவை உயிரிகள் மிகவும் விரைவாக உற்பத்தியாகிவிடும் என்கிறார் பேராசிரியர் விஜயலட்சுமி. மீன் வளர்ப்பில் கிடைத்த உற்சாகத்தால் கழிவு நீரில் காளான் வளர்க்கத் தொடங்கியதாகவும் தெரிவிக்கிறார் அவர்.
“செயற்கையாகக் காளான் வளர்க்கலாம் என்னும் உத்தி இப்போது நன்கு பரவி திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டம் முழுவதுமே இந்தக் காளான் வளர்ப்பு பலன் தரத் தொடங்கியிருக்கிறது” என்கிறார் விஜயலட்சுமி. தென்காசி அருகே இருக்கும் வல்லம் கிராமத்தை அதற்கு உதாரணமாகக் குறிப்பிடுகிறார்.
1980-ல் மதுரை விவசாயப் பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் ஒரு கருத்தரங்கில் கலந்துகொண்டபோது, அவர் சந்தித்த பல்கலைக்கழக டீன் கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி என்பவர்தான் காளான் வளர்ப்பில் கிடைக்கும் வைக்கோல் கழிவிலிருந்து மண்புழுவை வளர்க்கலாம் என்ற திட்டத்தைச் சொல்லியிருக்கிறார். அதுதான் பேராசிரியர் விஜயலட்சுமிக்கு உந்துதலாக இருந்துள்ளது. ‘மண் புழு மண்ணிலேயே இருக்கிறதே அதை ஏன் செயற்கையாக வளர்க்க வேண்டும்?’ என விஜயலட்சுமி கேட்டிருக்கிறார். அதற்குப் பதிலளித்த கிருஷ்ணமூர்த்தி, ‘நீங்கள் நினைப்பது போல் அல்ல, இப்போதெல்லாம் மண்ணைத் தோண்டினால் மண்தான் வரும், மண்புழு வராது’ என்று சொல்லியிருக்கிறார். அந்தப் பதில்தான் மண்புழு வளர்ப்பை நோக்கி விஜயலட்சுமியைத் திருப்பியது. மண்புழு வளர்ப்பு தொடர்பாக பெங்களூர் விவசாயக் கல்லூரியில் பணியாற்றிய முனைவர் ராதா அவருக்குத் தேவையான ஆலோசனைகளை வழங்கியுள்ளார். இயற்கையான எல்லாக் கழிவுகளிலும் மண்புழுவை வளர்க்கலாம் என முனைவர் ராதா தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
“இந்திய மண்புழு, ஆப்பிரிக்க மண்புழு, சீன மண்புழு ஆகிய மூன்று வகைகளை நான் வளர்த்திருக்கிறேன். சீன மண்புழுவையும், ஆப்பிரிக்க மண்புழுவையும் வளர்க்க மண்ணே தேவையில்லை, வெறும் இலையிலும் கழிவுகளிலுமே அவை வளரும்” என்கிறார் பேராசிரியர் விஜயலட்சுமி. மேலும், “சீன மண்புழு ஒன்றரை அங்குலம் நீளமே இருக்கும். எனவே அதிக இடம்கூடத் தேவையில்லை. இலை, தழைகளை மட்டுமே அவை சாப்பிடும். தினசரி சாணிப்பால் மட்டும் தெளிக்க வேண்டும். நாற்பத்தி ஐந்து நாட்களில் உரம் தயாராகிவிடும்” என்கிறார் அவர்.
இப்போதும் குற்றாலம் அருகே இருக்கும் தனது வீட்டின் அருகே செயல் விளக்கம் செய்து காட்டுவதற்காக மண்புழு உரக் கூடம் ஒன்றை நடத்திவருகிறார். இவரது செயல் விளக்கப் பயிற்சியின் மூலம் சிறு சிறு தொழிற்சாலைகளில் தங்களுக்குக் கிடைக்கும் கழிவுப் பொருளிலிருந்து மண்புழு உரம் தயாரிக்கத் தொடங்கியிருக்கிறார்கள். கல்லூரி மாணவிகளுக்கு மண்புழு வளர்ப்பு தொடர்பான ஆலோசனைகளையும் அறிவுரைகளையும் வழங்கிவருகிறார்.
“மண்புழு உரம், மற்ற உரங்களைவிட சிறப்பானது. தீங்கிழைக்கக்கூடிய பாக்டீரியாக்கள் மண்புழு உரத்தை நெருங்காது. ஒரு ஏக்கருக்கு இரண்டு டன் மண்புழு உரம் போதுமானது. இதனுடன் மேல் உரம், அடி உரம் போட்டால் போதும்” என்று சொல்லும் விஜயலட்சுமி, மண்புழு உரத் தயாரிப்பை லாப நோக்கில் செயல்படுத்தக் கூடாது என்பதையும் வலியுறுத்துகிறார்.
Take off with Natarajan 