June Full Moon 2012

Although there will be a lunar eclipse on the night of the June Full Moon, visible from places on earth, it will not be visible to us here in South India. 

Folklore regarding the moon, says that its It's Lucky to . . . 

• It is lucky to see the first sliver of a new Moon "clear of the brush," or unencumbered by foliage. 

• It is lucky to own a rabbit's foot, especially if the rabbit was killed in a cemetery by a cross-eyed person at the dark of the Moon. 

• It is lucky to hold a moonstone in your mouth at the full Moon; it will reveal the future. 

• It is lucky to have a full Moon on the "Moon day" (Monday). 

• It is lucky to expose your newborn to the waxing Moon. It will give the baby strength. 

• It is lucky to move into a new house during the new Moon; prosperity will increase as the Moon waxes. 

In some parts of the world, depending on harvests, the June full moon is known as the Strawberry Moon, the Flower Moon, Rose Moon Honey Moon, Hot Moon, and Planting Moon. 

Deepam Lighting Arunachala 2007

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OSAC

This is a useful website to bookmark for all international travellers. The OSAC (Council) is comprised of 30 private sector and 4 public sector member organizations that represent a broad range of economic sectors and agencies operating abroad. Although the organisation is a Federal Advisory Committee with a U.S. Government Charter its very helpful in providing constantly updated global security reports. You can access their website at:

http://www.osac.gov/

If you check out:

https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=62882
you will get a crime and safety report for Chennai.

Part of the report reads:

"Crime in Chennai's Consular district is moderate for a region that includes four states, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerela and Andhra Pradesh. While street crimes are frequent, they generally do not affect expatriates. Most reports of petty crimes are carried out by household staff that include theft and minor scams.

Road safety and road conditions continue to deteriorate in Chennai. Despite improvements in intercity highways and some effort to reduce city congestion, infrastructure has failed to keep pace with growth.

Foreigners are more likely to be hit by a car or motorcycle than being a victim of violent crime. Chennai police estimate that 6,000 motorbikes are registered each day, and that number continues to rise. The infrastructure cannot support this increase. Emergency medical response is also lacking in Chennai, which further exacerbates the problem."

Although this survey specifically relates to Chennai, it also directly applies to Tiruvannamalai, especially the comment regarding the infrastructure not being able to support the huge increase in motorbikes.

Until a few years ago most people got about Tiruvannamalai by bicycle, however the introduction of new financing regulations, has led to a huge increase in both automobiles and two wheelers. Even though Tiruvannamalai is a very small town, you really have to pay attention whilst navigating its roads; and that means paying attention for pedestrians too!

GM causes 'breakdown'

Previously mentioned in an earlier posting are the isolated attempts of groups of farmers to reintroduce and strengthen traditional farming in Tiruvannamalai District.

Sadly throughout the South, there is evidence of farmers rushing to act as 'testers' for GM companies. In this respect in today's Independent (U.K.), the following article appeared relating specifically to Andhra Pradesh but which doubtedlessly applies to agricultural areas elsewhere in South India.

Genetically modified crops have helped cause a "complete breakdown" in farming systems in India, an authoritative new study suggests. The study threatens to deal a fatal blow to probably the most powerful argument left in the biotech industry's armoury, that it can help to bring prosperity to the Third World.

Professor Glenn Davis Stone, professor of anthropology and environmental studies at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, has spent more than 40 weeks on the ground in the biotech industry's prime Developing World showcase, the Warangal District of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

The industry claims that local farmers have adopted GM cotton faster than any other agriculture technology in history. It argued at the prestigious Biovision conference in Lyon this month that the rapid spread proves that the technology is working for farmers.

Professor Stone's study, published in the February issue of the journal Current Anthropology, demolishes this argument. Extensive interviews with the farmers proved that they are plumping for the GM seeds because they are new, hyped and locally fashionable, without having time to see if they produce better crops.

"There is a rapidity of change that farmers just can't keep up with," he says. "They aren't able to digest new technologies as they come along."

He adds that the rapid uptake "reflects the complete breakdown in the cotton cultivation system".

[The Independent
25 March 2007]