Panther

A few days ago a number of cattle were found killed at Nandhiyambadi near Chetpet in the Tiruvannamalai District. The cattle had been missing for sometime and when found in the forest the carcasses of the dead beasts bore the trace of an animal attack.

Forest officials have not put out any official word regarding the mutiliated cattle but villages suspect a panther may be on the prowl in the area.

How sad it is that in the last 50 years we have eradicated so many species of wonderful creatures in this area. Until recently there were leopards, cheetahs, tigers, wild antelopes and even elephants in great numbers throughout what is now Tiruvannamalai District.

Our success in obliterating these wonderful creatures is so excellent that the possibility of a stray panther is news. Sadly for the panther no doubt the villagers will be out on a hunting spree to catch the 'dangerous beast'!

All is One

This is an inspirational story submitted by Susan that shows how each of us are a vital thread in another person's life tapestry. Our lives are woven together for a reason and when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved AS ONE in this journey called life:


A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. 'What food might this contain?' The mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, 'Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.'

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The pig sympathized, but said, 'I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.'

The mouse turned to the cow and said, 'There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!' The cow said, 'Wow, Mr.Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose.'

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap; alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught.

The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbours came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

Invitation

I would like to invite stories, experiences, impressions, poems or narratives from devotees of Arunachala for possible inclusion in either our recently redesigned website:
www.arunachalasamudra.org or in our monthly Newsletter, Arunachala Grace News.

For new visitors, there is a monthly Newsletter; Arunachala Grace News with a free subscription facility on the left hand side margin of this Blog.

Indian Wild Boar

Body Length: 3-6.6 ft
Shoulder Height: 1.8-3.6 ft
Tail Length: 6-16 in
Weight: 91-711 lb.


The Indian wild boar has a brownish coat that is coarse and bristly, usually turning with age. Their wartless head is long and pointed with upper canines forming tusks that curve out and upwards. The lower canines are like razors, self-sharpening by rubbing against the upper canines.

Wild boars rest in tight groups with bodily contact. The resting place is used several times before being abandoned. These are excellent swimmers, and have been seen swimming up to 6-7 kms. The main diet of this animal is seeds, roots, tubers, fruits, nuts, carrion, eggs and insects.

Their Life span is 21 years. Sexual Maturity is gained usually at 18 months. Their mating occurs round the year. An adult male is solitary animal. Just prior to giving birth, the female isolates herself and builds a large nest lined with vegetation. Maternal families have on average 20 members, but can be of a maximum of 100 animals.

Solar fencing

Over the past several years many farmers have made complaints of extensive damage caused by wild boars in the Radhapuram reserve forest area and demanded Government action to protect their lands from the boars. The wild boars are thought to be damaging crops such as groundnut (peanut), sugarcane and root vegetables in the forests around Tiruvannamalai.

In response to demands of fencing or trenches to control the movement of the boars around the village of Keel Vanakkambadi near Tiruvannamalai, the Forest Department has initially erected 2km of solar fencing (that means a solar powered electric fence) at a cost of Rs.320,000/- in the Radhapuram reserve forest area.

A representative from the District Forest Office said that the low voltage power passing through the fence would be a deterrent to wild animals, however he assured the community that the current was not of sufficient voltage to pose a threat to people. It is expected that more solar fences will be added in the area.

As far as the above goes my sympathy is not completely with the farmers. I too experience problems with some of the local farmers because of my four dogs (picture above). The culture of 'no fences' has come about probably because of the expense of erecting separating barriers or walls between fields. In the same way I imagine the farmers of the above have open boundary farms; so my suggestion is take responsibility and if you don't want boars on your farm; build your own fence!

Rapid urbanisation has made local farmers aware of the increased value of their land, so if they are proposing to charge land robber prices when they eventually sell their land as building sites a year down the road, then don't bleat 'this is agricultural land' now and expect a whole lot of sympathy.

One would expect farmers to have a better understanding of ecology and the natural order of things. In this respect the wild boar plays a very vital role in the ecosystem. It prefers areas with thick vegetation and is found in reed beds as well as scrub and forest areas. As we extend the scope of our cultivation we also invade the natural habitat of many species.

Our own actions are forcing wild boars and other creatures to get close to human habitats because their own environment is being appropriated by us. Instead of just putting up an electric fence (albeit solar powered!) perhaps this is the time for local communitites to examine their own place in the ecosystem!

Which future?

Arunachala has been a lodestone since time before mind and this will no doubt continue. A realistic prognosis for the future of Thiruvannamalai is towards a chaotic city with a beautiful mountain in the middle.

The mountain in the middle of the future Thiruvannamalai will be as sacred a natural lingam as it has always been, and provided that the Greening is sustained consistently, the area is sufficient to support a healthy wilderness, particularly if safe corridors are conserved between Arunachala and adjacent wilderness areas. [Apeetha Arunagiri]

This is the other aspect of Arunachala which Apeetha Arunagiri refers to above when she talks of, '. . . the future of Thiruvannamalai is towards a chaotic city with a beautiful mountain in the middle'.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the main stay of the economy of Tamil Nadu. It provides livelihood to 65% of the State's population and is responsible for 62% of employment in Tamil Nadu. The total area under cultivation is 314,623 Hectares (one hectare is 2.471 acres).

The important cultivations of the Tiruvannamalai District are paddy (rice), groundnut (peanut), sugarcane and redgram. Another important feature of the district is that it has a Reserve Forest of 106,653 hectares. Items taken from the forest include Sandalwood, Eucalyptus, Bamboo and Tamarind.

The District livestock total (including Buffaloes, sheep and goats) is about 1.6 million and Tiruvannamalai District is a State leader in milk production.

The photograph above is of my neighbour's farming land which is used in crop rotation: rice, groundnuts (peanuts), root vegetables, sugarcane and sunflowers. The dog in the middle of the field is mine: that's no vegetable!

Telemedicine

The Tamil Nadu hospital system may not have helicopters or in fact even that many ambulances but at least efforts are being made by various NGOs and Hospital Trusts to ensure communities distant from metropolitian areas have more access to speciality care.

In this respect, the Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital is attempting to 'break the time-barrier, the cost-barrier and the distance-barrier' in paediatric healthcare with the recent launch of a telemedicine facility. Their new resource is intended to make speciality care more accessible to rural patients.

Apart from allowing videoconference consultation between village primary healthcare centres and specialists in the City, their programme will also aid the training of personnel in remote areas. It is also hoped that it will be helpful in the case of sick babies unable to tolerate the strain of travelling to Chennai for specialist care.

The scheme will allow long-distance post-operative check-ups for outstation patients. The programme envisages links in Tiruvannamalai, Tirupati, Chittur, Arakonam, Chengalpet and Kumbakonam within the upcoming 3-6 months.

A second phase of this enterprise will involve a mobile centre equipped to provide telemedicine facilities across the State.

Intention

'...a potent transformational power is available at sacred sites. While that power will automatically touch anyone who comes into the locality of the sites, we can actually amplify the transformational power of the sites through our own consciously held intention.' [Martin Gray]

In other words we all experience Arunachala in different ways. Maybe that's the reason some people can live here all their lives and remain ostensibly unchanged, whereas others come for a few weeks and experience great transformation.

And what exactly is this 'intention'?

'In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.' [Carlos Castaneda]

So, if we come to Arunachala with a strong objective, the power of the Hill's transformational power will also be amplified and augmented.

In this respect pradakshina is prescribed as the best way of doing this. As it focuses the mind, helps one develop an intimate connection with the Hill, gives the benefit of breathing the Hill's aromatic and powerful herbs and combines in the actual activity every aspect of the mind-body organism.

Heart of World

In the Dravidian region of South India there is the place called Arunachala dearest to Siva. ARUNACHALA IS TO THIS WORLD WHAT THE HEART IS TO THE WHOLE BODY. It is everything for Shiva. For the benefit of the world, Shiva took the form of a mountain and settled himself as Arunachala. If other places are abodes of Shiva, Arunachala is the absolute form of Shiva himself.

[Extract Arunachala Puranam]

Stone Carver

Here is a picture of a stone carver. As you can see he is very talented; as they all are. Many either have a stall by the side of the road or by the pathway leading to Skandashram.

I don't understand why but sometimes it seems Westerners have a mental block when it comes to these carvers and prefer to purchase the identical item in a shop at three times the price. For myself, it seems what they produce is in no way inferior to similar items in the speciality shops. The carvers will make statues to order and all are beautiful. Fascinating to watch them, day by day, sitting on a bench next to their stall, chipping and hammering away.

Recycling

India is a country of recycling. Nothing goes to waste! Your trash is truly someone's treasure. Generally the first one to go through the garbage is the rag picker who sorts out everything into categories: plastic, bottles and metal items. The next visitor is the wandering cow; which is a common site throughout the streets of Tiruvannamalai. Then the dogs come and jump inside the waste receptacles to have a good dig around. And finally young kids and scally-wags have a final check around to see if anything has been missed! Of course black pigs are always invited to the game to have a good sniff around the waste receptacle which is usually a large circular concrete tub. Root around dear little piggies. And who said recycling is a modern day concept?

Job Scheme

The State of Tamil Nadu has been criticised for the slow utilisation of funds regarding the development of job schemes in six districts; Tiruvannamalai, Cuddalore, Sivaganga, Villupuram, Nagapattinam and Dindigul.

The funds are allotted by the Union Ministry of Rural Development under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Of the Rs.98.89 crore (USD 22 million) released to Tamil Nadu, only 5% has been spent and the State has been asked to improve its performance as Tamil Nadu has the slowest fund utilisation out of all Indian States.

Not much financial support comes to the agricultural areas of Tamil Nadu; so when it does come it would be nice if the Mandarins in charge make sure it goes quickly to where its supposed to go!

Snug

Arunachala might be an extraordinary spiritual catalyst for some but just about everybody one speaks to (at Tiruvannamalai) is aware that there is something special about the place. That there is a quality of peace here that one doesn't feel anywhere else. But as well as that acknowledgement of peace who knows what else is going on deep within the consciousness? Martin Gray believes that,

'... power places exercise, among their various energetic functions, the ability to assist people in the awakening and stimulation of spiritual consciousness. They are places where a 'wake-up call' to deep spiritual and ecological awareness might most clearly be heard.'

The energy is immensely powerful but very subtle and continues permeating on deeper and deeper levels. It is not the electrifying energetic shakti one experiencing when meeting a powerful Saint; its more like falling into a bed of soft cotton wool. It hugs and it holds, but softly, non-invasively, gently. It contains and gathers up and feels like some gigantic spiritual girdle. All held in snugly!

Information

The Tamil Nadu Chief Information Commisioner spoke about the 'Right to Information Act' at a meeting held in Vellore, Tiruvannamalai District this week:

"The Public cannot be denied information about the Government's development programmes."

He continued with saying that the Media should spread awareness about the Information Act to enable members of the community to understand that they have a right of information. The Information Act also requires that all submitted requests to heads of various Government Departments have to be attended to within a stipulated time of 30 days.

Reforestation

Species Selection and Planting Techniques for Arunachala Greening.

I am including an interesting extract from a narrative Govinda Bowley wrote for our Arunachala Grace News, October issue. As the Founder of the Mountain of Medicine and the newly appointed Secretary of the Arunchala Reforestation Society, Govinda is well-informed about the current greening situation on Arunachala.

'The earliest efforts made toward greening Arunachala had included some exotic species, as well as others that while native to India, would not naturally be found in this locality. It is my feeling that even leaving aside the various arguments regarding alien species, the simple point is that the forests of this area are so species rich, so interesting and so beautiful, that there is no impulse to look outside such a treasure trove when reforesting the Holy Mountain. I also believe that from a purely pragmatic viewpoint, the survival rate of local species will on the whole be better, though this is of course not always the case.

There is a common perception regarding the 'forests' of Mount Arunachala: that there are no such thing as 'forests' and the slopes of the Hill are basically barren, rocks with a few thorn bushes here and there, and only wild lemon grass covering what little soil there is. This couldn't be further from the truth. While it is true that there is almost nowhere a closed canopy of old forest, pockets of stunted remnant vegetation survive all over the Hill, and most promisingly, there is also a natural regeneration taking place everywhere. It is by observing closely these remnant pockets and the fresh re-growth that we can best learn what will be the most appropriate species to plant. It is also valuable to visit nearby forests that remain somewhat pristine, in order to garner more information regarding appropriate species. These visits are also very rewarding for the project staff, giving them the experience of being in true forest and a feeling for where we are heading in our work.'

[Govinda Bowley]
Arunachala Grace News, October Issue
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Indian Rules

Rules Of The Road:

Indian Style

I seem to have been mentioning Tiruvannamalai roads a lot with postings on the rotation of tyres on trucks, our new town Traffic Signals, electric scooters and the sad plight of working animals being made to tackle the frightening traffic congestion of downtown.

As small as Tiruvannamalai is, believe me it gets dangerous on the roads. So read these Rules of the Road and realise what may seem satirical is actually quite literal on the roads of South India.If I find out who wrote them I will let you know; but it wasn't me!

Travelling on Indian Roads is an almost hallucinatory potion of sound, spectacle and experience. It is frequently heart-rending, sometimes hilarious, mostly exhilarating, always unforgettable and, when you are on the roads, extremely dangerous.

Most Indian road users observe a version of the Highway Code based on a Sanskrit text. These 12 rules of the Indian road are published for the first time in English AND PLEASE REMEMBER THIS IS A SATIRE NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY!:

ARTICLE I: The assumption of immortality is required of all road users.

ARTICLE II: Indian traffic, like Indian society, is structured on a strict caste system. The following precedence must be accorded at all times. In descending order, give way to:

Cows, elephants, heavy trucks, buses, official cars, camels, light trucks, buffalo, jeeps, ox-carts, private cars, motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws, pigs, pedal rickshaws, goats, bicycles (goods-carrying), handcarts, bicycles (passenger-carrying), dogs, pedestrians.

ARTICLE III: All wheeled vehicles shall be driven in accordance with the maxim: To slow is to falter, to brake is to fail, to stop is defeat. This is the Indian drivers' mantra.

ARTICLE IV: Use of horn (also known as the sonic fender or aural amulet):

Cars (IV, 1, a-c):
Short blasts (urgent) indicate supremacy, i.e. in clearing dogs, rickshaws and pedestrians from path.

Long blasts (desperate) denote supplication, i.e. to oncoming truck: "I am going too fast to stop, so unless you slow down we shall both die". In extreme cases this may be accompanied by flashing of headlights (frantic).

Single blast (casual) means: "I have seen someone out of India's 1 billion whom I recognise". "There is a bird in the road (which at this speed could go through my windscreen)." or "I have not blown my horn for several minutes."

Trucks and buses (IV, 2, a):
All horn signals have the same meaning, viz: "I have an all-up weight of approximately 12.5 tons and have no intention of stopping, even if I could." This signal may be emphasised by the use of headlamps.

ARTICLE IV: Remains subject to the provision of Order of Precedence in Article II above.

ARTICLE V: All manoeuvers, use of horn and evasive action shall be left until the last possible moment.

ARTICLE VI: In the absence of seat belts (which there is), car occupants shall wear garlands of marigolds. These should be kept fastened at all times.

ARTICLE VII: Rights of way: Traffic entering a road from the left has priority. So has traffic from the right, and also traffic in the middle

Lane discipline (VII, 1): All Indian traffic at all times and irrespective of direction of travel shall occupy the centre of the road.

ARTICLE VIII: Roundabouts: India has no roundabouts. Apparent traffic islands in the middle of crossroads have no traffic management function. Any other impression should be ignored.

ARTICLE IX: Overtaking is mandatory. Every moving vehicle is required to overtake every other moving vehicle, irrespective of whether it has just overtaken you. Overtaking should only be undertaken in suitable conditions, such as in the face of oncoming traffic, on blind bends, at junctions and in the middle of villages/city centres. Not more than two inches should be allowed between your vehicle and the one you are passing,and one inch in the case of bicycles or pedestrians.

ARTICLE X: Nirvana may be obtained through the head-on crash.

ARTICLE XI: Reversing: No longer applicable since no vehicle in India uses reverse gear.

Asta Lingams

Moopanar Swami came to Arunachala from Tiruveneli around 1968 and became very well known throughout the Arunachala area. He was a devout, spiritual man who placed great emphasis on spiritual service. When he arrived at Arunachala, things were rather different to the present time and what particularly distressed Moopanar Swami was the dreadful, neglected condition of the Asta Lingams (8 Lingams) that surrounded Arunachala. Moopanar Swami used to spend a lot of time meditating and praying at the big Temple and he eventually came to believe that his mission directly imposed by Arunachaleswarar was to renovate the Asta Lingams.

He was convinced that the restoration of the Lingam Shrines was essential to the revitalisation of specific fields of energy and influence surrounding the Hill. Through a combination of various social reasons, over the last few centuries Temples and Shrines throughout India had fallen into disuse and decay. This certainly occurred at Tiruvannamalai where the situation had become so bad that The Asta Lingams were even taken over by squatters and homesteaders. It is said that Moopanar Swami would even resort to driving the squatters off the Lingam premises with a stick!

The Hill which is octagonal in shape is surrounded by a total of 8 Lingam Temples (Asta Lingams). Each of these Temples are located at the four cardinal and four inter-cardinal points. This was also believed by the ancients who originally constructed the Lingams at their 8 cardinal and inter-cardinal points to represent, characterise and vitalise certain aspects and qualities of life, namely:

East, Indra Lingam, Sun
South East, Agni Lingam, Fire
South, Yama Lingam, Death
South West, Niruthi Lingam, Growth
West, Varuna Lingam, Rain
Northwest, Vayu Lingam, Air
North, Kubera Lingam, Wealth
North East, Easanya Lingam, Peace

Restoration of the actual Asta Lingams is now complete; although development of land attached to the Lingams still continues. Many people believe that the revitalisation of the Lingams is in some way responsible to the sudden revival of interest in Arunachala. It certainly is a fascinating coincidence!

Silk Dyeing

The setting up of a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) in Arni, Tiruvannamalai District has now been completed. The plant, which will treat effluents from dyeing units of Arni Silk Weavers Co-operative Societies, will use reverse osmosis technology. Eventually private dyers will also be able to use the facilities of the CETP.

Arni is famous for its silk-weaving community and the bulk of India's silk apparels are produced in this area. The town is also well known for its rice business and there are around 200 modern rice mills in the town. Arni is in fact the number one in revenue earning in the Tiruvannamalai District.

CETP which adopts a zero percent discharge method is capable of dyeing 200 kgs of yarn every day using 5,000 litres of water. Out of this 2,000 litres will be evaporated with the help of solar panels and the rest reused in the dyeing process.

The construction of CETP will only marginally reduce the amount of effluents that will be let into the irrigation tank. Solid residue of the treatment plant are to be placed in a cement tank constructed above surface level. Once the tank is full (after about 2 years) the collected solid wastes will be buried in a secured landfill.

Here is a sample of a very beautiful Arni silk sari costing Rs.13,400/- (US$ 300). Considering Tamil Nadu per capita income is Rs.16,000/-, the sari price is colossal. But most Indian ladies will own at least one and maybe even two or three high quality silk saris in their lifetime. Talk about getting your priorities right!

The ladies like to dress up in India. If you go to any airport in this country and wait for incoming flights you will notice that the Indian ladies with their beautiful saris, fresh flowers and ubiquitous gold chains and bangles look like a million dollars. Ironically when International passengers disembark it is the visitors with their casual grunge of sneakers, worn in jeans, t-shirts and back packs that look like the needy ones in the equation. Such curious irony!

Wood Apple (2)

Thanks to Divya for sending news of a link with information about the Elephant Apple mentioned in this Blog, September 17. The following information comes from a compilation by Prof KN Rao and includes a good photograph of the fruit:

"Also called elephant apple and monkey fruit, wood apple is vilampazham. It used to go by the botanical name Feronia elephantum but today it has a new botanical name: Limonia acidissima.

After the rains, the trunk and branches give off a gum called 'Feronia gum' which counteracts diarrhoea, dysentery and diabetes.

Now to the question: Why elephant apple? In fact, the older botanical name indicates the elephant connection in that the specific name is 'elephantum'. Undoubtedly, elephants are fond of the fruit. For an animal that wholly survives on plant parts, including the bark of several trees, it is not a surprise that elephants are especially attracted to this fruit.

There is more to it than the mere fondness which the elephants have for this fruit. The rural folk believe that the digestive track of the animal has a peculiar capacity for digesting the inner contents of the fruit without in any manner affecting the fruit's woody rind. So, as the animal defecates, the fruit comes out looking as if it is whole."