Lutheran Compound

Yesterday I visited 'Quo Vadis' an Inter Faith Dialogue Centre, which is being built by the Lutheran church in Tiruvannamalai, near Chengam Road and close to both Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sri Seshadri Swamigal Ashrams. The 'Quo Vadis' facility which was dedicated on January 25th, 2007 has already started its work. To find out more about the new Inter Faith Centre, I met with its co-ordinator Rev. Joshua Peter, who suggested we visit the Lutheran compound and administration centre in town so we could tape our conversation and also look at more of the work that the Lutheran Church is engaged in at Tiruvannamalai. It was a brilliant idea and I had an excellent and fascinating afternoon.

Currently visiting the Lutheran Compound was the Rt. Rev. Dr. Gideon Devanesan R.J. Who is Bishop of the the Arcot Lutheran Church. We were fortunate to meet and spend time with him, because he is most often resident at the Lutheran headquarters in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu.

We had an interesting and illuminating conversation with the Bishop and I particularly resonated and agreed with a comment he made to the affect: It used to be when you met someone in Tiruvannamalai, they were here because they were interested in spiritual pursuits or to perform service thereby bettering others' lives. People came because they deeply cared. But now one meets many 'business people' who have no interest in anything other than profit, who come to Tiruvannamalai simply because of the financial opportunities it offers.

The below is a photograph of Rev. Joshua Peter, the co-ordinator of 'Quo Vadis' of which I will write about in later postings.

Below is a photograph of the visitors' cottage at the Lutheran Compound that Rt. Rev. Dr. Gideon Devanesan R.J., stays at when he visits Tiruvannamalai. I liked all the houses on the 10 acre compound, as they were built in traditional Tamil style with lots of old fashioned flourishes. The tiled roof on the visitors cottage is repeated on many of the buildings throughout the Compound.

This is the visitors' cottage and other compound housing from another aspect. So many beautiful tiled roofs and nice greenery!

The Lutheran Compound is a 10 acre oasis right in the middle of Tiruvannamalai. The Compound is known by the Biblical name of 'Lebanon'. Of the 10 acres, 3 are used for; housing 40 dalit families who live at 'Lebanon', a teachers' training facility, an accommodation block for teachers undergoing training, a handloom industry, a beautiful old-fashioned colonial style house, and also a 7 acre agricultural farm.

Below is the home of one of the Dalit families. Most of the families are Christian, however other faith based people can apply to live at 'Lebanon'; Lutheran Compound. In most cases the local pastor of surrounding villages recommend families in dire distress and try to arrange permanent help for what is usually deserted, widowed or abused wives with young children.

Accommodation for the families at 'Lebanon' is completely free, as is a fresh and continuous water supply and electricity. The women work either in the handloom section or as agriculturalists on the farm. They get paid a monthly salary for their work. I met and talked with most of the ladies in the handloom, and all seemed to have been there for 20 years plus. They were obviously pleased and grateful to have been given such a gracious and loving home. I took some great photographs of the ladies working on the looms, and look forward to posting them later on this Blog.

Below, is the back gate inside the compound which leads to 7 acres of fields that are used to grown maize, paddy (rice), and vegetables. Next time I visit 'Lebanon', the Lutheran Compound I will find out more about agricultural details and activities. As it was there was hardly enough time to hear details from Rev. Joshua Peter of the new facility, 'Quo Vadis' and something of the history of the Lutheran Church in the Arcot District, Tamil Nadu.

As you can imagine, the 10 acre compound which is situated in a busy part of town is surrounded by large buildings. The buildings in the below photograph, are nothing to do with the Lutheran Compound, and are just clustered around the outskirts of the 10 acre compound.

The below colonial style house is just beautiful. I was surprised that the Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Gideon Devanesan R.J. doesn't in stay at the lovely house during his regular Tiruvannamalai visits. Instead he prefers to stay in the small, unostentatious, guesthouse mentioned early in this posting.

The below photograph is another view of the grand old house. Quite lovely and also filled with some very nice antique furniture; impossible to purchase nowadays as much of the wood previously used in furniture in this country, is now 'off limits'.

This is the prayer hall which located inside the colonial style house. Much of the administration offices are also located in the building.

The Lutheran Church has many schools and hospital facilities throughout the State of Tamil Nadu. Below is a photograph of the inhouse teachers training college located inside the compound.

The pink buildings below are residential facilities for teachers being trained to work in one of the numerous schools maintained by the Lutheran Church in Tamil Nadu.

The demographics of Tiruvannamalai is approximately 70% Hindu and 30% comprised of Moselm and Christians. Definitely hope in upcoming postings to give alot of information about the great work being undertaken by members of all faiths and nationalities.

Mars Chocolate

My friend in the U.S. just emailed me here in India that the BBC website in the U.K. has an article about the amazing turnaround of the chocolate company Mars (whose products are sold in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu and throughout India) about their decision NOT to replace vegetable products with animal products (rennet) in the manufacture of their famous and delicious chocolate bars. Vegetarians and Hindus inundated the Mars Company with their complaints, demanding that animal products NOT be introduced in their chocolate bar manufacture. Surprised by the size of the protests (and I imagine fearful for their profits), Mars quickly had a change of heart. To read the full article, visit this story.

Universal Form

At that time Arjuna could see in the universal form of the Lord the unlimited expansions of the universe situated in one place although divided into many, many thousands.

Chapter 11, Verse 13

Bhagavad Gita

Shanmurgan

Now this is a very familiar face sitting on the side of Chengam Road, near the entrance of Sri Ramana Ashram. His name is Shanmurgan and he carves statues of Arunachala, Gods and Saints for sale to pilgrims and visitors. He is 52 years old and has been carving for the last 40 years. He is local to Tiruvannamalai, and was born near the Big Temple in town. Years back he set up a stall near Skandashram but slowly competitors moved in, sales went down and so did Shanmurgan who decided to move back to Ramana Nagar. Shanmurgan comes from a family of sculptors and his Father used to carve and then sell his statues near the Big Temple in town.

When I took this photograph of Shanmurgan I didn't notice the plastic bags in the background. We are becoming so inured to seeing trashy plastic lying all over the place, that sometimes one doesn't even notice anymore. Shame! AEED, a comparatively new organisation in Tiruvannamalai is currently doing alot of work in the fields of noise and plastic pollution. You can view them at this link.

Shanmurgan is concentrating on a statue of the God Nataraja and in the below photograph he is lining up the base with the God form.

Below is Shanmurgan's stall and portable showroom. At one corner of the stall is his own private puja area with a nice assortment of various Gods and Saints. Undoubtedly Shanmurgan performs a puja at his altar each morning before starting his day of carving.

He told me that many of the stones they use for the statues come from a place near Sathanur Dam, some 25 kms distance. He also mentioned that this is the third day of his working on the Nataraja statue and he doesn't expect to finish it for another couple of days.

The below represent some of his finished statues and artifacts. Some of the stones come from some distance away. In the case or the red marble Hanuman (on the left), the stone comes from near Gujarat in North India.

The young lad's name is Shiva, Shanmurgan's 16 year old son and apprentice who is currently learning sculpting from his father as his father learnt it from his own father, so many years previously.

So, I left town, on my daily walking exercise and took a photograph of a choultry (rest area for pilgrims) currently being built by the local Municipality. The view is certainly spectacular!





The resthouse (choultry) in more closeup. Its in a perfect position with Arunachala to its right and the outer pradakshina road to its left. the great open space in front of it is part of the temporary bus and coach carpark which is packed during the time of Full Moon.

Off I go home. Maybe I will stop at the nearby Animal Shelter to talk to our wonderful vets from Holland, Kim and Rogier, who sadly will be leaving for their native place in a few weeks. But happily for the very deserving animals of Tiruvannamalai, a lady vet (also from Holland) will be coming from Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh) to take over at the shelter.

Gemini Festival

The Festival of Goodwill occurs during the Gemini Full Moon and celebrates the spirit of humanity and is dedicated to right human relations aligned with the will of God. This is a Festival of deep invocation, of an aspiration towards fellowship, of humanity and spiritual unity.

The Festival is the third great lunar festival of the year, following the Easter Festival (Aries Moon) and the Wesak Festival (Taurus Moon) and coincides with the upcoming full moon of May 31.

The Festival of Goodwill will be the third and final one of the three major festivals in the spiritual year and it is called the Festival of Goodwill, or the Festival of Humanity. Whereas the first two of these festivals are concerned with the dispensations being given out to humanity from God's messengers, this one is a uniquely human festival.

It relates us to the Divine in all of us in a way that the other full moon festivals do not. As such, the focus of this full moon is upon brotherhood, fellowship and our collective aspiration to God. It is a kind of dispersing festival, because it shows the effect in human consciousness of the work of Divine Will and Love as given out in the previous two festivals, and it gives some indications as to what we can expect in the fabric of human civilization for the coming year as a result.

Holistic Centre

Today I visited at a Holistic Retreat Centre currently being built southwest of Arunachala near the existing Arunai Anantha Hotel. The administration building is finished and work is currently underway on the guest accommodation block.

You can see from the below photograph the beautiful view and darshan of Arunachala. The young banana trees at the left of the administration building are currently occupying the spot where a meeting hall and treatment centre will be built amongst a garden setting.

Below is a photograph of Ashok Kumar and his wife Malathi, the founders of the Holistic Retreat Centre. They have relocated from Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, where the family's, Ranganthan Trust run a large English medium matriculation school. Ashok Kumar's recent history and experience is in the development of a herbal cosmetics line, which is marketed in Malaysia, Australia and Sri Lanka. Simultaneously to further developing his herbal cosmetics and health care products, Ashok Kumar will also concentrate on the establishment of the Holistic Retreat Centre here at Tiruvannamalai.

As well as operating as a venue for residental retreats and seminars, the Centre will also host training programmes of the Yoga Master, Arun Kumar, of the Infinite Dimension Charitable Trust. The programmes will include teachers training courses, yoga therapist courses and also yoga vacations for visiting guests.

The next photograph shows construction progress on the accommodation block which will house a total of 16 rooms, all with full a/c, double bedrooms with ensuite western style bathroom and small kitchenette with fridge. Construction of the accommodation block is expected to be completed in approximately two months. A bamboo roof, with lights and fans, will be set up on the roof of the accommodation block. The bamboo structure will face Arunachala and supply a venue for satsangs, meetings, talks and yoga.

There are also later plans for the Centre to construct its own restaurant on land adjacent to the accommodation area. The restaurant will primarily serve Tamil South Indian food.

This Holistic Retreat Centre facility will be in operation this season. We will make regular posting on news and development of the Centre. If you have any particular questions regarding specifics of your own stay or questions about using the facility as a venue for your own Retreat, you can get in touch with this Blog using the email function on the left hand column.

Perception

A human being is a part of the whole called by by us "Universe", a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty.

St. Theresa's Prayer

Saint Theresa is known as the Saint of The Little WAYS. She is the patron Saint of flower growers and florists and represented by roses.

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly
where you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities
that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and
pass on the love that has been given to you
May you be content knowing you are a child of God
Let this presence settle into your bones, and
allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise

and Love.

It is here for each and every one of us.

Bird Sanctuary

Happily great emphasis is nowadays being placed on the reforestation of Arunachala, however attention also needs to be focused on the great swathes of agricultural land surrounding the sacred Hill. As Arunachala was denuded of its natural vegetation, so too surrounding land was stripped of natural plant life in order to support intensive farming with crop cultivation of up to four times a year. Some of these farms have already been sold to property developers for densely packed housing estates, and undoubtedly this trend will escalate over the coming years.

In this respect there is a need to create and maintain sanctuaries around Arunachala providing safe haven for migratory birdlife and other wildlife, thereby adding to the rich diversity of life around the sacred Hill. During the rainy season, several natural reservoirs around Arunachala fill with water and attract a profusion of different types of migratory birds. Including; Cormorants, Egrets, Herons, Ibises, Spoonbills, Grebes, Pintails, Stilts, Teals, White Storks and Painted Storks. Further to this matter at a recent meeting of the Tiruvannamalai Development Board, presided over by the Honourable Justice Venkattasami, and District Collector Sathyabratha Sahoo, ideas were put forward in connection with creating a bird sanctuary at Samudram Erie.

In conjunction with other animal welfare programmes, Arunachala Grace Network is working to raise funding to purchase pristine agricultural land adjacent to Samudram Lake, and return it to its natural state providing sanctuary for migratory water birds in the rainy season, and in the rest of the year offer protected glades and nesting areas for such local birds as; Koels, Mynas, Barbets, Green Parrots and also other wildlife.

By the end of the year's rainy season, the 550 acre Samudram is completely submerged under water and has effectively been transformed into a lake. But over the months and coinciding with the beginning of summer, the water table dramatically recedes, until most of the Samudram area converts into nice, peaceful, undeveloped wasteland. It is during this period that goat and cow herders daily bring their flocks to graze on the rich shrubland.

It seems that groups dedicated to protecting migratory birds are also being set up in other places around Tamil Nadu. And one such group is working to restore Pallikaranai Marshland at Chennai. In this respect, it was announced yesterday that 3 male poachers are being held for killing birds in Pallikaranai Marshland

The men, belonging to the 'narikurava' (gypsy) community, apparently shot down the birds for a celebration in their community. A total of 57 birds, some of them rare and protected species, were allegedly shot before officials were able to apprehend the poachers who have now been remanded in custody.

In a recent posting I mentioned that a local Tiruvannamalai woman faced down a group of similar tribal hunters and confiscated their stash. The birds were later identified to be Siberian Cranes; a rare bird that had made a long and perilous journey from Siberia to spend warmer days here at Tiruvannamalai.

In previous times authorities would have ignored tribal and village poachers thereby allowing the hunting to continue. The important thing now, is that a start has been made and an increasingly larger number of people are focusing on the fact that its time to ‘PROTECT WILDLIFE’.

We have now introduced a PayPal facility on this Blog for the support of Arunachala Grace Network and its dedication to many aspects of animal welfare. In this respect we welcome help and support from friends of Arunachala and from friends of Nature so that together we may provide a safe haven for migratory birds and other wildlife and also address on every level the subject of animal welfare. For more information and details on how to help please use the email facility at the left hand side column of this Blog.

Archaka Centres

Six 'Archaka' training centres were recently inaugurated in Tamil Nadu, which would offer a one-year certificate course in 'Agama Sastras'.

The centres were set up at Sri Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane, and Sri Ranganathar Temple, Srirangam, for giving training in Vaishnavite (Vishnu) customs. For training in Saivite (Shiva) customs, the centres have been established at Sri Arunachaleswarar Temple, Tiruvannamalai, Sri Meenakshi Temple, Madurai, Sri Subramania Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur and Sri Dandayuthapani Temple, Palani.

Apart from a monthly stipend, students are to be given free board and lodging. Those who complete the course will then be eligible to perform regular pujas in Temples. As well as opening six more centres, it is also planned to start three-year degree courses in the 'Agama Sastras*', thereby making students eligible to perform Temple Kumbhabishekam.

40 students are to be given training at each centre with selected students coming from various communities.


* Agama - The Scriptures

A sacred text used as source of spiritual ritual. The Agamas are an enormous collection of Sanskrit scriptures which, along with the Vedas, are revered as revealed scripture. The Agamas (i.e. "that which came down") are part of an oral tradition believed to be 7,000-8,000 years old.

The Agamas are the primary source and authority for ritual, yoga and temple construction. In the South Indian Saivite tradition, there are 28 Saiva Agamas.

Arunachala Power

Even though the same consciousness pervades the Universe, in Sri Arunachala Ashtakam [by Sri Ramana Maharshi Bhagavan] explains the Power of Arunachala and how the Hill acts upon the 'individual'.

"Thou art Thyself the One Being, ever aware as the self-luminous Heart! In Thee there is a mysterious Power (Sakti). From it proceeds, the phantom of the mind emitting its latent subtle dark mists, which, illumined by Thy Light (of Consciousness) reflected on them, appear within as though whirling in the vortices of prarabdha, later developing into the psychic worlds and are projected without as the material world and transformed into concrete objects which are magnified by the outgoing senses and move about like pictures in a cinema show. Visible or invisible, O Hill of Grace, without Thee they are nothing!"

Sri Arunachala Ashtakam (Verse 6)
[Ramana Maharshi]

"Though it is the only One, yet by its wonderful power it gets reflected on the tiny dot 'I' (the ego) otherwise known as ignorance or the aggregate of latent tendencies; this reflected light is relative knowledge. This, according to one's past karma now fructifying (prarabdha), manifests the inner latent tendencies as the outer gross world and withdraws the gross external world as the subtle internal tendencies; such power is called mind in the subtle plane and brain in the physical plane.

This mind or brain acts as the magnifier to that Eternal One Being and shows It forth as the expanded universe. In the waking and dream states the mind is outward bent and in sleep it is inward bent; with the mind as the medium, the one Supreme Being seems diversified in the waking and dream states and remains withdrawn in the sleep state. Therefore you are only That and cannot be otherwise. Whatever the changes, the same one Being remains as yourself; there is nothing besides yourself."

[#323; Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi]

Our Real Size

This video is a heady and at the same time a humbling experience, because it shows how very 'small' we are, but also sublimely inspirational to realise that we are no different to that which pervades the Universe. All is I.

If you cannot see the video, please enable 'cookies' on your browser at tools>internet options:

I AM THAT I AM
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

Surrender

Surrender to the Source.

Surrender to Awareness,

This is the only place of protection.

Surrender your heart and you will know all.

Surrender to Consciousness and Bliss.

Surrender means to surrender your bondage
and simply Be Freedom.
Surrender is the ego bowing down to its Source.
No more demands or commands,
but just putting all in the hands of the Source.
Surrender is to submit your stupidness, your wickedness,
To the will of Existence, to Consciousness and Bliss
And being happy.

Surrender.
Let Silence have You.

[By Sri HWL Poonja]

Mortgaged Property

Chairperson of the Debts Appellate Tribunal recently said (at a Chennai meeting), that Banks should be required to take steps to register mortgaged properties. At present equitable mortgage is not reflected in encumbrance certificates issued by registration offices. Thus, people buying mortgaged properties come to know of an encumbrance only when the property is put up for sale.

If such a regulation was put into effect, it would go some way in ensuring potential property purchasers (throughout Tamil Nadu, and in particular Tiruvannamalai District) would know right at the beginning of negotiations the extent of all existing mortgage encumbrances on the property they wished to purchase.

Mountain of Medicine

I previously made a posting about the Mountain of Medicine, a reforestation programme at Arunachala which is located on the South Side of the Hill and near to Sri Ramana Maharshi Ashram. Anyhow, I revisited this reforestation programme a few weeks ago to see their progress, and was delighted to see great improvements.

To find out more about the name Mountain of Medicine, and Sri Ramana Maharshi's explanation of the herbal properties of Arunachala, please refer to this posting.

The Mountain of Medicine has a nice quiet, contemplative, seating area with this pretty water feature.

Below another water feature in the quiet section of the Mountain of Medicine.

A local artist is currently painting granite slabs, which will be placed at the sides of various walkways at the Mountain of Medicine. Most of the paintings are depictions of local water birds and indigenous animals.

The below looks like a kingfisher and at the back of the granite slab, you can identify packets of seedlings that will later be transferred to various spots on Arunachala Hill.

The below is a favourite of mine and depicts the very commonly found Bonnet Macaque monkey; one sees these mischievous monkeys on the Hill, off the pradakshina road and also in town. The Bonnet Macaque is highly intelligent and very adaptive, and can quickly acclimate to new situations. If you want to find out more about this adorable, roguish monkey check out: Bonnet Macaque and monkey games.





The below shows part of the Children's Park at the Mountain of Medicine, which was recently opened and which is quickly proving a BIG success with local kids.

Another shot of the Children's Park at the Mountain of Medicine.

Rows of seedlings and plants, some of which will be later transferred and planted on the Hill, the rest of the seedlings will be sold to visitors, for their own gardens or driveways.

One very interesting feature of the Mountain of Medicine is that the organisation has built a rocky lane starting from their compound, which leads directly to the inner pradakshina path around the Hill. Most pilgrims prefer performing circumbulation of Arunachala by going around the outer pathway because they enjoy visiting outlying Temples and the Asta Lingams, however the inner path is particularly peaceful and favoured by those that want to perform silent and undisturbed girivalam.

A view of Arunachala and the local countryside from a vantage point at the Mountain of Medicine.

The below is the view of Arunachala from the gateway leading to the Mountain of Medicine. In a few years the planted trees will have grown and the pathway will be a veritable leafy avenue of trees.





You may like to refer to an earlier posting on this Blog written by Govinda Bowley, the founder of the Mountain of Medicine, in which he talks about the current greening situation of Arunachala.

Bird Sanctuary

Over the last few years there has definitely been a shift in consciousness in the area regarding our animal brethren. Many good people have taken up the mantle of promoting animal welfare and are participating in improving the quality of animals' lives in Tiruvannamalai. An example of this is the great courage shown by the young woman, of the previous posting, when facing down a group of very angry hunters. Also such people as Lesley from the U.S. have greatly benefited the quality of life of cats and dogs of the area, by their excellent work in setting up the newly opened, very successful Animal Shelter and aligning it to the Karuna Society of Puttaparthi.

Arunachala Grace Network is also very active with its work dedicated to animal welfare. And in this respect we have been engaged over the last few years in both feeding numerous homeless dogs in the Lake area and also in ensuring all plastic, trash and other animal hazards around the Lake is regularly picked up. Its been our dream for many years to participate in the development of a Bird Sanctuary around the Lake and now that the Municipality is beginning to express an interest in this venture, we hope that only sincere animal lovers will be selected to undertake work on behalf of the Municipality.

So, I have talked alot about Samudram Lake, and here is a spectacular view of the lake from the embankment with its magnificent view of Arunachala.

These photographs are also taken from the Lake embankment and show the proximity of Arunachala and gives one an idea of what a blessing it would be to maintain and ensure a pristine area dedicated to the joyful simplicity of the welfare of birds, both migratory and local.

Lots more news on all aspects of animal welfare to come.

No Fishing!

The below is a photograph of something I never hope to see by the side of Samudram Lake after this year. It is a hut for fishing folk that are trawling the gradually receding Lake for fish. Currently there are three such huts around the Lake. Last year the Municipality issued fishing permits giving rights to fishermen to stock and thereafter fish the lake. Sadly what was a lucrative business for them, was chaos and madness for the many visiting birds. Because the lake had many fish and freshwater shrimps and crabs, many hitherto unseen birds were attracted to visit and stay at Samudram Lake.

As is usually the case in man versus animal in food competition; man won and many birds were hunted, killed and frightened to prevent them eating the fish stock of Samudram Lake. This year the Lake was not stocked as before, but there is still a residual harvest left over from the previous year, hence several fishing huts have appeared around Samudram Lake.

While I was visiting at the Animal Shelter this afternoon, a young lady brought in a bag filled of 'dead' endangered migratory waterbirds that she had taken from some hunters who where loitering near her home. Wishing to bring the extent of the hunting of endangered birds to the notice of officials, she brought the bag filled with the 'dead' birds to the Animal Shelter for their advice and support. It was very brave of her to face down several hunters in order to confiscate the evidence of the dead birds. Hopefully the protection of birds and wildlife in this area can now start on an 'official level'.

What was particularly distressing to learn is that it is the fisherman and local agriculturalists who are calling in hunters in order to destroy the competition to the food chain.

Samudram Lake is about 550 acres and gets fully flooded and filled during the rainy season. For about 3 months the lake is filled to overflowing and then after the rainy season is over, increasingly the hot, sunny days and demands on the Muncipal water table, slowly lower the Lake. Eventually it dries out to just a watery puddle.

The Collector (the person in charge of the Local Municipality and its major decision maker) was recently approached regarding turning Samudram Lake into a protected bird sanctuary. He is currently considering proposals, but seems to be quite interested. Eventually all the farms around the lake will be sold to developers and adjacent lands will get built up with houses and flats; at that time having the Samudram Lake, well maintained and protected for migratory and local water-birds will be like New York with its park right in the middle. [Central Park in New York is 843 acres, and Hyde Park in London 608 acres].

However as Indians are generally not as 'health conscious' as Westerners, Samudram Lake won't need bicycle or jogging tracks around the perimeter! That's a relief!

The below picture is taken last year from high up, when the water of the Lake had receded from the trees skirting the perimeter of Municipal land. As Samudram Lake is a natural water catchment for water during the rainy season, it cannot be developed; or at least not in our life-time, maybe later when land will be HUGELY EXPENSIVE, all of a sudden like Bangalore, things will change and some bright spark will decide to try converting some of the lake land into building tracts!

The below is of a nice sunny day at the lakeside.

Lots and lots more information and posting about Samudram Lake to come. So keep checking back.

Fix that auto!

A few days ago I posted an entry about a brand new state-of-the-art Rs.180,000/- (U.S.$4,500) autorickshaw. Well, the man in the below photograph is working on his old, beaten up and weathered auto and is probably even happier with his lot; at least he didn't have to take out a bank loan to finance the purchase!

So, I was walking home on my way back from my appointment at the dental clinic at Rangammal Hospital and was enchanted by the sight of this friendly mechanic working on his auto with Arunachala in the background and his adoring puppy at his feet.

But will that adoring pooch leave his master alone for long enough for him to do his work? Well pooch didn't give Dad a chance during the time I was chatting. But after all its a long day!

Indian Trends

In the years 1972-73, in India, food items accounted for about 75% and 66% of household expenditure in rural and urban areas respectively. Nowadays household expenditure money (designated for food items) has fallen to 55% and 53% in urban and rural areas. With thebalance of monies being used to pay for manufactured items and services.

[The above is taken from The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) which recently released their report on employment and expenditure in India].

Mercury Platform

The crafting of an affordable platform, named Mercury, to deliver medical services in regions that might be otherwise difficult to reach and service is now being deployed in Tamil Nadu. The platform, which works on an "always-on" connection, harnesses the Internet as the communication backbone to link patients to hospitals and to experts who might even be on another continent.

When the Tamil Nadu Telemedicine Project has been completed, it will link the Government Royapettah Hospital, Chennai with six Government Headquarter Hospitals at Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Krishnagiri, Udhagamandalam (Ooty), and Rameswaram.