21 Oct 2010
· comment
The mantra “world’s-second fastest-growing-economy” is often thrown at every problem this country faces as if it were a solution. It reminds me of the ‘mere pas ma hai’ dialogue from ‘Deewar’. I must admit that if you are wealthy and live in an upmarket area of a metropolis, it is easy to miss the big picture. We are swamped by air-conditioned malls, multiplexes, BMWs, fancy toll-roads, huge corporate hospitals, swanky airports; clearly we must be making rapid progress, right? Well, data shows that is not the case. On an individual level some wealthy people like you and me are much better off than we were a couple of years ago, but that cannot be said of the other one billion citizens of India. Data from official Government of India publications, World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports underlines this bitter truth.
Continue reading →![Packing suggestion for multi-day self-supported cycling trip [1.0]](/images/DSCN0124-m_hu_4668ec29646b2083.jpg)
11 Oct 2010
· cycling
After I came back from my recent self-supported Manali to Leh cycling trip many people wanted to know what I carried on the trip. So here is a list based on what we carried. There were two of us, and we figured that some of the items could easily be shared, so we did not carry two of every thing (I think there are some exceptions to this, but I guess that advice could be another post). The list has four main sections:
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10 Oct 2010
· cycling
Ride report form September 2010 Ride dates: September 4th to 14th, 2010
Two riders: Sanjay Jaiman and Ajay Jaiman
After years of thinking about it and weeks of planning we finally did it. Close to 600 kms of cycling from Manali to Leh (because Tanglang La was closed and we had to take a detour at Debring and go via Tso Kar and Mahe bridge).
We rode with all our gear including clothes, sleeping bags, tent, stove, utensils, food, water, cycle spares on our cycles – an estimated weight of about 25 kgs (not counting the weight of the bikes, pannier racks, and bags.
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10 Jul 2010
· adventures
In June I traveled almost the entire length of the Spiti valley in the ‘European backpacker’ style. Using local buses (non-a/c with non-reclining seats), hitching rides, and hiking– from village to village and from monastery to monastery; eating in ‘dhabas’, staying in village homes, monasteries; making new friends (some of whom were perpetual travelers – they do not have a stable snail mail address)…
It is an absolutely incredible way to see the countryside. The slow pace of waiting for buses and hitches, or walking the mountains gives you all the time you want to experience the landscape in a whole different way – I should know because I have been through this valley multiple times before, but I saw it differently this time. And if you like landscape photography then the slow pace allows you to see the landscape again and again in changing lights too…
Continue reading →29 Jun 2010
· comment
affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more…
An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by the relentless desire for more material success and economic growth.
PBS has a diagnostic quiz. Take the Quizto find out if you suffer from this condition.
Continue reading →24 Jun 2010
· comment
The International League of Conservation Photographers, a fellowship of the top professional conservation photographers working today, was recruited to nominate nature photographs that the member photographers considered to be ’the best,’ in whatever way they chose to define it, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day
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15 Jun 2010
· travel
Ziro is a quaint name for an unknown town hidden in the undergrowth of the deep jungles of Arunachal Pradesh – a state that is itself tucked away in the north-east of the country and is clearly not on the tourist map. Just the kind of place I long for
A rather upright hill in the middle of an expansive, flat valley that jostles with lush green farms and endless bamboo groves, houses this little guest house. It just sits there whitewashed plastered bamboo walls and rusted tin roof, under a glorious blue sky and stinks to high heaven. A pity? Or perhaps a minor inconvenience for keeping the geography inaccessible to people who don’t yet know how to drive without high-beam or use a camera without flash.
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19 May 2010
· photo-features
Some years ago I had an opportunity to work with underprivileged kids across of India. One project that I really enjoyed was working with them to create a photo-documentary of their world.
Most of these kids had never seen a camera before, let alone handle one. However, they were off to a flying start within minutes of being handed over a digital camera.
You can see the photo-documentary produced by kids in rural Karnataka, however the kids in remote Ladakh or Arunachal Pradesh had equally fascinating stories to tell.
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17 May 2010
· cycling
I like the idea of self-supported cycle travel. It gives you a feeling of freedom, almost liberation from the constraints of ’tourism’. Or at least that is what I thought. To put it to test, the first order of business was to acquire pannier bags (the bags that hang on the sides of the cycle). And then a pannier rack, on which the bags are attached. Once I had mounted the bags and done a couple of short local test rides, I felt I was ready for a real test ride in the mountains.
Continue reading →06 Feb 2010
· community-radio
On Thursday, February 25, 2010, Gurgaon’s only community radio station celebrates three months of round-the-clock broadcasting to a community that has remained voiceless throughout the transformation of Gurgaon from a sleepy cluster of villages 20 years ago to a much vaunted “Millennium City”. The only civil society-led community radio station in the entire National Capital Region, Gurgaon Ki Awaaz is a platform for and by marginalized community groups in Gurgaon, especially communities living in villages in and around Gurgaon, migrant workers and inner city residents for whom the gloss and glamour of malls and glass-fronted office buildings is simply a testament of the uneven development that has taken place in this town. Broadcasting in Hindi and Haryanvi, the radio station is run by a team of community reporters, the bulk of whom are from these very target communities within Gurgaon. The station has been set up and is supported by The Restoring Force (TRF), an NGO that works in government schools in Gurgaon district, primarily in the area of infrastructure enhancement (such as toilets for boys and girls, and drinking water supply in school) as well as career counseling for high school children. TRF is also actively engaged in projects that light up villages using solar lanterns.
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