Here come the champions!

Pheroze L. Vincent joined British Council's International Climate Champions on a trip through the Nilgiris

Photo album: p2 onwards http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=130322&id=712606572&l=a07110f4dd

Pondy’s best affordable restaurants

On public demand; here's something I had written a year back for our ACJ lab blog A Chance Journey

Puducherry is home to a wonderful array of cuisines ranging from Vietnamese to Tibetan. The perfect weekend getaway trip, be it spiritual or romantic, is incomplete without enjoying the fine food the town has to offer. A Chance Journey lists five great places for the palate, in and around Pondy, that won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

In the fifth place, we have Salem Biriyani on Nidarajapayer Street. Housed in a former customs godown, this place is a must visit for biriyani enthusiasts. What’s unique about this place, apart from the prison cell like chambers where the food is served, is that the biriyani is very different from the popular Hyderabadi or Delhi varieties.

The minimal use of tomato and the small succulent pieces of meat, with their special brinjal curry is the USP of this place. Ponni rice is used instead of Basmati. The taste and the whole theme of the restaurant is rustic, relaxing and proudly Tamil. The Biriyanis ranging from Rs. 50 to 60, are the perfect lunch solution for shoppers who throng the Mahatma Gandhi Road, Nehru Street and Goubert flea markets.

At fourth place we have Lhasa in Auroville. Just along the slope from Auroville bus stop, in Tamil Nadu- 8 km from Pondy, Lhasa is a delightful little thatched restaurant decorated with brilliant Tibetan wall hangings and flags. Run by Tibetan refugees who settled in Auroville in 1959, Lhasa is a popular hangout for college-goers.

The momos are large and the chilly sauce is just perfect. What’s even better is that eight momos cost only Rs. 35. The family that runs the place is very friendly and offers a special soup remedy to customers who look sick. It is impossible to figure out the ingredients of this therapeutic soup and the recipe is a family secret.

Lhasa is the ideal place to stretch your legs after a long day exploring Auroville. The green tea served with jaggery is also very refreshing. What’s unique here is the Tibetan music played, which sounds strangely familiar to old Hindi film tunes.

Coming a close third is Punjabi Dhaba on Sardar Patel Road. Known for its parathas and butter chicken, the Dhaba is run by a Sikh family, out of their apartment. Half a plate of the sinfully-floating-in-butter chicken is enough to feed three. A whole repertoire of parathas, made with potatoes, fenugreek and radish are served, also with butter floating on them. It is an excellent place for the health-carefree to dine. The complimentary mango pickle is coveted by most customers.

Ranked second is China Garden on Lal Bahadur Street. It is an elegant place just above the Baker Street bakery. The owners, from China Town, Kolkata, play western pop music and the Anglo-Indian and Gorkha waiters are more than willing to chat about anything from local politics to the best watering holes in the city. The servings are particularly generous and the food is not too spicy. Tipplers from Bussy Bar, across the street, love to gorge over the exquisite pork served here.

The crowning glory of the Garden is the lemon grass soup. The soup is a potent concoction with finely chopped lemon grass floating in it. It is an excellent appetiser and feels almost magical.

Standing tall at rank one is Aristo on Nehru Street. Do not be deceived by the small blue signboard. Aristo offers wonderful Mughlai and Deccan cuisine. The service is really good. It is particularly famous for its biriyanis and mutton dishes.

On the mezzanine floor, there is a French restaurant called Aristo Garden. This place boasts of the best affordable authentic French and colonial Vietnamese cuisine in town. The soups are works of culinary art. The steaks are also excellent. No liquor or wine is served here.

What’s wonderful about these places is that they are rarely crowded. They have a limited, loyal clientele and the service is always good. These family run restaurants feel just like home.

4 out of 5 Indian port labour unions agree to historic wage agreement

T.Narendra Rao,

General Secretary,

Water Transport Workers Federation of India,

Camp at: Mormugoa, dated: 20.01.2010. at 0800Hrs.

Dear Comrades,

First of all I would like to inform you all that the Historical wage settlement of the Port & Dock workers was at last signed on 19.01.2010 at Goa at exactly 12.30 Hrs of Indian Standard time. The lengthy process of wage negotiation which was started before 36 months and at last after 26 rounds of BWNC discussion has come to end and finally it was achieved with all of your co-operation and blessings. Really it is a good settlement for the Port & Dock workers of this Era.

However, there is a small itch, out of 5 recognized Federations, 4 Federation leaders have already signed the settlement papers including this Federation. The HMS (Kulakarni) federation did not sign the settlement so fact. Anyway, we hope the best, they will also be signing very shortly, they are waiting for word from their leader Mr.S.R.Kulkarni who is sick and staying at Mumbai.

But the reason which they are telling to their grass rood level cadres is different. That is the management is not providing the pay for the employees who got the promotion. However, the management, has circulated three model calculations of wage fixation for the employees who are getting promotions and method of their wage fixation other Public Sector Undertakings like M/s. Shipping Corporation of Indi a, M/s. Dredging Corporation of India and M/s. Cochin Ship Yard Limited, these three public sectors are coming under the purview of Shipping Ministry.

Any way the agreement is implementable by the Ministry, the sources from the Labour Department said. Because out of 12 BWNC members, 7 members have already signed the document. All efforts would be taken by the Port Management to pay the arrear amount within 60 days from the dagte of signing this settlement, copy of the original settlement papers would be sent to you after obtaininf the official documents from the Indian Ports Association, because they will give the papers only after obtaining the signatures from the HMS Federation.

Other details would be communicated as and when there is communication from IPA.

Thanking you all, with kind regards,

T.Narendra Rao,

General Secretary,

Indian port workers will finally get fair wages

T.Narendra Rao,
General Secretary,
Water Transport Workers Federation of India,
55/26.Moore Street,
Chennai-600 001, Phone/Fax: 044-2526 6794.
Dated: 04.01.2010.

Dear Comrades,
First of all, I would like to convey my happy New Year greetings to you all.

All the Five Federation leaders reached New Delhi on 1st January 2010. We attended the conciliation meeting convened by the Chief Labour Commissioner (C) at 02.30 p.m.

He requested us to find out a formula in between the proposal of the IPA and Ours. That is, the IPA was suggesting that we should accept the arrear amount from 1.1.2009. But we were demanding all the allowances from 1.1.2007. So consensus was not arrived.

Hence it was advised by the CLC that the BWNC must be convened by 4th January 2010, or otherwise the federation will resort the indefinite strike from 4th midnight.

So we, all the federation leaders stayed at the IPA Guest House.
--------------

Today that is on 4th January 2010 at 11 a.m. the BWNC meeting was convened. Again all the eleven issues which were in the annexure of the Strike Notice, was taken for discussion.

Except the issue of payment of area amount, all the other ten items were discussed and a consensus was arrived, whereas no conclusion was arrived on the arrear amount to be paid form 1.1.2007 for HRA, Port City allowance, Transport reimbursement, washing allowance, and Night Weightage allowance etc..

When the meeting was going on debating on these issues, the CLC came to participate in the BWNC meeting at 1.30 p.m. and he said that if no consensus is arrived here, the Secretary (Shipping) has requested him to bring the entire team of BWNC to his Chamber at 2 p.m. for arriving a conclusion.

Accordingly all the federation leaders and the Port Chairmen representing the IPA went to his Chamber at 2 p.m.

At the conference hall the meeting was held. The Secretary (S) first proposed that the federation should agree the IPA proposal. All the leaders unanimously disagreed, and explained the reason for our genuine demand. Finally the Secretary (s) suggested that the HRA alone would be paid with effect from 1.1.2007, and all other allowances would be paid with effect from 1.1.2008.

Again, the General Secretaries of the Five Federations alone went to meet the Secretary at his room and requested that other allowances are also very small part of arrear amount to be paid, and very purpose of Minister’s offer of 23% fitment would be defeated if it is denied.

At last he agreed for that also, provided he requested the federation leaders to co-operate with the Port managements to increase the productivity.

After thanking the Secretary and all the Port Chairmen, the five federations’ leaders happily left his room and conveyed this message to all the Port workers of the eleven major ports and announced there itself withdrawing the proposed strike call given which could have been commenced from midnight of 4th January 2010.

The Draft copy of the full and final settlement would be prepared within a day or two then for signing the agreement we would be once again called by the Chief Labour Commissioner to New Delhi.

From the date of signing the settlement, every effort would be taken to pay arrear amount within 60 days.

This is really happy news for all the Port & Dock employees for this New Year, and Pongal (Sankaranti) festival. Celebrate with cheers. Do not hesitate to build up the Trade Union activities in the Ports. Try to strengthen your Trade Unions and their unity. Because without the Unity of the five federations this success could not be possible.

We once again thank one and all for supporting us during the period of struggle and whenever a call was given from federations.

Last, but not least do not hesitate to donate liberally to the unions/federations to which you are all attached.

Thanking you all,

With regards.

T.Narendra Rao,

04.01.2010. at 20.00 Hrs
Camp: at New Delhi.

What is Copenhagen?

Copenhagen simplified for kids

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is hosting the fifteenth United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15). The abbreviation COP 15, means that this is the fifteenth Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC).

What is the FCCC?
The FCCC is an international treaty to stabilise the level of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere. These gases trap the sun’s heat within the atmosphere which heats up the earth.

The FCCC was produced at United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. 192 countries have signed the FCCC.

The treaty does not fix the maximum levels of greenhouse gas emissions per country. It is not a law, instead it calls for protocols to fix levels. The Kyoto Protocol is the most important protocol of the FCCC.

What is the Kyoto Protocol?

The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and in force from 2005, asks developed countries to promise to reduce their emissions of four greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, and two groups of gases: hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons.

187 countries have ratified the treaty. United States of America, which emits the highest amount of carbon dioxide per person, has not ratified the treaty. They have not ratified it because they want legally binding levels of emission also on developing countries and, they feel that by reducing emissions to Kyoto specified levels, they will become less productive and their economy will suffer.

Yet, many states and cities in the US are using their own methods to cut emissions.

Why are people in Copenhagen fighting?

Protestors in Copenhagen feel that developed countries want to escape their responsibility of cutting emissions. Leaked documents of negotiations between developed countries show that they want to sideline the UN and create divisions among poorer countries. This has angered developing countries. Developed countries are trying to shirk their responsibilities under the Kyoto Protocol.

Also, developing countries like India want no legally binding deal on when our emissions should peak, after which it will be reduced. Also, we want no legally binding emission cuts. The principle of the Kyoto Protocol puts greater responsibility to cut emissions on developed countries which have polluted the most. But what countries like the US want work out to them polluting twice as much as we do.

We also do not want any foreign agency to be checking what we do on our own about pollution. Such measures include removing vehicles that consume excess fuel, environment friendly construction and clean coal technology which will reduce India’s carbon emissions by 20 to 25 per cent by 2020.

(something that didn't make it to Young World. Nice one for the year end I hope)

What an adventure

Book Review: Around the world in 80 days: Wing Commander Rahul Monga; Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi in association with KW Publishers, 4676/21, First Floor, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi- 110002. Rs. 720

Pheroze L. Vincent

It is what legends are made of. Reality is much more fantastic than fiction, because of the intricacies of it.

On June 1, 2007, Wing Commanders Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar set out from Air Force Station Hindan, near Delhi, in a CTSW microlight aircraft. Their mission: to create a world record of circumnavigating the globe in a microlight aircraft. The previous record was held by Colin Bodil who performed the feat in 99 days in 2001.

The author, in very simple English, lets the reader vicariously enjoy the 80 day adventure, spaced across 81 airstrips in 17 countries. Apart from the treasure of practical flying knowledge the book offers, Monga’s description also makes it a delightful read for the lay reader.

It reads like a log book, a journal of sorties from one landing to the next. Through Monga’s eyes you see the purple lagoons of Thailand and hear the hysterical screams of Russian navigator as they fly through heavy rain. You even feel the pain of frostbite and injuries that don’t heal.

There are innocent descriptions of the colourful characters that bind the tale together. People like Robin, the Chinese barber. “Robin was a dude. He set the pace for the haircut by switching on the TV in front to a channel blaring Chinese rock and started jiving.”

Monga isn’t the best of writers and he fails when he experiments with sophistication. But he is really good at painting a colourful picture even of the most mundane things like filing flight plans with an air traffic controller.

Another critical aspect the book throws light on is the networking of Indian diplomats and the camaraderie of aviators all over the world. Men like a 75-year-old British paratrooper who served in the Second World War, who offers the author “the most wonderful sortie” of his life in a 1943 Piper L4; and the Indian diplomat in Iran, who drove in the middle of the night with 200 litres of incendiary aviation fuel. The book is replete with such adventures and wonderful people.

Jet lag and fatigue lets the mind philosophise. Monga gives plain observations on the little things like traffic, markets, the smiles and body language, the tempers and the view from the skies. There are moments when he jokes about situations that could have been fatal, in the most casual manner. In brief sentences he ties them together with opinions on human nature and the purpose of it all. There are also hilarious tales of the hotel and the food, like the one about a Chinese hotel room stocked with spermicidal lotion and tiger balm and, the homogeneity of American fast food.

Conspicuous in his fleeting presence is the co-pilot Anil. There is hardly any mention of him, as the author hogs most of the limelight. The author does give examples of how they deal with snags in the aircraft like short circuited transformers, high oil pressure, punctured tires and other such unnerving obstacles. The credit of the success goes not to technology, but to their presence of mind and uncommon courage.

The intricate details of documentation and red tape are given a fairly good explanation in the book. Most shocking though, is the shabby treatment of Indian officials when the plane gets back. This is in sharp contrast to the warm and lavish reception by the Pakistan Air Force in Karachi. The author bluntly admits being driven to tears by the irrational interruptions to the mission on its seventy ninth day, in India.

The essence of this book is in the preface where Monga writes, “I learnt something very important. I learnt that the world is beautiful and that some places on our earth are so wonderful and so fragile that we must never go there.”

Coimbatore ryots give up paddy for cocoa

Cocoa is the new buzzword for farmers in Coimbatore district. Grown in the shade of coconut, cocoa gives a profit of around Rs. 15,000 per acre per year. It takes about three years to obtain the first harvest, and production peaks after seven years. It has a productive lifespan of 25 years. This well irrigated district, known for paddy, sugarcane and groundnut, is gradually shifting to cocoa.

“Rice is a suicidal crop,” says V. J. Prasad of Pollachi Taluk..Mr. Prasad began farming on his family’s 75 acres in Sethumadai, after voluntary retirement 15 years back. He tried every method to make paddy cultivation feasible but in vain. “The inputs are too costly. But the main problem here is the labour shortage,” he says.

With the youth choosing to work in textile mills in Coimbatore and Tirupur districts, farmers say, most of the workforce is above 45 years of age. “Their work hours have come down from seven to four a day. It is hard to find labour, even for high wages,” says farmer K. Sethuraman, who cultivates three acres in Ramanamudalipudur Thottam, near Anamalai.

Women are paid Rs. 80 and men, Rs. 150 for a day’s work here. Women now opt for work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which fetches Rs.100 a day.

Heaps of coconuts gather cobwebs on his land, for want of labourers to extract the copra. “No one will steal them. The price is too low,” he says. A coconut fetches the grower a maximum of Rs. 4 in these parts.

Sethuraman, Prasad and other farmers now raise cocoa intercropped with coconut. Cocoa is neither capital nor labour intensive and the returns are as high as Rs. 110 per kg of dried beans. Upto 250 plants can be raised per acre to get almost 1.5 kg of dried beans per plant.

In June 2007, Tamil Nadu’s Horticulture Department signed a memorandum of understanding with Cadbury, one of the largest confectionery makers. As part of the deal, Cadbury’s nursery near Anamalai gives saplings to farmers for which the state foots the bill. The farmer is also assured of a minimum price of Rs. 60 for a kg of dried beans produced. The government gives them organic fertilizer and organic pesticide for free, and arranges technical assistance and institutional credit, through Cadbury.

The total government subsidy is more than Rs. 4,500 per acre, for the first three years of cultivation.

Farmers say that Cadbury's technical assistance they get is irregular, neem cakes are ineffective and credit is a nightmare. “We have to get the clearance from the tehsildar for pledging our patta (legal document of the ownership of the land) to get a loan from cooperative banks at 12 per cent interest. Why should we pledge our lands for a small loan,” asks Mr. Prasad.

Private lenders charge a monthly interest of two to three per cent, which compounds to 27 to 43 per cent per annum. Most farmers here though have invested their own money. They make a profit of only six to eight per cent of their investment, if they multi-crop. “We can get that much by just leaving the money in the bank,” adds Prasad. “We only keep our land for pride,” says Sethuraman.

Cultivation costs of cocoa range from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 an acre, depending on labour charges and irrigation. “This is a plantation crop and we can’t shift overnight if the prices fall,” says K. Krishnaraj who has 18 acres of cocoa at Ambarampalayam.

And that is the biggest risk. Between 1981 and 1982, cocoa cultivation peaked in Kerala and Karnataka. Farmers were assured of high prices and procurement. But in the late 80s, demand suddenly fell and chocolate manufacturers failed to honour their promise, just as the plants began to yield.

Unlike food crops, affected farmers can’t eat cocoa to survive.

According to P. Thirugnanasambantham, Coimbatore district secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, the MoU’s assured price only holds good if there is any procurement of cocoa. “The government must provide labour to agriculture through the NREGA. Without subsidising labour, agriculture can’t survive,” he adds. Shunning food crops for cash crops is a serious threat to food security, he explains.

Farmers say that the government asks them to mechanise. But complete mechanisation is impossible and unviable for small farms. “Cadbury is only concentrating on big farms now,” says Mr. Prasad.

This could spell disaster for small farmers like Sethuraman, who swears that he will never let his children do agriculture. “Let my troubles die with me,” he says.

All in a day's work

Biography of a Municipal bullock

The natural witness

Hidden in the woods of Forest Campus, R S Puram, is a repository of jungle heritage, discovers Pheroze L. Vincent

Temperature drops as you turn in to Cowley Brown Road. That’s because of the forest campus which, apart from training institutes and a wealth of plants, birds and butterflies, has a botanical garden, a bambusetum (nursery for bamboo plants), th e Fischer Herbarium, and the Gass Forest Museum...

It's a jumble out there!

The annual jumble sale organised by the Vasantha Memorial Trust was a huge success

A 1995 Fiat for Rs. 30,000, scooters for Rs. 4000, Sony music systems for Rs. 1000 and a revolving chair for Rs. 500; the sale had it all in three floors of the school. Thousand of people jostled to get their hands on old dolls and trophies and even an old Mofa circus bike.