Author: The Metrognome

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Trends

Mumbai slum dwellers against ban on plastic bags?

World Environment Day: Findings from a survey by TERI show Mumbai in poor light, while revealing other expected and grim truths.
by Humra Quraishi

On the occasion of World Environment Day today, June 5, there are several events, book releases and talks lined up all over the country to mark the day. Yesterday, however, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) released the findings of its Environmental Survey 2014.

The findings of the Survey don’t come as a shock, though that doesn’t take away from their grimness. This time, TERI has widened its survey area and brought within its fold several smaller cities as well. The Survey comprised a sample of 11,234 citizens spread over eight urban agglomerates across the geographical span of India – Coimbatore, Guwahati, Indore, Jamshedpur, Kanpur, Pune, and of course, the country’s most populated metros, Mumbai and Delhi. In general, the survey focussed on the environment, and in particular, on water and health.

World Environment DaySaid a spokesperson for the event, “The survey also attempted to gauge the awareness levels and opinion of the people on Government policies in different environmental domains, the role of various actors in environment protection and their opinion in development versus environment debate.”

It turns out that most respondents were aware of the deterioration in air quality, the state of the green cover, that diversity of birds had reduced in all cities (except Coimbatore and Pune, where it was perceived to have improved), that poor environmental quality adversely affected health, that global warming was a reality, and of the hazards of e-waste.

An interesting finding was that there was an “overwhelming” response to the ban on polythene bags in all cities by all income groups, except in Mumbai, where slum dwellers were not in favour of the ban.

The survey also tried to “understand people’s opinion on the global debate on whether the environment hindered development.” A majority of respondents felt that the two went hand in hand, as seen in Pune, Coimbatore and Coimbatore, and felt that environment should be prioritised over development.

However, about 25 per cent respondents in Mumbai and Delhi and a higher share in others, like Pune and Jamshedpur, felt that development should be prioritised over environment.

(Pictures courtesy ibnlive.in.com, www.eea.europa.eu)

Categories
Hum log

You know what they did this summer?

Discover Operation Pyaas – a small act of kindness that goes way beyond offering a stranger a pack of buttermilk.
by Mamta D | @silverlightgal on Twitter

Summers are normally harsh in Mumbai. This year, however, it seems like it’s going to surpass all past records and go on to be the hottest summer in recent times. The blazing sun, the scorching heat, the sticky sweat that threatens to envelop you as soon as you step out into the outdoors is enough to make you reconsider your decision and head back into the cool interiors of your home.

Many of us reach air-conditioned cubicles well before the sun has started to show its muscle and leave after sundown and thus are spared the torture of facing the sun. Not all though, are so fortunate.  Traffic cops, postmen, gas delivery men, petrol pump attendants and their like have to be on their toes most of the day in the severe unrelenting heat. It is while thinking of these people that Operation Pyaas came to be born.

What it’s about

SNEH Foundation, a Pune-based NGO looking to make a foray in Mumbai, initiated ‘Operation Pyaas’ as a kind and caring gesture for those who have no choice but to suffer the heat all day. The idea was to gather a few volunteers, purchase buttermilk (chaach or chhaas in Hindi/Marathi) in bulk, arrange for ice to keep them chilled and finally distribute them to these people.

The idea sounded great – but its execution took time, effort, and hard work. Eventually, around 50 volunteers assembled at various points in Mumbai on a scorching Saturday morning, on May 24. They formed groups, discussed routes, divided the crates of buttermilk packets and tetrapacks amongst themselves and left on their mission. A mission of kindness. Of caring.

All this was not without glitches, for there were plenty.

Like, at the last moment, one of the key members of the group fell prey to a fever and couldn’t even leave home. The others had to reach him to collect the crates from him. Another glitch was that though they’d been hoping to avoid buttermilk pouches (due to their possibility of leaking) and instead carry tetrapacks, their supplier let them down and could provide only pouches to them. Also, the number of volunteers was far less than the expected volume. Undeterred by these hassles and spurred on by one another’s contagious enthusiasm, this motley crowd went to fulfill their day’s mission.

While some groups were formed to cater to Central Mumbai areas like Thane and travelled up to Mulund, the other groups spread out on the Western suburbs of the city.

The traffic cops, roadside sweepers, and other men and women who were recipients of the pouches and packs were overwhelmed by this simple yet caring gesture. Some of them spoke to the volunteers with moistened eyes and offered them lunch, such was their feeling of gratitude. Because they understood this wasn’t just about one day, it wasn’t just about a packet of chilled buttermilk on a hot day, it was far beyond that. It was the thought that somebody cared about them, that they weren’t invisible workers, and that we don’t take them for granted though it may have appeared so until now. This was a token of appreciation and for that these people felt overwhelmed.

Spreading the joy in two phases

Eventually, the first phase of Operation Pyaas was a grand success despite all the initial setbacks. Buoyed by this, SNEH Foundation began plans for the second phase of Operation Pyaas which was held at various areas of Navi Mumbai on May 31, between 11 am to 2 pm.

All they did at first was to ask a few persons who had participated in Phase 1 of Operation Pyaas whether they would be willing for another such event at Navi Mumbai. The answer was a unanimous ‘Yes’!

Next, they had to arrange for funds and more volunteers and take care of sundry other things like transportation and so on. It is here that they found an angel, in the form of PravinTulpule, who likes to be known as Clown Pinto. He was just one man but with the energy and enthusiasm of a thousand. With his quick thinking and prompt planning, the vehicle and volunteer arrangements were put into place.

Next came the question of sponsorship. Here too, luck was in their favour. June 1 was being commemorated as World Milk Day. And when one of the friends of the President of the Mumbai Chapter of SNEH who had contacts with AMUL India got to know of the event, AMUL India quickly stepped up to sponsor as many as 300 chhaas packets for the noble cause. Thus, it was that for Operation Pyaas Phase 2, Clown Pinto facilitated a sponsorship of 300 chhaas packets and boundless enthusiasm of the volunteers.

The event on May 31 went smoothly, covering a wider reach than before, with the chilled chhaas packets being distributed to garbage workers, sewage cleaners and construction site labourers. Some of the spots where these workers worked were difficult to reach, yet there was never a moment’s hesitation on the part of the volunteers. Accompanied by the AMUL personnel, the members of SNEH reached out to offer a cool sip of relief to Mumbai’s hardworking people.

More such events are on the block for the near future. If you are keen to participate or contribute in cash or kind, please contact Abhijeet Prabhu 09833144949 or Swati Nanda 09561181831.

(Pictures courtesy Operation Pyaas)

Categories
Wellness

Heal yourself with mudras

Your hands have the capacity to heal most disorders – each finger connects to a specific organ in the body.
by Humra Quraishi

Last month, I attended a workshop on mudras, also known as ‘yoga for the fingers’.

I confess I was going through an extremely low emotional phase at the time, and what prompted me to try the therapy out at Zorba The Buddha, the MG Road-situated retreat, was Mudrasthe simplicity of it all – I was very intrigued by the thought of one’s fingers being equipped with the power to heal the entire system.

During the day-long interaction with the Santa Barbara, California based yoga guru Siddhi Ellinghoven, who travels to India twice a year, she explained the significance of nerves embedded in each finger and how each finger reaches out to particular organs of the body.

“Relate to your fingers as your best friends. There is the highest concentration of nerves in your hands. And each finger has a special and a very significant connect with a particular organ – like the thumb with the lungs, the index finger with the large intestine, the middle finger with the heart membrane, the ring finger with the colon and spleen, the little finger with the small intestine and heart,” Siddhi explained.

There are some astonishing facts about the instant connect of the fingers with the brain – such as, you eat 30 per cent less if you eat using your fingers, than with a spoon and fork

How the mudras work

Mudras “The human body is built and is dependent on the five elements: fire, air, ether, earth and water. If there is an imbalance in one of these elements, it will create a disturbance in the physical body. All imbalances can be balanced through the use of our five fingers,” Siddhi explains.

“Healing through mudras is a science that changes the elements within us. Every area of your hand is associated with a reflex zone for a specific part of the body and brain. With mudras we can access our entire nervous system, engage certain areas of the brain and exercise a corresponding influence on them. Scientific research shows that we can effectively engage and influence our body and mind by bending, crossing, extending, or touching the fingers with other fingers. In these mudras, intuition and inspiration form a close unity,” she adds.

Through the various mudras – which finger to place atop which finger and the evolving combinations of the fingers and the thumb – one could sense the energy flowing into one’s palm. Meanwhile, Siddhi related some astonishing facts about the instant connect of the fingers with the brain – such as, you eat 30 per cent less if you eat using your fingers, than with a spoon and fork. Or that you feel less hungry if you have served food or cooked it through the day.

“The fingers instantly relay information to the brain, pass impulses to the brain, such as how much you have eaten and you can still eat or not at all,” she explains. So powerful are these mudras, she says, that she does not let pregnant women perform mudras that remove blockages from the body, for fear of them suffering a miscarriage.

Self-experience helps

Siddhi says she was cured after a back injury left her bedridden for six months. “Almost 20 years ago I suffered a back injury after an accident. I was advised surgery but I refused it. Only mudras cured me totally. Through these 20 years, I have not been to a doctor or taken allopathic medicine. I start each day with yoga and pop some turmeric and neem leaves that I carry back from India,” she says.

(Pictures courtesy Siddhi Ellinghoven)

Categories
Trends

Chris Gayle still dangerous…in cyberspace

West Indies sensation is ‘Most Dangerous Cricketer’ in cyberspace; used by cyber criminals to lure fans to sites with malware.

McAfee, part of Intel Security, recently unveiled results of its ‘Most Sensational Cricketer’ study which researched this season’s top players of the cricketing world on their popularity and related risk quotient in the Indian cyberspace.  Chris Gayle, regarded as the most explosive batman in modern cricket has been named the ‘Most Sensational Cricketer’ online in Indian cyberspace. This is the second time in a row, the Jamaican cricketer who has a reputation of playing long innings, has topped a similar list last year titled ‘Most Dangerous Cricketer’.

The study highlights the trend of cyber criminals using cricketers to take advantage of fans seeking more information about their idols. Cybercriminals often capitalise on the public’s fascination with cricketers to lure them to sites laden with malware that can potentially result in identity thefts, stealing of passwords and confidential personal information. This year, searching for a ‘cricketer name’ combined with the search terms like ‘wall paper’, ‘free download’, ‘hot pictures’, ‘selfie’, ‘videos’ resulted in the highest instances of malicious sites.

Commenting on the findings of the study, Venkat Krishnapur, Vice President of Engineering – Consumer, Business Group, McAfee India Centre, said, “Leveraging the current cricket fervor, cyber criminals tend to exploit the popularity quotient of sports celebrities and time their attacks to coincide with famous events. Cricket crazy fans are highly motivated to search for photos, videos, match scores and interesting stories of their favourite cricketers online and in that moment of weakness they are lured into clicking malicious links that could lead to transmission of malware onto their owned devices and potential compromise of data.”

(Picture courtesy www.theguardian.com)

Categories
Event

‘Come out and Play’ concludes with a bang

Mumbaikars turn up in large numbers to participate in The Metrognome’s maiden event at Mahalaxmi Racecourse on Sunday, June 1.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

It was all that anyone had hoped for – a fun Sunday with the family, spent playing traditional Indian games at a beautiful ground, and with loads of laughter and friendly camaraderie to help. The Metrognome’s maiden event in Mumbai – Come out and Play’ went off with a bang amidst much cheering and competition among participating Mumbaikars.

At stake were family passes from Adlabs Imagica, apparel vouchers from Libas, and a bumper prize for the best performing family of the day – the Suranas – who won a helicopter ride from Shhaawn Aviation. Other families present to the end received gift packets from Hakim Masala.

Said Sajid Shaikh, who registered for the event with a family of 22, “We had been looking forward to this event excitedly, and we even cancelled a family trip for it. It was great fun reviving memories of our childhood, with games like langdi, lagori, sack race and dog and the bone. I hope the organisers host this event again.”

The event was jointly hosted by The Metrognome and I-deators Events.

(Pictures courtesy Urvashi Seth Ranga)

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Enough said

Remembering Nehru after all this time

What was the mood of the nation when Jawaharlal Nehru passed away? Humra Quraishi remembers the man in today’s times.

Humra QuraishiI was about eight years old when Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru passed away, but to this day, I remember the gloom and sorrow that spread in and around my home.

My maternal grandmother, Amna Rahman, sobbed and cried as the news was announced on radio. Nehru was not related to our clan in any way, but he was still seen as a ‘protector’ or ‘saviour’ of the minorities of the land. He was truly secular in his views and active about implementing them.

Naturally, his passing away was a blow to all segments of society, more so because he was above religious or regional politics and was determined to save this land from communal outfits.

Today, more than 50 years after Nehru’s demise, the very fabric of secularism he stood for is challenged with the rise of the new Government at the Centre. The outfit that Nehru had then banned – the RSS – will slowly and surely rule this land. The bigger irony is that riot accused have been sworn in as Ministers in the Union Cabinet. It took me a while to digest the news that Muzaffarnagar MP, Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, one of the accused in the area’s riots of 2013, is a Minister today.

Then there is Uma Bharati, one of the accused in the Babri Masjid demolition, also with a Ministerial berth now. The list is long.

And just when you thought there would be some noise from the Opposition, the Congress and the Left have adopted an ‘All quiet’ stance. Why? To add to the situation, there are provocative statements being made – MoS in the PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh statement that this Government could repeal Article 370 can be termed not just mischievous but a means to deflect attention away from the ground realities in the Valley.

It remains to be seen if the new Government would impose any curbs on freedom of expression. The arrests of two young men from Goa and Karnataka for their anti-Modi comments on networking sites, however, do not fill me with optimism on this front.

There is an interesting ‘battle’ raging in the corridors of the New Delhi-situated India Islamic Cultural Centre, where Chairperson Sirajuddin Qureishi (in pic on right, one of the Sirajudding Qureshibiggest meat exporters in North India) is set to host a reception for PM Narendra Modi. Members of the Centre are furious with this move – many have been openly revolting against Qureishi and voicing the opinion that he is doing this just to promote his business interests, and using the Centre as his personal space for the same.

Who will host a reception for the six innocent men who were wrongly implicated in the terror attack on the Akshardham Temple in Gujarat? These men have accused the Gujarat Government and then CM Narendra Modi (who headed the Home Department) and demanded that they be adequately compensated for the long periods of incarceration that they have wrongly suffered. They are consulting lawyers to file cases in the Gujarat courts seeking compensation as well as punishment for all the cops who not only slapped false cases on them, but also tortured them in jail.

More on this as it pans out.

Humra Quraishi is a senior political journalist based in Gurgaon. She is the author of Kashmir: The Untold Story and co-author of Simply Khushwant.

(Pictures courtesy www.livemint.com, aijamiatulquresh.org)

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