Cuddalore and Kancheepuram

First impressions after the visits: There are two patterns of impact in the two districts. Since it has been raining for a more than a month in Cuddalore district, the problems are clearly associated with flooding related to incessant rains. Whereas, in Kancheepuram district the flooding is largely due to the breach lakes, flooding of water bodies and canals.

The residents of the affected villages expressed that their main concerns were housing and livelihood. Residents of Kuchipalayam said that out of the 180 households 170 lived in thatched houses. It was observed that these houses were clearly damaged and did not even have tarpaulins to keep them safe at night. On the other hand the neighbouring villages such as MGR thittu, Kalangaiyar nagar, Mulukku thittu, MGR nagar, Ponnan Thittu and Eddapalayam had serious livelihood issues. The Irulars who lived in these areas were found to be particularly vulnerable as they had concrete houses that were constructed as part of the the post Tsunami relief. Since the houses look un affected those who come to provide relief feel that they are unaffected. An interaction and close observation proved that these families did not have much to eat. They survived on the rice that they had received through the public distribution system. Hence there is an urgent need to take stock of the situation and provide them with the basic supplies for their survival.

The villages in Kancheepuram portrayed a completely different scenario. The villages adjoining Palar river were affected due to the damaged bridges. They had to use boats to reach the villages and it was impossible to deal with medical emergencies at night as the boats operated only during till 5.00 pm. However, irulas and dalits who lived in these villages were living on the edge as they were severely affected due to the rise in water in the lakes. Having been excluded in the entire development process, it appeared as though the Irulas of Chinna Edyapalayam were living in the 19^th Century. The same was the case in Manappakkam and Olaloor villages near Chingleput. On the outskirts of Olaloor, 50 families live on the banks on the lake. When the water levels on the lake rose it took almost half the houses. The huts were completely destroyed and need complete reconstruction. It was tragic to see a family belonging to the Landhar community, a community that raises pigs and in this season they flog themselves and beg for alms for livelihood had almost nothing to eat. The head of the family was found to be cooking a crane he managed to catch in the lake and said that it was the food for the family. They neither had rice nor bread to go with it. These areas also would need immediate attention.

Encounter with the Maestro!

The rains in Chennai have been successful in closing schools and colleges for over 25 days. The met department says that this is the highest recorded rain fall in the last 100 years. All the canals, rivers and water ways have been flooded. Drains have mixed with the sewerage and has converted the entire city in to an open drain. It has displaced people in many places and washed out people along with their property making thousands homeless and jobless. It is trying to bring the city to its knees and say "enough" we need no more for now.

Wanting to be useful during the rains I went to college to ask if they needed assistance. Fr Henry told us to go to Little Flower School where the places was flooded. LFS is a school for the visually challenged and the hard of hearing. So we decided to get there to see what was happening. While trying to approach the gate, the roads were closed and the police asked us to step back as there was too much water. We braved it with life jackets and decided to wade through the waters. As we started the water got deeper. It was now rising above my hip. With the help of a stick we spotted pot holes and walked for about 800 meters to reach the reception.

The ICM sisters who run the school were in tears. They head mistress was inconsolable. She said that they had lost everything. The previous night the water level was very low up to the ankle. In the morning when they woke up the water was neck deep. It had entered the class rooms, residential rooms, kitchens toilets and all other places. Before our arrival the children were taken to the first or second floors.

The sisters said that we have nothing, the children have not eaten since last night as the kitchen was flooded. There are 256 children and 30 staff who were hungry since the previous night. After hearing what they said I tweeted immediately. My wife called a couple if friends, one of them posted her name and number on face book. This went viral. Thanks to the social media the calls to help came in immediately. We were able to feed the children. Loyola college delivered food and was willing to help as well.

Whatever help, it had to come through the water. People had to carry it on their heads. So we wanted to get a boat. I started with twitter again. We seemed to be getting everything but could not manage to get a boat or a catamaran. Once of my friends organized a catamaran but could not get a truck to transport it.

By then the news had gone viral and there were phones that came all the time. In the middle of all this we had to salvage the remaining items that were under water. The gas had to be disconnected, provisions such as rice, sugar, pulses and so on were all submerged, we had to save what we could.  The scholastics from Berchman's Hall came to secure the other essential items that were under water.

I made about 60calls trying to get a boat but no one was available. We decided to walk through water and also carry on saving stuff. Now to carry materials we made a make shift raft from a plastic table and were trial running it.

I was annoyed and upset for not getting a boat and but continued trying. This was the time when a catamaran came in. There were many boys in the catamaran. I shouted that we were waiting for them. They said that it was a local catamaran and were willing to help. In the middle of the catamaran I saw a priest dressed in spotlessly dressed white clothes, sitting with his legs crossed on the rim of the catamaran. I said to myself, "now a priest is the last thing that we need here! we need people to help not priests." As the catamaran approached, I realized. It was him. He stood up. Looked a bit confused, got out of the safely parked catamaran and walked up the stairs.

We welcomed him. He wanted to see the children. so we took him to a class room and he met with the children and even sang a song for the children and had them repeat it for him. The children both Visually challenged and the hard of hearing were there to listen to him. When we introduced him to the children, I asked, "in Tamil Nadu when I say music who comes to your mind?" without a hesitation they shouted in one voice, "Illayaraja". it was something special for him to hear it from these kids. She shared his experiences in making the film Raajapaarvai.

He they wanted to give something to the students. We never expected anything from him. But he insisted. Then we thought that he had brought some stuff to be given. But that was also not right. So he said, "You must have something that I can give right?" Sure we said, we asked a student to get a food packet that was received earlier. He gave it to the children and they took it as well.

The children or staff did not expect anything from him. But he made it special by singing to them. An experience they will remember for a long time.

Since there were too much to do, I left the place for maestro to interact with the students.

Later after work when I was trying to leave the place wading through the water the media was trying to get an angle on me for an interview. As this was going on Mr Illayaraja's catamaran passed behind me.

The social media later reported that he participated in giving food which was not entirely wrong but he had given much more.

I am a slave! Hear My Cry! Save Me!

My name is Ramalakshmi, I am 55 years old and am from Ram Nagar in Coimbatore. I got a job offer in Saudi Arabia through an agent. Since I have two daughters and wanted to get them married, I thought this as a good opportunity to make some money and decided to take up the job. The agent promised to pay me Rs 25000 a month. It looked very attractive especially given my situation. I got my passport and left for Saudi with a lot of dreams. When I reached the airport an agent picked me up in his car and we drove and got to a palatial house. He handed me over to the woman of the house and left. I do not know the name of this place. The assigned work was shown immediately. I had to cook for the family, wash the clothes and iron them, clean the kitchen and the toilets every day and take care of the children.

They took away my passport, my jewels, and my clothes. They gave me two night gowns to wear. In the beginning I thought of this as a routine. But slowly I had to take care of the animals of the house as well. I was given only one meal a day to eat and I had to drink the water from the toilet. I had only two sets of night gowns and I had to wash them and wear them one after another.

One day the men of the house along with the lady stripped me and video graphed me. I am 55 years old. They stripped me of my dignity. They started to black mail me with that video. Later they packed my jewels along with some cash and placed it in my bag. They asked me to go and check my bag. As I was taking things out of my bag they video graphed it and said that they had now clear evidence of stealing. They threatened to report me to the police charging me with theft.

At home they constantly beat me up with a whip, sticks and with their shoes. When I cried or protested they would blackmail to release the video to the Police who would arrest me for five years or cut off my hands for theft. I had to endure all this pain.

I cried and told them to pay my salary, they paid Rs 15000 only against the promised Rs 25000. For the last 6 months they have not paid me. My employer said that she had bought me for 25,000 Rials. I was her slave. I am asked to pay 25,000 Rials if I have to leave.

They would force me to wash their clothes with shit on it. The worst is when the woman took out her panties that was filled with her menstrual blood and pressed it against my face and forced me to smell it. I was repeatedly tortured, beaten and abused. I can't endure this. Since I continued to cry and protest, they have shifted me to another huge bungalow to work. My employer has taken away all my belongings along with my passport. This place is entirely new and I don't know where I am .

I have told this to my daughter in Coimbatore. She has written to the protector of emigrants. I have not received any help. I only have the name and phone number of the agents they are not helping me. The government of India is not helping my case. I need to get out of this place. I have the money to pay for my ticket. I need somebody to find me and get me out. I cannot reach the Indian Embassy by myself as I know that it is really far away. They can't enter the house where I live in as well. I need someone to help me. Please help me. I am a slave who is tortured every day, I have no tears left.

I live in Saudi Arabia and need help urgently. My employer's name and address is, Riyadh Mustafa, Giza Immava Tower, No 2, Apartment Floor, Isha Door No 674K, Opposite Siddha Mosque, Riyadh. My phone number is 00966592257267.

The story was narrated by Ramalakshmi to Sr Valarmathi of National Domestic Workers Movement (NDWM) and me. NDWM is an organization that works for migrant women who are exploited and trafficked.

There are hundreds of women who are suffering as slaves in many countries. They are known as the ones who do the dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs. They fetch the most amount of foreign exchange for the country but they are treated less than animals. Their cry continuously falls on deaf ears of the administration.

Any help in this case is appreciated. If you are in the Saudi area and can help do get in touch with us we will give you more details. mjavalar@gmail.com, gladstonxavier@gmail.com

The rapids of Rishikesh

Apart from the holy sites, Rishikesh is a real adventure spot for those who what to taste the thrills of life. The curvy roads with the snarling horns take you Rishikesh. The name is synonymous with holiness. It is a legendary town filled with the richness of Hindu mythology. It has hundreds of places of stay and temples to visit. The sadhus and sants line the borders of the temples while people from all walks of life come in and out of the temples to pay a visit to their gods. The narrow, noisy crowed streets of Rishikesh offer an adventure even when getting across the road. The drivers and motorists have to steer clear not only of the approaching traffic but of vendors who have strayed far into the main road from their shops, and also from the lonely cows and bulls who just traverse the roads as if nothing mattered to them.

For those who want to walk, you may do so as adventure constantly awaits you. A walk along the ganga is most preferred. The beautiful river beds with its green grandeur exposing its richness and capacity to wash away all that comes in its way. The walkers must be prepared for any surprise that comes along. It may be in the form of monkeys that are probably hungry, or in the form of well fed cows or dogs that are just relaxing and taking a walk as well.

The real challenge is to walk on the shores from temple to temple ghat to ghat without burning your feet with the holy dump of cows, dogs and if your are lucky human as well.

The mountains and the river offers a reasonable adventure to the brave. Rafting, trekking, rapelling, rock climbing, wind surfing, bungee jumping and so on are not for the faint hearted. But getting there from the pick up point will make your heart faint. The drivers make sure you have a complete experience of this as they showcase their talents in the formula one style on the ghat roads. They wait to speed and want to finish fast as if they want to see the chequed flag waved out at them.

Actually, this adventure starts even before signing up. It is a test of research skills and bargaining. In the hotel they offer a price that seems reasonable, on the street they seem a bit cheaper and attractive and once you have paid after all the research you are taken with a group of people who have boarded the same boat/raft/dingee/ by paying half your price. That definitely is an adventure.

Well, adventure in terms of sports are spectacular but not well promoted. The shadow of holiness covers the beauty of the adventure. It makes me guess that this location was an adventure sport centre of the gods as all their legends are built around the mountains and rivers. So much so this, is believed to the theatre of action where the famous episode where Shiva drank the poison and got named ‟Blue Neck”.

Nepal and its new constitution

the news about Nepal’s new constitution is welcome. The country is at its third milestone. It overcame Monarchy unceremoniously, withstood the maoist revolution and transformed itself into a democracy. Now the adoption of the new constitution is yet another step in the progressive direction.

A few weeks ago it was very intersecting to watch the people of Nepal unanimously give a secular mandate to the country. Now that does not come as a surprise especially after the maoist incursion. However, to get past the tradition of being a Hindu kingdom to being a secular takes a lot of courage. This lesson is particularly interesting for India, where the communal drums are being beaten at every silly opportunity. We have begun to myopically view India from a religious lens. Where we ban books what nourishes the intellect to food that nourishes the body.

We as Indians are allowing those in power to come into our heads and dictate what they want us to think, eat and worship. It is from the specific clutch that Nepal saw the opportunity to placate itself in a positive position to be more inclusive, trend with the times.

Despite conflicts and disagreements, Nepal decides to go ahead!!

Too hot for FTII

What can we learn from the students protests in FTII in Delhi? It is worth a discussion? What is their problem? Why was Gajendra Chauan appointed? These are some questions that have been crowding my mind and the news papers in the last two weeks. I have been observing it from far away and noticing the students react very sharply and garner some support as well from other student movements. The next question is that, why did the other student movements show solidarity?

FTII is India's IIT for film and television technology. It is said that FTII draws the best minds in the business. Though the quality of films and television shows are not testimony to this talent, they are I am sure the best minds. For an institute like this, I agree that people with some excellence should be considered. And as chance would have it, with the help of the current government Gajendra Chauan was appointed as the director of the institute. He was very famous for his role in the most famous epic tele serial and later in several movies that are termed to be "C" grade. Some newspapers carried a few posters from his exploits on the silver screen. Sure he looked hot!

Now this is too hot for the students. They have many questions. What did we do to deserve such a hot Director? and Don't you think that our creativity will melt with his heat? At this point I stand with the students who are asking the right questions. It may be the prerogative of the government to appoint a director but it is important to pay attention to the tradition and the prestige of the institute. The students just not want an inspiring person, they are looking for much more than that. They are looking forward to someone who is professionally qualified and trained. This does not mean that any actor qualifies to be professional just because he has been in the profession for a long time.

The person has to be academically trained and qualified from an institute of equal calibre as the FTII. The person should have achieved some minimum standards in terms of his performance and creativity and finally should have had some administrative experience. Out of this context this may sound completely logical. Let's say they are inviting a applicants for the post of Director of any of the IITs will they not ask similar questions? These questions were completely ignored and a man is put in place to carry forward an agenda of the government. The students are not stupid to miss the details. They see it as the high handedness of the government to deluge the institute in the ideology of the ruling party.

The students who are standing their ground are have a new name, they are called Naxalites. Wow what a name to give students who are protesting to save the face of an institution. I guess the same is true of the thousands of naxals who question the rut at every stage. Now if they are called so, it is an achievement in itself as it only means that they have stood for a cause sans violence.

I only wish many more students come out on the street to protest against what is going on in Universities and Colleges in terms of the appropriateness of individuals appointed to posts of honour. They need to claim their right to quality education. One thing that I take away from this protest is that students are now aware of the situation and are ready to take on the high and mighty. I am sure that this is a good beginning and hope it will be a Delhi Spring.

Beware of the Hackers they come in all shapes and sizes

Dear Friends,

A couple of days ago you may have received a spurious email from my email account. It was because my email id was hacked. After an uphill task I was able to retrieve it.

Through this email I wanted to inform you that I have now recovered it and am relieved.

I also wanted to warn you all of how this happened.

I received the following email


Dear Customer,
We received your request to delete your account, if you made this request kindly ignore this message but if the request isn't from you, kindly click on the link below to cancel and validate your account. Please ensure you key in the right information for all fields,ensure you fill in your correct phone number and recovery details associated with your account to avoid closure of your mailbox

Cancel and Validate your Account (hyper link now removed)

The Google Team

I clicked on the hyper link, which took me to a page that asked for my details. At a moment of weakness I gave in my details and that was the end of my email's story.

The hacker changed my recovery email and the password and also changed my phone number.

Thanks to the recovery system of google I am able to retrieve my email. I am yet to check the details of the damage.

I wanted to specially thank the police department of Chennai for entertaining my requests.

Above all I want to thank all my friends who took several efforts to contact me, and some even went to the extent of collecting money to be sent. It only shows your love and affection and care.

Please be aware that there could be a weak moment and dont fall for it. (I will continue part 2 tomorrow about how i got the whole thing cracked)

thanks a lot.

peace

Ashok Gladston Xavier.