A JOURNEY IN LUCKNOW

The Hussainabad Imambara is a major tourist attraction of Lucknow. The monument was built by Mohammed Ali Shah in the year 1837. The tombs of Mohammed Ali Shah and his mother are located over here. The walls of the monument are decorated with Arabic verses that have been carved beautifully by efficient craftsmen. The structure has an imposing white colored dome and many pillars or minarets. The whole structure is bordered with thousands of little bulbs, which give it a royal look. Absolutly gorgious are also Asafi Mashid and the close by Chhota Imambada. I also visited the laughing horse not giving me one smile that day.

INDIAN TRAINS - TRAVELLING COMFORTS

Indian Trains – Some valuable information for tourist

This is a report from Greeshma Gopal Giri about the experiences of Valsala Balakrishnan a regular night train traveler. …. And they are indeed conforming to my less frequent night train trips. In this case not the western view but the Indian view is reflected, but in correlation


“Dirty compartments, stinking toilets, creeping and crawling creatures, filthy bedrolls, untouchable bed covers are standard (exception may be Kovai Express)
In most trains you simply cannot escape the stinking loos. Also cockroaches and rats roam around sending you scurrying for cover. Besides it is a good idea to carry your own bedding, else you could be offered filthy blankets, pillows and bed sheets. Passengers have filed complained multiple times, but they have apparently fallen into deaf ears


Take Alleppey Express (Tr No 6042) which leaves from Chennai each day. After the train reaches the platform, the beddings kept on the platform are kept in bundles on the extremely dirty surface ( spitting on the floor is a sign of still being alive in India and experienced with passionate high frequency and astonishing bass tones after deep rouspring…. I know this from the office I am working, but at least they spit in the pissoir)
When the swine flue scare had gripped the country, the railways had made some attempts for fogging the trains. But this was limited to the trains that travelled to the affected areas. After the fears died the fogging stopped too.
The Egmore – Rameswaram Express and the Pearl City Express are no different, cockroaches and rats pop up from every corner. When asked rail authorities reel out statistics of cockroaches and rats killed.”

We reserve tickets in sleeper class for a better journey and have some rest in the night. During the day we can somehow manage, but after the lights are switched off the rats come out, they even bite the baggage.

GLACIER MELTING AND THE PREDICTABLE CONSEQUENCES

The over centuries collected ice of the Himalaya is melting with a continuous rising speed. This will provoke catastrophic inundations. If the glaciers are melted India and China will be targeted by catastrophes: desert building and lack of drinking water.
At the higher altitudes of Central Asia the catastrophe is preparing. Scientist from over the world are observing the phenomena , sending out warning overheard by the Population: The glacier of the higher mountains are melting with a constantly rising speed, some of them will have been doomed to disappear in a couple of years. The one believing this is a locale problem is incorrect. Not only the cause is of global nature but also the effects of the melting process will bother the live of billions of people, by treating the sweet water supply of India and China
The glacier of the Himalaya and the Tibetan highlands are the biggest ice reservoirs of the heart beside the poles.
Tousend of valleys at high altitude are filled up with ice. The water born from the ice collects in big lakes, being the source of the rivers. Estimation counted 15,000 lakes with a common surface of 112,000 sqm. 9000 of theses are ending in lakes. Nobody knows the amount of water is stored in the frozen valleys. Satellite observations just give an imppression of the surface but no idea of the depth of the lakes.



Scientist estimate that the lost of ice mass is between 2 and seven per year. The length of the glacier is reduced by 60 to 70 m per year. . Conform to Achim Steiner, excutive director of the Environmental Program of the United Nations (UNEP the glacier on Chinese territory will by reduced by 2/3 in 2050. Some scientist believe by 2050 all glacier will have been disappeared.
This is not only due to global warming but also due the progressing industrialization of India and China emitting a huge amount on particulates rising to high altitudes and forming giant brown clouds (ABC’s) absorbing the infrared rays rising from the earth enhancing the green house effect. Additionally are the glacier covered with rubble and boulders reflecting the impacting sunrays a lot more than the reflecting ice?

Translated from an article from Roland Benn in Merian

The melting of the ice will form giant sees of melted ice. Only in Nepal and Bhutan there are 4997 of such lakes and are regular limited by the end – moraine of the moving ice. These lakes are now rising with a speed that the deposits of the moraine will not be able to withhold them and are coming to the point of bursting.
The result would be that enormous quantities of water coming from altitudes as high as 4000 m will burst into the lower valleys, several hundred thousand of people would than be in great danger
Scientist of UNEP recently detected 44 sees being at the critical point UNEP regional director Surendra Shrestha stipulated that the volume of the Tsho-Rolpa-See in Nepal as risen by a factor of 6 since the early 50’s. If the dam would break the water mixed with rubble will cause a flood catastrophe in an area of 100 km.

HAPPY DIWALI- ALSO FOR THE RAGPICKERS ?

TIMES NEWS NETWORK



New Delhi: As the Central Market at Lajpat Nagar shimmered and everyone went about shopping and eating out with family, 10-yearold Dipak pushed through the crowd with a sackful of rags on his shoulder. Diwali is serious business for ragpickers like him for this is when they make that extra buck with gift wrappings, cardboard containers and disposable plastic strewn all over the place.
Dipak starts his day as early as 5am and leaves his house in Badarpur to collect the rags before Central Market opens. Festival time means more work for the wrappings disposed of by shopkeepers are better in quality. The day’s collections from the sale of these waste items gets the children anywhere between Rs 50 to Rs 100 on an average. Festival days are, however, special and rags can fetch anywhere up to Rs 150 a day.
Rahul, 12, comes from Madanpur Khadar to Central Market with his grandmother to sift out useful waste from the lanes of the market.
He said that the collection of plastic wrappings has gone down this time due to the plastic ban. Ragpickers earn up to Rs 150 during festivals as compared to Rs 50-150 on normal days




Festival means boom time for city ragpickers
A vacant parking space in the middle of the market reveals the Diwali collection of these ragpickers. On the eve of the festival the children and their guardians were seen going through large sacks of waste items. From used glasses, plates, empty bottles, cardboard wrappings to ropes and containers, the sacks stock almost every piece of useful waste collected through the day. While Moushmi’s mother sorted the waste, the five-year-old giggled away smashing and rolling a used plastic glass a shopper threw along the way. For these children, life revolves around waste.
Ten-year-old Zakir who had a busy day in crowded Sarojini Nagar market pointed that after the market closes the collection process will pick up as that’s the time when the police doesn’t chase them away.
The buzz and the glamour of the markets is in absolute contrast to their lives, but these ragpickers perform their roles focussing only on the road below watching out for every small piece of waste that can get them money.
Ragpickers earn up to Rs 150 (approx 2 Euro) during festivals as compared to Rs 50-150 (approx 1- 2 euro)on normal days

A more cynical news paper article is indeed hard to find

HALF OF INDIA'S CHILDREN MALNOURISHED

As the world observes World Food Day on Friday, India, with 47 per cent of its children under the age of six malnourished, ranks below countries like Bangladesh and Nepal on the state of hunger, a report says.


According to the report by ActionAid, an international NGO, India stood at the 22nd spot amongst a list of 51 countries, like Australia, Britain, the US, Nepal and Bangladesh.



India's case showed a lot of contrasts. While the country ranked amongst the first three developing countries on the indicator for social protection, because of poor implementation over 30 million Indians have joined the ranks of hungry since mid-1990s, the study revealed.

Babu Matthew, country director for ActionAid India, said: "The dark side of India's economic growth has been that the excluded social groups have been further marginalised, compounding their hunger, malnutrition and even leading to starvation deaths."

Meanwhile, China has been able to cut numbers of its hungry people by 58 million in ten years through strong state support for small farmers, the report said.

The ActionAid report said that India has some of the best legislations for social protection amongst the developing nations on nutrition, free school meals, employment guarantee, and food subsidy for the poor and pension for vulnerable groups.

However, talking about poor implementation of laws and schemes which results in them becoming futile for the common man, Amar Joyti Nayak, food rights head of the NGO, said: "Implementation remains a massive challenge in the absence of recognition of rights of the poor".

"Entitlements have to be delivered on the ground by empowering the communities and enforced earnestly with greater political will by the government," he said.

"In a year when poor are reeling under crop loss due to droughts and floods in India, focus must be on supporting agriculture, especially subsistence and women farmers," Nayak added.

The report said that although the farm loan waiver enabled a boost in investment to agriculture in 2008, longer term interventions are required. Delay in payment of wages through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) further ails those who have been already starving.


Jellema said: "Massive and urgent support to poor farmers, and social welfare programmes for vulnerable groups, are needed to reverse growing global hunger. At the World Food Summit next month, donor countries need to announce an additional 23 billion dollars to support these measures."

From IBN LIVE Network

THE DORMITORY TRUCK

The picture was taken at the centre of Nasik, but is typical for all India, not respecting any security rules , one sharp break and they will all be on the floor with risk of live !!!

GURGAON ONE HEALTH CLUB - LE CLUB SOIGNEE

The health club or gym is very well equipped with all machines and tools to activate the muscles after a day in the front of the laptop. And of coarse some beautifull ladies are visiting the club too. Obviously they are not happy with the smell of sweat bodies are producing so they decided to make deodorant use as a recommendation.

Next recommendation maybe use SOIR DE PARIS of CHANNEL before entering or FORBIDDEN TO SWEAT.
I think if everybody would put a fresh shirt and training suite that would help a lot in a country where each corner smells for urine and continious during walking you have to take care where to put the feet in the shit or on the ground.

TRIMBAKHESHWAR THE GATE TO SHIVA

Trimbakeshwar is situated approx 30 Km in the NW of Nasik on a road passing the astonishing formations of the Western Gath.



The holy spot is dedicated to Shiva and the city is almost completly occoupied by the pelgrim tourist. The temple must have been very beautiful but as was the case in Nasik , urgently need renovation. Unfortunately , not being Hindu I was not allowed to enter the temple, therefore only pictures from the surrounding. In the back of the temple is a wonderful lake showing some far away asram or temple or even mosque and the scene of the Western Ghats.

THE BEAUTIES OF NASIK AND THE SUSPICIOUS SWAMI

NASIK, PANCHAVATI AND GODAVARY GHAT RAM KUND

The city of Nashik on the banks of the Godavari River impregnated with history and religious tradition. Located on the western edge of the Deccan peninsula, Nashik had always been a centre of religion, dating back to 1st century BC when Buddhist monks resided here.
According to popular legend, Lord Rama and his wife Sita resided here for sometime during his 14 years of exile from the kingdom of Ayodhya.
At that spot several temples can be visited all of them in more or less desperated conditions due to lack of renovations and encroachments.
The city is also famous for its growing wine industry, so much so that Nashik is often called the Wine Capital of India. Punctuated by temples, forts, wineries and an equal number of industrial units, Nashik is an eclectic blend of old and new. In fact, it is the third largest industrial township in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune. Today, it exports grapes, roses, tomatoes and strawberries amongst other things.