Lok Sabha Elections 2014 - An opportunity to pick the right lawmakers!

Why? But .... Why? I don't understand .... why not? Why should? Why can't? ..... these are not the "whys" I hear from my kids but the "whys" that I wonder about on day to day dealings that begin every time I read the paper, step out of home or even just chat with a random person.

Working on urban issues has just made these "whys" more specific in nature and has made me a find-outer! Initially I was pretty embarrassed my knowledge about civic duties and responsibilities of an individual / elected representative / establishment / service agencies / judiciary was so poor. Then told myself, it's not expected of one to remember everything one learnt in class 8 civics, felt better and continued on my journey of being a find-outer.

I'm not a professor in political science or a part of the establishment, I am just another citizen. I spent my entire life in this city and like old folks say, I've seen it change - geographically, physically, spatially, technologically, you get the drift. The city has come a long way, not because of any government but because cities also progressively evolve. I have stood in queues to fill water from tankers, to pay bills, to get wrong bills rectified, to get my bus pass attested by school, to trade in coins at a bank for some crisp notes, to register post letters, for my LL and then my DL and in the process learnt queue discipline, patience and never had to resort to speed-money. I have complained to the police as a pre teen when my dog went missing (called back when he came home a couple of days later), ran from one police station to another as a teen after an auto driver made away with my sister's suitcase, a few years later chased the cops to file a FIR after my house was ransacked and fought with the constable who asked me for tea money after walking around in circles in my just-ransacked-home and as recently as a couple of years ago, stood by my husband as he fought a case against the traffic police. I have had my fair share of the system. At every election since I could vote, I’d step out with the family and go vote, no questions asked, it was a done thing, almost like a habit and even if I jokingly asked anyone who they voted for they’d seriously say “secret ballot”. It did take me a couple of elections to understand the enormity of the responsibility on each citizen to make the government “of the citizens” function “for the citizens”.

It is difficult to motivate people into doing something they really have lost hope in. I wonder if facts will do the work? Here is an article I in Citizen Matters on the election the RIGHT MPs to the Lok Sabha 2014. Yes I am hopelessly hopeful that “my country will awake”.

Being a part of the solution, one solution at a time ......

If there is a problem it makes more sense if you are involved in the solution. You know you are trying no matter how complex the solution is ....... 

The list is endless if we sit down and jot our troubles, especially those with our city. When we so vociferously demand our rights I feel a key citizen responsibility is to vote in the right people. There may not be information on every single candidate of every single constituency but there is a lot more information out there than previous elections, choosing by eliminating all the crooks is a good point to start at. 

I shared my personal views on why I feel every individual matters in this write up - http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/5150-importance-of-voting-by-josephine-joseph 

Overall, the outcome may not be very different from earlier but it will be interesting to note if there were any close shaves or surprise victories ...... something that is a positive indication that a small change is beginning.

Running for IKSHA - This time it's for the parents

A chronic sniffle that my child has is enough cause for me to be worried. Many a time, during emergencies, even with all the conveniences I have I'm at a loss of sorts wondering what to do. 

The other day I was reading the health progress reports of our Iksha kids - it is a known fact that they all come from families living on a hand to mouth existence - what stood out most was, no matter what their circumstances  the parents ensured that the kids were in hospital as directed by the doctor for their treatment, many a time forgoing their daily wages for a couple of days and making arrangements for their other kids to be taken care of. In a condition like retinoblastoma, it is extremely critical that the kids come for treatment on time. 

I have had the chance to meet a couple of mothers with their kids at the hospital, they are aware that the cost of treatment is huge and their main responsibility is helping the child get better - you see it in their attitude, despite the unimaginable hardships they face, they are cheerful and treat the kids normally and encourage the kids to get better. 

I now understand more than before how every rupee I raise from donors like you is critical to these parents being "parents". I dedicate my run this year to THE PARENTS of the kids supported by Iksha foundation. 

(Me tom-toming last year http://iamoneinabillion.blogspot.in/2012/02/it-is-that-time-of-year-again.html)

Step it up!

My classmates from Pondy Univ will laugh their heads off if I told them I could name a few birds. Ornithology and any ecological study to do with birds was something I kept away from in those days. I felt strongly about insulting our fair feathered friends by calling them a wrong name, spotting them and figuring out who they exactly were was (is) such a challenge for me, I'd rather be happily immersed in all the garbage projects.  

Years later a son comes along and for whatever reason (can even be peer pressure) wanted to know if the bird he spotted was the bird he thought it was. He'd flip through my bird book and show me something and tell me why he thought what he spotted was that particular bird. Now, I tried "I'm a biologist but don't know EVERYTHING let me check and get back to you" line many times, but then the fear that his wrong assumptions being worse than no assumptions prodded me into learning a few names to begin with. I realised if I had to keep up with him I had to step it up and singing "....he'll know much more than I'll ever know..." won't do! So this October when we went to my parents place, bird watching was our main activity. With a little help from the great SAs bird book, my siblings and Dr M B Krishna, I managed to identify and show Nishanth a whole new bird world. And the good part is we had a Karan walking behind us asking if it was a pum-headed-pakeet or a dongo and the older sibling would take pains and pride in explaining to him what bird. 

Sometimes you just have to step outside your comfort zone if that difference has to be made ..... I am still trying .... 

Green Info to reduce your carbon footprint

I am a believer that civic and environmental awareness is critical if one wants to see change at a community level or city level. It is not like every one who is aware will do the right thing but even is a small percent did, it would matter. 

This blog is wholly a SHARING EXERCISE of information that is already out there - The Green Life by Latha Anantharaman, a series of 10 articles featured in The Hindu.  

The names of the articles itself will give you a sense of the topic :) ..... the articles have a little (or a lot) of 'this' and 'thats' that we can internalise in our day to day routine / life to make a BIG difference.


1. How to Trash That - http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3874326.ece

2. It's all about easy composting - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article3904072.ece

3. A Thriftier Kitchen - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/a-thriftier-kitchen/article3929252.ece

4. Hole In The Bucket - http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/hole-in-the-bucket/article3963048.ece

5. More Power to you - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/more-power-to-you/article3974698.ece

6. There Will Be Mud - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/there-will-be-mud/article3990934.ece

7. The Minus Touch - http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/homes-and-gardens/the-minus-touch/article4016421.ece

8. Shop Talk - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/shop-talk/article4033993.ece 

9. Drive to Change - http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/drive-to-change/article4057804.ece?css=print 

10. Travelling Light - http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/travelling-light/article4096290.ece

The Kambha is here!

It has been 14 years since I walked around digging in the garbage piles of Sunrays Composting unit, sampling soil and water and talking to the farmers about their health issues and that of their cattle. For 8 years now I was also contributing to their woes (before that we did anaerobic composting in the garden of our house) and every now and then feel very guilty for not doing my “more” in managing my waste despite knowing so much about it and preaching to people. Living in an apartment really wasn’t a valid excuse, because many others have managed with options that were available, but somehow for us, there was never a right time. Till NOW :)

Most of our other household waste is managed fine - we live in an apartment that requires to segregate our waste into 6 categories!! And I happily do it. They collect our kitchen waste seperately too but like I said for us 'that' time has come ..... I have been following Daily Dump (http://www.dailydump.org/) for a long time, eyeing exactly what I wanted.  I knew when the time came, I’d have to step up – yah! Decomposition happens naturally but every positive outcome you look for needs that proportion of effort!! 

This is going to be my Kambha Diary, hopefully not one filled with woes like my gardening attempts!! It is Day 3 and still too early to report ‘happenings’ except for the fact that I am happy I am making our little family unit count :)

Stitched2Save9

One year since I began blogging, to share the buzzing in my mind and especially if it was some little thing done to make a difference. Here is one big attempt at making me count........

I have always enjoyed working with my hands and if something meaningful came out of it then, super! I have been stitching stuff and subjecting my friends to it for a long time now. In fact when I gave my friend Deepa a bag for her birthday a couple of years ago she said, "Joe you gave me a bag last year too". I never thought I was stitching that much (except for the kids nappies). There never was a thought to scale up and I was happy doing the odd ones her and there.

Last year, my sister, DIANA CHERIAN and her students took on a task of stitching 1000 cloth bags, a project that is nearing its goal and the bags are being distributed in the neighbourhood, I am sure each of those bags will decrease the number of plastic bags in circulation. Simple math, many cloth bags will decrease many more plastic bags and this project is what inspired me to scale up! And this was the thought process - there is always a need for cloth grocery bags, I just have to make as many as I can and make it available to anyone, especially those who make sad excuses to accept plastic bags. I have to make bags that people can fold up and keep anywhere - in their laptop bags, purses, bikes or cars so that there would be a cloth bag at hand should there be an impulse to pick something spotted randomly. I should also make bags on request as long as it's upcycled material.

Stitched2Save9 seemed an apt name for many reasons .... one was the hope that 1 of my cloth bags would reduce atleast 9 plastic bags in circulation. As far as possible no new material will be used, it will be any old sturdy cloth. Upcycling is so meaningful, it is a good way to reuse to reduce our ecological footprint - one person at a time. So far the cloth used for the bags I have made include old bedsheets, curtains, dhupattas, kurtas and material rejected by tailors saying it was too little to make anything. My plan is 'keeping it simple'. While each bag will have some element of design, I do hope some can look trendy to meet the needs of every type of shopper! A lot of thought went into whether I should price the bags or just keep giving it away for free. I finally decided to price it nominally so it will be meaningful to me and the buyer. Of course I will be gifting a lot of people who will not only appreciate the effort but also use the bag many many many times over.

https://www.facebook.com/Stitched2Save9 is where one can see progress of my plans and a place where you can let me know whats on your mind!

 These little bags were specifically made on request as tambula bags given to visitors during this Dasara season.

 Easy-to-store-anywhere grocery bags - no more excuses for not carrying one of your own!

Bolster bags!! ... One big bolster cover made way for two neat grocery bags :)!