A dream hero and a true leader...

My painting on Kalam when he turned 75 in 2006

APJ Abdul Kalam doesn’t need an intro and children/students celebrate him as hero, who inspires everyone to dream. Being a rocket scientist, I see him as a true leader who guided the country on the right path with an anticipation that is quite selfless. It is rare for a country with billion populations who entirely love and admire an individual beyond their variation and unity in diversity.

I am uncertain in which way I admire him the most (as a rocket scientist or missile man, a transformer of dreams or president of India, or perhaps his various aspects and schemes) but the concept of India 2020 impressed me lot and want to follow his path. India 2020 is the first book I read (with interest) apart the school text books which I read in a compulsion or without passion. He showed me a way to explore things through books, even though I started reading books actually to improve my English it was his book initiated the habit.

Just like everyone, his simplicity and down to earth attitude (even at the post of higher position and first citizen of nation) make me feel incredible and proud to live in his era. Among his many pursuits of dreams, the 2020 project is a wake-up call for the entire nation to work hard to fulfill his dreams where lies our bright future. What really bother me was, whether India becomes a developed nation or not in 2020, he should have lived to encourage us until we reach quite a position.

He had touched almost all the areas and wanted to develop everything equally (with a vision for tomorrow) because a development gets a full form only if it was balanced. Although he’s a scientist dealt with deadly weapons and missiles, he’s gentle enough towards every human being as he himself being so, he’s more concern about environment and want to bring a transformation in agriculture using latest technologies. His Go Green campaign that began in Tamil Nadu with an intention to plant 10 million saplings is a great initiation, which I see as a balance to various destruction we do in name of development.

Agriculture being my favorite subject and villages being center of its state, I like the way he look into the concept of agriculture and the need to develop the villages, he quotes:

My true labor will give life to my village

our villages elevates, our families will get good prosperity

our families lived well, our state will rise

our state elevates, our country will evolutes as a fertile nation

we work hard and develop our village, state and nation.

As a teacher he has reached students that any other leader or educationist would have done. Teaching being his main intention as he believes giving education is the best way to make someone realize his dreams and he sowed the seeds in students for the future nourishment and he understands the fact that taking anything at earlier gives good result. Not everyone gets the chance to die while doing what they love and respect to do so... at the age of 84, our youngest hero passed away while on his course of teaching (delivering a lecture) to students at IIM Shillong on a livable plant.

Good bye Kalam, we will follow your track and bring alive your dream. 

RGB Monday

(Today's object is tractor)

Red tractor, but the color has been fated! The picture was captured from the moving car on Grand Southern Trunk Rd across Theni, during my travel to Cloud Mountain.

Green tractor on the Girivalam (coming around hill) road of Tiruvannamalai! It is the road (that comes around the Annamalai Hill) where abundant of people take walk on the full moon day and they believe doing it brings peace to mind and also enhance fitness.

Blue tractor on the Palavakkam beach and it is to use to pull boats that come to shore after fishing and they charge certain amount for the job. 

PS. Tractors always fascinate me for their ability to handle any kind of terrain and many a time I wish to go for a ride on tractor. I and my cousin used to discuss how wonderful it would be to modify a tractor into a passenger car, so that we could travel anywhere without a care about road. 

Overcast at Kasimedu Fishing Harbour and Cloud Iridescence

The weather for last few days has been pleasant in Chennai during the evening with rain clouds overcast the sky and seldom showering here and there to lighter downpour. The days are hotter than usual to become a natural geyser to produce hot water but as it enter the evening the weather dramatically turn into gloomy and cool.  The situation was similar when I cross Marina beach a day back (in evening) with a plan to drive up to Kasimedu fishing harbor for a chance as we mostly turn back with Marina.

The sun was shining bright when we moved out of home but on the way we saw gray clouds climbing up the sky from the west against the setting sun and for a moment on the beach road we come to cease across a colorful sky (cloud iridescence) showing up above the clouds. As we cross Parry's corner it becomes darker and windy and when we enter the fishing harbor it was about 6 pm and the concrete pier was empty unlike my previous visit on a Sunday last year. There was police standing at the entrance of the harbour but they didn’t pay attention to us as we drive inside.

 

We drive partially into the breakwater and stood there sometime almost watching the clouded sky and feeling the fresh breeze and whisper of silent waves of sea. The harbour wasn’t busy that time and some fishermen were working on their nets at a corner and being 6 in evening we didn’t take risk of driving all the way till the end of breakwater to be warned by someone. Later the cop come in jeep indicated us to move away and we left the harbor to wish to come back some other day in a day time.

(All the photos were captured using S4 mini smart phone - 8 megapixel)

Fence around Fern House

The picturesque house surrounded by colorful flowers

The Fern House in the Ooty Botanical Garden is home to many ferns and orchids. This house (established in 1894) is dedicated to W.C. Mc. Ivor, in whose response the Garden has been developed to this stage from the then a patch of vegetable garden and wilderness of Shola and shrubs and the lower part as a swamp traversed by deep ravines.

Mr. Ivor who had his training at the Royal Botanical Gardens, was able to transform the steep slopes into walks and terraces, lawns and flower beds for growing choice selection of plants. He also improvised ways and means by which he could reclaim the lower part of the garden and converted into undulating and sloping lawns with pockets of ponds left at convenient places to add chart to the landscape.

Linking this post for Run a Round Ranch's Good Fences

Kaadu (Forest)

The Tamil movie I watched last night at home theatre is obviously based on the title Kaadu (forest) and the lives and way of living adjoining same. The movie wasn’t much interesting to watch, but I did plainly for the message it carries on forest conservation and the important of preserving the forest. The film shot in and around Dharmapuri, one of the most backward and drought prone district in Tamil Nadu, captured at its natural state.

Begin with a note dedicating to all nature lovers and forests activists, Kaadu makes it path clear and wants to point out the mindless behaviour of man toward deforestation. Even though the movie comes under usual drama, the main plot deals with Velu, who collects firewood in the forest and sells to the people in his locality. Being a believer in nature, he makes certain not to cut a single tree or plant in the forest to preserve it for future generation.

Velu’s friend Karuna, who aspire to become a forest officer couldn’t cope up the bribe that is needed by the selector. In desperate he smuggle sandalwood and get caught but he request Velu to replace him so that his dream don’t ruin. Velu in jail, Karuna becomes a forest officer by impressing the DFO and tries to take over the forest for his personal gain by removing the people of the forest. Velu on bail, fight against karuna, and smugglers on other hand, to save forest and its people.

Directed by newcomer Stalin Ramlingam, Kaadu ties to capture the views of people closely associate with forest and what/how it suppose to be and seen. The film travels on socio-political scenario (that well detail the lifestyle of the people in forest) has great remarks throughout, touching topics such as eco-conservation, unemployment and corruption in government engine and the important to rely on roots. Captioned as forest, the film doesn’t show any animals but stressed the need of them to be in the forest than in zoos.

Vithartha as Velu in the role of a rural man is apt, as he had done many similar roles in his carrier that began in Myna and his transformation into rebel is also convincing. The film also conveys communism at its fair bit, Samuthirakani in the role of political prisoner, with a mandatory reference to Che Guevara, spell out neatly the need to fight for one’s right. For a movie with great idealism, the romance and comedy comes as a flipside spoils the real cause of watching.

The film also indirectly mark the late encounter of red wood smugglers or loggers in AP, whom were mostly gone from nearby districts of Dharmapuri. Although the movie ends with message, it wasn’t sharp hitting rather it should be as it make mandatory that forest guards should be truly admirer of nature and forest activist to protect it entirely. And if we continue neglect forest and keep ravage, the after effect would be drastic that humankind would not survive.