Person of the Year - 2013 | Edward Snowden - A Real Hero

Edward Snowden has two profiles :

- a rogue NSA contractor who stole US National data and revealed them to the wider world public.

- a NSA contractor who stood for the freedom of expression and privacy rights.

Depending on which side you come from, you would believe in one of the two perceptions or both of them. Irrespective of how anybody may perceive Snowden, he has changed the world by blowing the whistle on the biggest data snooping methodology by US government. I owe my life to computer science engineering education and love the openness of the Internet. I had always been a staunch supporter of retaining the freedom of internet away from government hands. However, US has killed the openness of the internet by exploiting the openness and technological advantage of US companies in the internet space for it's own benefits. In light of these development, I foresee a world where every country may rightfully demand the data of it's user stay within it's physical borders, there be restricting the openness of the Internet. 

Edward Snowden is only 14 months elder to me and was in a well paid Govt job. He however chose to give up all the comfort of the material world and undergo extreme isolation in this world when he decided to release information on data snooping which he believed is unconstitutional. His stand was vindicated when a US district court gave a judgement questioning the constitutional validity of the snooping process carried out by the US government. I consider him a hero for his guts to take on the most powerful government in the world and it's spy agency, and for the conviction of his belief on what is right and wrong. 

He is a beacon to the entire world on privacy rights and is my person of the year.

Atlanta - many times that we meet :)

Olympics water fountain at Downtown, Atlanta

During my school days in 1996, one of the assigned work was to do layer painting using crayons. I vividly remember one of the painting I did in that painting book - "Atlanta 1996" with olympic logo, as Atlanta hosted the olympics that year. 

Fast forward 13 years to 2009, Atlanta was the place I landed for my first overseas assignment. Wow - what a ride the initial months in Atlanta was !! Many a lonely walk ensued through dense pathways in Post properties at Smyrna - the reasons were many. One thing is for sure, never have I ever experienced such varied emotions in a short span of time. Staying alone didn't help either. Alas, what to do :)

Fast forward further, it is almost the fag end of 2013 and I'm lying down on a couch at a beautiful place in Alpharetta. People who were hesitant to come to Atlanta have made it their home (I was referring to my uncle [wink wink] ) and I keep coming to this city at least twice a year, if not more.

At any rate, Atlanta means lots of things - 

• how to boil rice :D, 
• how to pick oneself up when down, when left repeatedly down,
• scratchy/messy acclimatization days in US, 
• few good friends, 
• experience going around US,
• the determination to make it count in work and life when pushed to the brim in every sphere of life.
• photo Shoots by my roommates
• hindu Temple - Shiva and Vishnu together [when gods can be together, why can't people? ]
• art of Living Atlanta,
• Smyrna, Cobb parkway,
• Dunwoody, perimeter areas, dunwoody station

Post Apartments - crossing, Dunwoody. Hmmmm. Loosepayalae ?
— Nathan SP (நாதன்) (@nathan_sp21) December 27, 2013

• Interesting visit to post properties
• Alpharetta, sandy springs, Marta
• first apartment lease taken under drastic circumstances [apt 121]
• madras chettinadu, Krishna vilas, publix, Royal and many more places
• Stone mountain, lake lanear
• amazing downtown - the every busy intersections and the olympic flame
• olympic fountain near park at downtown and CNN headquarters, the dance clubs
• one of the busiest airport in the world.

Here it is, to Atlanta.

Atlanta Skyline

அறிவு | Arivu

அறிவு என்றால் நிறையக் கற்பது என்றும் நிறையக் கற்றவர்களை அறிஞர் என்றும் அழைக்கின்ற தவறான பழக்கம் நம்மிடையே வந்தது எப்போதிருந்து தெரியவில்லை. ஆனால் அந்தக் கேடு நம்மைச் சூழ்ந்துள்ளது.

வள்ளுவப் பேராசானைப் பெற்ற தமிழர்கள் எப்படி இந்தத் தவறுகட்கு ஆட்பட்டார்கள் எந்த் தெரியவில்லை.

அவர் எது அறிவு என்று நமக்குத் தெளிவாகச் சொல்லிச் சென்றிருக் கின்றார்.

ஆமாம் அடுத்த உயிர்கள் படும் துன்பத்தைத் தன் துன்பமாகக் கருதி அந்த உயிரின் துன்பத்தைத் துடைக்க முயற்சி செய்வது அறிவு என்கின்றார். வெறுமனே படித்தவர்கள் எத்தனை பேர் இந்தக் குணம் கொண்டவர்களாக உள்ளனர். இல்லையே.

மற்றவர்கட்கு எளிதாகப் புரியும்படி நல்லவைகளை பண்புகளை உயர் குணங்களைச் சொல்லுவது அறிவு என்கின்றார். அது போல தன்னிடம் பேசுபவர்களின் பேச்சிலிருந்து சிறந்த பொருட்களைக் காண்பதுவும் அறிவு என்கின்றார்.

அஞ்ச வேண்டிய உயிர்க் குலத்திற்கு எதிரான பண்பற்ற செயல்
களைச் செய்ய அஞ்சுவது அறிவு. எந்தச் சூழலிலும் வாய்மைக்குப் புறம்பான செய்லகளைச் செய்யாமல் இருப்பது தான் அறிவு என்கின்றார்.

நமக்குத் தீமையையே செய்து மகிழ்கின்ற தீயவர்களுக்கும் கூட
மறந்தும் எந்தத் தீமையையும் செய்யாது தன்னைக் காத்துக் கொள்வது அறிவு என்கின்றார்.அறிவிலேயே தலையாயது அது என்கின்றார்.

இப்படி நற்பண்புகளைக் கொண்டு ஒழுகுபவர்கள் தான் அறிவுடையார் என்கின்றார்.அவர்களுடைய அறிவு எந்த நேரத்திலும் அவர்களைக் காக்கும். எவராலும் அழிக்க முடியாத கோட்டையைப் போல் அந்த அறிவு காக்கும் என்கின்றார்.

உணர்ந்து அதன் வழி நடப்போம்.

குறட்பாக்கள்

அறிவினான் ஆகுவது உண்டோ பிறிதின் நோய்
தந்நோய் போல் போற்றாக்கடை

எண் பொருவாகச்செலச் சொல்லி தான் பிறர் வாய்
நுண் பொருள் காண்பது அறிவு

அறிவினுள் எல்லாம் தலை எனப தீய
செறுவார்க்கும் செய்யா விடல்

அறிவு அற்றம் காக்கும் கருவி செறுவார்க்கும் 
உள்ளழிக்கல் ஆகா அரண்

Source: NellaiKannan
Url: https://www.facebook.com/thamizhkadalnellaikannan/posts/241959109313484

Post by Nellaikannan.

Merry Christmas !!

Wonderful Christmas card video - let the festival spirit flow on. Love the kids in the video too, especially the last laugh. :D

Energy Architecture Performance Index

WestJet - Christmas surprise. Wonderful !!!

Makes me want to fly #WestJet - for their wonderful and happy gesture. Of course, I won't mind the gifts either ;)

~ ~ ~ ~ Life is beautiful and Miracles do happen if "WE" all work as one ~ ~ ~ ~

Drone future

Advertising and women

A disturbing but disgusting reality of the advertising world.

How is advertising shaping the image of women - Phewwww

Advertisements, as a medium and message, have transformed from being "what is" to "what we think is". The repercussions of these advertising messages on the sub-conscious mind is very hard to get rid off and creates a pseudo-reality than what is actually the reality. For example, If a women's face is altered/touched on an average 20 times before it becomes the cover of a magazine, where is the reality ? This pseudo realistic image is then used as measure by society at large to compare with innocuous regular women and girls. It is pathetic and I agree we all are part of the society which is in this bandwagon of comparison and feel ashamed.

While I agree that advertisements need to exaggerate and dramatize to capture the attention of the viewer in a limited span of time, it is not acceptable to push down messages which are nothing but LIES. 

Please watch the below video to fully understand the harmful impact of "WRONG ADVERTISEMENTS". 

The speaker in the video below is the creator of the video series - "killing us softly"

Demeaning ads

Nelson Mandela

RIP Mandela - the world is at peace because of your life. "It always seems impossible until it's done." 

A man who inspired millions to shed their differences and come together.



After all that he had done to help the South African nation rebuild, he could have been president till date. However, he chose to step down after his first term and retired. A great example of how a leader should be.

Nearly 22 years after being banned for apartheid policies, South African cricket team was reinstated to ICC and they played their first international game against India at Kolkata in 1991. A matter of pride for Indians to welcome the country that is changing and remedying itself to be a better one.

Nelson Mandela, fondly called as 'Madiba' is no more. A great loss to humanity.

Amazon Prime Air

Are you kidding me ?

I'm not sure how this is going to pan out, however, as a concept and an idea, it is outstandingly bold and innovative in the last mile of delivery. If proved viable, Amazon Prime Air can potentially alter the cost of delivery and tilt the experiences in favor of online retail and Amazon by an exponential factor.

Jeff Bezos "Nutters" attitude probably created this.

Official link : 

http://www.amazon.com/b?ref_=tsm_1_tw_s_amzn_mx3eqp&node=8037720011

My thought on this spectacular and pathbreaking idea is brief coz I'm caught short of words.

Satyendra Dubey - lest we forget this HERO

Satyendra Dubey was murdered in Gaya, Bihar on 27th Nov 2003 for fighting corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral highway construction project - he was a project director at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He found malpractices in awarding of contracts, quality of construction, payments to contractors and many other avenues in NHAI. He took it to the higher people in NHAI and got no response. He even wrote to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee highlighting the impropriety and pleaded to not reveal his identity. Alas, his identity was revealed to NHAI which reprimanded him for writing to Prime Minister directly.

I'm not entirely sure of the sequence of events, but he was killed on Nov 26th, 2003. A very said end to a bright [ Civil Engineering IIT Kanpur, 90-94 and MTech Civil, IIT BHU Varanasi 94-96] and brave soul, that stood up against corruption. India didn't have whistleblower policy back then and it does now thanks to people like you. Although the implementation of the bill in it's true spirit by the government is an entirely different matter, it's very existence can offer glimmer of hope and courage to others who may want to fight against the malice in the community. 

Inspiration to write this blog post: The Hindu

"You would have been scared that first day at the IIT, wondering how you, a village boy from Bihar, would cope with all the fancy boys and girls from the metros. You would have been scared when the road mafia issued you death threats, or when the fact that you wrote to the Prime Minister was revealed despite your plea to keep your identity under wraps…The point is not that you were scared. Courage is not about being fearless. Courage is about doing the right thing despite being scared. And that is something you did with aplomb right through your short life.

You showed us the way by doing the right thing. In an age where someone can become a hero merely by knowing how to swing a cricket bat or emote on screen, you were the real deal; a bona fide hero. You remain our inspiration. The generations to come will feel your influence."

Amazing way to place an order at a drive in - Giorgio Fareira sings his way in to fame !!

This is just an amazing way to place an order at a drive in - Just wow :)




Here is Giorgia: http://www.youtube.com/user/321GGO/about

Thank you Sachin !!!

From the time I started watching cricket, I never saw an Indian team/eleven, where Sachin Tendulkar was not a member. He was called the little man, master blaster and off late God of cricket. Honestly, while I always admitted and admired his talent, ability, gentle nature and HUNGER to play cricket, I felt that Sachin was treated a little different from few other cricketers who were also doing equally good for the country and the sports. Hence, I was never vocal of my admiration or support of Sachin Tendulkar. I loved Rahul Dravid dearly and felt the need to support him coz I know for every one person who will support Dravid, there will be a hundred more who will support Sachin. I remember fighting with my friends in School/college on who is best/better - the cricket card game of boomer/big fun in the class is the highlight. My friend +Shiva R may remember me fighting for Dravid and in the process not supporting Sachin. I remember arguing with him about how many fours Dravid would have hit in a 50 and how may Tendulkar would have hit in his score of 50. Even till date, it is a given that if Tendulkar scores a 50, there will be close to 7-10 boundaries in that and it is not the case with Dravid.

It is a given that Sachin is a genius - how else can one debut at the age of 16 for his nation in International cricket ? His technique, stance is one of the most recognized in the world, including the famous guard adjusting knee jab he always does. His voice is one of the most mimicked voices in cricketing world. I can never forget waving at Tendulkar during India-Australia cricket match  in 1998 at Chepauk, Chennai - he came to field close to boundary line and looked right in my direction. He waved at all of us in the stands but still I was one of them. This is the closest I had ever seen Tendulkar, unlike +Dharma R sir who has tonnes of pictures with him. His popularity knows no bounds  - I remember 9th std holiday on april and on Sachin's bday, Doordarshan came out with "Sachin-25" event. We had an additional class to teach us 10th syllabus in 9th holidays and my teacher postponed the class to let us watch Sachin 25 TV show and come to school. Enough said of the level of adulation and respect you commanded and to have been in stardom for as long he has been, his conduct is impeccable.

Sachin Tendulkar :

1. His front foot drive. 
2. Dancing down the crease - it is such a fluent action when he does that
3. His balance and stance.
4. Desert Storm
   
   
5. Ind vs Pakistan at Chennai.Ind vs Australia at Chennai.
6. Sachin vs Warne - Though there are many battles Sachin won, Warne was most haunted of Sachin.
   
   Warne says: "I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player"
7. Sachin vs McGrath - Australia was at the receiving end of Sachin for the most number of times. He scored most centuries against Australia than against any other country.
   
   
   
8. MRF Bat.
9. 2003 Cricket world cup
10. Sachin's on and off field conduct and many many more !!
    
    
    
    
    Finally,
11. Sachin's final respect and worship of the 22 yards - it brings tears to my eyes every time I see it. It is indicative of what cricket meant to him and he lasted as long coz he wasn't playing for anything else but for the love of a game.

To quote one wonderful article I read in The Hindu, His game is his personality:

"Tendulkar’s style, and this is perhaps the true measure of his greatness, demanded we assess nothing but his cricket. Yes, it is routine to affix such descriptors as humble, gentlemanly, focused to his character but I suspect we never really knew him — or needed to know him — like we knew the others (or thought we did). Tendulkar, to use that dreary cliché, let his game speak for himself."

Although I adore Rahul Dravid equally, you carried the hopes of a billion people more times on your shoulders than anybody else. You are dream and you lived a dream. What it tells me and rest of us is that, perhaps, if we also follow our dreams and do it to the best of our ability, we shall hope to attain success and most importantly, contentment and love out of it.

I cried.

One of the living example of genius, perseverance, hard-work ethic and love for the game. True Bharat Ratna indeed !!

Thank You - Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar !!!

All Digital information to have physical manifestation ?

All Digital information to have physical manifestation - Wow !!!

The advent and continued innovation of human mind reflected through technology never ceases to impress and inspire me.

I'm not sure how or to what extent these developments will have effect on our life, but just the concept of "All Digital information to have physical manifestation " is mind blowing !!

MIT research on progress from GUI to TUI - Graphical User interface to Tactical User interface is great research work. I would love to know the underlying technologies, the connections from computer and how these pins move for the command etc.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/13/5098926/mit-inform-dynamic-shape-display-video

Indian Economy - Rajan clarifies

Rajan - Governor of Reserve Bank of India

Although I didn't have access to the numbers such as GDP/Debt, GDP/external debt of India or didnt look for it, I've always believed what Rajan outlines very clearly in the video below. How and why do I believe - a country of 1.3 billion, with the highest percentage of youth population in the world and a vibrant domestic economy, cannot but have a sustainable development if not for some blunt missteps. And, I haven't seen anything that I would think as "Major" blunt missteps by Indian government. 

India and it's companies can make a "world" of profit if they can target just the indian market alone (much of the world wants to come in and asks for cheaper access to markets but will not invest in infrastructure for that cheaper access - c'mon big box retailers? ) and not worry about any other market. Of-course, there are problems of graft, inefficient bureaucracy and lack of clarity in industrial sector's policies - these issues are prevalent in most economies, the question is of the scale of it. And, laws such as RTI, Lok Pal (weak or not weak) and recent scam revelations will, I hope, deter people from raping countries wealth any further. Again, all these doesn't take away the fundamentals that support a strong sustainable growth for India. 

And, I'm glad about the changes mentioned by Rajan in the video below - a shift from consumption based economy to Investment/infrastructure based economy. The changes along with few unfortunate missteps by govt, will slow us down, but also sets us for a higher future growth that can be sustained and weather any economical storm. Hello, we weathered through the 2008 financial crisis not coz of super management or tax concession or govt funded buyout, but coz of regulation that are well thought out long time ago. I hope this wisdom of being a touch too conservative and stronger in regulation continues than pay for the missteps of companies/corporations later. I also support Indian government for not doing much 'further' help to Kingfisher airlines and let it go through the motions - it's a badly run company and should face consequences. And, airline industry is showing signs of being vibrant with Tata-Airasia deal, Tata-Singapore airlines deal and Jet-Ethihad deal.

India has "PR" problem - not an "unmanageable" financial problem

Amali Thumali - KO

Just love this song - the music, the beat and bro Jiva

 

~ ~ ~ Amali Thumali ~ ~ ~

Vaseegara | Minnale

In the year 2001, I was so crazy about this song: Vaseegara, from the movie Minnale. 

Crazy is probably a moderate word to describe my fanaticism towards this song - there was a time when not a single day went by without me seeing this song at least once a day, in the TV. I was maintaining this streak of watching Vaseengara, at least once a day and was so determined to make it last, forever. One may wonder what's so special about seeing it once a day ? There was no youtube in 2001. Although it is a famous song and Tv programs played it so often, it proved to be a challenge watching it once a day when my college started. Still, I used to browse through channels and the music programs to make sure that I see this song - It was always played in any music program as this song was insanely popular. So much so, everybody in my family and some relatives are aware of this new habit of mine - watching this song at least once a day.

However, there was a day, after coming back from college and despite my best efforts staying up till late in the night, I didn't get to watch this song at all. I was so sad and disappointed that my streak got broken and slept late. The day my streak got broken was September the 10th, of 2001. The next day was September the 11th of 2001 and in the evening IST time, morning US time, we all know what happened to the world. When my mummy came back from office, I told that I missed watching the song one day and look what happened to the world.

Hahaha - that is me :D. My mummy played along with my stupidity and said, please never miss watching this song, ever. And, we had a good laugh at my ability to correlate this habit of mine to the events that were unfolding in the world. Anyways, I continued my streak from September 11th 2001 and continued watching it without missing a day. I was wondering what would happen if I miss another day and can some other event unfold :-D. It was kind of fun (stupid) to imagine and correlate some extra-ordinary event happening in the world as a direct consequence of me not able to continue my streak. 

And, there came a day when I again missed watching this song in TV again. It was on December the 6th - a controversial date in India for the demolition of Babri masjid few years ago on the same date. However, nothing untoward happened and I was happy but stupidly sad that this time there wasn't any consequence of me missing the streak. Hmmph :( But, a week later, Indian parliament was attacked. 

After this, I stopped following the steak simply coz it was very hard to maintain. 

Tears

It is very rare that I shed tears - and today is one such day.

But hey, still, life is beautiful :-)

Boycott Express Avenue | Express Avenue Suicide and Negligence

I had never been to Express Avenue or EA (as it is called) but after seeing this incident, I don't have any inclination to go that place anymore. Im boycotting EA coz their staff, security and others in-charge of the mall have little or no training in emergency management, first-aid medical care and behaving with the public. This is highly disgusting on two counts:

1. The EA Mall: From the mall point of view, people are their source of income. More the footfalls, more the income for them. It is in their best interest to take care of customers in the mall by providing them basic facilities and proper management of the facility. What is seen in the below video is pure apathy displaying lack of preparedness to handle emergency and failure to provide basic first aid. A mall is a place where thousands of people gather on a regular basis and it is imperative of them to foresee emergency needs and plan for them. The behavior of mall authorities is just disgusting, unworthy of my patronage.
2. Police: Police often forget for whom they work for. Police have various responsibilities: Crime prevention, law and order maintenance, traffic management, providing security etc. However, all of this is done to serve the public and a developing public situation has to be handled with care and respect. What we see in this video is authority and direct threat issued to responsible citizens of the city. Of course, people were spilling over to the road and creating a ruckus by blocking traffic, but they are doing that as last resort as their earlier demands were not met by police or the evasive mall authorities. If their genuine questions are met, they would have dispersed on their own. Instead, police resorted to threaten then and fudge their responsibilities.

I'm really disappointed and sad. I'm boycotting EA

https://www.change.org/petitions/boycott-express-avenue-mall-in-chennai-india

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/techie-jumps-to-death-at-city-mall/article4870489.ece

Salute to the brave lady who fought for the departed soul and for thousand of soul-less living people.

!!!!!!! Man of Steel !!!!!!!!

The Freaking AWESOME cut of Man of STEEL - the REAL MAN OF STEEL.



The most apt cut I've ever watched - matching the dialogues, emotions and feel that only Thalaivar can evoke.

Awesome fan made Trailer !!!!!!!

SUTTA KADHAI

Sutta Kadhai....appadi enna than Suttanga indha paduthule ? 

Villain eh suttangla ? Or some other figures suttangala? or Vadai than suttangala ? :D

One thing for sure - in the first dialogue itself they clarified that the story is not stolen - Sudalainga Saami !!  :-D :-D

My friend +Subu's Debut movie - Hoot Hoot !!!!

Listen to good and different music from Madly Blues below....Great MSV Sir has sung one soulful song !!!

+Subu's Movie launch video below - Kalukkal police get up - onne partha sirippu police mariye therila da :-P

Vinod Rai - the man who made the government accountable !!

Vinod Rai, quiet, well spoken and hard working accountant, is India's change man. Nobody really knew who a Comptroller and Auditor General of India is and what are the responsibilities of such a constitutional position in Indian Democracy. A Position so sacred that it doesn't have to report to any executive and enjoys the same privileges as a supreme court judge. However, nobody really knew of such an authority or office in Indian democracy till Vinod Rai took over office in 2008.

He will be remembered as the man who brought awareness amongst millions of Indians by performing audit of government expenditures fearlessly, with clear objective and without subjecting to any outside influence. 2G Spectrum allocation scam, Coal mine allocation scam , Common wealth games scam were all uncovered by CAG after carefully and clearly auditing the records and bills submitted by government of India vs the stated objective of the same projects. Such was the impact of the findings that it shook the entire central government, lead to the fall of several ministers in the cabinet and lead to the rise of awareness in the minds of the people.

He is one of the people indirectly responsible for the rise of India's movement against corruption for he never urged them directly to confront the government against it's malpractice but just let his work do the talking.

The man who held the Government of the Union of India accountable, is serving his last day as CAG. Salute Sir - you are one of my heroes of modern India. 

பணத்தால் எல்லாவற்றையும் வாங்க முடியுமா ? Can money buy everything ?

Simple video with a profound message - Credit and kudos to the creator(s)

~~ Chennai ~~ சென்னை

Chennai !!!! சென்னை !!!! 

I saw the below details in a facebook post and cannot verify the authenticity of all the details shared, but it seems plausible and makes for an interesting read.

Of course, like any other big city, Chennai also has issues. As we learn, so will Chennai :)

Chennai, is and will always be, an awesome place !!!

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சென்னை இன்று மிகப்பெரிய மாநகரமாக விளங்க காரணம், பல சிறு சிறு கிராமங்களின் இணைவு தான். சிறுதுளி பெருவெள்ளம் என்பது போல் பல கிராமங்கள் இணைந்து சென்னை பிரமாண்டமாய் உருவெடுத்துள்ளது. 

அப்படி இணைந்த கிராமங்களின் பெயர்கள் உருவானதின் பின்னணியை தெரிந்து கொள்வது சுவாரஸ்யமான ஒன்றே.

- 108 சக்தி ஸ்தலங்களில் 51வது ஊர். ஆகையால் ஐம்பத்து ஒன்றாம் ஊர் என்று அழைக்கப்பட்டு, பின்னாளில் இவ்வூர் அம்பத்தூர் என மாறியது.

- Armoured Vehicles And Depot of India என்பதின் சுருக்கமே ஆவடி(AVADI)

- chrome leather factory இப்பகுதியில் அதிக அளவில் இருந்ததால் இப்பகுதி குரோம்பேட்டை என அழைக்கப்படலாயிற்று.

- 17,18ம் நுற்றாண்டுகளில் நவாப் ஒருவரின் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் இருந்தது இப்பகுதி. அவருடைய குதிரைகளின் பசியை போக்கும் நந்தவனமாக இது விளங்கியதால், garden of horses என்னும் பொருள் படும் Ghoda bagh என்று உருது மொழியில் பெயர் வைத்தார். பின்னாளில் அதுவே கோடம்பாக்கமாக மாறியது.

- மகப்பேறு என்பதே மருவி முகப்பேர் ஆனது.

- தென்னை மரங்கள் நிரம்பிய பகுதி அது. ஆகையால் தென்னம்பேட்டை என பெயர் வைத்தார்கள். பிற்பாடு அது தேனாம்பேட்டையாக மாறிப்போனது.

- சையிது ஷா பேட்டை தான் சைதாபேட்டை என அழைக்கப்படுகிறது.

- முற்காலத்தில் வேதஸ்ரேணி என அழைக்கப்பட்டது தற்போதைய வேளச்சேரி.

- உருது வார்த்தையான che bage (six gardens என்பது இதன் பொருள்) என்பதிலிருந்து உருவானது தான் சேப்பாக்கம்.

- சௌந்தர பாண்டியன் பஜார் என்பதின் சுருக்கமே பாண்டி பஜார்.

- கலைஞர் கருணாநிதி நகரை சுருக்கி கே.கே. நகர் என அழைக்கிறோம்.

- சிவபெருமானுக்கு உகந்த வில்வமரங்கள் அதிகம் இருந்ததால் மகாவில்வம் என அழைக்கப்பட்ட இப்பகுதி, பின்பு மாவில்வம் என்றாகி, காலப்போக்கில் எப்படியோ மாம்பலமாகி விட்டது.

- பல்லவர்கள் ஆட்சி செய்ததால் பல்லவபுரம் என்றழைக்கப்பட்ட இடம் தான் பல்லாவரம்.

- சென்னை மாகாண முதல்வராக இருந்த பனகல் ராஜாவின் நினைவாக இவ்விடம் பனகல் பார்க் என அழைக்கப்படுகிறது.

- நீதி கட்சி தலைவர் சர். பி.டி.தியாகராஜன் செட்டியின் பெயராலேயே இப்பகுதி தியாகராய நகர் என அழைக்கபடுகிறது(தி.நகர்)

- புரசை மரங்கள் மிகுதியாக இப்பகுதியில் இருந்ததால், இப்பகுதி புரசைவாக்கம் ஆனது.

- அதிக அளவில் மல்லிகை பூக்கள் பயிரிடப்பட்ட பகுதி இது. திருக்கச்சி நம்பி ஆழ்வார் தினமும் இங்கிருந்து பூக்களை பறித்துக்கொண்டு சென்று காஞ்சி வரதராஜபெருமாளை வழிபட்டுவந்தார். அதனால் இவ்விடம் சமஸ்கிருதத்தில் புஷ்பகவல்லி என்றும், தமிழில் பூவிருந்தவல்லி என்றும் அழைக்கப்படுகிறது. பின்னாளில் இது பூந்தமல்லியாக மாறியது. வல்லி என்பது தெய்வத்தை குறிக்கும் ஒரு பெயர்.

- 17ம் நூற்றாண்டில் இங்கு வாழ்ந்து வந்த ஒரு முஸ்லீம் துறவி 'குணங்குடி மஸ்தான் சாகிப்'. இவரது சொந்த ஊர் ராமநாதபுரம் மாவட்டத்தில் உள்ள தொண்டி. ஆகையால் அப்பகுதி மக்கள் அவரை தொண்டியார் என அழைத்தனர். அந்த ஏரியா தான் தற்போதைய தண்டயார்பேட்டை.

- முன்பு இப்பகுதி ஆடு மாடுகள் மேயும் திறந்தவெளியாக இருந்துள்ளது. அதனாலேயே மந்தைவெளி என்றழைக்கபடுகிறது.

- மயில் ஆர்ப்பரிக்கும் ஊர் என்பதே மயிலாப்பூர் என மாறிப்போனது.

- பல்லவர்கள் காலத்தில் போர்கள் நடத்த இவ்விடத்தையே பயன்படுத்தியதால், இப்பகுதி போரூர் எனப்படுகிறது.

- சில நூறு வருடங்களுக்கு முன்பு இப்பகுதி முழுவதும் மூங்கில் மரங்கள் இருந்தது. அதனாலேயே பெரம்பூர் எனப்படுகிறது.

- திரிசூல நாதர் ஆலயம் இருப்பதால் இந்த ஏரியா திரிசூலம் என்று அழைக்கப்படுகிறது.

- பார்த்தசாரதி கோவிலின் எதிர்ப்புறம் இருக்கும் குளத்தில் நிறைய அல்லிகள் பூக்கும். அதன் காரணமாக இப்பகுதிக்கு திருஅல்லிக்கேணி என பெயர் உருவாக்கி, பின்பு திருவல்லிக்கேணியாகி, தற்போது triplicane என

மாற்றம் கண்டுள்ளது.

- தாமஸ் பாரி என்பவர் இப்பகுதில் வணிகம் செய்துவந்தார். மக்கள் மத்தியில் மிகவும் மதிப்பு பெற்றிருந்த அவரின் பெயராலேயே இப்பகுதி பாரிமுனை (பாரிஸ் கார்னர்) ஆனது.

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An awesome video to end the post :) - this photo collage has two pictures of my friend, +Rajarajan D 

Organic and Organic Only !!

In an earlier post, I shared a video about the importance of seeds in human history. This post, Organic and Organic only, is an extension to that.

It is sad that a certain few chemical companies are creating products (?) that hopes to overturn all of the development of farming over thousands of years.

Btw, are they really creating products ?  Vandana Shiva, well know environmentalist and scientist, who has dedicated her life for this cause, calls most of GMO activity as "steal our seeds or put a toxic gene in it". She is absolutely right. We are all familiar with seeds coz every fruit, every vegetable, every grain on this planet - every plant has one. In fact, humans (male and female) have a seed that lead to birth of our offspring. Now, lets see an example of what a "certain" chemical company has done. This chemical company's product is, chemicals (obviously :-D). However, what they have cleverly done is, take a seed, genetically modify it (put a gene that made it resistant to their chemicals), and clone/reproduce it and sell it in market claiming it can withstand their chemical herbicides and pesticides. So, when a farmer buys the GMO seeds and uses in his farm, he can happily use the chemicals without a worry of it affecting the crop while it destroys the herbs and pests that infects. Voila - chemical company have a winner of a product in their hand. Produce the seed and then sell the chemicals as well.

Btw, how did these so called chemical corporates get the approval to go ahead and do modification on seeds ? How did they get approval for such an initiative from government (s) and regulatory bodies ? They (chemical corporates) made a simple claim of improving the seeds by Genetic modification so that farming can yield more and feed more people. How did they substantiate their claim - by modifying seeds to withstand their own chemicals. Most or 90 % of the GMO being done on seeds is to make it resistant to chemicals or adding a gene that kills insects that prey on them. Nothing substantiative is done on the seeds except to making it withstand chemicals or add a gene that is harmful to pests that infects it. However, recent findings have shown that pests have adopted to this change in plants and have become even more virulent and potent and are harmful to kill. So, GMO ver2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and so on is being done by these companies, pushing new seeds which are more harmful to animals or can withstand even harmful chemicals if sprayed on them. 

Here, the issues are manifold:

1. The Genetic modification of the seeds and its impact on humans are not fully tested. This whole activity, genetic modification of seeds and their adoption in farming, started in the 1990's and the long term health and generational impact of such a change have neither been fully understood nor could be completely studied.
2. The genetic modification introduced in these seeds led to various other genetic mutation within plants that made them harmful for animals and humans after consumption. Various diseases and health concerns are attributed to GMO seeds in our food system.
3. The impact on earth - soil, water and air were not fully tested or understood, hence, GMO seeds were introduced without their impact fully assessed.
4. The key business aspect of these seeds are - once fully grown, they produce little or no new seeds for farmers to use for next sowing. Basically, most of these GMO seeds are intentionally made to yield less seeds upon full growth or be impotent. This is what drives the sale of the seeds, year after year, season after season.
5. Ignorant of all the details about the GMO seeds, a farmer buys and plants it in hope of better yields and In the process, he loses his natural, NON-GMO seeds. In short time, he realizes there are no NON-GMO seeds available (anymore/anywhere) for him to go back to the old ways of farming: GMO seeds dont give seeds back to you upon harvest, all the farmers in and around your region are also converted to GMO seeds. This leaves you no option to borrow old/natural type/NON-GMO seeds for the next season once you had lost all your seeds. This is how the farmer debt trap got created and lead to suicides in the Vidharbha region of India where BT Cotton was planted predominantly.

Of course, not all of the GMO research and activities being carried out in the world are harmful and some may be proving beneficial. However, most of the GMO done in farming/food crops are  done not with the "Claimed" intention - helping farmers, increasing yield and making seeds resistant to "what not" but with the aim of collecting royalties on each seed, as ground realities have shown since the last two decades. 

Market check

Kindly recall one thing - every fruit we eat, gives us a seed. If we plant that seed and nurture it, a tree grows out of it. If nature is so benevolent, who are these corporates to take away that right from us ?

Please remember the following:

• Buy Organic, always, and as much as possible.
• Encourage your friends to do the same.
• Chances are, most of the restaurants now don't use organic in their food, as it is costly. However, if consumers demand it, I see them changing to organic in future.
• For kids and babies, please always provide good organic food.
• Grow your food, if possible, there is nothing better than it. One need not have acres of farm lands, even the house backyard is good enough to grow few things.

Edited: A quick handy guide to decide which items to buy as organic: as a thumb rule, prefer Organic for fruits/vegetables that have thin skin.

Btw, Vandana Shiva is an inspirational figure; I consider her as motherly figure for most of us coz her work, though largely unknown, if successful, will be one of the guiding stars of our world. She created Navdanya, which conserves India's diverse and versatile seeds so that they are not lost in this onslaught from GMO seeds. Take a look at her speaking in Brazil last year.

Please take time to watch the below movie - Genetic Roulette. It released last year and it details the impact of GMO and farmer suicides in India, Health issues in Africa and also talks about the now defeated California GMO labeling bill.

However, one can always vote for Organic whenever one buys at the grocery store. Do this much to yourselves and for all our collective future.

Edited: The Genetic Roulette movie got removed but please watch the below movies; I have shared trailers here. The movie bitter seeds talk about farmer suicides in India, especially in Vidharbha region and how BT cotton is the little known, but main reason for it.

Seeds of Freedom

Genetic Roulette:



Bitter seeds:



Food inc