at last he is out!

ya, Piyush is out and personally, thats a cause of joy for me and many more..
But am shocked and irritated that it took so long!

That speaks of our rotting system..but the plus side is he got an unconditional bail..
see here, already am rejoicing the fact than brooding about the malaise of the system. It took more than 3 weeks and for nothing he was booked under sedition!
Get what iam indicating..
The whole idea of the corporate cohorts (its immaterial which politico was behind) was to frustrate him and to break his back..if it was most of us, they wud have achieved, but not in Piyush's case. They will have the favours returned soon:-) i wish its in multiples..am game to stand up and support. But the whole thing stinks..
He is booked for sedition! Anti national –
for what? Trying to distribute pamphlets!
On what ? The displacement of tribals in Chattisgarh in the name of development!
ok. a pamphlet about some serious cause in a far state! Ok, if its a crime, but firstly did u see the catch word?
'try to distribute..'
oh! so he didnt actually distribute??
so then whats the crime here?
And so what he or his lawyer now will defend..
phew..thats all above logic or sense..but we shud learn to live with all this nonsense..bcos we are run by such efficient lots!
I know, am digressing...but what can a small fry like me do except to crib here in the virtual world. I seriously felt so helpless during this whole episode and still feel..
back to this case:
The lower court didnt give the bail. So much for the judicial system esp at the lower rungs.. u seriously think that small court magistrates can deliver a fair judgement and lead a safe life out there locally?
So it had to be taken up at the higher court. So high court, Madras. Again the system. dog ate the 1st page, pigeon didnt deliver the second page, etc..So u waste a few more days.
Any way The judge out here had given a lengthy order (or what do they call that?) including the arguments of his counsel the indomitable Dr.Suresh (of PUCL) and also had apparently highlighted about the freedom of expression as in the constitution.
If these guys- the corporate cohorts and their dance babies called police has any shame (or soranai or its equivalent) they shud go get a new life. (Or even better end this life, thooo)
I wish these fellas should be booked for dereliction of duty, misuse and what not..grt grt..

What a shame..

Sedition..for distributing nay, for trying to distribute pamphlets about the state of tribals in chattisgarh..so my dear friend Piyush is still in prison..
Still, I mean well over 3 weeks:-(
Among many things (like I have chronicled about him many times) he is an organic farmer, a sincere well wisher of the society, a fantastic activist, well meaning human being, a good trainer, inimitable father and what not..i have seen all these roles very closely..
And he is being marked as anti-national and booked under sedition..
Its only a shame to the police and the Govt..
But the fact is his family and all his friends are under severe distress..

to what extent all these govt. machineries and the political cohorts can go to harass a good fella is unimaginable…
May be, just may be, they may achieve what they strive for- to dissuade more of us to come out and do what folks like Piyush does..
Can we belie that and stand by such struggles and most importantly with people like Piyush?

Shame on TN govt! ofcourse home ministry needn’t be mentioned here, it esp under this minister is known for only one way..

1800 Kms on the road

In all this melee (anti GM campaigns, Piyush affairs,etc) I forgot to chronicle my long tour. 1800Kms on my scorpio to various places..different farms and meeting interesting farmers..It was fun..
It all started with a visit to Point return enroute to auroville..that nights stay at Sadhana Forest! An out of the world project in auroville where volunteers from all over the world come and volunteer in that extraordinary mission of Aviram & Jorit. That day (wednesday) was a talents night out there and to see so many talented youth from across the globe and showcase them casually in that off-grid campus was a great experience. Then we joined the volunteers of sadhana for one session the next morning and set off to trichy.
There was the agri exhibition out there organized by dinamalar (a tamil daily) and so an opportunity to see many farmer, farm equipments. It was fun bcos I happened to spend time with Ashok, rajasekar and Amit palekar (yes, the legendary, zero Budget fame subhash palekar’s son). So met some farmers in their network. Though my expectations weren’t met by this exhib, it had some purpose.

Then we set out to Kallakurichi, to visit an organic (oh no! zero budget) farm. Those farmers who follow palekar school treat ‘organic’ as a bad word. They will be driven by high conviction and wudnt deviate from their natural farming methods. They wudnt even tolerate a hybrid cow (to a nattu/desi cow)..so its always interesting bcos most of them see agriculture as a way of life..more like a spiritual practice than a livelihood.
So it was not new(s) when I met Chandrabose in the village called Neelamangalam 4km before kallakurichi. Nor was I surprised when I came to know there is no other farmer practicing organic farming in the surrounding. This man also hasn’t sold his produce in the market but only given to his relatives & friends alone and most of them have seen vast improvement in taste and health. Good example is his sister who always had acidity and other stomach problems which hasn’t surfaced from the time she has started taking his rice and grains.
It was a shock when I was talking to some farmer in that area when he said that one can’t extract jaggery on their own without ‘license’. Police can raid it seems! I see that as a sugar lobby’s ploy to stop small farmers from extracting their own jaggery but to sell the sugar factories- at the cost they determine! Hmm, ways of democracy!

Then we proceed to a village some 25kms from Attur (before Salem). We had to take a deviation towards koolamedu right at a foothill. The route was so scenic and this farm surrounded by hills on all side was a treat..so a walk around his farm towards the evening was so delightful.
This farmer was some 70+ agile man with loads of knowledge and energy. There were some very interesting products they had too..the steal was their castor oil..traditionally the castor seeds are milled with turmeric we were told and so the fragrance was fantastic..any amount of sniffing by my friends couldn’t lead to correct answer! It was so different. Among other things they had good amount of traditional paddy varities.

From there to Salem and Dharmapuri. As we were leaving the last of our farm visits (& the eco restoration project of Piyush) near pennagaram, we just saw a sign board saying Hogenekkal 18Kms.. we were scheduled to catch Dharmapuri road and head to Bangalore..
But the lure of fun..so we took left and went to hogenekkal had a good massage and a bath and were about to leave..
And here again suddenly we see a sign board saying denkanikota and Hosur..This is a single carriage way and thru the forests..so lured again we go..rest is history..
As my friend SL who was driving asks me to check the sound in the front bumper, I set out to check that and in the process of all those bending and mending, prolly dropped my mobile..bcos after a few Kms I realise my mobile isn’t there and we hit back searching and rest is history, as all of u know..I was without a hand for a few days- good days though, still the feeling of having lost in such crazy situation lets u thinking of butterfly effect and tracing back to so many unexpected turns that u took and how they affected in a totally diff area, unexpectedly..
Such is life- filled with surprises and losses ;-)

Yay! BT Brinjal out, for sometime..

Kudos to Jairam Ramesh! He did live up to his words..did a round collating views from all parts of India..and evaluate he did and came up with a genuine verdict.
But from the beginning I have been a bit worried about the whole issue becoming BT Brinjal centric..Now what about other GM foods?
Jairam himself is not clear and is not as emphatic in that as he is in Brinjal case.
So may be there is a ploy! may be some hidden agenda!
may be Brinjal is a trade off for the Monsantos..

But still, lets rejoice for a day or two and then focus on GM foods.. Genetic modification has no Business in our food. yes, pun intended.

I should admit, jairam Ramesh indeed has infused some hope in to our democratic process. That really needs recognition and appreciation.
But caution for all else concerning GM food.

Update: do see this impressive doc that the minister has put up. But my doubt(then and now) about this protest being turned more as BT brinjal than GM food in general continues.

Lets ROB said they and ROB we did!

Yeah lots of us joined hands with the youth for social change and ROBed..
Yeah, see here:
One of the cutest names I saw in recent times..
ROB- Reclaim our Beaches:-)

I didn’t join them earlier and even on this 30th Jan I just squeezed time to see whats happening than join their efforts full time..
It is quite tuff with time these days what with travel, restore activities and this big event on 30th jan..

I was very happy to have been there that morning as early as 6am..I was happy to see so many people (mostly youth) but wud hav been happier if it was a larger swell..
I wud have thought a good number from all those who pride and use the Beaches wud have come..
But iam dreaming, aint I?

To the better side: of the people who assembled, there was a good amount of enthusiasm and we all set out in to groups to various parts of the beach..
I accompanied some ‘not so youths’ to the far off broken bridge where the adyar river culminates..so obviously bringing along with it all our sins..the plastic, not so plastic, Styrofoams, chappals and what not!! All that disposed off recklessly comes and piles up here on the back waters and along the estuary..hmm..
What a shame??
Even for a conscious man like me (i.e for last 3 years) this was too much..
I was glad that some of the people who were there esp old ones who said it was a big realization and eye opener. One of them said “ hmm.. I know where all my discarded and carelessly thrown sandals end up..” another was commenting on the packing materials like thermocol..another on the innumerable small shampoo sachets..the best though was “ phew..if all this hadn’t piled up here as garage, I can imagine what wud be the plight of Madras..’ guessed that? he was picking bunches of condoms..

I seriously think all these people wud now go back and think twice before they splurge and throw..

While I congratulate this ROB team (& YSC too) I wish they organize more such trips for more people, colonies & school so that people have a first hand idea of our litters and sins.
Way to go ROB..
BT All you who read this- on the very next opportunity, pl go & ROB!!