Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Where are we headed



As time goes by, I find myself more withdrawn and less reason to celebrate,
The country economy is in doldrums

My personal photography business is slow, yes thus my shooting of personal projects are at a high.

I hear about factories closing down

About businessmen being prosecuted all around to the point that they kill themselves

No sign of improvement in law and order

Factory owners are used to SOP or aid from government, if they cry wolf and they seem to be trying that route

How will things turn around I wonder,

The folks who are still making money seems to be the restaurants and doctors, and dentists,






Friday, August 2, 2019

On AIR



ON AIR

Yes I was on air and I spoke about the rains and being cautions as you go about enjoying the rains

Here is a transcript on the same; it was a fun exercise for me to hear me on air.





The topic today is :
Enjoy the rains, but with pre-caution

Before we get to rains let’s talk about the summer months that precede the rains,

IN a village of Jharkhand we see a bunch of men playing a sport in the continuing summer heat. The sun is bearing down on them, and it seems to make no difference to the men, they are probably used to the heat while working in the fields.

They are playing a game called sekkor,
An ancient tribal game that is being played out in the middle of the field, with tops, yes you heard it right, Giant TOPS, (lattu in Hindi), and they are 18 inches in length and by 4 – 6 inches in width. These Tops are called Sekkor.  Each players has a sekkor (top) of their own

The game is played between 2 team of each team has 6- 10 members, and the idea of the game to hit the top of the opposing team from a distance of 12- 20 feet, and make it travel a distance.

 The HO and the santhals tribals believe that every time the sekkors collide the rain Gods are invoked and reminded to come down to earth, they believe playing the game of sekkor, they are also communicating with the rain gods, asking for rains to come and drench there fields and help prepare the land for the coming plantation season.

This summer I was party to such a sight, as I stood on the periphery of a sekkor field and watched the game happening, cheering the losing team to put up a fight and anything to keep my mind away from the heat all around,

This year summer had been excruciatingly hot, the days and nights were hot and humid with no sign of respite, and rains were long overdue,
Rains are usually expected by 1st week of June, and it was almost 25th July today.
Interestingly  as  watched the game of selkor I I did notice some clouds build up  and by 3 pm, it did look like there were some rain filled clouds, who knows maybe we will see rains. Today, Maybe there is some truth to the belief of the village folks or it is just nature doing it work quietly.


Game done we started to return home
And suddenly it did start to rain, large raindrops on the windshield of the car, a wonderful pattern could be heard as the rains hit the glass and metal of the car, the trees were being drenched as was the hungry earth, it soon was raining hard, visibility down to a few feet in front of me, I moved to the shoulder of the road, to watch the rain and enjoy the cool breeze, the rains were finally here, a pleasing sight for the senses,

I pulled out my camera and managed to get a few interesting images, while out in rains it is a good idea to  protect the camera by putting it inside a plastic bag, with just the lens protruding outside, and fastened with a rubber band, while  one is himself  under a umbrella, or not.  it is a easy way to protect the camera while photographing in the rains

Post enjoying a few minutes watching the rain once more I was ready to move, rolled up the windows and as I switch on the wipers of the car, the wipers did move but dint seem to move the water that was on the windshield
Yes the rubbers on the wipers had dried up with the summer sun beating down on them and cracked, making the rubbers hard and not useful when rains were on us.

 What do you know here I was in the middle of torrential rainfall and still a good 20 km to get home, and visibility almost zero,  
I broke into my emergency kit comprising of a bar of    lifeboy soap, knife, tobacco m fuses and so on,

I  rubbed the soap on the windshield of the car, what it did is it broke down the water molecules of the rain water and the water refuses to stick on the windshield and I was able to see again as the rain water was sliding away from the glass while I drove

DO you know the same can be achieved by using a Potato, yes cut up a potato in two and rub it on the wet glass it too will keep the windshield water free.    You could do the same with   Tobacco (khaini) so always a good idea to have one of these; you never know when your wipers might pack up anyway.

And if you are wondering if this trick will work on Helmet visors, yes it will, it will keep them water free.

Talking about bikes, should you be in a car, please realize Bikers are at danger as the rains come along, there brakes are not as good as cars, so be more cautious and careful as you observe bikers try to beat the rain and ride often times more riskily then they should.

For bikers a work of caution with the first rains comes a higher chance of getting involved in accidents.  The reason you ask - YOU see the roads all during the summer has had oil leaked on it by cars, smokes that has condensed on the road, cows and other animals have done there jobs on the road, leaves have shed, and been brushed away, but they all have left its own signature, and with the first rain the road becomes slick, it is like riding on a thin film of oil and grease, there is a high probability of one losing ones balance in the rain, especially the first rain, you want to ride being ultra careful  along with having the headlights on and , avoid using the brakes,   try to slow the vehicle by engaging a lower gear,  use engine breaking and not the brake of the bikes.

Moving on to us humans,
Post summer when one has been scorched and roasted and burnt, most days, one has been sweaty and irritated by the hot sun, one often looks up for the tell tale sign of rains while going about ones day, we look for the lovely clouds that will bring us rain, and when it does happen, we definitely want to be out in nature to enjoy it on the skin.

With the coming of rains
It starts to make us feel relaxed and we have visions of romance and beauty and cool days to follow when one can just sit and read or just sit and think about plethora of things that one has been meaning to do, eat  hot fried pakoras for one while the rains play out a pattern on the window, or on the floor.

 The first rains happen, and it is a welcome sight, it pulls us like magic to go and get wet, it draws us have a bath in nature

 The first rains is said to have healing properties, the rain water is considered pure, distilled, with no impurity, thus making it good for consumption, and its great for ones skin, hair& body
While that’s what I have always believed and have always enjoyed a good wetting  & getting drenched   but today is it still true I wonder?   What with all the pollutions and dirt and grime and impurities in the air can the same be true

While I for one would love to believe it, but if one is living in a city, the truth could be different   I think it is a Myth that it will help the skin & body cleansing, tread with caution I say.
 In case one does decide to enjoy getting wet in the rain, do it for a while and then do take some precaution, like
 Have a shower once you get home; a good hot water bath is a must, along with getting your hair wet, shampoo out any pollutants that one might have gotten on oneself.

If you are wondering about me, yes I do get wet   with the first rain, I am the first one outside, and soak up the water for not more then 10 minute and follow that up with a good hot water shower, and a scrub myself all over.

Lets talk about things to do in the rainy season

The feast of Jao, comes to mind, a celebration that happens in Goa, it is on 25th June when this festival is celebrated, usually we get to see Soothing greens of trees all around and flowers in bloom too, people pray for a good monsoon, and typically jump into well, ponds, water bodies to celebrate the birth of St Jon the Baptist. It’s a festival with Music, food, dance, fun and fenny,

Some of the other activities that we want to do in the rains are:

Go for a trek, yes a trek during monsoon is an amazing experience, to walk through fields drenched in water, to actually experience the water on us as we walk on paths sometimes the paths are submerged too and cant be seen and one has to feels ones way is a fun experience, it is preferable done in groups to make sure one does not get into trouble, should one slip while walking, or to avoid other misadventure, though do remember a good pair of shoes is a must and carry dry socks, a change of clothes and deinking water to stay hydrated, please change into the dry pair of clothes  at the earliest once you finish the hike.

Waterfalls come alive all over the hill, and what use to be boring landscape during summer months are now beautiful and draws us to explore nature, water has a property of inviting people to come to it, it’s a alluring sight that will want to make you take a bath under the waterfall, most often where waterfall exists there are rocks that grow mollusk on it as water flows on them 24 *7, be very careful for these are slippery to the nth degree, and a slip could also be Painful.

  Lastly I would say, Rains are beautiful, enjoy the rains but remember, if you are not careful, Rains also claim its pound of flesh.




Ms Priyanka, the compare for the show

#onair #air #rajatghosh #priyankaghosh #enjoytherains #lifehacks