#Constant Munda

[gamewarsstudios]

I watched Devil May Cry and I liked it

TL;DR: The series is a good, fun time. The social commentary is deeper than someone may want going into a DMC show, but I liked it and thought it was weaved into the show. The action, visuals and soundtrack are top tier, the show was very funny and episode 6 is among the best things I have ever seen. Legitimately a work of art. A big thing is I would have liked them to pull more game stuff. Overall 7/10

Ok, so this is gonna be a mess, but… I really liked the Netflix Devil May Cry series! I’ve been a casual DMC fan for about 6-ish years, mostly a fan of the characters and story because I am really bad at the games haha. The presentation of the show was outstanding, the art style hit the perfect balance of being detailed while allowing for great animation, which was had throughout. The action scenes were all great. The voice acting was good as well. Johnny Yong Bosch sank into Dante really well and for the most part didn’t sound like Nero, Kevin Conroy gave perhaps one of his best performances as Baines and Hoon Lee as White Rabbit, Scout Taylor Compton as Lady among many other VAs were just great. The music throughout was great, making the show sound like a mod 2000’s AMV, which I think is the exact vibe a DMC show should have.

The writing was quite good throughout. Character motivations made sense and it tackled some interesting themes. It is VERY different from the games, but that’s something I wanna talk about later. The show is also very funny. Dante and Lady’s interactions stand out really well.

The themes are a big point of controversy for the show. I understand, since the themes don’t totally line up with the themes of the games, but unlike others I don’t think they are antithetical to the games. The point of the show is not “humans are evil” or “humanity oppressed demons and demons are good”, the point is that powerful forces… like Mundas… or the US Government oppresses the regular, innocent people and will trample on them simply to gain more power, whether they be human or not. The show is clearly making a parallel to the Bush administration and the war on terror, which yes… is a heavy topic for DMC and is unusual for the franchise, but I believe the overall point, which will be seen in Season 2 will still be that good can and will triumph over evil through the heroes’ humanity and ability to love. More the sense that “humans feel love, demons don’t, but that our heroes feel love, our oppressors don’t and that’s why the heroes win”. I also enjoyed aspects of the social commentary and the satirising of the US government, especially with how those criticisms were weaved into the larger point of the show.

I get if you don’t vibe with the themes of the show as the themes of the games are very strong on their own, but in this instance I think that for the narrative of a show things need to be fleshed out more and given more nuance. It isn’t perfect social commentary (there’s no such thing in an action show), but I think it was as well handled as it could be in a Devil May Cry series. (Sure better than the reboot. Which has politics I agree with (consumerism is bad, Fox News is bad, corporations having government influence is bad.etc) but that game ACTUALLY DID have poorly executed themes)

Anyway… good, fun time. A little deeper than what you may be looking for in a “wacky wahoo pizza man show”, but really fun and enjoyable. Although if you aren’t already a fan I don’t think this is a good introduction to DMC. Maybe check out the games before watching the show.

7/10

Random notes…

Even tho I liked how Lady was written and didn’t find her or her constant swearing annoying (I’m from the UK and swear A LOT) it does kinda suck that she feels like more of a main character than Dante 

The show had some missed opportunities… the way Virgil was held out and teased, Lady only using Kalina Ann for a few seconds, Dante not getting to properly let loose with his Devil Trigger among other stuff

Episode 6 was one of the best things I’ve ever watched and a work of art

White Rabbit is a really well written and interesting villain with such an interesting backstory and motivations, while still being horrifically evil

People seem to miss that Lady being a cop / member of elite government squad is a bad thing… because the government is bad and the government is the villain of the show

It’s fine to not like the show because you don’t vibe with the changes or you just didn’t like it. Fair enough. Don’t be a dick or whine about it being not being canon or whatever. Some lore and character changes are fine, as a Sonic fan a comparison I will use is that I like the sonic movies and they change A LOT of what I like from the game, but I still like both and that’s ok.

[nipashe411]

Bill targets loss-making firms with tax Loss-making firms will from next financial year starting July 2020 be required to pay tax on their gross earnings in proposed changes to the income tax law geared at addressing low compliance levels.

[ofsandstonebodies]

I never wake up.

Never.

In the afternoon, when everyone is asleep, I sit by a window and listen to the echoing cacophony of crows.

In the evening, when the streetlights get switched on, I sit by a window and stare at their haloes of light.

At night when you can still hear the distant rumble of vehicles, I sit by a window and count the seconds passing by.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

A minute.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

An hour.

When I go to bed, I don't fall asleep. And when I do, the last thought to consume me is,

"I want this to be the last."

My nightmares are an eventuality and a constant comfort of ice-cold hands on feverish skin.

In the morning, thoughts I do not want haunt me. They jab and leer, and I think,

"I want my dreams back."

I spend time with my family. I talk to my friends. I study and answer questions and attend classes. I eat and bathe and dress up.

The mundaness of it is something that used to choke me, when it wasn't something I had harnessed and learnt to tame.

"I want this to be the last".

I never wake up.

Have I tamed something I can never enjoy, just for the sake of remaining sane?

Everything is fine.

A year or two ago, when my eyes used to shut at midnight, I would think,

"I want today to be the last.

Please God.

I want to go away.

Take me where you are."

When I fall asleep tonight, that is not what I will think. Instead, I will repeat the same lines I have been telling myself for quite a while now.

"I want today to be the last.

The last day I spend in this haze.

I want to wake up tomorrow.

And finally say goodbye to the mist that is always clouding my vision."

Somehow I have given myself a bud of hope, although I do not know if it will ever bloom into a flower.

When I speak with the ones closest to my heart, and they listen and I do the same, the flower is watered. When I take care of myself and when I pay heed to my needs instead of burying them, the flower is fed.

I can feel the petals starting to open.

And yet. And yet.

Where is the light?

Words float around inside me without any shape or pattern. They form phrases, sentences even, but then fall apart again and again as I fail to rescue them.

They are ceaseless creatures, swimming in me, holding on to each other for dear life.

And I am afraid that I will not be able to save them from drowning.

What will be left of me then?

When what I think and feel will die inside of me, and not bleed onto paper? When my words will breathe their dying breath buried somewhere deep inside me and never be uncovered by another?

What will happen, when the bud that has slowly been blooming into a flower, does not get the light it needs so desperately?

Will it wither away like all the other times?

Little by little, you will be able to see its petals droop, then its colour fade, and finally it will fall off and merge with the soil as if it had never really been there at all.

But, no.

I know how to swim now.

I know how to save the light that the flower needs.

At times, it is so hard to look inward and see the words piling up there. At times, I wish I could just pluck them up one by one, like tearing petals off of an inconsequential flower, a forgotten game of "he loves me, he loves me not".

But these words are not single flowers. They are daisy chains, hydrangea clusters, sunflower patches. You cannot take one without ruining the other, without leaving behind a hollow.

You cannot just save one of them.

But I have taught myself to swim.

I know what I have to do to save the light.

Even though I have never known the flower to bloom before, I can try.

I will not give up on hope again.

[mydarlinginej]

read my full review of flamefall by rosaria munda here.

Revolutionary flames ignite around Annie, Lee, and a brand new POV character in the second book of the Fireborne trilogy.

After fleeing the revolution and settling into the craggy cliffs of New Pythos, the Dragonlords are eager to punish their usurpers–and reclaim their city. Their first order of business was destroying the Callipolan food supply. Now they’re coming for the Dragonriders.

Annie is Callipolis’s new Firstrider, and while her goal has always been to protect the people, being the government’s enforcer has turned her into public enemy number one.

Lee struggles to find his place after killing kin to prove himself to a leader who betrayed him. He can support Annie and the other Guardians . . . or join the radicals who look to topple the new regime.

Griff, a lowborn dragonrider who serves New Pythos, knows he has no future. And now that Julia, the Firstrider who had protected him, is dead, he is called on to sacrifice everything for the lords that oppress his people–or to forge a new path with the Callipolan Firstrider seeking his help.

With famine tearing Callipolis apart and the Pythians determined to take back what they lost, it will be up to Annie, Lee, and Griff to decide what to fight for–and who to love.

my review:

Fireborne quickly became one of my favorite books of 2019, and I was absolutely dying to read the sequel. I picked this ARC up as soon as I was approved (thank you, Penguin Teen!) because I couldn’t wait any longer. Flamefall picks up right where we left off, dealing with new threats and old grudges.

This review contains spoilers for book one.

After a deadly battle, Lee deals with the aftereffects of killing his own cousin as well as the realization that maybe, in the end, he still doubts the side he chose. He begins to question the good of the People’s Revolution and joins a rebel group that wants a democratic government and the abolition of the metals test. Annie picks up the mantle of Firstrider and has to quell the rising revolts around the city as well as protecting everyone from the constant threat of war. Meanwhile, in New Pythos, Griff is a peasant dragon rider living under a brutal regime. During a battle, he crosses paths with Annie and they begin to communicate throughout the book. As unrest and hunger grows in Callipolis, the threat of New Pythos grows closer and closer.

read my full review here.

[nossasmemoriassz]

Dias cinzas e nublados, a constante sensação de que mesmo por perto, você não estava ao meu lado. Sua mente escura e sem juízo, o munda lá fora me chamava enquanto você tentava me convencer de que é o único que me quer e que é só de você que eu preciso. Dentre seus tons em cinza pastel, ouvindo entediada sem monólogo decorado, sobre o quanto você crê que sou a causa de suas dores, saio lentamente pela porta. Perdoa amor, mas prefiro minhas cores. M.L. https://www.instagram.com/p/B1_zhPIj8jn/?igshid=1p5hvo3rui6gq

[eternitykim]

Aula 16 – Juntando tudo

Conteúdo de sala de aula:

Por que devemos considerar sua escolha para o aulário um produto midiático?

Resposta:

           Kim Kardashian é um produto midiático pelo fato de ser uma matriz de referência de muitos jovens. Ela é colocada como uma influenciadora e seus seguidores como influenciados, mas influenciados críticos, já que a todo momento criticam positiva ou negativamente Kim. Kim mostra através de suas redes sociais e objetos de interação com os fãs – blog pessoal, app e jogo – que sua identidade está em constante mudança, que apesar dos julgamentos sobre suas escolhas, ela procura fazer aquilo que faz bem para si, seja mudança no visual, no seu estilo considerável polêmico, ou até mesmo no seu jeito de pensar – momentos de angústia que a faça mudar o seu estilo de vida. Entretanto, como relatado pela própria socialite, essa constante mudança traz consequências, como a angústia, fato de cansar facilmente daquilo que está fazendo, então procura mudar a todo momento e o tempo entre uma mudança é outra é cada vez menor; e também a insegurança, dada pelo excesso de liberdade que ela tem ao expor sua vida. Apesar de ser alguém faz as suas vontades independente da sua repercussão, ela ainda sim se preocupa com a sua imagem, com os julgamentos de suas atitudes e o quão isso pode afetar na sua carreira e na sua identidade.

         Apesar disso, Kim é vista como um padrão a ser seguido, todos desejam ter seu corpo, suas maquiagens, seu cabelo, seu status, até mesmo sua vida de socialite, ou seja, Kim é praticamente vista como uma marca, como um estilo de vida a ser seguido. Ela ao compartilhar seus momentos, suas dicas, seu estilo de vida com seus seguidores, busca, antes de compartilhar, tomar conhecimento sobre o consumo, sobre as tendências, sobre aquilo que os seus seguidores almejam para que, desse modo, possa trazer um conteúdo que retrate esses desejos, essas tendências, esses assuntos do momento a tona em sua timeline. Desse modo, aqueles que a seguem, a todo momento buscam ser como ela, auto punem-se por não ter o mesmo corpo, ter o mesmo cabelo e não usufruir de suas maquiagens. Já aqueles que a seguem e não buscam seguir o padrão que ela expõe também são punidos, mas punidos verbalmente – no caso, por ser tudo praticamente no âmbito virtual –, são totalmente criticados, expostos e até excluídos, pelo fato de serem como eles querem ser. A visão da socialite sobre esta prática é bem exposta em seu blog, ela retrata que ela quer ser uma inspiração para os seus fãs, mas não deseja que tornem-se igual a ela, que percam a sua personalidade para ser como ela. Kim espera que todos a sigam e a vejam como um exemplo tanto de bons como de maus hábitos, e que a partir disso, seus seguidores possam ver que suas vidas dependem somente de suas escolhas, e não das escolhas da sua famosa favorita.

         Porém, Kim ao relatar sua vida nas redes ela está cada vez mais exposta a fluidez afetiva, isto é, devido às constantes mudanças que Kim passa, sua relação com seus fãs torna-se cada vez mais fluída, seus fãs deixam e voltam a ter sentimentos por ela conforme suas mudanças ocorrem, ou seja, todos são de fases, às vezes aceitam as mudanças de Kim, às vezes criticam suas mudanças. Para isso, Kim busca ser cada vez mais ser si mesma, mostrando que todos devem amá-la pelo que ela é e não pela suas mudanças de aparência, personalidade.

         Kim para ser considerada um produto midiático hoje, ela passou por um processo chamado cooptação. Kim foi cooptada pelo munda da fama, a partir de suas polêmicas, suas mudanças radicais de visual, seu aumento significativo de seguidores, tornando-a cada vez mais conhecida e comentada, dessa forma, tornou-se uma celebridade, sendo, portanto, cooptada pelos demais iguais a ela. Porém, Kim também coopta, ela com todas as suas publicações e polêmicas coopta famosos, muitos famosos seguem as dicas/looks/conselhos que ela compartilha, muitos a veem como um exemplo, demonstrando, dessa forma, que ela os contaminou (cooptou).

         Portanto, Kim para manter-se como um produto midiático procura, junto de seus empresários, adaptar-se de acordo com o que está em alta entre seus seguidores – tranding –, desse modo, ela mantém seu público cativado para manter seguindo-a.

[feeltheroom]

CAOS

Quem disse que eu quero viver em paz? 

Será que não entende? 

Nem sempre paz significa sucesso 

Ou mesmo sucesso significa paz

Alias quem no munda alcançara a paz?

Digo mais prefiro viver no meu caos constante do que na sua monótona paz 

As frases que o caos me traz formam poemas de maneira sagas

e a sua paz o que te traz? 

Conforto? Segurança? 

Isso ai eu vivo no caos, meu caos me faz ser mais, sua paz te torna um “SÓ”

Eu vivo no caos e renuncio a paz, alias eu prefiro o caos à paz, se a paz é tão boa como dizem porque não vivemos sempre nela? O humano prefere o caos, porque se não for o caos que nos fara crescer? Cada obstáculo que o caos nos traz é um novo modo de viver, diferente da paz, que vem e não faz mais nada.

Eu digo eu prefiro o caos da vida do que a paz.

[moneyhealthfinance-blog]

KRA banks on tech to net 3m new taxpayers in three years Economy Thursday, January 17, 2019 9:33 By CONSTANT MUNDA KRA commissioner -general John Njiraini. FILE PHOTO | NMG The taxman has set a target to nearly double the number of active taxpayers to seven million in ... Banking Industry News

[nipashe411]

Kenya business deals hit 30-month low on Corona

[risingpakistan]

The Kalabagh dam

The Kalabagh dam is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Indus River at Kalabagh in Mianwali District of the Punjab province in Pakistan. The project has been highly debated and deemed a necessity since its inception. If constructed with 3,800 MW electricity generation capacity, it will become the largest source of electricity for Pakistan.

History

In December 2004, General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, announced that he would build the dam in the larger interest of Pakistan. On May 26, 2008, Federal Minister for Water and Power of Pakistan, Raja Pervez Ashraf, said that the "Kalabagh Dam would not be constructed" and the project has been cancelled.[citation needed] He said due to the "opposition from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and other stakeholders, the project was no longer feasible".[1] However, after the worst flood (2010) in Pakistan, the prime minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gilani, stated that the devastation of floods would be less if Kalabagh dam were built.[2]

  Technical facts and differing opinions

Bashir A. Malik, former chief technical advisor of the United Nations and World Bank, has said "Sindh and Pakhtunkhwah would become drought areas in the years to come, if Kalabagh Dam was not built."[3] At the same time former KPK Chief Minister Shamsul Mulk has stated that the "Kalabagh Dam would be helpful in erasing poverty from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, as it would irrigate 800,000 acres of cultivable land that is located 100-150 feet above the level of River Indus."[4] Kalabagh Dam would provide 6.5 million acre feet of water to cultivate seven million acres of currently barren land. This is in addition to the 3,800 MW of electricity it would provide.[5] In response to the push towards side-lining Kalabagh altogether in favor of the Basha Dam project, Engineer Anwer Khurshid stated that "Basha Dam is no substitute for Kalabagh dam not because of its altitude which is high enough, but because no irrigation canals can be taken out from it because of the hilly terrain".[6]

Other experts who have strongly supported the construction of the Kalabagh dam at the "Save Water Save Pakistan" Forum include: Dr Salman Shah, former finance minister, Abdul Majeed Khan, TECH Society president, Shafqat Masood, former IRSA chairman, Qayyum Nizami, former minister of state, Prof Abdul Qayyum Qureshi, former vice chancellor of Islamia University, Bahawalpur, Dr Muhammad Sadiq, agricultural scientist, M Saeed Khan, former GM of Kalabagh Dam Project, Mansoor Ahmed, former MD of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Foundation and Jameel Gishkori, among others.[7] The participants of Save Water Save Pakistan Forum session demanded in their recommendations implementation on building five dams, including Munda dam, Kurram Tangi dam, Akhori dam and Kalabagh dam, at least by 2025 to store water and generate electricity to meet the demand.

In contrast, Former Chief Engineer WAPDA, Engr. Shahr-i-Yar Khan has claimed that the construction of Kalabagh Dam is not suitable for NWFP which will cause unnecessary wastage of huge funds as compared to many other suitable sites of dams proposed on Indus river. Shahr-i-Yar Khan, who had served on various positions of WAPDA, besides getting training abroad, highlight various issues related to the Kalabagh Dam construction at length. He was of the view that the construction of Kalabagh Dam has a number of adverse effects on the generation of Barotha power complex.

  Political hurdles

Sindh is the lower riparian and strongest opponent of KBD and politicians presents many objections against the proposed dam:

That their share of the Indus water will be curtailed as water from the Kalabagh will go to irrigate farmlands in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, at their cost. Sindhis hold that their rights as the lower riparian have precedence according to international water distribution law.

The coastal regions of Sindh require a constant flow of water down the Indus into the Arabian Sea so that the flowing water can keep the seawater from intruding inland. Such seawater intrusion would literally turn vast areas of Sindh's coast into an arid saline desert, and destroy Sindh's coastal mangroves.

With the construction of dams, such as Mangla Dam and Tarbela Dam across the Indus, Sindhis have seen the once-mighty Indus turned into a shadow of its former glory downstream of the Kotri Barrage up to Hyderabad. They fear that there simply is not enough water for another large dam across the Indus, let alone three.

Claims that the current flow of Indus river downstream of Kotri Barrage is only because of rain. Hence in years of low rain, Sindh fears the Indus would stop flowing.

Damming the Indus has already caused a number of environmental problems that have not yet addressed. Silt deposited in the proposed Kalabagh dam would further curtail the water storage capacity of Manchar Lake and other lakes and of wetlands like Haleji Lake.

President Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and other leaders, have promised "iron-clad constitutional guarantees" to ensure that Sindh gets its fair share of water. However, these assurances mean little to most Sindhis, who claim that even the earlier 1991 Indus Water-Sharing Accord, which is a document already guaranteed by the constitutional body, the Council of Common Interests, has been violated, and that Punjab has "stolen" their water without any concrete evidence.[citation needed]

The objection to Kalabagh in Sindh is widespread. Even political parties of Sindh that are in the central cabinet and are supported by General Musharraf, such as the Muttahida Quami Movement, have strongly denounced the dam. Opposition towards Kalabagh Dam is such that PML N's Sindh Chapter also were in unison with the opponents of the Dam and as a result even PML N's leader Mr Nawaz Sharif, who as the Prime Minister of Pakistan had stated in 1998 that he proposes to build the dam, retracted from his stance and declared that Sindh's view point ought to be respected and no project, however essential, be carried out that weakened Pakistan's Federation. 

  NWFP's viewpoint

The NWFP has two main objections to the dam:

NWFP claims that the running of Cheshma-Jhelum link canal and over drawing of water from Tarbela is a common feature. 

The entire system and canal of Ghazi- Barotha hydro electric project runs in Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa, however the electricity generating turbines were installed just 500 meters inside Punjab so that the royalty is denied to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

While the reservoir will be in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the dam's electricity-generating turbines will be just across the provincial border in Punjab. Therefore, Punjab would get royalties from the central government in Islamabad for generating electricity . Although, Punjab has also agreed not to claim any royalty on generation of resources from Kalabagh dam.

Concerns that large areas of Nowshera District would be submerged by the dam and even wider areas would suffer from water-logging and salinity as has occurred with the Tarbela Dam. As the water will be stored in Kalabagh dam as proposed, that will give water level rise to the city that is about 200 km away from the proposed location.  However, engineers having expertise on dam construction repeatedly deny the opinion that Nowshera city could be submerged by the dam lake.

Punjab follows a paradox policy when it comes to canals to be taken out from Kalabagh Dam. It talks of right bank canal which will supply water to D I Khan, but when talking to Sindh, it denies construction of right bank canal being infeasible. 

  Balochistan's viewpoint

Balochistan is not directly affected by the dam as such. Rather, most nationalist Baloch claim the dam is an instance of grievances of smaller provinces not being taken into account. They have however, not included the dam in any of their statements after its cancellation. 

  Indian involvement

Experts claim India was sponsoring opposition to Kalabagh Dam project through various pressure groups. He observed that Pakistani politicians could not implement major national projects like Kalabagh Dam due to political compromises and lack of national consensus, terming it an unfortunate development.[8]

  Analysis

All Pakistanis agree that Pakistan faces a severe water shortage, and that some form of water management must be implemented soon. Many[who?] point out that if work on Kalabagh were to start tomorrow, it would still take at least three years to complete and commission such a large dam. In the meantime, the water situation would continue to worsen. Smaller dams, barrages, and canals must be built before that, and water conservation techniques introduced. 

The WAPDA for years repeatedly changed its statistics on the dam, to the point where no-one in Pakistan now believes any of its figures.  Government of Pakistan formed a technical committee, headed by A. N. G. Abbasi, to study the technical merits of the Kalabagh dam vis-a-vis the other two. The four-volume technical report concluded that Bhasha or Katzarah dam should be built before Kalabagh, further complicating matters. The report also stated that Kalabagh and Bhasha Dams could be considered feasible. 

The abrupt way in which President Pervez Musharraf announced the decision to build the dam, overruling the objections of Small parties , had polarised public opinion. On 26 May 2008, Federal Minister for Water and Power of Pakistan Raja Pervez Ashraf abruptly cancelled the project and that Kalabagh Dam will not be constructed. He said due to opposition from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and other stakeholders, the project is no longer feasible.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, announced that the fate of the project would be decided by a plebiscite. The decision came after Pakistan faced extreme power crisis and acute water shortages. The government is currently finding alternative locations for the dam.[1]

  Timeline of Events on Kalabagh Dam Controversy

December 2004: General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, announced that he would build the dam in the larger interest of Pakistan.

29, November 2012: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the federal government to construct the Kalabagh dam. [9]

[digitaltariq]

Wairegi: How Britam will look like after coronavirus

Wairegi: How Britam will look like after coronavirus

[ad_1]

Companies Wairegi: How Britam will look like after coronavirus

Friday, September 4, 2020 5:21

By CONSTANT MUNDA

Britam managing director Benson Wairegi. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

Coronavirus pandemic touched off unprecedented disruptions in business operations and supply chains in addition to deadly medical complications.

This has put the spotlight on how insurance business is shaping…

[ibilenews]

'The hardest thing I've been through': Hallucinations, fever, pneumonia - but finally victory for this COVID-19 patient

SINGAPORE: At one point of time, there were so many tubes and devices attached to the body of Bambang Sugeng Kajairi that he would joke with family members that he was Iron Man.

He didn't feel quite as invincible as the Marvel superhero.

First, a high fever seemed to lay siege to his body. "I could feel the fever coming up, and they did tell me that my fever was moving up quite rapidly,' he recalled. "I think on that night the fever was at 39.8 (degrees Celsius) and I was at 39.8 for several nights."

Next came strange hallucinations a couple of nights into his stay at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

They would come like a thief in the night. Sometimes at 11pm, sometimes at 1am. Was he awake, was he asleep?  In the feverish haze, the 55-year-old Singaporean couldn't tell.

"I started hallucinating, but I did not tell the doctors I was hallucinating until towards the period where I felt comfortable enough to tell them," he recalled. "Because I didn't know whether hallucinations were part of the thing that COVID-19 patients went through."

Mr Bambang, who is a businessman, began seeing images that seemed utterly random.

There would be one where he was in a Dutch bakery and was trying to buy a percentage of the company. In another, he would be wondering why he was reporting his temperature to an accounting firm.

"That was the scary part, and I think it was the temperature that was really, really playing on my mind," he said. "Then I saw images of people that had passed away. Those were very, very tough nights ... When those images came up, it got me seriously worried.

"Finally, I managed to say it ... and tell the doctors." Much to his relief, they said the hallucinations were normal.

Then came energy-sapping pneumonia. And Mr Bambang had to be given 4 litres of oxygen through a nasal cannula to help support his breathing.

"I won't lie, there was one day that I broke down," he recalled. "That was the day I thought I was at my lowest, I was thinking: 'How come I am not getting any better, why am I getting worse and worse?'

"Was I afraid? I think it was seven or eight days into the whole thing that I felt: 'Wow, this is a toughie.'"

WHEN IT HIT 'BIG TIME'

This had all started just a few days earlier in mid-March.

Mr Bambang, the director of local company Aqua Munda, had just returned from an urgent five day business trip to the UK. There, he had also been trying to make arrangements for his son who was studying there to return to Singapore due to the COVID-19 situation.

"I had to get my son back - he was scheduled for an operation on Mar 18 in London," Mr Bambang said. "We were trying to sort out whether the operation was a necessary one to go through with (at that moment), because of what was happening in the UK.

"It turned out that on the eve of his operation, (the hospital) postponed it because it was considered non-essential."

Hours after touching down in Singapore where he was served his Stay-Home Notice (SHN), Mr Bambang began to feel "a bit sickly".

"I was not sure whether it was jet lag," he explained. "At my age, travelling is a bit of a pain. But I felt feverish so I slept through and at about 2.30am, I woke up and felt a bit uncomfortable ... I tried sleeping it off but next morning I woke up and I found my temperature was quite high."

On the advice of the People's Association, which is the organisation people on an SHN are told to initially call if they need to go out to visit a doctor, he visited the nearest clinic to his home. There, the thermometer read 39.1 degrees Celsius. A ambulance was then dispatched to take him to NCID for testing.

"That was when it hit me that I probably could have COVID-19," he said. "It only crossed my mind at 39.1 because I've come back from trips very tired. But when the temperature soared that high, that got me seriously worried."

After being tested at NCID, Mr Bambang had to return home to await his results. The next morning, he was told that he was COVID-19 positive.

"That hit me big time," he said. "It was a bit of numbness ... There were two quite contradictory thoughts. The first was: 'Thank God I'm in Singapore, because our death rate is very low' ... But at the same time, there was a sense of not knowing what I was about to go through."

'MY BODY WAS TAKING A BEATING'

The turning point came about eight days into his stay at NCID.

"They approached me and said: 'Look, your situation is not so good ... Do you want to undergo a (clinical) trial test with a drug?" Mr Bambang recalled. "I had a quick thought about it and thought I had nothing to lose ... That was perhaps the best decision that I made under the circumstances.

"Physically, I was tired, I was drained. At the peak (of my situation), I couldn't sit up for 30 minutes (or more), I would feel exhausted."

While Mr Bambang did not know if he was actually administered the drug or a placebo due to the nature of the trial, he noticed that things finally started to take a turn for the better.

"Whatever it was, whether I was under the real drug or the placebo side, I can tell you that ... my recovery after starting it was so much better.

"My body was taking a beating," he said. "I think psychologically I was in a bad place because I was not sure what was happening to me."

To Mr Bambang's delight, his temperature readings started to gradually dip.

"My temperatures started dropping - 38.7, 38.5 and then the breakthrough was the day they said it was 37.9," he explained. "I was very happy even though they said I was still feverish. Then it started going down to 37.5, 37.3 and I knew by that time I had won the battle."

But Mr Bambang attributes his recovery to more than just the clinical trial. It was also the constant encouragement of the doctors and nurses were vital in helping him pull through.

"The doctors were saying: 'Come on, you can do it! You've (already) come so far!' They were very reassuring and they said that it was important that they got me mentally strong as well," he said.

"The doctors kept reassuring me, they kept telling me not to worry - they would help me to pull through. They told me I had to go through this whole process. I had to go through the lowest point and then slowly things would start picking up."

It wasn't just the medical staff that Mr Bambang is effusive in his praise of.

"It's not just the doctors and the nurses, but the cleaners as well ... And they do this every day and they help so many of us," he said. "These guys are just brilliant and they would do it with a smile!" he said.

READ: The Big Read: The untold sacrifices by frontline healthcare workers as they soldier on against COVID-19

There was also the moral support of family and friends that kept him going.

"They were very active on the chat groups, keeping me motivated," Mr Bambang recalled. "And then my schoolmates from my days in SJI (St Joseph's Institution) and from CJC (Catholic Junior College) ... we all grouped back together, two of us were in hospital for the same thing ... and so the group just started coming together. No matter what religion we were, we were all praying for each other.

"That massive support helped me to pull through. When you feel a lot of people pulling in for you, cheering you up, cheering you on. That makes a world of difference. "

After being discharged after 16 days in the hospital, Mr Bambang believes that it is his duty to also speak up about what he went through.

"The message needs to keep coming out, especially from those that have been through it that this is no joke," he explained. "You guys got to be careful for your own safety and for your family.

"It was the hardest thing I've been through in my life ... This one took a lot out of me."

[iasshikshalove]

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 17-Feb-2020

Daily Current Affairs Dated On 17-Feb-2020 Contents: 1. Wayanad Tiger Reserve 2. New species of urban lizard found in Guwahati 3. Doctors remove large thyroid growths from Melghat tribal 4. ISRO making preparations to launch GISAT-1 in March first week 5. Madhya Pradesh grapples with spiraling neonatal deaths 6. Radio aids revival of dying tribal language WAYANAD TIGER RESERVE · The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS), though home to more than half the number of tigers present in Kerala, may not be notified as a tiger reserve as the proposal lacks public support. · The ‘Status of Tigers in India’ report released last year had estimated the tiger population of Wayanad as between 75 and 80 individuals. · Periyar Tiger Reserve, the first one in Kerala, has an estimated population of 30 to 35 big cats, whereas Parambikulam, the second reserve, has a population of 20 to 25 tigers Advantages of notifying as tiger reserve The arguments of the officials that the notification would ensure financial aid from the Centre and the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), better conservation and management of the tiger population and help generate more employment opportunities NEW SPECIES OF URBAN LIZARD FOUND IN GUWAHATI Why in news? · The new species of lizard, zoologically named Cyrto dactylus urbanus, is markedly different in molecular structure, blotch and colour from the Cyrto dactylus guwahatiensis, or the Guwahati Bent-toed gecko, that was discovered two years ago · It was also the 12th recorded gecko from the Northeast. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 17-Feb-2020 DOCTORS REMOVE LARGE THYROID GROWTHS FROM MELGHAT TRIBAL · For long, the massive enlarged thyroid glands among the Korkus tribal living in Amravati’s Melghat region have puzzled doctors. · Doctors would see Korkus, mainly women, with these abnormal growths, known as goiter, weighing over one to two kilograms. · An annual surgery camp held at a remote hospital in Chikhaldara has however changed that. · While goiter remains prevalent, doctors now see smaller growths in the tribe. · Iodine deficiency is known as the common cause of goiter. · But the staple diet of Korkus is fish, a rich source of iodine, and there is availability of iodized salt too. · There are genetic factors at play- as per doctors More about korku tribes · The Korku are an Adivasi ethnic group predominantly found in the Khandwa, Burhanpur, Betul and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh and adjoining areas near the Melghat Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra. · They speak the Korku language, which is a member of the Munda languages and is written using Devanagari. They are classified as a Scheduled Tribe by the Indian government. · The Korku tribe lives in small groups of huts made of grass and wood. Every household has elevated stage like structure in the front side of the house. · This elevated stage is used as a storage space of farm produce such as cattle feed. They socially consume liquor made from the flowers of the Mahua tree which is prepared in almost all the houses. Predominantly, a rural-based community with 97% living in rural areas, Korkus are primarily cultivators · Traditional representative body of the society known as ‘Korku Panchayat’ is found in many villages. · Headed by a chief known as Patel, other members in the Panchayat include Padihar (priest), Kotwar (Chowkidar) and ten to twelve older male members of the community known as Panch. · It plays a decisive role during traditional occasions mainly in festivals, marriages and intra- and inter-village conflict resolutions. Daily Current Affairs Dated On 17-Feb-2020 ISRO MAKING PREPARATIONS TO LAUNCH GISAT-1 IN MARCH FIRST WEEK · GISAT-1 — Geo Imaging Satellite — will be the first of two planned Indian EO spacecraft to be placed in a geostationary orbit of around 36,000 km. · It will apparently be in a fixed spot looking over the Indian continent at all times. · With this satellite, which has high-resolution cameras, we can keep a constant watch on our borders, monitor any changes in the geographical condition of the country, etc. MADHYA PRADESH GRAPPLES WITH SPIRALING NEONATAL DEATHS Why in news? · Madhya Pradesh has recorded the highest percentage of newborn deaths of 11.5% against the total admissions to government run sick newborn care units (SNCUs) in the past three years across the country, a rate ominously spiralling since 2017 · According to the National Health Mission (NHM). The country’s average is 7%. Several factors responsible for deaths Staff crunch, low community referrals, absence of a special neonatal transport service to health centres, and the non-availability of enough units to cater to increasing institutional deliveries had contributed to the spike in the percentage of deaths Daily Current Affairs Dated On 17-Feb-2020 RADIO AIDS REVIVAL OF DYING TRIBAL LANGUAGE Why in news? · Using mobile radio, the Asur community has been spreading the popularity of the language within their geographical limits. · The Asur language figures in the list of UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. · As per the 2011 census, the tribe has a population of around 23,000 in Latehar and Gumla districts. · In the community, 50% of population could barely speak in Asur language … They are not fluent in the language. · Only 7,000 to 8,000 Asur tribals are left in the community who are well conversant in the language · Youth from the community are also being encouraged to write poems in their language and older ones narrate their experience in their own language

[willreadforbooze]

Hello!

Here’s our weekly wrap up from the WRFB crew =)

Sam’s Update:

I got a lot of reading done this week. I was in the Poconos for a friend’s birthday and it was super chill, then I made sure to dedicate some reading time since I have 5 (yes FIVE) more books to read to finish up my NEWTs.

What Sam finished this week:

NEWTs E-level Transfiguration: Age of Legend by Michael J Sullivan: This is the 4th installment of this series. This wasn’t my favorite of his books, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t exceptional. I love all of this man’s books. So much.

NEWTs O-level Transfiguration: Lady Smoke by Laura Sebastian: this is the sequel to Ash Princess. I think this one was ok, but not nearly as good as the first. Suffered from 2nd-book syndrome I think.

NEWTs A-level Ancient Runes: All Systems Red by Martha Wells: This was a re-read for me since I had basically forgotten the plot. I knew I loved Murderbot but not what had happened. I’m pretty happy with my reread (also switched this out from Radical Candor because that one was too long for this readathon)

NEWTs A-level Arithmancy: Fireborne by Rosaria Munda: Picked up this ARC at ALA and damn it was a good choice. Great debut, great story. Full review to come.

NEWTs E-level Charms: Illegal by Eoin Colfer: A graphic novel about a boy from Ghana trying to get to Europe for a better life. This was heartbreaking to see the boy go across the desert, across the sea, and all its horrors. Flew through this.

What Sam’s reading now:

NEWTs E-level Ancient Runes: Nottingham by Nathan Makaryk: Another ALA ARC grab, but am listening on audio since it came out on Aug 6th. In this story, Robin Hood follows King Richard on his crusade and it’s Maid Marian who is steals from the rich to give to the poor. Only just started but I am excite.

NEWTs O-level Charms: The Future of Another Timeline by Annalie Newitz: Considering I’m only a chapter in, I will save the summary and my thoughts until next week.

Ginny’s Update:

I hope you’ve had a great week and are ready to jump in to Monday proper. I have a massage lined up for tonight so regardless of how the actual day goes, I know I’m gonna have a great afternoon!

Currently Reading:

Normal People by Sally Rooney: I’ve heard such good things about this book and it finally came up from the library! It follows two teens, one popular/one not, as they start dating away from the public eye. I think it’s going to swap when they go to college but I haven’t gotten there yet. The characters are realistic and can be oblivious in the way I’ve always felt a little bit oblivious, so I’m enjoying it so far. 

Stormrise by Julian Boehme: I literally just started reading this so I’m like 20 pages in and don’t have much to say yes. Except apparently this is going to be Mulan but with dragons!!!!! I’ve been playing a lot of Skyrim recently so I AM HERE FOR DRAGONS!

Just Finished:

Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh: Yeah this is a series where I’m constantly either going to be reading one of the books, or will at least have it on hold at the library. This follows one of the secondary characters is the first book, and includes an F-psy who can forecast the future. There’s a lot of him trying to get her acclimated to physical contact which was not necessarily my jam. A little too much, i know better than her, which, ugh. Regardless, still a fun story and gets a 3.5/5

Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer: I wrote a review. I have strong opinions. Book club for this is Wednesday… … … 

Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins: This will surprise no one but I follow a bunch of romance novelists on twitter. They are delightful and have definitely influenced my reading list. I’ve heard about this author forever and I’m disappointed it took me this long to finally read one of her books. Eddy is a badass and is slowly working her way towards California with both good and bad luck. Rhine is a former slave who is light skinned enough to pass as white and has decided to do so. They meet and there’s instant chemistry. Except Eddy shuts that shit down, she knows what happens between a mixed race couple after the civil war…. It’s delightful. 4/5

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow: I love a good portal novel and whoo boy. I’m definitely writing a review of this one because I would like to honor January’s love and honor of writing and the power of the written word.

Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire: This is the sequel to Discount Armageddon which I read last week. The worlds that she builds are SO GREAT! Quick summary. Verity has been warned by her quasi-boyfriend that the Covenant are coming to New York for a purge. Obviously this is worriesome. Review forthcoming.

The Attack by Yasmina Khadra: In my head I’m singing “One of these things is not like the other.” This was a look at what happens in a country that has dealt with constant low level terrorism. The main character’s wife is a suicide bomber in an attack that kills a number of people. He decides he needs to figure out what happened and where he went wrong. The search is interesting, but I found the ending to be a little bit abrupt. While that makes sense in the narrative arc of the book, I still found myself disappointed that there wasn’t some sort of ending that allows Amin to choose a side and make a directional shift. 3/5

Minda’s Update:

Oof. Still doing NEWTs, but it’s slow going.

What Minda is reading now:

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow – Moving along, but it’s moving slowly.

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente – Expected to pick this up last week, but didn’t. This week it is!

Linz’s Update:

Oh god I felt so ready for DragonCon and now I feel woefully underprepared. I literally went into my calendar and blocked next Saturday off to finish work.

What Linz read:

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: YOU GUYSSSSSSSSSS. UGH. EVERYTHING.

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Asad: Middle East/central Asia-inspired debut fantasy, with djinn and lots of food and some great characters. (It was a solid debut and honestly I preferred it to City of Brass).

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson: So, a bunch of girls were kidnapped by a rich crazy guy, who makes them live in a hidden garden and tattoos butterfly wings on their backs.They get rescued (THIS IS LITERALLY IN THE GOODREADS DESCRIPTION NOT A SPOILER), and the FBI tries to pick apart what happened with a cagey survivor. You def already knew what happened so it lost some of the potential tension, and the survivor isn’t really that mysterious, just has a drama-heavy backstory. It was fine?

After by Anna Todd: NOPE. Review forthcoming.

What Linz is currently reading:

I actually had to take a little reading break to get stuff done, but I *did* just get Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree from the library, so likely starting that today, or my ARC of The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Melinda, Linz, and Ginny

Weekly Wrap-Up: August 11-18, 2019 Hello! Here's our weekly wrap up from the WRFB crew =) Sam's Update: I got a lot of reading done this week.

[m0hitgoswami-blog]

VERRIER ELWIN

Verrier Elwin came to India as a Christian preacher, but took up anthropology as a primary interest. He was an ethnographer and in 1932 began to work among the Baiga tribe of Madhya Pradesh. This was later published as The Baiga in 1939. This was introduced by Hutton. It was cited often but it contained the first citation of his statement on isolationism for tribals. He had noted that the Baigas were being destroyed by the landlords and the missionaries. To protect them from exploitation he suggested that the State should prevent or control their interaction with outsiders.     Verrier Elwin has always been associated with the issue of the integration of tribal societies with the greater Indian society. Such an integrationist stance was initially opposed by him, when he proposed that tribals should be left alone instead of being constantly interfered with and acculturated. This gave him the reputation of being a person who advocated separate ‘reserved national parks’ for tribals. Such national parks he also called ‘Tribal Reserve Area.’ Such a stance was also being used at the time by the United States government. After this, Elwin went on to study the Murias of the Bastar region. He devoted one book to the study of the youth dormitories among the Murias there. It was seen from his work that such youth dormitories were an indispensable part of many other tribal societies as well. It was responsible for training the youth in various social activities and for initiating them into sexual activities. This led others to work on the activities of the youth dormitories in other tribal societies. He went on to publish many more works on tribal and other cultures. He published one on the religion of the tribes, their folklore, myths of origin, etc. In a study of the Borneo highlanders he again supported isolationism. This was criticized by several nationalist leaders and proassimilation anthropologists. Finally, when Elwin wrote A Philosophy For NEFA he propagated a more assimilationistic stance in collaboration with the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. In his integrationist model of the tribe, he propagated the idea, following Nehru’s panchsheel that the tribes should be allowed to develop according to their own dictates. Elwin went on to become a member of several committees on tribal affairs and also an editor of Man in India. His house in Shillong now houses his wife and son, and a host of memorabilia that exhibit his travels among the tribals of India. Many of the photographs that he took now adorn the walls of the Museum and Department of Anthropology, NEHU, Shillong.     RAI BAHADUR SARAT CHANDRA ROY Yet, within this history and culture of anthropology in India is a history of interaction between anthropologists and tribals and its effects in the last one hundred years. S. C. Roy started his work among the tribals of Chotanagpur in the early years of this century. S. C. Roy never talked of Anthropology without it being contextualized within India. “From our Indian view-point the ulterior object of the science of Man is, or should be, to understand the meaning and goal of human existence, – the trend, direction and aim of human culture and civilization, the eternal spiritual reality behind life and society, the Sat behind the at, and to ascertain, as far as possible, the laws that govern the thought and behaviour of man in Society.” (Roy; 1937: 243) Anthropology is frequently accused of being the study of ‘Primitive Society.’ Yet, this is because “primitive society exhibits the ground-plan on which the more complex structure that we call civilization has been built up” (Roy; 1937: 249). Such studies should be followed by studies of complex and advanced societies. Different cultures at various levels of complexity should be analyzed, compared and comprehended (Roy; 1937: 249). On the issue of charismatic figures, he says: “It is on these horses of thought, action and feeling, who with their kindling ideas and throbbing words, and inspiring message and example, act as levers to lift society to higher levels by introducing new ideals and viewpoints, it is on them that the measure and standard of a people’s culture depend.” (Roy; 1937: 252) According to Roy (1937) anthropology is for use, for nation-building in a positive sense, for fellow-feeling among human beings and for writing the eternal history of humankind. S. C. Roy was no objective anthropologist. He began with the idea of helping the oppressed tribals of the region. In order to reframe the way outsiders manipulated them, he had to prepare an outline of their customary laws. In order to do so, he had to study their oral and mythical history, their social and cultural life, at first hand. The only discipline that suited him was that of the anthropologist. He wished anthropology to be there as a subject in all Universities and also as a requirement of officers in administration and bureaucracy. It soon became apparent that early accounts of Indian tribes were mostly written by British authors. Out of 100 articles on anthropology published between 1784 to 1883, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, only 3 articles were by Indians. In Calcutta Review, there were 53 articles on anthropology published between 1843-1883, only three by Indians (Roy; 1992: 13). There were no monographs on tribes by Indian authors. Sarat Chandra Roy took care to learn the dialects of the various tribes of the region. He had no formal training, yet he managed to create a good rapport by his ability and knowledge. At the time there were very few roads. Photos exist in his house showing his travels on elephantback through jungles. A large map also exists showing all the villages of the area. S. C. Roy marked all the villages he had visited with a red circle. The entire map was a mass of red. Few villages survived being marked. During his later years he frequently talked of his work to Nirmal Kumar Bose and to his youngest daughter, Mira Roy, who died in February 2006. According to him, all his works needed to be revised to include individual differences that occur in each of the different villages. As a first step, he made notebooks for each thana and tehsil where he numbered and noted down one village on each page. On these pages, he noted whatever information he knew regarding the villages. This was a remarkable attitude of collecting local data, which is only now becoming popular. Yet, Roy’s work must also be seen in the context of the everyday life of the Oraon which did not have (and still does not have) a structuralized behaviour pattern for behaving with outsiders. S.C. Roy was also one of the ‘diku’ yet clearly was never called such names. Further, the researcher in his attempt to gain intimacy becomes a ‘friend’, a term which an Oraon well understands. This deep effect of the anthropologist on tribal society was well observed by D.N. Majumdar: “How far this was true was seen by us in 1921, when some of us, then students of anthropology at Calcutta visited the Munda country with Dewan Bahadur L.K. Anantakrishna Iyer, Reader in Anthropology, Calcutta University. We visited hamlet after hamlet, we went into the interior villages of the Munda country, we enquired about the intimate social life of the people and everywhere we visited we felt the invisible presence of Roy. Every village we passed through, we were greeted with shouts of Sarat Babu Ki Jay. It is no wonder that Roy represented the tribal people of his district in Bihar Legislature for successive terms.” (in Roy; 1980: 210) It is the social-ness of the work of S. C. Roy that is his main advantage. His house had a set of rooms prepared for his tribal clients so that those who came from far-off villages could stay on while his case was being fought in court. Ultimately, S. C. Roy was thinking not just in the tribal language but in terms of their own worldview. An incident that shows this side of him relates to the construction of a bridge over a river at Lohardaga: “The river side had Hindu and Oraon settlements. Since the bridge was washed out twice earlier, the contractor wanted to placate the Gods of both the villages. He repaired an old dilapidated temple of Hindus and presented a flag with a railway engine painted on it to the Oraon which was a symbol of power to that parha of Oraons in the Jatra festival. But envious of this, one of the neighbouring parha made a same kind of flag having the emblem and led [to] trouble at the annual Jatra festival at Bhasko. Two persons were killed. Fearing similar trouble next year, Roy was consulted by the sub-divisional Magistrate and he then presented a flag emblemed with an aeroplane and explained the superiority of it to the senior members of the parha of the latter village next year. A happy solution came out and no trouble occurred at the jatra that year.” (Roy; 1980: 215-216) In the last years of his life he was very ill. He found no strength to get up from his bed. He slept straight with his feet pointing through the doorway to the length of his study. He would request his servants to turn his book-shelves towards him so that he could look at his beloved books all day. Once, in a moment of sadness he told his daughter that if he were to die, to be re-born in another place, he only wished he retained the memories of all the books he had read intact. His vision and his genius were his alone. None after him was ever able to put together a plausible worldview of the various tribals of the region into a whole. When he died on 30th April, 1942 on the holy day of Buddha Purnima, he left a yawning emptiness. His students often berated his constant delays and re-corrections of his own articles since it kept him from writing more. He wrote much but he took away much more. Notes on improvements of his various books abound, ignored and forgotten in that sprawling empty house of his where only his youngest daughter stayed till her death in 2006. A museum, a library, a table and a chair exactly as he left it and whole generations of anthropologists and tribals who come to buy his books and copies of the journal that he started now frequent the house where anthropology began in this part of the world.  

[anilbisht]

Surajkund Mela – A Perfect Blend of Culture and Craft!

As soon as month of February begins, all the roads lead to this world-renowned and a much sought after affair called Surajkund Mela. The grand Fair is organised by Haryana Tourism in the Delhi NCR Region: Faridabad, during 1st to 15th of the same month, every year.

Surajkund, the place after which this Fair is named, is set in the picturesque backdrop of Aravali hills, a lake and a rocky terrain, perfect settings to weave its magic around its visitors.  This year it is the thirty-first edition of the Fair known as 31st Surajkund International Crafts Mela - 2017.

It has been many years since I had visited the fair long ago, so I had this constant curiosity of how the Fair must have shaped-up, and evolved all these years gone by. To kill the inquisitiveness, I decided to visit the Fair along with all my family members.  Sunday weather was also perfectly pleasant; moderately cool, breezy and the sun playing hide and seek in overcast conditions all through the day.

We reached around noon and the place was already buzzing with festivities and fun. The place is scattered with hut shaped outlets displaying all forms of handicrafts, arts, decorative, jewellery, furniture, artefacts, ethnic wears, apparels, handlooms, footwear, earthenware, accessories, household goods, collectors items and much more. The whole atmosphere and the settings are rural and earthen. The terrain is also like a roller-coaster ride, going up and down and uneven.

The place is well decked up and decorated. The trees are loaded with multi-colour paper hangings and lanterns. Colourful cutouts of objects and living things also add attraction to the appeal of the Fair. Large gates are also created all over to give a feel of the past. The place witnesses a great deal of frenzy, zeal and excitement among the visitors and exhibitors alike.

Food stalls are also a big hit among all. Every outlet is thronged by the public all throughout the day satisfying their hunger pangs and taste buds. Those with the sweet tooth, the ‘Jaleba’ a large form of jalebi made in desi ghee (clarified butter), is the most sought after sweet. Among the meals, Chole Bahture and Chole Kulche sells the most.

The food and crafts apart, there is also cultural extravaganza unfolding every now and then. There are open-air theatres where plays, musicals, folk dances, rhythmic drumbeats, dances, and public engagements are conducted.

This year, it appears that the theme of the Fair is the state of Jharkhand. Spotlight was clearly on culture and craft of Jharkhand. Many tribal from the state were also seen participating in varied performances. As a mark of respect, an impressively large statue of Birsa Munda, the tribal freedom fighter and a legend of Jharkhand stands tall in the middle.

Participation of foreign countries and their exhibition of goods also adds an International flavour to this grand fair. This is the new thing I noticed, which means the Fair is growing and expanding its cultural boundaries.

The fair - a congregation of Indian art, craft, culture and tradition - is not only a hit among the locals but also among the foreigners and tourists from all over. Many foreign tourists can be spotted in great numbers, roaming all over the place clearly mesmerised by the colourfully vibrant settings and festivities.

A fortnight long affair, is a true amalgamation of diversity of culture and traditions India offers. A perfect merger of culture and craft, art and artists, design and décor, food and fiesta, sculpt and sculpture, trade and tradition, music and mosaic, handicraft and handloom, festivities and fun, local and foreign.

Visit and experience for yourself!

© Anil Bisht anilbisht@rediffmail.com