Our Turkey Trip Recently we visited Turkey. It was a nice trip and icing on the cake was our son Vikram joining us from Philadelphia. Turkey has very rich history which is being unearthed thanks to initiative of Ataturk Kemal Pasha, a great leader and maker of modern Turkey. Istanbul is nice city though climate aws hot at this time of year. We enjoyed our visits to Topkapi Palace, Aya Sophia Museum and Blue mosque. People were friendly and food was good. Our next stop was Cappadocia where natural rock formations due to erosion from wind and rain on layered rocks is really wonderful. Mushroom rocks and cave natural and man made and Pigeon Vally were really worth seeing. Our trip to Ephesus was another plus mark. Here man made underground cities with upto eight levels are worth visiting. Tourists generally allowed up to four levels. They make us wonder about human ingenuity and also make one aware of the hardship faced by them. Overall it is a truly modern country worth visiting.

Our Monsoon Trip

Hi everybody,

Some things in lighter mood. We ( Wachak Manch ) arranged our rainy seasons trip to National Park, Borivali. Surroundings were beautiful. Verdant green everywhere as if nature has carpeted it. We went to Kanheri caves first. As always awe inspiring. From the top we could see all around and same time concrete jungle ot Kandivali and Borivali.

Pagoda at Gorai next to Esselword was very nice and shining in the shaft of Sun rays. These Vipashyana people know how to attract people. Let us hope that our leaders don’t spoil this nature by encouraging builders loby. In fact they could have done better by utilizing rights of U.L.C. to acquire more areas all over city and utilizing them to create more green zones which are not only pleasing to eyes but also are lungs of cities.

After coming down we wanted to relax by the side of Nala but forest guards objected. Our people are not disciplined and dirty the area by piling rubbish and plastics. We though annoyed had to accept that they were acting to prevent this nuisance. I hope that authorities become more vigilant in the city to improve clwanliness.

Though it was raining heavily in the morning it had stopped when we got out of cars. All of us were wishing for few lighter showers. Anyway after enjoyment and snacks we returned in the afternoon.

Life

What is the meaning life? Thinkers for thousands of years have pondered on this. No one has answered it to satisfaction. If god created this universe, why the disparity and misery. Why are people so selfish that for small gains they are willing to destroy many innocents? Same time there exists many who sacrifice their lives and all their assets for benefit of needy. A well known freedom fighter had said that why we can’t question god for the hardships and misery faced by his creation. Existence of God is questioned by many and choice should be left to each. All should have freedom to believe and pray whatever they want to but their god should be kept in their homes and places of worship and not on street and should not be forced on anyone.

So called Ahimsa is crap. Non violence of week has no value or respect. It should be virtue of strong whom should adorn it and cherish it. All religions which carried non violence to extreme have declined. When confronted by violence one must retaliate, at times with more force and vigor and not take it lying down. People who prostrate in adversity and accept it as their luck are guilty. Ideally all human beings must respect each other. Common good should be the goal of everybody. Love thy neighbor is right policy and with globalization all humans have become each others neighbors. This is utopia and difficult to achieve but that has to be aim of every thinking person. I am sure it will take ages to reach final goal but it is better to have some goal rather than drifting aimlessly through life.

Good behavior can not be forced but same time bad behavior should be punished and curtailed even by force when necessary. Good behavior will fetch its own rewards. How to control bad traits is problem and requires careful governance, local bodies and groups and peer pressure etc. Every society must form their own rules and regulations under the guidance of central and global authorities.

Any Utopia, Ism, Religion when tried to be forced on others has resulted in strife and wars. A common global religion for those who need one will have to be answer. Those who do not believe in god or religion should be left alone to their choice. It is very hard to digest and there will always be some advantage seekers. This is seen in many animal groups also. Being humans with advanced brain and thinking power we own something to ourselves and everybody around us.

Social Welfare

Today India is in enviable position. Values cherished and nourished by our freedom fighters and their encouragement of education has filtered through and we can boast large army of educated middle class who is backbone of our economy. Without their support our industry and government will be paralyzed. Same time we must realize that they come from general population of whose they are a part and also essential for all the work in industry and labor as well as farming.

Our government has prime duty to consider all its citizens as equal and take care of their welfare. We must follow the policy of developed nations and see that all of our citizens get bare minimum and no one should be denied services of health and education. Unless there is overall prosperity in the society and all are satisfied country can not prosper and remain stable. As we can see in many rich countries there is discontent and conditions of disparity which has been feeding and nurturing terrorism. Educated youths have been mislaid in believing that someone else is responsible for their misery and not their own rulers. Today they are targeting other nations but ultimately truth will dawn and they will turn on their rulers. Unless our leaders take proper steps towards equality for all our society may also go in a wrong way.

Overall progress is equal opportunities for sustenance, education, earning etc. All this is possible only after balanced growth of all towns and villages. I have already mentioned about proper development of our villages. The social welfare is key to happiness of all. As mentioned farming and industry are interdependent and complimentary.

Our Villages

Villages of India.

Villages are soul of India. Mahatma Gandhi was in favor of Gram Swarajya. His ideal was that villages and villagers should be self sufficient. Today we have progressed and India is shining as was predicted by Ataljee who also deserves the credit but what about the poor? All prosperity is hogged by rich and influential. Very little is percolating down.
To change this we need brilliant and compassionate leadership at decision making levels. First and basic major change has to be decentralization of power. Major policy decisions should be taken at higher levels and broad guidelines should be laid down for day to day working at village level. Participation of villagers through village panchayat is must and necessary for all to feel that they are part of the procedure and responsible for decisions which are for the common good. Panchayat members should be elected by the villagers through democratic means without interference by political parties and local rich and powerfuls.

Common resources like water and surplus grazing land should be used for benefit of all.
Water management if done properly can bring prosperity to villagers as shown by many good leaders in Maharashtra, Rajasthan etc. Many places grazing land is used for cultivation of grass which is used by cropping it by people. Wanton grzing which is harmful is not allowed. For this surrounding forest and government land will have to brought under care of entire village. Village Panchayat and villagers will be responsible for planting and maintaining trees and grass lands and can reap the benefit for common good. Wherever required government authorities should guide them and help them without undue interference. This will also help in stopping wanton destruction of our forests. Villagers will also be alert about preservation of wild life which is essential for health of forests. As such we have only 1411 Tigers left. When villagers prosper they will stop migrating to urban areas with reduction in problems of undue urbanization. Education at village level should be given top priority. Teachers willing to stay in the villages and teach should be given very good pay and all the facilities. This spending has to be done by government and villagers should not be burdened. With education women’s condition will improve and they will get better participation.

Many social workers are working in various villages in Maharashtra. Exemplary work carried out by Magseyse prize winner Rajendrasinhji in Rajsthan is worth repeating all over the country. These kind of works if encouraged by governments will go a long way to improve condition of our villages. With prosperity all other secondary amenities will reach villages and country’s industries will have captive domestic market.

Evolution of Sex

Evolution of sex.

Evolution has taken a turn when bisexual reproduction came into existence. Sexes segregated as male and female. Main reason was propagation as has been described in ‘Selfish Genes’ by Richard Dockins. All this developed to achieve transfer of gametes i.e. of sperm to join with ovum. In some fishes ova are liberated in water by female and simultaneously males release sperms in water and fertilization is achieved outside. This needs very large no. of ova and sperms. Thus there was waste and chances of successful fertilization were less. Nature was looking for better way of transferring sperms from male to female body. In birds both sexes have openings called cloacae. Transfer of sperms from male to female takes place when they come in to contact. Later in animals and even in some fishes and insects separate sex organs developed for more efficient transfer of sperms to female body. This needed mating or copulation. For successful propagation pleasure of mating developed. This became the point of attraction between the sexes. In some species female are receptive and males are attracted to them during very short period of few days when sex hormones production in their body is at the peak. This is at times controlled by external factors like availability of food etc. In some species it became cyclical with cyclical menstrual cycle of female. In many species female is receptive only for a short period and after successful mating male and female part not to see each other till or well after the cubs have grown and become independent when they leave to form their own territory. In some animals once bonded together male and female live with each other raising offspring’s together. They live sharing and caring for each other till one of them dies. Some live in groups dominated either by females or one or more males. In such cases both sexes are polygamous and polyandrous.

In primates menstrual cycles have become more predictable. In humans menstrual cycle is approximately 28-30 days. Meanwhile with development of brain and acquirement of various sensations, the pleasure of sexual proximity including copulation became apparent to some animals and humans. This led to development of sex for pleasure. It is used not only for procreation purpose but also as tool of appeasement and sign of submission in some primates. In Bonabo apes in Africa the troops are dominated by females as against other apes. They routinely indulge in sexual contacts namely rubbing the genitals with each other to diffuse tensions or as submissive gesture. A casual observer may think them to be oversexed.

In wilderness the existence itself is a challenge and all living beings are faced with the same challenge most the time. Survival of the fittest is the rule. With the fight for existence there is hardly time for anything else. With increased hormonal levels which vary periodically in different species sex becomes important during that period. In more advanced species like some monkeys and apes etc. sex has become more frequent and has also developed as part of social event. Also some forms of self appeasement like masturbation does takes place. This is noticed more so in caged animals, those have nothing to occupy them and are bored.

In humans sex has evolved to its highest level. It is accepted by almost all as bliss but same time some have tried to label it differently. Some have described it as a cardinal sin. According to them celibacy is the greatest virtue. Some have gone to other extreme and indulged in it to no end. Some have used it as a sign of dominance while some have used it as a weapon or bargaining tool. Normal accepted form of sex is intercourse but there are variations which were and are taboo in some communities. Sex itself is not bad. As with fire or any weapon the person using it and their purpose may be bad. Sex between consenting adults with mutual understanding is not a sin. It is like any other physical need. Attraction of opposite sex is natural and common but there should not be force or taking advantage of other’s weakness. Also social morals and norms must be considered.
There are number of cases of variation as attraction between individuals of same sex which is termed Homosexuality. Why this occurs is not fully understood but some countries have accepted this as a natural variation. Some people are bisexual with different grades of preferences. Society by and large must understand the variation and not consider it as anything abnormal or a sin. One must remember that at one time in some societies left-handedness was considered as abnormal and evil. People have tried to change this with disastrous results at times. Some people are ambidextrous with resultant added advantage. Societies by and large have accepted left-handedness as normal. Twin birth in many old societies was considered as sign of promiscuity of the female. And one of the offspring was killed in some. Now its scientific basis is explained and accepted by all. Similarly society will accept sexual variations. There are certain variations that are harmful to other members of society and can never be accepted. Some variations if accepted mutually by consenting adults then other members of society should have no objection to it. Prostitution in itself is a variation but is accepted by society to certain extent as necessary evil. Prostitution or sex trade should never be forced on anyone which is definitely a crime. It is duty of government and police to protect all the citizens. It is high time government changes the ancient laws regarding homosexuality etc. which have been removed by advanced countries. We still cling to those old laws framed by British which they themselves have changed in their own country. This law has resulted in gays and lesbians to hide their natural likings and live double lives. Anti social elements take advantage of this situation. It is duty of our leaders and government to change old law which criminalizes homosexuality.

In many modern societies marriage as an institution is loosing its place and incidence of divorce has risen to very high level. Co-existance is possible by mutual respect and understanding but many marriages just exist by submission or subjugation. Many others continue because of pressure of society, peers, presence of children etc. Human society is not likely to reach perfection as long as variations in thinking and understanding persist. Speed of understanding and accepting variations in people varies. This enlightenment and broad mindedness in societies may take long. I am sure in near future wisdom will prevail.

Evolution of Sex