An Indian Bureaucrat's Diary » Travel India

Munnar – a cuppa of British Tea

Binoy Gupta — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:22:27 +0000

Kashmir of South India

Manicured Tea Gardens

I had heard a lot about Munnar, the beautiful hill station in South India.
And although I had visited places very close to Munnar, such as Theni (Tamil Nadu) – only about an hour’s drive from Munnar – due to shortage of time, I could not visit the place.

So, in early 2011, I decided to visit Munnar,

Munnar is a wonderful getaway in Kerala, nestling at an altitude of 1,829 metres, amidst luscious tea and coffee plantations, hills, valleys, lakes, waterfalls, forests, exhilarating walks, birds and animals. It is nicknamed the Kashmir of South India.
I booked a small suite in one of the finest resorts there. My RCI membership comes in handy on such occasions. I had to pay only nominal charges. I also booked return flights from Mumbai to Kochi three months in advance. So those too were cheap.

A two hour drive (120 kms) from Kochi airport took me into the heart of tea country. I was passing through beautiful tea gardens on all sides.

Tea

I recently read an article that tea drinking originated in India. Much as I would love to believe this, this is not true.
Tea drinking originated in China almost 4750 years ago. It was known there as Ch’a. The word has been copied by India, Japan, Russia, Iran and the Middle East.

In A.D. 780, the Chinese tea expert Lu Yu published the first exclusive book on tea ‘Ch’a Ching’ meaning ‘Tea classic’. In this book, he has described various kinds of tea, their cultivation and manufacturing in China.
Though we had indigenous tea plants in India, commercial cultivation of tea entered India much later. In 1834, Lord William Bentinck, then Governor General of British India, appointed a Tea Committee to advise him on the feasibility of commercial tea cultivation in India. The first experimental samples of tea from indigenous tea plants were sent to Calcutta in 1836.
The rest is history.

Today, India is the world’s second largest producer (India was number one, but China overtook India to become the number one). And we have all kinds of tea….from the good old time tested orthodox “Britisher’s….cuppa tea” to all kinds of delicately flavoured exotic concoctions.

History of Munnar and its tea plantations

Munnar was discovered by John Daniel Manro, a British lawyer and planter, in the 1870s, when he visited the area on a hunting expedition. He immediately recognised the agricultural potential of the region.

In July 1877, Manro leased 581.12 sq kms (125,000 acres) of land from the Raja of Poonjar and formed a co-operative society called ‘North Travancore Land Planting and Agricultural Society’. The members of the society started farming coffee, sisal and cardamom.
Another European, A.H. Sharp, experimented with different crops such as coffee, cinchona, sisal and cardamom and concluded that the area was best suited for tea. He started tea plantations. Over the years, more and more tea plantations grew up.

In 1964, the Tata Group entered Munnar. By 1980s, Tata Tea Ltd. had acquired most of the tea plantations to become the second largest integrated tea manufacturing facility in the world.

On 1st April 2005, Tata Tea Ltd. exited most of its plantations in Munnar and were succeeded by Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company Private Limited which now owns 7 extensive gardens covering 24,000 hectares, with an annual production of 21 million kgs of tea.
An interesting feature of this company is that its 12,000 plus employees are its shareholders.

What to see

There are a number of places in and around Munnar which you can visit. During the rains, the place becomes a fairyland enveloped in fog and mist andfull of cascading waterfalls.

But where ever you go, when ever you go, you will see beautifully manicured tea gardens. Left to nature, the tea plants grow quite tall. But for tea cultivation, they have to be continuously cut to 1 metre or so to encourage the growth of new shoots. The fresh tea shoots are pinched or clipped every three or four days from which tea is made.

The tangled leftovers of dead tea plants make wonderful show pieces. They are dried, sand papered and given a coat of varnish. You can put a sheet of glass on them and use them as beautiful ornamental tables.

Tea Museum (2 kms from Munnar)

The Kanan Devan Hills Plantations Company Private Limited maintains India’s first tea museum which is a must visit site for all visitors.
Here, you can learn about the growth of the tea industry – from the simple tea roller to the present fully automated tea factory of Madupatty.
You can learn about various aspects of tea processing and the operations that go into the making of black tea. You can also do some tea tasting.

You can see old-time bungalow furniture, iron safe, magneto phone, wooden bathtub, iron oven that used firewood, etc., and antique office equipments such as antiquated typewriters and PBX.
The museum has an iron-age burial urn from the 2nd century B.C. exhumed in the 1970s.

Near the entrance of the museum is a granite sundial, made in 1913 by the Art Industrial School at Nazareth in Tamil Nadu.

Mattupetty (13 kms from Munnar)

The Mattupetty lake and dam are situated at a height of 1700 mts. You can do some boating here.
You can visit the Indo-swiss dairy farm, which is close by. It has over 100 varieties of high yielding cattle.
Eravikulam National Park (15 km from Munnar)
PEERMEDE

There are other national parks around Munnar, but the 97 sq. kms. Eravikulam National Park is the home of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr, a rare mountain goat. Originally established to protect the Nilgiri Tahr, the Park was declared a sanctuary in 1975. Its status was elevated to National Park in 1978.
The total number of Niligiri Tahrs here is estimated to be over 1300 – about half the world’s population.

The park is breathtakingly beautiful. The Anamudi peak (2695 mts), the highest peak in South India, is located in the Southern region of the park.
If you have the time and inclination, you can walk up to the top.

Marayoor (40 kms from Munnar)

Marayoor is the only place in Kerala that has a natural growth of sandalwood trees.
I visited the sandalwood factory of the forest department, the caves (muniyaras) with murals and relics from the New stone age civilization and the children’s park spread across a hectare of land under the canopy of a single banyan tree.
You can also visit the Thoovanam waterfalls and Rajiv Gandhi National Park nearby.

Dolmens

You can see muniyaras (caves) dating back to the New Stone Age near Kovilkadavu village. These caves contain rock paintings of great archaeological importance.
But what was more interesting for me were the dolmens, or old burial chambers, consisting of four erect stones covered by a horizontal capstone.

Neelakurunji flowers

You can also see the beautiful Neelakurunji flowers here, but there is only one hitch. The spectacular blue blooms cover the entire mountainside.
But they flower once in 12 years and the next flowering will take place in 2018.
So you will have to wait for another 7 years.

Reaching There

The nearest airport is Kochi.
Kochi also has a railway station and is well connected by road also.
You can see a map of the place and get other information from the
following site:
http://www.munnar.org/munnar-maps.php

Summer Resort

The word Munnar is derived from the Tamil words moon – aar meaning three rivers because Munnar is located at the confluence of three rivers – Mudrapuzha, Nallathani and Kundala.
The most appropriate description of Munnar would be tea country. But it is much more than that.

The Britishers of South India had made Munnar their summer resort.

And it really rains during the monsoons. The rains here are 2^nd only to Cherrapunji in Assam.

You will surely fall in love with the place during the rains.

Consumer Court

Binoy Gupta — Tue, 10 May 2011 09:05:23 +0000

How to prepare and submit a Complaint to a Consumer Forum

Of late, I have appeared before the Consumer Forums in Mumbai on behalf of several consumers.
The procedure is simple, and the decision quite fast.
I have received a few requests to detail the procedure for filing a Complaint.

I am summarising the procedure: But you can file a complaint before a Consumer Forum, only if you are a consumer.
You cannot not file a Complaint, if the transaction is business related.

First, you must be a consumer.
If you have purchased goods or services for your business, for example for re-selling them, you are not a consumer.
But if you have purchased goods or services, like medicines, computers, mobiles, etc. for your own use, or mediclaim insurance policies, you are certainly a consumer.

Secondly, you must give a notice in writing to the supplier or service provider asking him to rectify the faults, defects, etc.
The notice should be simple, clearly pointing out your grievances, and requesting the supplier or service provider to rectify the faults, defects, etc. or replace the goods.
Normally, you should give a clear one month’s notice.
You should address the notice to the nearest address available, so that if you have to file a Complaint, it will be in the nearest consumer forum.

Thirdly, the Complaint must be filed within 2 years of the cause of action.
If there are reasonable causes for delay in filing the Complaint, you can always request the Consumer Forum to condone the delay.

The ComplaintThe following is the procedure for filing a Complaint before the District Forums.
(State Forums and National Forums have their own rules, but they are essentially the same)

Although it is not essential that the Complaint should be typed, it is always better to get it typed, double spaced, with at least 1½ inches of margin space on the left, top and bottom.

The Complaint has to be arranged in the following Order and you have to page number all documents.

1. Index giving the page number(s) of each document.

2. Application for condonation of delay (if there is delay), giving the reasons for the delay, duly affirmed before a notary public.

3. Complaint – containing details of the grievance, preferably arranged in chronological order;
briefly giving the ground on which relief is claimed, and
the relief (including legal costs, damages and interest) claimed.
The Complaint has to be signed by the Complainant.

4. You can appear before the Consumer Forums in person, or allow a close relative to appear for you.
But if you are engaging an advocate to appear on your behalf, you have to enclose a Vakalatnama, But then, your advocate will be doing all the paper work and attending the hearings.
If you are authorising, your close relative to appear for you, you have to enclose a letter of authority.

5. Affidavit that the contents of the Complaint are true.

6. Copies of all documents on which you rely upon in support of your Complaint.

No of copies of the Complaint to be filed

You have to submit:

1 Original and 2 zerox copies.
In addition, if the Complaint is admitted, you will have to submit as many more copies as there are parties.

Where to file your Complaint

The jurisdiction, that is the Consumer Forum, where you should file your Complaint depends on the amount involved.

I am summarising the provisions below:

Amount Involved Jurisdiction

upto Rs. 20 lakhs District Consumer Forum

Rs. 20 lakhs to Rs. 1 crore State Consumer Forum

More than Rs. 1 crore National Consumer Forum

The Fee

The fee, which is nominal, depends upon the amount involved. It is as follows:

Before District Forum

For claims up to Rs. 1 lakh Rs. 100

         For claims from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 5 lakhs       Rs. 200
        For claims from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakhs     Rs. 400
        For claims from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakhs   Rs. 500

Before State Commission For claims from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 50 lakhs Rs. 2000
For claims from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 1 crore Rs. 4000

Before National Commission

For claims exceeding Rs. 1 crore Rs. 5000

The fee has to be paid in the form of a demand draft on a nationalised bank in favour of the President of the concerned District Consumer Forum (Registrar of the State or National Commission if the Complaint is filed in these places).

There is no prescribed format for the affidavit. I am giving a simple format which you can modify and use.

Format of Affidavit

Specimen Draft Affidavit to be filed with the Complaint

I,………….. The, COMPLAINANT ABOVE NAMED DO HEREBY SOLEMNLY AFFIRM AND STATE THAT I HAVE FILED THE COMPLAINT HEREIN AND REPEAT, REITERATE, REAFFIRM AND CONFIRM EACH AND EVERY STATEMENT MADE THEREIN AS TRUE TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF.

Affirmation

In practice, you can get the affirmation done (or affidavit affirmed) before any notary public, but he will usually charge anything between Rs. 100 to Rs. 200; or
you can affirm before the Registrar of the concerned Forum.

Actual Filing of the Complaint

You, or your advocate, will have to personally file the Complaint in the office of the concerned Consumer Forum.

The Consumer Forum’s office will go through the Complaint and point out any deficiencies.
You have to correct them and submit the Complaint again.

The Consumer Forum’s office will give you a short date for admission.
On this date, you or your representative has to appear and explain the Complaint
to show that there is a genuine consumer Complaint.
This is a simple process and usually the Forum members are very helpful.

Once the Complaint is admitted, The Consumer Forum will direct you to submit more copies of the complaint (as many as there are respondents). These will be sent to the Respondents along with notice prepared by the Commission’s office.

If you have problems, you can write to me at:
eleena100@hotmail.com

Jodhpur – Land of Sand and Sand Dunes

Binoy Gupta — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:06:39 +0000

Jodhpur – Land of Sand and Sand Dunes

For a long time now, I had been planning to ride across the deserts and over the sand dunes in Rajasthan, atop our one humped camels.
I narrowed down my search to two places – Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.

I finally zeroed in on Jodhpur for the simple reason it has one of the finest forts in India, the most modern palace in the country and….. it is easier to travel to Jodhpur from Mumbai or Delhi.

Mandore (9 Kms) – History

The early capital of the Jodhpur area was not the present city of Jodhpur but Mandore (originally known as Mandavyapur) – 9 kms north of Jodhpur.
Mandore has a long history. During the Ramayana era, Princess Mandodri of Mandavyapur married King Ravana.

During the Gupta period 6th – 7th century AD, Mandore was the ancient capital of the Parihar kings and remained the capital under various kings till the 14th century.

When Kannauj was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1019, the Gahadvala dynasty gained control of Kannauj and ruled for almost a century. Their best known and last king was Raja Jaichand.

Raja Jaichand’s successors, who came to be known as Rathores, gradually spread across Marwar, forming a loose brotherhood of land owners and village chieftains, bound to each other by clan and caste.

In 1395 AD, Chundaji Rathore married a Parihar princess Mohil and began ruling Mandore.

Rao Jodha, a Rathore chief, conquered the surrounding areas and founded the Marwar state – the largest Rajasthan state during the pre independence days. A 10 km long wall with 8 Gates leading out of it encircled the old city.

Rao Jodha founded the present Jodhpur in 1459 A.D. and shifted his capital from Mandore to Jodhpur.

Mandore (9 Kms) – the Old City

Today, Mandore has a beautiful garden on the slopes of a hill housing a unique collection of royal devals or cenotaphs (cenotaph means a monument erected in honor of a dead person whose remains lie elsewhere or could not be recovered).

Unlike the usual chhatri (umbrella) shaped cenotaphs typical of other places of Rajasthan, the cenotaphs in Mandore are in the shape of beautiful, ornate, Hindu temples.
All the cenotaphs were constructed out of dark red sandstone.
The most impressive one is the four-storey cenotaph of Maharaja Ajit Singh (reigned 1678-1724), with fine columns and an elegant spire.

The garden has a hall of heroes with 16 figures of popular Hindu and folk deities carved out of a single rock, dating back to the 17th – 18th century.
Adjacent to this is a larger hall called “The Shrine of the Three Hundred Million” deities filled with brightly coloured images of various Hindu Gods.

As you climb up the hill, you come to the ruins of old Mandore with its old palace. Set on a rocky outcrop, a ten-minute walk over the hills, are the beautiful cenotaphs of the beautiful Maharanis.

The Mandore museum has a good collection of memoralia.

Modern Jodhpur

Maharaja Rao Jodha founded Jodhpur in 1459 A.D. The same year, he started constructed of the Mehrangarh Fort.
Construction of the Fort was completed by Maharaja Jaswant Singh (1638-1680).

Jodhpur is known as the Sun City for its year round bright, sunny, weather.
It is also known as the Blue City (Jaipur is known as the Pink City), due to the excessive indigo used in white-washing the houses around the Mehrangarh Fort.
Initially, only Brahmins white washed their houses indigo blue. The non-Brahmins soon joined in, as the blue colour (probably it was the indigo) was believed to deflect the heat and keep mosquitoes away.

Today Jodhpur has two sectors – the old city and the new city.
The old city is surrounded by a thick stone wall with six huge gates – Nagauri Gate, Merati Gate, Sojati Gate, Jalori Gate, Siwanchi Gate and Chand Pol.

The Old market

After checking in at the hotel, I spent the first evening walking around the Clock Tower and the area around it.
This gave us a taste of the old markets in the old city.
Speaking of taste, you can purchase Jodhpur’s famous red chilli powder around here. Besides, there are lots of shops around selling local handicrafts, lac work and pretty bangles.

Mehrangarh Fort

The most imposing structure in Jodhpur, and the finest fort in India, is the Mehrangarh Fort. Sprawling over 5 sq. Kms,, the Fort has seven gates.

Built of red sandstone, the Mehrangarh Fort rises sharply on an almost vertical cliff.

The main entrance to the fort is Jai Pol which was built in 1806 by Maharaja Man Singh to commemorate his victory in a battle.

Even though seventeen generations of Rathore rulers have added a number of temples, palaces and courtyards, surprisingly, the overall look is one of symmetry.

Inside the fort are various ornate and decorative structures constructed by different kings - the Phool Mahal, Takhat Mahal, Moti Mahal and Jhanki Mahal.

The bastioned walls with a sprinkling of old cannons on top have been hewn out of rocks and at some places are 24 metres thick and 40 metres high.

The museum inside the Fort has a wonderful collection of palanquins, howdahs, royal cradles, miniatures, musical instruments, costumes and furniture.

Ziplining (Zipling)

And it was here in this Fort, we first met the Flying Fox. The Flying Fox is not an animal. It is an outfit offering India’s first zip line tours or Ziplining (though I prefer to use the shorter word Zipling which I have coined).

Zipling is the sport of soaring high above the ground with your body strapped to a harness which is attached to a zip line which is an aerial runway created by tying a cable between two fixed points usually passing over scenic areas such as jungles, ravines, forests, meadows, sea and lakes.

The zip line is sloped so as to allow the rider to gradually glide down the length of the cable.

The zip lines at Mehrangarh Fort have cables suspended 30 to 200 feet above the ground passing over 6 different stages over the hills, forts and lakes.

The tour does appear a little nightmarish. But its perfectly safe and exhilerating.

Vultures at the Fort

I saw a large number of Vultures flying over the Fort. The locals clarified that this was one of the rare places in India where vultures regularly nest and breed.

Umaid Bhawan Palace

In sharp contrast to the medieval Mehrangarh Fort is the Umaid Bhavan Palace, the latest palace of India.
Built of creamy-pink sandstone and marble, this palace is one of the largest private residences in the world.
It has 374 rooms including eight dining halls, two theatres, a ballroom, ornate reception halls and a huge underground swimming pool.

This palace was built by Maharaja Umaid Singh as a relief project to help his famine-stricken subjects. It took 15 years and 3,000 men to complete this architectural marvel.

The major portion of the palace has been converted into a 5-star heritage hotel. The present Mahrajah Gaj Singh (grandson of Umaid Singh) lives in a segregated portion of the palace. Another portion of the palace houses the museum which is open to tourists.
The museum has a rich collection of decorated weapons, paintings, porcelain, watches, antique clocks and French furniture.

Osian (65km from Jodhpur)

This unique temple town was located on a very important trade route between the 8th and the 12th centuries and contains 16 Hindu and Jain temples of exquisite quality built during that period.

But we went to Osian also to ride over the sand dunes on camel back.
Jaisalmer is more famous for its sand dunes (Sam Sand Dunes), but the sand dunes here are equally fascinating.

Other Places to see

Jaswant Thada is a white marble cenotaph with beautiful lattice carvings and pillars built in memory of Maharaja Jaswant II in 1899. It also contains cenotaphs of subsequent rulers and members of the royal family.

You should also visit Balsamand Lake and Gardens; Kailana Lake and Sardar Samand Lake.

Local delicacies

You can taste the local cuisine including shahi samosa, mirchi vada, makhan lassi and the famous Mawa Kachori dipped in sugar syrup.

Conclusion

Jodhpur is an important city.

The High Court of Rajasthan is located here.
And it is well connected to the major cities of India, by air, rail and road.
A number of Heritage hotels of all varieties are coming up.

Jodhpur is famous for its feisty festivals, folk songs, hospitality and great food.
You can watch a lot of festivities during the month of October.

You can take a safari tour which will give you a glimpse of the lifestyle and craft of the potters and weavers, and you can also have a meal with them.

Incidentally, this is the home of the famous Bishnoi community where the black buck and other wild animals are savagely protected and it was here Salman Khan was caught and charged for wild life poaching.

Flamingoes in Mumbai – December 2009

Binoy Gupta — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 16:08:52 +0000

After the monsoons, Flamingoes – the lesser and the greater ones – and a lot of other migratory birds come to the coastal mudflats of India from the North.They feed on the mudflats during the next five or six months and return to their homelands in April or so.

They also come to Sewree in Central Mumbai in large numbers. Sewree is hardly four kilometres from my residence.
But I never saw these birds in the mudflats there.

Call it a Christmas determination or whatever, on the 27th December 2009, I decided to see the flamingoes. We made phone to different people to learn about the tides, how to reach the best location to see the birds and whatever we could learn.

Its simple. You have to go to Sewree Station. You have to cross the gate (phatak) which takes you to the eastern side of the station. Ask any one for the Sewree Jetty (or Indian Oil Corporation) or Sewree Khari (Sewree Bay). It is less than a kilometre away. We reached the jetty in no time.

You should go there when the tide is low.
What a scene it was! I could not count the birds. But there were more than 15,000 flamingoes all around. The younger ones had a blackish colouration and moved around in small groups of their own. There were a lot of other birds.

At the jetty, we clambered up the iron ladder on to a large ship which was undergoing repairs.
(Of course, we first asked for and took permission from the first person we sighted on the ship.)I am attaching some of the photographs.
I am giving the web site from where you can see the tide table for any day.
I am not reproducing my earlier article on flamingoes. I am giving its link.
Read it if you like. And oh, like any other writer I would love to have your views and comments.Binoy GuptaEmail:, eleena100@hotmail.comWebsite of the Mumbai Port Trust:
http://www.mumbaiport.gov.in/newsite/PORTINFO/weather.htmLink to my earlier article on flamingoes:
http://www.binoygupta.com/travel_india/flamingo-greater-flamingo-lesser-flamingo-migratory-birds-sewree-creek-mitthi-river-an-indian-bureaucrats-diary-travelogue-on-india-binoy-gupta-234/

Digha

Binoy Gupta — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:32:02 +0000

the most popular week end get away
for Kolkatians (Calcuttans)

Digha (originally known as Beerkul) is the most popular beach, and weekend get away, for the people of West Bengal in general, and Kolkata in particular.

In 1780, in one of his letters to his wife, Warren Hasting wrote about Digha as the “Brighton of the East”.In 1923, John Frank Smith, an English tourist was so enamoured by the beauty of Digha that he started living there. His writings about Digha brought the place into prominence.
After independence, John Frank Smith convinced Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, then Chief Minister of West Bengal, to develop Digha as a beach resort.

Digha has beautiful, firm, sandy beaches - so firm that you can drive cars and land small planes on them.

I used to visit Digha quite often to collect sea anemones, star fishes, small fishes and other small creatures for my marine aquariums. I also used to bring in sea water for these aquariums. Once, I got a large eel.

The water is shallow up to considerable distances. I used to walk into the sea for almost a kilometre. But believe me, this was fool hardy and certainly not safe.
You should never go out too far from the shore.

Activities You can play around in the sand and sea and pamper your stomach with local
Bengali cuisine.
The fried fish on the sea front is certainly worth trying.

You can shop for ornaments and curios, hand-woven mats made of weeds,
and purchase cashew nuts.

Other places to see

New Digha (2 kms) is practically an extension of Digha.
(On the way to New Digha, you can view marine life at the aquarium, or visit the Science Centre for some scientific facts.)
Shiva Temple at Chandaneshwar (8 kms).
Talasari, another lovely beach (3 kms).
Shankarpur, an untouched beach, often called the twin of Digha (14 kms).
Shankarpur is also an important fishing harbour.
Junput, another beautiful beach (40 kms).
This beach is great for fishing and sun bathing.
The State Government Fisheries Department, conducts fish cultivation and research here.
Mandarmani (14 kms), a small virgin beach with also a small fishing harbour, is a fast developing tourist resort.

Reaching there

Digha is 187 kms from Kolkata,
You can go by car, taxi or public transport.The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is offering great all inclusive packages from Kolkata to Digha.

Recommendation

Digha has suffered severe soil erosion. Much of its old time glory has passed over to New Digha which is almost like an extension of Digha.

The beach is lined with Casuarina trees.
The sea is calm and safe for swimming.
You can see both the sunrise and sunset at Digha.

There are plenty of hotels of all kinds at cheap rates.

Tourism Information

You can get tourist information from
West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.
New Secretariat Building (West Block) Ground FloorKolkata – 700 001 Phone; 91 33 – 2248 7302/8256/8242, 2210 3194

Travel India Whale Sharks

Binoy Gupta — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:20:20 +0000

Whale Sharks

“Whale Sharks are the largest fish in the sea, and yet, we know the least about them,” Jeff Swanagan, Executive Director and President, declared shortly after the opening of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, U.S.

Seeing a Whale Shark in the ocean is very rare.
Even well-known oceanographers such as Dr. Sylvia Earle and Philippe Cousteau did not see their first Whale Shark until coming to an aquarium.

Whale Sharks frequently enter the coastal waters around India.
A few are washed ashore.
Nature lovers try to push them back to deeper waters.

Fortunately for us, today, most of the larger public aquariums display Whale Sharks.

Description
Believed to have originated about 60 million years ago, the Whale Shark, Rhincodon typus, is the largest living fish in the world.

The Whale Shark was first identified in April 1828 following the harpooning of a 4.6 metres (15.1 feet) specimen in Table Bay, South Africa.
It was described the next year by Andrew Smith, a military doctor with the British troops in Cape Town.
He published a more detailed description of the Whale Shark in 1849.
The name ” Whale Shark ” comes from the fish’s physiology.
It is actually a shark, as large as a whale, and filter feeds in the same way as whales do.It can grow up to 12.2 metres (40 feet) in length and can weigh up to 13.6 metric tons.

The largest accurately recorded specimen was caught on November 11, 1947, near the island of Baba, near Karachi, Pakistan.
It was 12.65 metres (41.50 feet) long, weighed more than 21.5 tons (47,300 lb), and had a girth of 7 metres (23.0 feet).

Distribution and habitat

The Whale Shark is found in open waters in tropical and warm-temperate oceans around the world.
Its range is restricted to about ± 30 ° latitude.
It is found to a depth of 700 metres (2,300 ft).
It is usually solitary.
Males range over longer distances than females.

Seasonal feeding congregations of the Whale Sharks occur at several coastal sites such as Ningaloo Reef (Western Australia); Útila (Honduras); Donsol and Batangas (Philippines); off Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox (Yucatan Mexico); and the Tanzanian islands (Pemba and Zanzibar).

Description and Feeding

The Whale Shark is a filter feeder.
It has a huge mouth which can open up to 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) wide and contains between 300 and 350 rows of tiny teeth.
It has five large pairs of gills.
The two small eyes are located towards the front of the shark’s wide, flat head.

The body is mostly grey with a white belly.
Three prominent ridges run along each side of the Whale Shark and the skin is marked with a “checkerboard” of pale yellow spots and stripes.
These spots are unique to each whale shark and are used to identify each animal.

The skin can be up to 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) thick.

The Whale Shark is not an efficient swimmer and uses its entire body for swimming, reducing its speed to an average of around 5 kilometres per hour (3.1 mph).

Diet

The Whale Shark is a filter feeder — one of only three known filter feeding shark species (the other two are the basking shark and the megamouth shark).

It feeds on phytoplankton, macro-algae, plankton, krill, small fish and small nektonic life, such as small squid or vertebrates.
The rows of tiny teeth play no role in feeding.

The shark sucks in a mouthful of water, closes its mouth and expels the water through its gills. The plankton and other food material is trapped inside and swallowed.

The Whale Shark and Divers

The Whale Sharks are quite gentle and allow divers to play with them.

Divers and snorkellers can swim with them and even touch them without any risk apart from unintentionally being struck by the shark’s large tail fin.

The shark is often seen by divers in The Bay Islands in Honduras, Thailand, the Philippines, the Maldives, the Red Sea, Western Australia (Ningaloo Reef and Christmas Island), Gladden Spit Marine Reserve in Belize, Tofo Beach in Mozambique, Sodwana Bay (Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park) in South Africa and at the Galapagos Islands.

The highest concentration of Whale Sharks to be found anywhere in the world is in the Philippines. From January to May, they congregate in the shallow coastal waters of Sorsogon province (at Donsol).

Recently 150 Whale Sharks have been tagged and identified off the coast off Hol Box Island, Mexico. The island is located north of Cancun in the Gulf of Mexico. They visit the island from June through August and more have been identified every year.

Tour guides can organise swimming with these enormous creatures.

Reproduction

The reproductive habits of the Whale Sharks are obscure.
It was earlier believed to be oviparous, but the capture of a female in July 1996 which was pregnant with 300 pups proved that they are ovoviviparous.

The eggs remain in the body and the females give birth to live young which are 40 centimetres (15.7 in) to 60 centimetres (23.6 in) long.
It is believed that they reach sexual maturity at around 30 years and live to over 100 years.

Conservation status

The Whale Sharks are captured by artisanal and commercial fisheries in several areas where they seasonally aggregate.
However, they are not endangered.
IUCN has classified them as vulnerable.

Fishing, selling, importing and exporting of Whale Sharks for commercial purposes has been banned in the Philippines in 1998; in India in May 2001; and by Taiwan in May 2007.

Whale Sharks in India

Around 1,200 Whale Sharks migrate from East Africa to the Gujarat coast in the Indian Ocean for breeding every year.
They were indiscriminately slaughtered by fishermen in the coastal areas of in Gujarat.
About one thousand were slaughtered by Gujarat’s fishermen between 1990- 2001, who killed them for their oil, fins and meat. These fetched high prices in the international market. However, since 2005, the fishermen themselves have rescued nine of these huge creatures of the sea.

This has been possible through ‘Save the Whale Shark’ – a joint awareness campaign, conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Tata Chemicals and the Gujarat government since 2004.

Watching the magnificent creatures is a unique experience.
India is doing a wonderful job protecting and saving them.

Travel India Social Inequality

Binoy Gupta — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 09:07:03 +0000

Social Inequality

The extent of social inequality in India – even after 6 decades of independence, is to say the least, unbelievably appalling.
Our politicians, whose primary job is to reduce, if not remove, social inequality, clearly believe in the age old dictum, make hay while the sun shines.
The public, at large, continue to suffer, while the politicians prosper…and prosper.

Take a peep into the background of your neighbourhood councillor, MLA or MP.
Even if he has been in office for a single term, you will find his financial position has suddenly soared up.

Our Tax Payers

Just go through the lists of our top 20, 100 and 200 income tax payers.
They are an eye opener for everyone.

For the latest year - 2007-08:

·         The country’s top taxpayer is from Delhi. He paid Rs 121 crores.
·         Of the top 10 taxpayers, five are from Mumbai and two from Delhi.
·         The top taxpayer among industrialists is Max’s Analjit Singh who is No. 15 in the list. He paid Rs 31.49 crores.
·         Conspicuous by their absence in the top 200 list are the two brothers, Mukesh and Anil Ambani.
·         Their mother, Kokilaben, is almost at the bottom of the list. She is No. 195. She paid Rs 4.46 crores.

The following are the figures for some other interesting personalities:

                                                 Sl No.                Tax paid (Rs. Crores)

·         Shah Rukh Khan               13                                  34.2
·         Mayawati                           18                                  26.26
·          Akshay Kumar                   40                                 13.5
·      Sachin Tendulkar             81                                   8.8
(Sachin is just ahead of industrialist Kumarmangalam Birla who paid just Rs 48,271 less than the cricketeer.)

(The names of persons other than celebrities are not given here because this could invite threats from extortionists.)

Mayawati

Mayawati’s income, year-after-year, has ostensibly come from “gifts” from her admirers.
An admirable lady indeed!
On the basis of the taxes paid, her personal income this year is estimated to be about Rs 75-80 crores.

Other interesting taxpayers

Some other interesting names in the list of top-200 taxpayers are:                                                                                     Rs. (crores)
·         Naresh Trehan (cardio-surgeon)                                 8.4
·         Salman Khan    (actor)                                                  7
·         Abdul Telgi       (stamp-paper scamster)                    6.5
·         Sanjay Dutt       (actor)                                                  5.8
·         Aishwarya Rai   (actress)                                             5.6
·         Abhishek Bachchan (actor)    (paid just Rs 75,192 less than his wife)
·         Nandan Nilekani (industrialist)                                   5.16
·         Himesh Reshammiya (music director-singer)         4.89
·         Mukul Rohtagi   (lawyer)                                              4.85
·         Aamir Khan (actor)                                                      4.72
·         Azim Premji   (Wipro)                                                  4.68

My Comments

Politicians have apparently done extremely well.
Though, only Mayavati has paid substantial taxes.
Bollywood personalities have done quite well even though most of the films have flopped at the box office.

Travel India Jogeshwari Caves

Binoy Gupta — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:40:09 +0000

Jogeshwari Caves in Mumbai

Jogeshwari Caves, dating back to 520 to 550 AD, are some of the earliest Hindu cave temple sculptures located off the Western Express Highway in Jogeshwari (East) in northern Mumbai (Bombay).
They are a 45-minute journey from Church Gate Station by train and a further 3 kms. by road from Jogeshwari Station.

The caves are accessed through a long flight of stairs leading to the main hall.
The cave temple has a huge central hall, with many pillars.
At the end of the hall are a Shrine and a Shivalinga.
Idols of Dattatreya, Hanuman, Devi Mata, Jogeshwari and an orange Ganesh line the walls.
There are also relics of two doormen.

Unfortunately, the caves are surrounded by encroachments – huts and all kinds of dwellings.
The caves are classified as endangered.
Sewage and waste enter the premises.
The caves are also infested with bats.
The boundary walls of the cave temple have disintegrated.

Bombay High Court to the rescue

In October 2007, Janhit Manch, a NGO (Non Government Organisation) filed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) requesting the Bombay High Court to order removal of encroachments around four caves around Mumbai – Jogeshwari, Mahakali, Mandapeshwar and Kanheri caves.

The Bombay High Court appointed Shiraz Rustomji, Advocate as Amicus Curie (friend of the court).
The Bombay High Court sought a report from a court-appointed committee spelling out minimum intervention measures to rid the heritage monuments of illegal infringement.

As directed by the Bombay High Court, the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) carried out survey of the four caves and informed the court that there were 750 illegal encroachments around the caves in Jogeshwari.

Shiraz Rustomji informed the court that the encroachments were not just within the barred 100-metre radius of the caves, but were also on the monument itself.
He further told the court that in the committee report submitted to the court, the ASI had suggested removal of encroachments between 17-40 metres from the site.

The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) told the court that none of these structures had obtained a construction certificate from the corporation, but they have been standing for a long period of time. On 23 July 2008, Justices JN Patel and KK Tated of the Bombay High Court asked the ASI, State Government and the BMC to present an action plan for removal of encroachments from the area around Jogeshwari caves, a heritage site.

They accepted all the suggestions made in the committee report and sought a check on the state government’s rehabilitation policy for the encroachers.

My recommendation

The encroachments around Jogeshwari Caves will be removed soon.
The ASI will provide security personnel.
Once more, the caves will attract more tourists.

Encroachments are the bane of most of our caves and important historical sites.
A 1992 notification prohibits any construction in the prohibited zone of 100 metres around ancient monuments, while a further 200 metres is designated as ‘regulated zone’, where development is permitted only after the ASI’s approval.

But we have come to such a sorry state of administrative inefficiency that Government bodies need court orders to goad them in to discharging their duty.

Travel India Medical Tourism Cataract

Binoy Gupta — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:39:32 +0000

Medical Tourism
Ophthalmological Treatment
in India – Cataract

India is the ideal location for all types of cataract surgeries…….from cheap sutureless Small Incision Cataract Surgeries to sophisticated micro Phaco surgeries with the most advanced implanted lenses.

Cataract surgeries take about 10 minutes and the patient can be discharged almost immediately.

What is Cataract

A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity, and obstructing the passage of light. Early in the development of age-related cataract, the power of the lens may increase, causing near-sightedness (myopia), and the gradual yellowing and opacification of the lens may reduce the perception of blue colours.Typically, cataracts progress slowly, causing vision loss; and can lead to blindness, if left untreated.Cataracts may be partial or complete, stationary or progressive, hard or soft.

Causes of Cataract

Cataracts develop from a variety of reasons, including long-term ultraviolet exposure, exposure to radiation, secondary effects of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and advanced age.Genetic factors are often a cause of congenital cataracts. Cataracts can also be produced by eye injury or physical trauma. Some drugs such as Corticosteroids, Ezetimibe and Seroquel.can induce cataract development.

You can see articles on Cataract on the following web site:

http://www.sightsavers.org/What%20We%20Do/Eye%20Conditions/Cataract/World1414.html

What should you do

If you have decided to come to India for Medical Treatment, then read on.
We can take care of all your needs and provide you the best single point care and attention. Email us a brief note, giving your full name, address, contact details and summary of your ailments.

You can contact:
Dr. Binoy Gupta in Mumbai.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Kolkata.
Dr. Navin Kumar Gupta in California.
Dr. Vikash Gupta in U.K.

Their phone numbers and other details will be given to you on hearing from you.

email: eleena100@hotmail.com

You can also see a number of related articles on this blog.

Travel India Medical Tourism – Ophthalmological Treatment

Binoy Gupta — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:03:27 +0000

Ophthalmological Treatment in India

Why should patients from the West come to countries
like India for medical treatment?

The answer is two fold:
· It is much cheaper ; and

· The treatment is world class.

Ophthalmological Treatment

Of the various specialities, India has one of the best ophthalmological treatment facilities in the world.

There are institutions like:

· Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai;

· Shankar Netralaya, Chennai; and

· L.V. Prasad Institute, Hyderabadwho are offering very good treatment.

At the same time, they are training qualified ophthalmologists and honing their skills to perfection, who in turn are offering the same level of services.

India is therefore most suitable for the following ophthalmological treatment:

· All kinds of Cataract Surgeries

· Lasik (Refractive correction)

· Squints, Glaucoma, etc.

What should you do

If you have decided to come to India for Medical Treatment, then read on. We can take care of all your needs and provide you the best single point care and attention.

Email us a brief note, giving your full name, address, contact details and summary of your ailments.

You can contact

Dr. Binoy Gupta in Mumbai.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta in Kolkata.
Dr. Navin Kumar Gupta in California.
Dr. Vikash Gupta in U.K.

Their phone numbers and other details will be given to you on hearing from you.

email: eleena100@hotmail.com

You can also see a number of related articles on this blog.