Thursday, August 9, 2018

An update.

1. The Ramayana Month.

Today is the 25th day of the Malayalam month of Karkkidakam. Lekha has been reciting the Ramayana all these days, both in the morning and in the evening. After her recital this morning, she's poised at, "Rama has sent Hanuman to Ayodhya - as advance party - to inform everyone that they would be arriving at the kingdom shortly, after the 14 year banishment. Earlier, he'd overseen the coronation of Ravana's brother, Vibheeshana, as the ruler of Lanka after defeating and killing Ravana. On reaching, Hanuman observes that Rama's footwear adorn the throne of Ayodhya and Bharathan and Shathrughnan are leading the life as followed by Rama during the banishment".

Meanwhile, the rains continue to pound though I must add that life has been fairly normal out here, all these days. There isn't any water logging and traffic continues to breeze past on the highway, nearby, as though nothing has happened/is happening! We've, however, restricted our movements and go out only to take care of essential requirements. Have made forays, into nearby areas to provide a shoulder for the needy and have been in touch with the various panchayats of districts trying to ascertain the extent of help they require and in turn, transfer the information to the people who are involved in the rescue and rehabilitation exercise. From Wayanad, the requirement of blankets and clothes have been projected as almost everyone has reached the shelters with just the clothes that they were wearing while being evacuated! To make matters worse it's cold out there.

The state has never witnessed such a harsh monsoon for quite a while.

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2. The New Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

JD(U) MP Harivansh has been elected as the new deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha. He had won 125 votes against the Congress' candidate, Hariprasad who got 105 seats. Naveen Patnaik's BJD and K Chandrasekhara Rao's TRS had supported the ruling coalition's candidate.

The four important takeaways from the election are:-

    (a) BJP's ally appeasement approach seems to have worked.
    (b) BJP - JD(U) ties on a firm wicket  in Bihar now.
    (c) Broad opposition alliance is a work-in-progress.
    (d) BJP likely to be less combative in Orissa.



Tailpiece.

1. With the passing of the bill on the scheduled castes/tribes, in Parliament, to countermand the SC orders on the issue, the call for the 'Bharat Bandh' had fizzled out, thankfully. Otherwise it would have been another day of agony close on the heels of the 'vehicle strike' of the day before.

But what I'm looking forward to is the movement of the 'Triple Talaq' bill in Parliament tomorrow.

2. It's also the 73rd anniversary of the dropping of the second atomic bomb at Nagasaki, during the Second World War. My tears and prayers to all those who'd undergone a violent end.


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