Brazil emerges.

Brazil emerges as alternative to China as US, Australia race to secure rare earths.

In the global race to secure rare earths that are key for everything from mobile phones to green technologies, Brazil is emerging as an alternative to China's dominance, particularly for the US and Australia.  

Back at The Quarterdeck.

Was up and awake most of the night to monitor a drip that was being administered on Lekha. Sleep was constantly interrupted and in between, I'd recited my prayers. However, what made me comfortable was that Lekha never complained of pain, post-surgery!

Got up at 5, sent the messages, went partially through my chores and was out of the room by a trifle before 6. Walked those 60 metres to the Thiruvambady kshetram, had a great darshan of the good Lord. There was hardly any crowd and my visit this morning was for thanksgiving on Lekha's behalf for easing out things thus far and for the procedure having gone off fine.

Returned, had my cuppa tea and carried Lekha's cuppa to the room, along with the sweet buns. The forenoon was spent in collecting the discharge summary, bills for payment and having a short nap, in between. Manoj was our chauffeur and had arrived at the hospital's parking, on the dot at 2!

We, finally, left the hospital by a half past 2. Did the following things :-

    

    * bought vegetables

    * bought fruits and

    * all the three of us had tea and snacks before reaching home.

Was at home by a half past 4, opened up the house soon after and arranged things that were to be done tomorrow.

A good scrub and bath; lit up the puja room lamp and settled down to watch our favourite television programs. Frequent power cuts made our viewing difficult.

Lekha had made a beautiful dinner and we'd non-vegetarian food after more than a month thanks to the Ramayanam month!

Tailpiece.

Another mission accomplished; shall wait for the biopsy results.

    

 

Lekha’s surgery.

Was up and awake around a half past 1, past midnight. Had, then, got up at 5, sent the messages, the morning chores and was out of the room a trifle before 6. Walked all the way to the Thiruvampaadi temple for my tryst with the good Lord.

Prayed for Lekha’s surgery to go well, with minimal or no pain at all and to steady Dr Sreekumar Pillai’s hands during the surgery! Returned, collected Lekha’s morning tea and buns from the canteen.

Both of us were ready before 8 so that Lekha could be readied for the procedure by the staff who’d come by for the forenoon watch. Rema and Padmakumar had dropped in by then from Thrippunithura. Lekha was wheeled into the pre-operative ward by a half past 10 and the surgery of removing the plaque from her tongue was over by a quarter past 12. She was in the ICU-post surgery till 8 in the evening.

Rema and Padmakumar had returned by 10’ past 5.

A quiet evening after the hectic activities and tense moments of the day!

Karnataka is finishing its SIR

Over 1.08 crore voters will be removed from the electoral rolls of Karnataka at the end of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Another 25 lakh voters could find their names missing if they don’t provide relevant documents to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) in the next phase of the exercise.

Till date, the state has 5,54,32,314 total electors. As of 17 Aug, 1,08,31,945 electors (19.54% of the total electorate) were listed under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO)category after the house-to-house enumeration process.

15 lakhs ‘untraceable/absent’ category; 65,61,607 (11.84%) under permanently shifted; 16,38,839 (2.96%) dead, 7,07,792 (1.28%) duplicate or already enrolled and 3,94,722 (0.71%) as others or not wanting to sign the forms.

Of those removed, 43.53% were from Bangalore’s four districts - Bangalore Urban (17,26,634 or 42.94%), BBMP North (10,58,104 or 45.36%), BBMP South (10,64,044 or 49.61%, the highest in the state) and BBMP Central (8,66,406 or 45.84%).

Lowest deletions are in Udupi (63,364 or 5.96%) followed by Haveri (1,15,068 or 8.62%).

My take

The Election Commission of India is doing a thorough job and I sincerely hope that wrongdoers and frauds are put in their place.

Tailpiece.

Left home by a quarter past 8 to reach the Saroja Hospital by a quarter past 9. Lekha was put through the pre-surgery checks like :-

      * X-ray chest PA view

      * Blood and urine tests

      * ECG

      * Lekha had also met the ENT specialist for the discomfort in her ears.

Our room was 208. Padmakumar and Rema had come to be with us, all the way from Thrippunithura and it was wonderful! They returned by the 1710 Paalaruvi train.

Mission Samudra.

Vizhinjam port is set to script a historic milestone in India's maritime sector as it prepares for the official inauguration of its export-import (EXIM) operations slated tomorrow.

Mission Samudra - state government's flagship port-led industrial and logistics development - is built around the vision of a 'Port City' that positions Vizhinjam as the anchor of a wider Vizhinjam Maritime Economic Region. The scheme is backed by a Rs.400-crore catalytic fund. Officials expect 'Mission Samudra' to draw over ten times the public investment in private capital by 2031.

Located just 10 nautical miles from the major east-west international maritime route. Vizhinjam possesses

a geographical edge that no other port in the country can match, requiring minimal diversion for ultra-large container ships traversing the Indian Ocean.

This strategic-positioning allows European-bound cargo to reach its destination in just 24 days - a full 10 days faster than existing routes - prompting global shipping giant Mediteranean Shipping Company (MSC) to integrate Vizhinjam into its prestigious direct Jade Service connecting Europe and Asia. Exporters who have thus far shipped cargo to western markets via Colombo, Singapore and Dubai will now be able to send consignments directly from Vizhinjam.

Excerpted from : The NIE 17 Aug

My take.

Vizhinjam is gonna take off from here to unimaginable heights and levels!

A quiet Sunday.

Today's the last day of Karkkidakom and it's Atham. Mom's remembrance day comes toward the end of Chingam!

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Walked within the house, recited my prayers, carried out my exercise regimen followed by bath.

Breakfast of appams and stew.

Worked on my laptop. 

Lekha's beautician had dropped by on her beckoning and got all her jewellery removed as preparation for the surgery.

Lunch followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Lekha finished her Ramayanam recital 2026 this evening! Put the copy of our Ramayanam into its bag and into the wooden vault of the puja room.

Completed a month of vegetarianism and felt nice about it!

A quiet evening.

The 80th Independence Day.

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre. The chores and hoisted the tricolour at our balcony on the dot, at 8 AM. It always gives me a great sense of satisfaction and pride while hoisting the national flag!

The Independence day function at New Delhi was being played at the background. 

Walked within the house as it was raining outside, recited my prayers, carried out my exercise regimen and had breakfast before bath.

Sporting a red turban with a yellow, green and white Bandhani pattern, PM Narendra Modi outlined the 'saptadhara' vision to achieve holistic national development and self-reliance viz. :-

    * Manufacturing excellence (cost, quality and scale)

    * Farming/food processing

    * Technological innovation

    * Gati Shakti connectivity

    * Self reliance in defence

    * Push toward green and blue economies and

    * Global soft power (yoga, healthcare, tourism and creative arts).

He said youth will play a crucial part in these reforms. Moreover, he exuded confidence that India will have achieved the target of being a 'Vikasit Bharat' when the nation celebrates Independence Day in 1947. 

My take

While for the first time, the national song "Vande Mataram" was played at the Red Fort. Keralam became the only Congress-ruled state to avoid singing of the national song! At the Congress party headquarters at New Delhi, the group sang the entire national song with Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi desperately trying to stop the rendition of the national song but to no avail! Made a spectacle of themselves in the bargain!! Serves them right. Have still not got as to what their anti-national-song-stance is for!!!