When time stood still......

Had got up at a half past 1, thanks to the alarm and the both of us sat glued to our television set to witness history being made, in the touchdown of the lunar lander 'Vikram' on the Moon's south pole, as part of the Chandrayan-2 programme. Time was ticking and the lander was descending with all the parameters ticking well.

But 2.1 kms short of the landing site, the lander had lost touch with the mission control much to everyone's mounting anxiety. Time seemed to stand still with us hoping like mad that the communication would be restored without delay so that we'd be privy to the shots of the lunar surface and the immediate surroundings of Moon's south pole.......

......Our hopes suffered a setback when it was announced that the communication had snapped and the state of the lander and the rover were not known. As we returned to bed, there was still a hope that we'd hear the good news - on waking up - that the communication had been restored and the Chandrayan-2 programme was proceeding as planned.

The message that I'd sent to my close friends in the morning, on What'sApp, highlighted my state of mind, "Felt sad after watching Chandrayan-2 broadcast. Would like to believe that the lander has landed and the rover has been released".

     *                        *                          *

I would like to, now, quote Rajiv Tyagi's post from FB, at this juncture, to highlight the unique technological achievements of the ISRO by launching Chandrayan-2.

The Chandrayan-2 has been a spectacular success for many reasons......

  (a) We have used a low power GSLV rocket, good enough to park a satellite in geosynchronous
        orbit, but entirely out of the league of the US Saturn-V rocket engine, to catapult a space
        into Moon orbit using the Earth's gravitation as the motive force. This is the triumph of
        Mathematics over the brute force of a Saturn-V rocket. This is what scientific elegance is all
        about.
  (b) We have been able to develop the telemetry required to monitor and control 3-axis motion very
        precisely in outer space, where telemetry signals, despite travelling at the speed of light, take
        several seconds to traverse the distances involved........
  (c) We have mastered injection of space vehicles into orbits of space objects other than our own
        planet. This requires precise Mathematics and velocity control at great distances, to not spin
        away from the orbit or not crash into other space objects.
  (d) With Chandrayan-2, we have mastered command module and lander module separation and
        autonomous operation of the lander module, thereafter.
  (e) We have failed in landing the lander module due to what appears to be communications failure.
        There is enough telemetry data to hopefully give us an insight into the reason for this failure
        and set it right for our next shot at the Moon.

No, Chandrayan-2 is not a failure by a long shot. It is in fact, a spectacular success for Indian Science
and for the acquisition of a technology that is not available for love or money.

There is need for ISRO to disseminate more information on its programmes in an open source manner. Like NASA believes, the knowledge gleaned by ISRO should be the property of every Indian.

      *                           *                             *

And meanwhile, I'm continuing to hope........

The orbiter is going around the Moon along a polar orbit, as programmed. It has high definition photographic facilities, thermal imaging and other attributes which should be able to locate the lander and the rover......and once having pin pointed them, re-establish communications with Mission Control, perhaps? 


Tailpiece.

The presence of the Prime Minister at the ISTRAC at Bangalore, along with the children from across the country and Bhutan, must have been a great motivator for the scientists. His motivational talk  and him consoling the weeping Chairman, ISRO showed a passionate professional being put at ease by a compassionate and matured leader! That image shall remain frozen in time!!
 

Poised for a historic moment.

The Arrival of Chandrayan-2 on the Moon.

    Between 0130 and 0230 hrs, the lunar lander(Vikram) from the Chandrayan spacecraft would
    land at the south pole of the Moon. It will be a first for a nation to have accomplished this feat.
    Many thoughts come to my mind at this stage which I would like to share at this moment and
    they are:-

       (a) During my childhood, I used to hear that there used to be a communication blackout when a
             spacecraft went 'behind' or to the 'other side of the Moon', due to limitations of the
             prevalent technology then.

       (b) The Moon rotates on its own axis but at exactly the right speed to keep the same face
             turned towards the Earth at all times. The Moon orbits the Earth once every 27.322 days. It
             also takes approximately 27 days for the Moon to rotate on its own axis. The synchronisation
             is due to "tidal locking".
     
       (c) Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the first and the second US astronauts, respectively,
             to land on the Moon on 21 Jul 1969. Subsequently, many more astronauts have stepped and
             walked on the Moon.
   
       (d) And we are, now, getting elated by the landing of our probe through the ISRO's space mission
            Chandrayan-2. Almost 50 years after the successful landing of mankind on the Moon! Why
            are we so late? Is it because our technology is not up to the mark? The fact that we'd suffered
            delays in the making of the cryogenic rockets - very essential for space missions requiring
            long endurance - because the Yanks had clamped down restrictions on India from importing
            such technology under the MTCR(Missile Technology Control Regime) is a known fact.
   
       (e) Our scientists had overcome this setback by developing our own indigenous cryogenic
             engines and hence the late start! Therefore, the elation of 125 crore Indians at this spectacular
             moment is palpable and justified!!

       (f) Am reminded of Pink Floyd's number of '73, "The dark side of the Moon" at this juncture!

The ISRO has given the following milestones for the early morning narrative of the Moon landing
as per their news bulletin of 2200 hrs:-

        All times 07 Sep '19.

       * 0153     Vikram touches down at the south pole of the Moon.
       * 0353     The ramp of Vikram opens up for the rover "Pragyan" to roll out.
       * 0423     Pragyan motor switched on.
       * 0519     Pragyan Moon Rover rolls down Vikram.
       * 0554     Pragyan starts beaming pictures of the moon.  


Tailpiece.

Have set the alarm for 0130 hrs, so that I can watch that historic moment. I'm sure all of you would join me. Wouldn't you?

PS.
The right rear tyre of the Chevy had a puncture, thanks to a small bolt that was embedded in it. Thankful to the car for not letting our long journey - just completed - to be hampered! The tyre was replaced with the stand by, immediately after.
               

Two stories.

Here are two stories that are divergent in content but when read, makes one realise that many aspects touched upon are quite relevant to us. Without much ado, let's go through them.

1. Galloping Technology?

    "Gowri created Ganapati from the dirt of her body", says our scriptures.

    Would that dirt mean the cells from Her skin?
    Did Ma Gowri create Ganesha with the cells from her skin?

    The scientists of Reproductive Science who are conducting research on Assisted Reproductive
    Technology(ART) are sure that babies can be produced from skin cells. It may sound like it's on
    the scientific fringe, but it's not a pipe dream. This is actually happening.

    The skin-to-gamete research is perhaps the most sensational of the technologies in recent times.
    The human body is made of billions of cells and each cell in the body is a body itself. The cells of
    the body have immense power. There is a far bigger program embedded in the cell of a body.
    Scientists are now finding ways to create babies out of the individual cells of a woman so someday
    as Ma Gowri created Ganesha without Maharudradeva, it is possible that man is no more needed to
    have a progeny.

    Earlier, when we read about the birth of the Kauravas, where the zygote were stored in earthen pots
    by Sage Vyasa, many felt if that could be possible then we had this test tube babies created by
    scientists. The birth of Balarama, the elder brother of Sri Krishna, raised many eyebrows as none
    could believe that the zygote of a couple could be implanted in the womb of other women. Then,
    we had surrogate mothers becoming a reality. Even the birth of Sage Vyasa, himself, was also
    unbelievable till we came to know about Extrauterine conception which was called "Sadyo-
    Garbha" and thus the great Sage Vyasa was born without physical union of parents.

    Science and the ancient thought have a huge phase delay. But what is in the ancient scriptures
    science is keeping pace with it, that is the only satisfaction. There is lot more for the science to go
    after and it can be done when the ancient concepts are not looked from the religious point of view
    and not analysed with Abraminical mind-set.

2. Our journey together is so short.......

    A young lady sat in a bus. At the next stop a loud and grumpy old lady came and sat by her. She
    squeezed into the seat and bumped her with her numerous bags.

    The person sitting on the other side of the young lady got upset, asked her why she did not speak
    up and say something.

    The young lady responded with a smile, "It is not necessary to be rude or argue over something
    so insignificant, the journey together is so short. I get off at the next stop".

    This response deserves to be written in golden letters.

    If each one of us realised that our time here is so short, that to darken it with quarrels, futile
    arguments, not forgiving others, discontentment and a fault finding attitude would be a waste of
    time and energy.

    Did someone break your heart? Be calm, the journey is so short.

    Did someone betray, bully, cheat or humiliate you? Be calm, forgive, the journey is so short.

    No one knows the duration of this journey. No one knows when their stop will come. Our
    journey together is so short.

    Let us cherish friends and family. Let us be respectful, kind and forgiving to each other. Let us
    be filled with gratitude and gladness.

    If I have ever hurt you, I ask for your forgiveness. If you have ever hurt me, you already have my
    forgiveness. After all, our journey together is so short! 


Tailpiece.

Lekha and I attended the wedding of Harish Krishnan and Aparnasree. The boy's father had invited us as we visit his department store frequently, to buy our share of grocery. Consequently, we did not know most of the people gathered on the occasion and we made a few friends.

Here's wishing Harish Krishnan and Aparnasree a very happy and long married life. May they get whatever they wish for! 

Another organisation grappling with militant trade unionism.

Preamble

While on the one hand, the ruling front's trade union has created a situation to the extent of a business-house announcing that it would shut down its operations, on the other hand, the government has been struggling to build its image of being pro-business.

There's no doubt that the interest of the workers in any organisation must be an important factor and trade unions do help in this aspect but when it's carried too far, problems can set in. It would be worthwhile for all the stakeholders to bear in mind that only if the organisation is safe, sound and ticking that their well being would be assured.

Background

Tension prevailed at the head office of Muthoot Finance on Banerjee Road, Ernakulam yesterday after the company's employees who have been on a strike demanding better wages were caught in a skirmish with the other employees who had come to work, ignoring the protest. The problem began when the employees association of the finance company under the banner of CITU staged a blockade in front of the office, denying entry to those who came to work.

The Company at a Glance.

* Loan assets under management            Rs. 34,246 crores.
* Revenue                                                Rs.   6,881 crores.
* Profit before tax                                    Rs.   3,077 crores.
* Net profit                                              Rs.    1,972 crores.             
* Reserves and surplus                            Rs.    9,392 crores.
* Gold kept as security                            169 tons.
* No. of branches                                    4,471.
* Branches in Kerala                               611.
* Employees                                            24,224
* Operational                                           In 29 states and U/Ts.

Where things don't match.

Claims.

 1. No proper salary structure is in place within the organisation. Though manager-level officers
     have a salary of above Rs.32,000/-, sub staff and field staff are still not getting Rs.18,000/-. A field
     staff with 25 years' experience is paid only Rs.12,000/-, including allowances.
 2. Union members are also not allowed to avail the employ stock option system(ESOP) in the
     company to purchase shares, despite them being eligible as per the company's own criteria.
 3. As many as 23 employees out of the 40 workers who were selected for ESOP are union members
     and they have not received the benefits yet.
 4. The management has not raised any complaints about the productivity of the workers in Kerala.
     In fact, most employees including women, work from 0900 hrs till night.
 5. The management is against employee unions and targets those who are part part of the union.
     Measures like inter-region transfer, suspension, deprival of incentives and bonus etc. are initiated
     against the union members.

Counter claims.

 1. Muthoot Finance's pay is high in the NBFC(Non Banking Financial Company) industry - sub
     staff's CTC is Rs.18,000/- per month, staff is Rs.22,000/- and managers Rs.32,000/- to 38,000/-
     per month.
 2. Muthoot Finance is the only Kerala-based NBFC to offer ESOP.
 3. Productivity of employees is low in Kerala. The average business per branch is only Rs.2.5 crores
     in Kerala, compared Rs.9.5 crores in the rest of the country.

The upshot.

Muthoot Finance will permanently be shutting down 300 of the 611 branches in Kerala. These branches have remained shut since 20 Aug '19 because of the ongoing strike.

Sad!


Tailpiece. 

It was mom's 3rd remembrance day as per the English calendar. Rewound that ill fated day and was melancholic. Had my haircut at the Amigos and Sajish gave me a good massage.

Back at 'The Quarterdeck'.

The day had begun, yet again, at 4 this morning. It was pouring and I'd reckoned a drive through rain, over the entire distance but it turned out to be otherwise. We were ready before 6, the shutting down of 'Raj Nivas' was complete and I'd asked the caretaker to be present when we were leaving. Actually, I wanted his help to load two of the main bags that were heavy.

Accordingly, he was there to see us off and I'd given him a couple of electrical problems that needed to be addressed without delay. We had set off around a quarter past 6, stopping at the 'Nagaraja temple' to give a small offering - a tradition that has been handed over to us, as a habit, by mom. At Kottarakkara, the Chevy was topped up with fuel but the tyre pressure wasn't checked as it was done just a couple of days back and the vehicle had not traversed too much of distance subsequent to it.

The Kayankulam - Punalur road did not have much of traffic during that time and therefore, I could clip through that 30 km stretch at an average speed of 60 kmph. There were rains, here and there, though not continuously and we were at the Kalpakavadi Inn by 8. Both Lekha and I like that place because of its idyllic location but I must say that the standard of food and the cleanliness of the toilets need to improve drastically, failing which, it's gonna lose out even among its hardcore followers like us!

On the Kayankulam - Alappuzha stretch, I came across a nasty driver - only one this time, thankfully. I shall give the details, in point form, for easier comprehension:-

    * I had begun overtaking an Indian Oil fuel tanker, seeing that this fellow was approaching us but
       was well behind and that I'd be able to clear without problems.
    * But what he did was to give a burst of speed, switch on his headlights and sounded the horn
       as though he was sitting on it.
    * Realising that the situation had changed, I'd to pull back behind the tanker and what I can never
       forget was the stupid smile on his face, smug that he'd stopped me from doing what I'd wanted
       to do.

The passage through Alappuzha was smooth but Ernakulam was a different proposition. There was a long hold out at Kundannoor and Palarivattom junctions (Vyttila junction, comparatively, was a cake walk!) where flyovers are under construction/repairs. Lost about an hour there! The journey, subsequently, was quite uneventful and we reached Thrissur - covering a total of about 250 kms - by a half past 1. We'd lunch at a nice wayside eatery, short off Puzhakkal, where the snarl was what it is known to be famous for coupled with blinding rain for the subsequent 15'!

Before reaching 'The Quarterdeck', we'd stopped at the department store, short of the Mammiyoor kshetram where Lekha had to buy grocery, fruits and other tidbits. By the time we'd reached 'The
Quarterdeck' it was a half past 2 and after an hour's snooze, the used clothes of the journey were put through, what I'd call, washing machinex.

And it started to rain around sunset.


Tailpiece.

Was painfully reminiscing this day, three years back, when mom was sinking and I was ignorant of the fact that she'd leave us the next day. How I wish that I'd done the 'sayana pradakshinam', at the Guruvayur temple, to retrieve her from the jaws of death! I have still not been able to understand as to why that thought had not crossed my mind, then!!     

Mom's 3rd remembrance day.

The day began at 4, we went through the chores and were ready to kick off by a half past 5. Prior to it, it had poured and I told mom to clear the weather for us to make our trip easier. And sure enough, it had cleared up by the time we got into the car. Lekha was dropped at her sister's place because she and Letha had planned to go to the Maha Ganapathy kshetram on account of the Ganesh Chathurthi today.

Driving on the Kollam - Chenkotta highway at an average speed of 60 kmph was a luxury that was available to me because of the early morning hours. We reached there by about a half past 6 and Mini had reached there about 15' earlier. A dignified, Sarath Chandra Babu, conducted us through the ceremony and we felt nice after the entire set of proceedings. After placing a part of the offerings for the crows, the remainder was offered into the Arabian Sea lapping constantly on the secluded beach.

We visited the Maha Vishnu temple nearby and offered the 'thil homam' in the names of both, dad and mom. Mini, then, went off to Sanil's sister-in-law's place from where the entire family was scheduled to visit Srikanth's house, at Cherthala, to a reception later on in the day. Rema and I returned to my parents' place and the highway was still not clogged with the heavy traffic that one is so used to. The result was that I could drive at an average speed of 60 kmph, throughout!

At Kottarakkara, we dropped by at a restaurant to have hot dosas, chutney and sambar for breakfast and washed it down with a mug of coffee. Lekha, had meanwhile, returned from the temple and we picked her up from Letha's house. We were back at the Raj Nivas by 9 and Lekha had brought us the 'modakams' and the 'unniyappams' - the offerings for Lord Ganesha - which were well made and warm!

Rema left for Pidavoor soon after. The winding down of Raj Nivas was begun in the evening as we plan to make a get away early morning tomorrow.... meanwhile, it continued to rain unabated!

          *                         *                            *

Eight Micro-short Stories with Deep Meanings.

(a) Those who had coins, enjoyed the rain. Those who had notes were busy looking for shelter.

(b) Man and God, both, met somewhere. Both exclaimed, "My creator".

(c) He asked, are you Hindu or Muslim? The response came, "I am hungry".

(d) The fool didn't know it was impossible. So he did it.

(e) "Wrong number", said a familiar voice.

(f)  What if God asks you after you die, "So, how was heaven?'

(g) They told me that to make her fall in love I had to make her laugh. But every time she laughs,
      I am the one who falls in love.

(h) We don't make friends anymore......we add them nowadays. 


Tailpiece.

Two jobs are pending at Raj Nivas, which are:-

    * Changing of all the four doors that form the exits of the house.
       Have identified the guy who'd be entrusted with the work. He will undertake the work only after
       Onam but would be sending the photographs of the doors and the grand estimate within the
       next two days.
    * Cutting off the wild growth of weeds around the rubber trees.
       This time it shall not be done manually - in a technical sense. Five guys, with machines, will
       clean up the area over 50 hrs and the operational cost @ Rs.300/- per hour. I've told Liju
       George - he's the guy with the machines/work force - to undertake the job only after the rains
       are over.   

From across the border.

Is Pakistan Occupied Kashmir Really Being Vacated?

Any war on any border or in the hinterlands results in extreme sufferings to the general public. The decision to go to a war is taken by the politicians, the Armed Forces carry out the orders, martyrs and widows are created on either side but the overall suffering is to the common man.

PoK, however, has a very peculiar situation to contend with. The ethnic community, the Shias, were never with Pakistan. To quell them and their aspirations, the Pakistani Army has very deliberately followed the policy of ethnic cleansing and a demographic change. It was easier to change the spectrum of population by relocating all the poor citizens from mostly Punjab or certain other areas from within Pakistan.

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution had given a strange advantage to the Pakistani men. They could marry a Kashmiri girl and thus attain the status of a naturalised citizen of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan had utilised this provision of the 'temporary' provision of the Indian Constitution and had 'infiltrated' thousands of committed cadres within India. These 'Pakistanis' also took full advantage of the freedom of 'across the border' trade and were, therefore, instrumental in bringing in more and more people from the plains of Pak-Punjab for settling in the PoK.

Suddenly, the situation has changed. India has abrogated Article 370/35A from the Indian Constitution, thereby, closing all avenues for increasing the number of Pakistanis entering India or the PoK. Demonetisation had broken the back of the Pakistanis who had settled mostly in the PoK (Or in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir).

The whole world moves in the quest of money and people moved into PoK purely to improve their financial status. The name of Islam used by the Pakistani establishment was a mere ploy and all sects of Islam, especially the Shias inhabiting that area, clearly understood this underlying idea. There was never any love lost between the locals and the outsiders, who had come in from the southern areas.

Today, the situation is changing very quickly. India has openly declared that the pending issue with Pakistan is only the PoK. The Pak PM has repeatedly warned his countrymen that India is quite ready to repeat a Balakot in the PoK (Unwittingly confirming that Balakot did happen......).

The result is glaring. The exodus of outsiders from the PoK has already started. The Punjabis who had relocated here are running back to their original home towns and most other ethnic people, not belonging to the PoK, are winding down their businesses. Situation is developing very fast.

The locals of PoK are happy from within that their exploitation by the outsiders would end soon and they might actually benefit if India does take over their areas, wrongly in Pak possession.

We are in for interesting times. Some Indian sympathisers who were till now living on Pakistani largesse are now a worried lot.

PoK is being vacated and their gravy train will soon come to a grinding halt.


Tailpiece.

Last night's rain continued into the morning and it had just cleared as Padmakumar and Rema had fetched up from Pidavoor to accompany us for Nimisha's wedding. We left at 9, but thanks to heavy traffic on the Kollam - Chenkotta highway, we reached the Anandavalleeswaram temple auditorium by a trifle before half past 10 when the bridegroom, Srikanth was being received by the bride's folks! It was nice meeting up with every relation of Sanil Kumar. The JSS, Kollam was handsomely represented and I had made it a point to meet up with each and everyone of them. A forenoon well spent!!

Nimisha and Srikanth, here's us wishing you a long and happy married life. May you get whatever you wish for!