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Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

Shenbaga Devi

October 14th, 2009 spari Environment, Hinduism 1 comment

The Shenbaga Devi Falls trail in Tenkasi is one of few very pristine areas in Tamil Nadu. Thanks to the entry being restricted by (if I remember correctly) the Ecological Survey of India, the area is very rich in its biodiversity (plants, insects, birds, that you don’t get a chance to see outside, all within [...]

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Velapar Murugan

October 12th, 2009 spari Environment, Hinduism No comments

Site: Velapar Murugan (வேலப்பர் முருகன்) Map: +9° 51′ 2.40″ N, +77° 35′ 54.00″ E, 500m. This is located en-route to Theni from Madurai city, past a township called Aandipatti. There is also a small road side rest-stop/temple – DharmaSastha (தர்மசாஸ்தா) located here along the way, at 339m. We got a generous helping of piping hot [...]

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Catchment

September 30th, 2009 spari Environment, Hinduism, Main No comments

I caught this procession of folks in the distance, on the way back from a visiting a remote rural temple. They are going to the local Kali temple. Usually this is done on every powarnami (full moon day). But this one is special, as it comes right after Navaratri celebrations. They’re carrying mulai-paari (முளை பாரி; [...]

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Local Birds

December 2nd, 2008 spari Environment No comments

Bird watching, just a one day venture with the local kids. Something that started unplanned in an attempt to get a shot of some absolutely loud birds that wake me up at 4am (with a “snooze feature” – they start again around 5am), without fail, every day, year in year out. Here they are, some [...]

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Monsoon Clouds

October 21st, 2008 spari Environment No comments

“This year we had a good monsoon season.” The sort of thing my parents (in India) would say when I call them. If you live in interior Tamil Nadu (or for that matter interior anywhere), you don’t have to be a farmer, to feel the anticipation, anxiety, and the prayers of the people for the [...]

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Bad Apples

Next time you reach for a shiny red apple think again. The apple in the photo was originally shiny red. What you see is the effect of just soaking it in water for 1/2 hour. At first I thought it was the water, so I did the same using filtered water, got the same result. [...]

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Green Yoga

January 18th, 2008 spari Environment No comments

There was a time when spirituality and nature were interconnected, not just on paper, but in practice (see Nature). I went about searching for such an environmental/spiritual organization… and found just what I was looking for – ProjectGreenHands. It turned out to be the efforts of an organization that I was made familiar with couple [...]

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Fountain Pens

December 4th, 2007 spari Environment, Ramblings No comments

Have you ever stopped to think about where all those disposal ballpoints end up? Would you even dare to count the number of ballpoints you’ve lost? I’ve seen tens of packs of ballpoints being restocked in the supply cabinet all the time where I work. Where do they all end up? landfills obviously (or in [...]

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Animal Fur/Skin

December 29th, 2006 spari Environment No comments

Well after spending two hours yesterday evening shopping for a winter jacket, I thought I had found the right one – a Dockers 100% wool jacket. I happily bought it. Then it occurred to me, what exactly happens to the sheep when the wool is extracted? is it as simple as giving them a haircut? [...]



Why do you need to see this video? so that you can pass it on to your friends, and have them pass it on to their friends…. only when people stop buying, the clothing industry will switch to alternatives. There are great alternative insulating and feel-good fabrics like: Thermolite, Thinsulate, Polartec, Micro-Fibre, Micro-Suede, etc. which are lighter, cheaper, and have higher heat insulation than wool or fur (the later is more of “fashion” than having practical value).

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Global Warming

November 25th, 2006 spari Environment No comments

I just rented An Inconvenient Truth on DVD.I expected more from the movie, i.e. more material to be presented. But whatever it presents, it does so strongly and it gets the message across to the masses. There’s nothing new about global warming, but this film puts global warming as a front-page concern, rather than something [...]

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