Who cares if poor countries are fucked, eh!

(As you can imagine, an edited version of this is what I have sent the editor!)

A year ago, after visiting India in December 2015, I wrote about the record-setting rains and floods in the city of Chennai, where my parents and sister live. Almost 14 inches of rain fell within a matter of 24 hours, and that was merely one of the rain spells. With all the reservoirs full, authorities had to open up the gates, which then flooded the city.

A year later, the same city but another extreme event. A “super cyclone” changed course and aimed straight towards the city. It is an irony that the cyclone was named Vardah, which means red rose. A beauty of a red rose it was not. In a couple of hours, the winds had toppled about a quarter of the trees in the city. Transformers blew up, utility poles cracked and fell, and power and communication systems were knocked out. Some of the more than eight million people in the area were without power and water for more than a week.

Because of the cyclone, the airport was closed. I was already en route, and was held back in Dubai for a day. The night that I landed in Chennai, the city was pitch dark at most places—no electricity. Fallen tree branches—and entire trees too—made the drive home from the airport eerie. Like practically everybody else in the city, my parents were also sitting by the candle light and waving a plastic fan about themselves in order to keep themselves cool and to shoo away the mosquitoes that couldn’t care about the cyclone.

The following morning, I walked about the city. This was as close as I have been to a landscape that can be described as a war zone. Entire trees uprooted. Buildings with facades blown off. Walls destroyed. And a strange silence in contrast to the high noise levels that otherwise typically assault my senses.

Source

The rain and floods of December 2015, and the super-cyclone of December 2016, will now be followed by drought. Yes, water shortage. The state of Tamil Nadu, for which Chennai is the capital, is reeling from a monsoon that failed—the second worst in over 150 years. “The latest spell of rain due to Cyclone Vardah has only brought down the State’s deficit from 66 per cent to 61 per cent, says S. Balachandran, Director in the Meteorological Department.” If not for the moisture that the cyclone brought with it, the city and the state would be in an even worse situation.

Such extremes are consistent with climate weirding. I way prefer the phrase “global weirding” because it helps avoid unnecessary debates with deniers who want to contest global warming. The same deniers also typically point to changes in weather in order to raise pointless questions about global climate changes. Finally, global weirding helps me understand the kinds of extreme weather stories that have become all too common.

Extreme events are beyond the predictability that humans have lived by. The monsoons, for example, have wild swings these days. When it rains, it seems to pour all at once. Or, it rains when it should not. And, like this past season, the rains are deficient. This is especially a disaster for developing countries like India where a significant percentage of the population relies on intensive agriculture. The drought in Tamil Nadu has already resulted in a few farmers worried about their misfortunes committing suicide.

Climate scientists warn that we have to prepare for more and more extreme events that result from climate weirding. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that “a changing climate leads to changes in the frequency, intensity, spatial extent, duration and timing of extreme weather and climate events, and can result in unprecedented extreme weather and climate events.”

Of course, it is not merely about the rains. Heat waves, for instance, are increasing in both frequency and intensity. Unlike wind and rains, heat waves are not action made for cameras. Thus, unlike with a cyclone, for instance, there are no images and videos that go viral when it comes to heat waves. But, heat waves kill more people than rains and cold spells do. It is then not difficult to understand that heat waves during water-deficit situations can become disasters in tropical areas like India.

We in the United States need to stop denying the human cause in the global climatic changes in this industrial era. As a country with an affluence that is the envy of the rest of the world, we need to assume leadership in addressing global weirding. These will be enormous challenges during the demagogue's presidency and with the Grand Old Minions controlling Congress. But, we have overcome challenges in the past; here, too, I hope that we will eventually do the right thing.

Same-(sub)caste marriage is no longer the default. Yay!!!

"Finally, a wedding invitation" father said when I called up my parents the other day.  The drought of no invites this season is over for him!  Given his earlier complaint, he will surely take this one.

"It is at perhaps the most expensive hall in Chennai" he added. It is a different world out there.  A wedding is no simple thing.  The more affluent and well-connected the parents are, the grander is the celebration.  Wedding invitations go out in the hundreds. It does not matter at all that the bride and the groom would not even know even five percent of the people at their wedding.  Well, hey, I guess the bride and groom do not care either because they aren't paying for the expenses anyway ;)

So, father gave me the details on the venue.  The location--which I don't really comprehend, given that I have never been a resident of Chennai.  The number of parking spaces--it is now a big thing, understandably so with so many people owning cars.  The capacity of the dining halls--one for vegetarians and another for the non-veg people.

My parents have been invited by the groom's grandfather, who is an old colleague of father's. I asked father if he had any idea of the bride's people from the information in the invitation.

"All I know is it is not an inter-religious marriage because all the names are Hindu names" he replied.  He added that it could be an all-brahmin wedding, or an inter-caste wedding.

This is simply a fantastic measure of how things are rapidly changing in India.  It is no longer a given that a Tamil Brahmin will be marrying a Tamil Brahmin.

Over the years, my parents have attended quite a few weddings where the brahmins they know or are related to were marrying non-brahmins, or non-Tamils, or non-Hindus.

It surely is not my grandfather's India, not even my father's.  It is a brand new India where, to quote Rabindranath Tagore, "the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls."

I am never excited by India's economic success as I am with with such social indicators of progress.  When the rigid notions of caste and religion begin to collapse, or when women are not held back, I get excited about my old country.

But then, to a large extent, Tamil Nadu has been a leader in such progressive thoughts and practices:

In 1967, Tamil Nadu chief minister C.N. Annadurai created history by amending the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. To this day, it’s the only state in India that recognises what’s called a ‘self-respect’ marriage (suyamariyaathai or seethiruththa marriage) rejecting priests and dowry and encouraging inter-caste matrimony. Garlands, mangalsutras, even rings are optional. Tamil leader Periyar called this “daring not just for Tamil Nadu but also the entire world”.

Now, I am not that naive to believe that the world that my parents and sister experience is representative of all of India.  But, hey, changes do not happen instantaneously, especially when nobody is held at gun point by revolutionaries, right?

It was, therefore, terribly disappointing when I read in The Hindu a few days ago that educated young men were protesting against inter-caste marriages.  Educated?  If they are protesting that, then surely they cannot be educated!

[P. Karthik (22), an engineering professional] was among other educated youth who were busy distributing pamphlets at the launch of the ‘Campaign Against Inter-Caste Marriage Movement’ – organised by the Kongu Velala Goundergal Peravai in Namakkal
His fellow campaigner N. Saravanan (20), a third year B.Tech student, told The Hindu that inter-caste marriages cannot be accepted even if the boy is from a well-off family among Forward (FC), Backward (BC) or other caste Hindu communities.
“India is known for its rich tradition that is preserved by communities in the country over the years. Inter-caste marriages will put an end to this tradition”, he added.

What the hell is wrong with these people?

Meanwhile, after the death of a young man under suspicious circumstances, young people in inter-caste marriages in some parts of the state worry about their safety--enough to seek judicial help:

The Madras High Court has directed the Superintendent of Police, Dharmapuri, to give meaningful protection to an inter-caste couple’s family which had been ex-communicated and was receiving continuous threats.
“This writ petition projects a sorry state of affairs in the State of Tamil Nadu and District of Dharmapuri, in particular, observed Justice K.K.Sasidharan in his order on a writ petition by a woman. It was open to the petitioner to return to her village and live along with her in-laws. The police should ensure that the woman lived peacefully without any threat or attack and was permitted to take water and use other common amenities without any problem. “The police protection should be meaningful.” The Judge ordered notice, returnable by August 19.

I suppose change is never easy.  Here is to hoping that the educated idiots will soon become irrelevant, and that the special stories on successful inter-caste marriages will become so routine that there won't be any need to report on them.  For now, report we shall:

"Kathir and Tilakam fell in love when they were working together in an NGO in Madurai,
and got married under the Special Marriages Act."

Tamil Nadu fishermen in Iran? Complex maritime geopolitics!

A couple of days ago, I read this headline in The Hindu:

‘Ensure release of TN fishermen from Iran jail’

I am fairly familiar with the South Asian and Middle Eastern geography and, thus, was intrigued--after all, it is a long way from Tamil Nadu to Iran.

Consider the following map:

Tamil Nadu's coastline is way in the south, across from Sri Lanka.  If it were a news item about Tamil Nadu fishermen in Sri Lankan jail, I would have thought it is merely the latest of a long-running maritime issue between these two countries.  But, Iran?

There had to be more, and there was:

 The detained fishermen were the sole breadwinners of their families, and were engaged as contract labourers in fishing boats by a private company based in Saudi Arabia.
In the course of their work, they ventured into Iranian waters and were arrested. Without access to legal aid, they were tried and convicted by an Iranian court to undergo six months imprisonment and pay a fine of $ 5,750 each, she said.
“The fishermen continued to languish in jail, even after serving the term, for want of resources to pay the fine. They had not even been able to contact the Indian Embassy,” Ms.Jayalalithaa said.
The Embassy, she said, did not make effort either to establish contact with them or provide legal assistance.
It also did not put any pressure on the employer company to secure their release by settling the fine amount.

Of course, in many of these international incidents, there could be a lot more than what meets the eye.  But, it sounded rather odd that the Indian government and its embassy did not act in this context.  

I held back the first sentence in that report to highlight how bizarre this is--the sixteen fishermen were arrested back in December.  December!  More than seven months ago.  Which means that they have served out their sentence, but can't get out of the prison because they can't pay up?

I have been watching out for any update since then.  Nothing about the Indian government though.  But, there was this:

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday ordered of Rs 1 lakh financial assistance to each of the families of the 16 fishermen from the State who have been imprisoned in Iran. Announcing the aid, Jayalalithaa pointed out that she had urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take steps to help secure the release of the fishermen by paying the fine levied on them by the Iranian court.

One lakh rupees is about $1,700.  The fine amount is $5,750.  The diplomatic inaction is all the more intriguing.

Meanwhile, in Nagercoil, family members of the jailed fishermen hailed Jayalalithaa’s gesture.
“After hearing about my brother’s arrest our mother fell ill and now she is bedridden. The CM’s assistance will be a great relief for our family,” said Sahaya Rani, sister of jailed fishermen Jeya Seelan from Colachel.

It is not beyond anybody's imagination as to why Iran wouldn't have done anything otherwise.  In December, Iran was preparing for the elections that were held later in June.  Any out-of-the-ordinary foreign presence would have been suspicious.  More so when this is a story of Tamil fishermen under contract with a Saudi company.  Imagine Iranian navy personnel questioning the occupants of a ship flying with Saudi papers, when Iran and the Saudis have a history of bad blood between them.  And the people "spin" a story of how they are fishermen from Tamil Nadu; wouldn't you also throw them in jail under the suspicious circumstances?

If it were a bunch of IT professionals, then would the Indian government have let nearly eight months go by?  It is one heck of a crazy world in which we live!

The postman always rings twice? Not with wedding invites!

"Only one wedding invitation this year so far" my father complained.  "Usually, every year we get so many wedding invitations that I would get concerned about being forced to skip some.  And, only one this year.  Every day I look at the mailbox hoping there would be an invitation" he added.

I wasn't sure if it was one of those conversations in which I merely had to listen. After all, it is not always that people look for responses to everything they say.  Sometimes, they merely want to express a thought.  An emotion. Nothing more to it.

It took me a long time to figure that out. Well, it was the daughter who explained that concept a few years ago when she was an undergraduate student.  Whereas I thought that as the father I had to act on whatever she said, it turned out to be otherwise. Apparently, all I had to to was to listen. Life became easier after that!

Now, with father, hey, we are both men too. Men don't emote--we are doers. Or so, I thought.  The nerd in me kicked in.

"I know what you mean.  It is all the demographic changes. Over the years, our people in South India have been having fewer and fewer kids, and now it is showing up.  Further, the kids are delaying getting married, and sometimes choose not to get married.  Thus, unlike the old days, you no longer have a bunch of weddings every season. Invitations to weddings will be rare anymore."

And then for a good measure, I added, "the trend is that you can expect more second marriages anymore."  I was referring to the post-divorce second marriage, of course, which is a case of hope triumphing over experience!

That killed the topic and father moved on to something else.

I am guessing that I was merely supposed to listen and say "aha."

It is not that I was citing incorrect data.  When people--even those within India--think about population, they often work with images of the old India. The old India where men and women married when fertile and couples had anything between two and five children. But, those were old stories.  In a matter of two generations, the story has been completely re-written.

Among us three siblings, my brother is the big family man with two children!  One kid seems to be the new normal, and there are quite a few without kids. Without kids because they chose not to get married, or after marriage they don't have children for whatever reason.

Our minds haven't adjusted to this new reality and, thus, father hasn't revised his expectations for wedding invites.

The map below says it all--TFR is the average number of children that a woman has in her childbearing years.

Tamil Nadu, where my people hail from, has fertility rates that are lower than the rates here in the US.  Americans, who are long used to images of too many babies in India, might find it a shocking revelation that we in the US have, on an average, more children than women do In Tamil Nadu, or in Kerala, or in Karnataka, or in .... These are not states with small populations either.  As this Wikipedia entry helpfully points out, Kerala's population makes it a Canada-equivalent. Tamil Nadu is like Turkey. With its low fertility rate, Karnataka is really like Italy!

Thus, wedding invitations have become rare.

Weddings are, of course, not merely about weddings. They are occasions for reunions. Meeting with friends and families. I know that is what father is referring to. He misses those opportunities to say hello, and more, to people. He was expressing that emotion. I should have done what my daughter advised me a long time and merely said "aha."  Well, stupid is as stupid does!

How do you say Quanzhou in Tamil?

Every day there is more evidence on how much of a false idea it is when we think that globalization is something new.  We humans have always been curious about the world outside our respective villages, but were constrained by the technological limitations of the times, as much as our deep space explorations are limited now because we simply do not have the abilities to go where no man has ever gone before.

In addition to the curiosity, we humans have an economics gene in us.  Way back, when humans figured out that we do not have to live the way other animals do, and that we can divvy up the workload and then trade for goods and services, that gene started playing an increasingly important role.

Today's evidence on such a commerce-led globalization comes from India.
No, from China.
Ok, from both these countries.

Caption at the source:
A panel of inscriptions of the God Narasimha adorns the entrance to the main shrine of the temple,
believed to have been installed by Tamil traders who lived in Quanzhou in the 13th century. 

 The Chedian shrine is just one of what historians believe may have been a network of more than a dozen Hindu temples or shrines, including two grand big temples, built in Quanzhou and surrounding villages by a community of Tamil traders who lived here during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties.

At the time, this port city was among the busiest in the world and was a thriving centre of regional maritime commerce. 

By now, are you thinking what I am thinking?  Where the hell is Quanzhou?


View Larger Map

Across the waters from Taiwan!

And these traders from Tamil Nadu got to Quanzhou a thousand years ago?  Cool!

Wait a second; there's more:

Ms. Wang says the earliest record of an Indian residing in Quanzhou dates back to the 6th century. An inscription found on the Yanfu temple from the Song Dynasty describes how the monk Gunaratna, known in China as Liang Putong, translated sutras from Sanskrit. Trade particularly flourished in the 13th century Yuan Dynasty. In 1271, a visiting Italian merchant recorded that the Indian traders “were recognised easily.”

Sixth century?

The distance between South India and Quanzhou 1,400 years ago might have felt like the distance between Earth and Mars now!

The most striking legacy of this period of history is still on public display in a hidden corner of the 7th century Kaiyuan Buddhist Temple, which is today Quanzhou’s biggest temple and is located in the centre of the old town. A popular attraction for Chinese Buddhists, the temple receives a few thousand visitors every day. In a corner behind the temple, there are at least half a dozen pillars displaying an extraordinary variety of inscriptions from Hindu mythology. A panel of inscriptions depicting the god Narasimha also adorns the steps leading up to the main shrine, which houses a Buddha statue. ...
A few kilometres from the Kaiyuan temple stands a striking several metre-high Shiva lingam in the centre of the popular Bamboo Stone Park. To the city’s residents, however, the lingam is merely known as a rather unusually shaped “bamboo stone,” another symbol of history that still stays hidden in plain sight. 

Something new every day.

I wonder if my fellow-explorer of all things under the sun, Ramesh, who spent a few years in China, has been to these places.  Or Indu, with her China experience, who seems to occasionally swing by this blog.

If even "cockles" can get my curiosity, then it is not difficult to imagine me getting all excited about this topic, right?  Google directed me to this, where the author notes:

A Chinese source states that in 720 the Pallava king Narasimhavarman II "constructed a temple [in Tamil Nadu] on account of the empire [i.e. China]", and another text cites the existence of three Hindu temples in southern China where "Brahmans" resided during the eight century.   

Pallava King.  Ah, yes, my mind rewound my clock to my sabbatical year, when I was able to travel around a lot more in India than I normally would have been able to.  I spent an entire day at a few temples in Kanchipuram--the capital city of the Pallava Empire.  At one of those temples, the guide directed my attention to a 1,300-year old stone-carved panel depicting a Chinese guy:

Was this that temple that Narasimhavarman II built?  Curiosity means the exploration never ends and, dammit, all the stories are so inter-connected too!

I suppose between this Chinese guy and a South Indian in Quanzhou, we somehow ended up with the சீனா சட்டி ("cheena chatti"--a wok); ah, recalling the taste of dosai made in that chatti makes me drool!

I wonder if the Quanzhou connection was also how came to enjoy the dish of சேவை (sevai)?  Hmmm ... More drool!