Surviving life

Reviving my dying blog so thought it appropriate to begin with a post on survival :). Read this interesting blog on survivalism and learnt a few things. Here's an extract that kind of blew my mind, especially as it connected with something I've experienced myself, the day Mumbai drowned:

"survivalist knowledge and skills can vastly magnify your chances of surviving a major disaster up to and including nuclear war or worse, while also increasing your chances of being able to save dozens or even hundreds of lives of others in such a scenario. . Even straightforward knowledge like the fact that millions of gallons of water could be recovered from underground water pipes in undulating terrain even in a grid-down scenario by opening fire hydrants at the lowest available altitude could save hundreds of lives in a disaster. During the exodus from Hurricane Katrina, thousands of thirsty people walked right by fire hydrants. There are many thousands of similar examples of people suffering due to lacking simple knowledge as soon as they are transplanted outside of their zone of familiarity."

If you'd like to read the rest you can find at

: http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/ 

 

Gandhi on Piccadilly and building a brand

Gandhi on Piccadilly and building a brand

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mist, mountains, music and three men in wheelchairs

I finally feel inspired to blog. By mist, mountains, music and three men in a wheelchair. All together on one evening at Tungarli yesterday. We were at a rock concert at a mountainside shack and it was so awesome to see three people in wheelchairs roll in to rock the party so to speak. The mist on the mountains had already put me on a high. The music added some uppers and the icing on the cake was watching three young people, confined to a lifetime in wheelchairs, swinging and dancing and basically freaking out. They'd all been to a spine injury awareness conference in Mumbai and thereafter were partying hard! Amazing. I love it. We really need to see a lot more of this.

Not much to rave about

Historical monuments and maintenance. Not a very popular combination in India. I was travelling through parts of Goa recently and came across an architectural site that was "protected" and "preserved" by the archaeological survey (s0 proclaimed a prominent board). Clearly this protection doesn't cover graffiti. Silly me. I should have read the fine print. 

A bunch of ravers had really had a go at beautification. And the authorities choose to emulate the man in the pic.

Help!

There's panic in Mumbai city. The janta is petrified, shouting for help. 

What's frightening them you ask? It's the municipal authority of this city threatening to keep Mumbai clean. 

No really, I mean it. Check out the following announcement on innumerable bus shelters across town: "Help! MCGM to keep Mumbai clean!" 

Has this punctuation horror gone unnoticed? Much like the mountainous mounds of garbage decorating beloved Mumbai?