Vijay Tendulkar transcended the cultural boundaries of Maharashtra. There is no other Marathi literary icon today who is not only well known all over India, but is also respected among the elite. There is an establishment elite and an equally prestigious anti-establishment elite. Tendulkar moved from one to the other, with no one questioning his right to do so. But his heart was on the anti-establishment side. That showed in his themes as well as the way he crafted and presented his plays.
He was fastidious about the directorial details. He wanted to achieve a certain effect and he knew that it could not be achieved without the correct composition of lights and music, sets and costumes. He also wrote detailed notes on the script itself, on the movements and moods of the actors. Often the directors had to merely follow the script and those notes.
His modern themes and perfectionist approach impressed the metropolitan elite. In his famous and highly controversial play, Gidhare (The Vultures) Tendulkar explores the human relationships within a family, which turn explosive and violent to the extent that the father, brother, sister and the rest get into a murderous mood over a question of property. He wrote the play in 1972, when land prices were not skyrocketing like today and family incomes were not very high.
Yet the conflicts within families were turning vicious. Joint families were splitting up but nuclear families were not fully evolved. Property distribution, in a stagnant economy with low incomes, was turning hideous. Conventional playwrights would not dare to take up such themes. Romanticised and moralistic images of the family determined the predominant content of theatre. Tendulkar dared to expose the brutal reality with equally brutal language. That shocked audiences. There were protests and demands to ban the play. A young woman, forcibly aborting with blood oozing out on her saree, was too outrageous an image to be shown on the stage.
But the play was acclaimed by the liberal, cosmopolitan art and theatre world. It was existentialist and bore the European sensibilities of hyper-realism. Leading actors like Alyque Padamsee and Gerson da Cunha performed the play in English later.
It is difficult to understand how and from where Tendulkar acquired modernist and, later, post-modernist ideas. He had a very modest middle-class background, with little exposure to the European or American world of art and literature. He started writing at a very young age. His rebellious mood perhaps was a reflection of the times he lived in. Till Tendulkar arrived on the scene, theatre essentially meant entertainment and sometimes idealistic or moralistic evocation. It was not supposed to shock and certainly not devastate well-ensconced beliefs. He initially acquired notoriety before he began to get attention as a serious writer who was ready to confront and fight the status quo.
His plays, which came in succession, Ghashiram Kotwal and Sakharam Binder, were penetrating studies in violence. Actually, before these plays, he had been drawing the attention of theatre-goers and critics with plays like Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe. But he began to get national attention only in the early '70s and became an icon of the young.
All of us, the equivalent of the so-called Beatles Generation, enveloped by the ideas of protest and rebellion, by the anti-war movement, were his followers. For this generation, defending Tendulkar meant being anti-establishment. Marx and Che, Ho and Mao defined the ideological contours of the period. As for us, we had Tendulkar. Not that he was Marxist or Maoist. But he had his sympathies with them. He has never defended communism or the Soviet Union or Mao's Cultural Revolution. He never studied seriously the Marxist theories or the New Left versions. But he was familiar with the ideas and that was enough for him. He was not an intellectual nor an ideological polemicist. He was a creative writer and saw the world around him as a living theatre. He saw that violence ruled from Vietnam to Naxalbari, the JP movement to Emergency. He wanted to show the nexus between violence and power.
Later, he became more anti-establishmentarian, not only in theatre, but also on public issues. He became part of the movement for democratic rights and civil liberties, participated in the Narmada agitation, supported dalit movements. But by nature and creative instincts he was an artist, a playwright, and could not remain straitjacketed. He would write something that would go against the conventional Left or he would publicly say something that would hurt liberal sensibilities.
However, he never lost contact with the young and those experimenting with different forms. In hospital, in his last days, he asked a young admirer of his to read out to him Terry Eagleton's piece in The Times Literary Supplement. He was obviously tired as he turned 80 and could not bear the pain of the chronic muscle disorder, but he never thought of retiring. He was a colossus, and no one can take his place with that maverick style in confronting the establishment.
courtsey:http://in.news.yahoo.com/indianexpress/
20080520/r_t_ie_op_clm/top-the-many-worlds-of-vijay-tendulkar-7f368a9.html
Tuesday 20 May, 2008
NON VEG cow....! COW eating FISH....?
Ever seen a non-vegetarian cow ? Milk, the staple food of the veg can’t be always considered vegetarian, going by the food-habit of the milch cow at the house of C.P. Hussain, a local businessman here. (in kuttiatur, kannur district)
And the tastebuds of the cow showed a marked preference for fish. Later, even the smell of fish began invigorating the cow. The costly habit of this seven-year- old cow also has become a problem for him as his family can’t afford this luxury. Fortunately for Hussain, those who come to witness and convince themselves of the strange habit of his cow often come with packets of fish.
Hussain has two other cows, but they so far has shown no liking for fish or meat. The calves of the non-veg cow also have shown no penchant for fish. Or meat.
And the tastebuds of the cow showed a marked preference for fish. Later, even the smell of fish began invigorating the cow. The costly habit of this seven-year- old cow also has become a problem for him as his family can’t afford this luxury. Fortunately for Hussain, those who come to witness and convince themselves of the strange habit of his cow often come with packets of fish.
Hussain has two other cows, but they so far has shown no liking for fish or meat. The calves of the non-veg cow also have shown no penchant for fish. Or meat.
Sunday 18 May, 2008
Use CFL , save energy......
A compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), also known as a compact fluorescent light bulb (or less commonly as a compact fluorescent tube [CFT]) is a type of fluorescent lamp. Many CFLs are designed to replace an incandescent lamp and can fit in the existing light fixtures formerly used for incandescents.
Compared to general service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less power and have a longer rated life. In the United States, a CFL can save over 30 USD in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases. The purchase price of a CFL is higher than that of an incandescent lamp of the same luminous output, but this cost is recovered in energy savings and replacement costs over the bulb's lifetime. Like all fluorescent lamps, CFLs contain mercury; this complicates the disposal of fluorescent lamps.
CFLs radiate a different light spectrum from that of incandescent lamps. Improved phosphor formulations have improved the subjective color of the light emitted by CFLs such that the best 'soft white' CFLs available in 2007 are subjectively similar in color to standard incandescent lamps.
Comparison with incandescent lamps
Lifespan:
Modern CFLs typically have a lifespan of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a lifespan of 750 hours or 1,000 hours. Some incandescent bulbs claim long rated lifespans of 20,000 hours with reduced light output (approximately 500 versus 800 lumens). The lifetime of any lamp depends on many factors including operating voltage, manufacturing defects, exposure to voltage spikes, mechanical shock, frequency of cycling on and off and ambient operating temperature, among other factors. The life of a CFL is significantly shorter if it is only turned on for a few minutes at a time: In the case of a 5-minute on/off cycle the lifespan of a CFL can be up to 85% shorter, reducing its lifespan to the level of an incandescent lamp. The US Energy Star program says to leave them on at least 15 minutes at a time to mitigate this problem.
CFLs give less light later in their life than they do at the start. The light output depreciation is exponential, with the fastest losses being soon after the lamp was new. By the middle to end of their lives, CFLs can be expected to produce 70-80% of their original light output.The response of the human eye to light is logarithmic: Each f-number (or photographic 'f-stop') reduction represents a halving in actual light, but is subjectively quite a small change.A 20-30% reduction over many thousands of hours represents a change of about half an f-stop, which is barely noticeable in everyday life.
Energy efficiency:
For a given light output, CFLs use between one fifth and one quarter of the power of an equivalent incandescent lamp.Since lighting accounted for approximately 9% of household electricity usage in the United States in 2001,widespread use of CFLs could save as much as 7% from household usage.
If incandescent lamps are replaced by CFLs the heat produced by the building's lighting system will be reduced. At times when the building requires both heating and lighting, the building's central heating system will then supply the heat.
In contrast, if the building requires both illumination and cooling, then CFLs will use less electricity themselves and will also reduce the load on the cooling system compared to incandescent lamps. This results in two concurrent savings, and since most air conditioners are also electrically powered, they are directly comparable.
There is a third case where electric lighting is used with natural ventilation and without either heating or cooling. In this case the energy savings due to CFLs are simpler to estimate, as described above.
Radio Frequency:
As with all fluorescent lights, CFLs also generate some higher electrical frequencies which both radiate from the light unit itself, and transfer along the interconnecting electrical wiring. This is not generally considered to be a significant problem, but it can result in electronic interference with some other devices.
How they work:
There are two main parts in a CFL: the gas-filled tube (also called bulb or burner) and the magnetic or electronic ballast. Electrical energy in the form of an electrical current from the ballast flows through the gas, causing it to emit ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light then excites a white phosphor coating on the inside of the tube. This coating emits visible light. CFLs that flicker when they start have magnetic ballasts; CFLs with electronic ballasts are now much more common.
Electronic ballasts contain a small circuit board with rectifers, a filter capacitor and usually two switching transistors connected as a high-frequency resonant series DC to AC inverter. The resulting high frequency, around 40 kHz or higher, is applied to the lamp tube. Since the resonant converter tends to stabilize lamp current (and light produced) over a range of input voltages, standard CFLs do not respond well in dimming applications and special lamps are required for dimming service.
Energy savings:
Since CFLs use less power to supply the same amount of light as an incandescent lamp of the same lumen rating, they can be used to decrease energy consumption at the location in which they are used. In countries where electricity is largely produced from burning fossil fuels, the savings reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants; in other countries the reduction may help reduce negative impacts from radioactive waste, hydroelectric plants, or other sources; see environmental concerns with electricity generation for details.
While CFLs require more energy in manufacturing than incandescent lamps, this is said to be offset by the fact that they last longer and use less energy during their lifespan. However there is no standard way to calculate the amount of energy 'embodied' in a device (e.g. Should one include the energy consumption/transport of workers in the factory?), and currently there is little in the way of trustworthy evidence to demonstrate the differences between the manufacturing, delivery, and retailing consumption of energy in the different forms of lighting.
A comparison of energy consumption and carbon dioxide production, also needs to specify whether this is in hot, medium or cold climates. The 'inefficiencies' of incandescent lightbulbs in cold countries are virtually zero, since the generated heat offsets some of the need for central heating.
Compared to general service incandescent lamps giving the same amount of visible light, CFLs use less power and have a longer rated life. In the United States, a CFL can save over 30 USD in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime compared to an incandescent lamp and save 2000 times its own weight in greenhouse gases. The purchase price of a CFL is higher than that of an incandescent lamp of the same luminous output, but this cost is recovered in energy savings and replacement costs over the bulb's lifetime. Like all fluorescent lamps, CFLs contain mercury; this complicates the disposal of fluorescent lamps.
CFLs radiate a different light spectrum from that of incandescent lamps. Improved phosphor formulations have improved the subjective color of the light emitted by CFLs such that the best 'soft white' CFLs available in 2007 are subjectively similar in color to standard incandescent lamps.
Comparison with incandescent lamps
Lifespan:
Modern CFLs typically have a lifespan of between 6,000 and 15,000 hours, whereas incandescent lamps are usually manufactured to have a lifespan of 750 hours or 1,000 hours. Some incandescent bulbs claim long rated lifespans of 20,000 hours with reduced light output (approximately 500 versus 800 lumens). The lifetime of any lamp depends on many factors including operating voltage, manufacturing defects, exposure to voltage spikes, mechanical shock, frequency of cycling on and off and ambient operating temperature, among other factors. The life of a CFL is significantly shorter if it is only turned on for a few minutes at a time: In the case of a 5-minute on/off cycle the lifespan of a CFL can be up to 85% shorter, reducing its lifespan to the level of an incandescent lamp. The US Energy Star program says to leave them on at least 15 minutes at a time to mitigate this problem.
CFLs give less light later in their life than they do at the start. The light output depreciation is exponential, with the fastest losses being soon after the lamp was new. By the middle to end of their lives, CFLs can be expected to produce 70-80% of their original light output.The response of the human eye to light is logarithmic: Each f-number (or photographic 'f-stop') reduction represents a halving in actual light, but is subjectively quite a small change.A 20-30% reduction over many thousands of hours represents a change of about half an f-stop, which is barely noticeable in everyday life.
Energy efficiency:
For a given light output, CFLs use between one fifth and one quarter of the power of an equivalent incandescent lamp.Since lighting accounted for approximately 9% of household electricity usage in the United States in 2001,widespread use of CFLs could save as much as 7% from household usage.
If incandescent lamps are replaced by CFLs the heat produced by the building's lighting system will be reduced. At times when the building requires both heating and lighting, the building's central heating system will then supply the heat.
In contrast, if the building requires both illumination and cooling, then CFLs will use less electricity themselves and will also reduce the load on the cooling system compared to incandescent lamps. This results in two concurrent savings, and since most air conditioners are also electrically powered, they are directly comparable.
There is a third case where electric lighting is used with natural ventilation and without either heating or cooling. In this case the energy savings due to CFLs are simpler to estimate, as described above.
Radio Frequency:
As with all fluorescent lights, CFLs also generate some higher electrical frequencies which both radiate from the light unit itself, and transfer along the interconnecting electrical wiring. This is not generally considered to be a significant problem, but it can result in electronic interference with some other devices.
How they work:
There are two main parts in a CFL: the gas-filled tube (also called bulb or burner) and the magnetic or electronic ballast. Electrical energy in the form of an electrical current from the ballast flows through the gas, causing it to emit ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light then excites a white phosphor coating on the inside of the tube. This coating emits visible light. CFLs that flicker when they start have magnetic ballasts; CFLs with electronic ballasts are now much more common.
Electronic ballasts contain a small circuit board with rectifers, a filter capacitor and usually two switching transistors connected as a high-frequency resonant series DC to AC inverter. The resulting high frequency, around 40 kHz or higher, is applied to the lamp tube. Since the resonant converter tends to stabilize lamp current (and light produced) over a range of input voltages, standard CFLs do not respond well in dimming applications and special lamps are required for dimming service.
Energy savings:
Since CFLs use less power to supply the same amount of light as an incandescent lamp of the same lumen rating, they can be used to decrease energy consumption at the location in which they are used. In countries where electricity is largely produced from burning fossil fuels, the savings reduces emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants; in other countries the reduction may help reduce negative impacts from radioactive waste, hydroelectric plants, or other sources; see environmental concerns with electricity generation for details.
While CFLs require more energy in manufacturing than incandescent lamps, this is said to be offset by the fact that they last longer and use less energy during their lifespan. However there is no standard way to calculate the amount of energy 'embodied' in a device (e.g. Should one include the energy consumption/transport of workers in the factory?), and currently there is little in the way of trustworthy evidence to demonstrate the differences between the manufacturing, delivery, and retailing consumption of energy in the different forms of lighting.
A comparison of energy consumption and carbon dioxide production, also needs to specify whether this is in hot, medium or cold climates. The 'inefficiencies' of incandescent lightbulbs in cold countries are virtually zero, since the generated heat offsets some of the need for central heating.
What are renewable energy sources...?
In the past century, it has been seen that the consumption of non-renewable sources of energy has caused more environmental damage than any other human activity. Electricity generated from fossil fuels such as coal and crude oil has led to high concentrations of harmful gases in the atmosphere. This has in turn led to many problems being faced today such as ozone depletion and global warming. Vehicular pollution has also been a major problem.
Therefore, alternative sources of energy have become very important and relevant to today’s world. These sources, such as the sun and wind, can never be exhausted and therefore are called renewable. They cause less emissions and are available locally. Their use can, to a large extent, reduce chemical, radioactive, and thermal pollution. They stand out as a viable source of clean and limitless energy. These are also known as non-conventional sources of energy. Most of the renewable sources of energy are fairly non-polluting and considered clean though biomass, a renewable source, is a major polluter indoors.
What are these alternative sources of energy?
Hydel energy:
The energy in the flowing water can be used to produce electricity. Waves result from the interaction of the wind with the surface of the sea and represent a transfer of energy from the wind to the sea. Energy can be extracted from tides by creating a reservoir or basin behind a barrage and then passing tidal waters through turbines in the barrage to generate electricity.
Hydro power is one of the best, cheapest, and cleanest source of energy, although, with big dams, there are many environmental and social problems as has been seen in the case of the Tehri and the Narmada Projects. Small dams are, however, free from these problems. This is in fact one of the earliest known renewable energy sources, in the country (since the beginning of the 20th century).
Energy is also obtained from waves and tides. The first wave energy, project with a capacity of 150MW, has been set up at Vizhinjam near Trivandrum. A major tidal wave power project costing of Rs.5000 crores, is proposed to be set up in the Hanthal Creek in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.
In some countries such as Japan small scale power generators run by energy from waves or the ocean, have been used as power sources for channel marking buoys.
Solar:
Solar energy is the most readily available source of energy. It does not belong to anybody and is, therefore, free. It is also the most important of the non-conventional sources of energy because it is non-polluting and, therefore, helps in lessening the greenhouse effect.
Solar energy has been used since prehistoric times, but in a most primitive manner. Before 1970, some research and development was carried out in a few countries to exploit solar energy more efficiently, but most of this work remained mainly academic. After the dramatic rise in oil prices in the 1970s, several countries began to formulate extensive research and development programmes to exploit solar energy.
When we hang out our clothes to dry in the sun, we use the energy of the sun. In the same way, solar panels absorb the energy of the sun to provide heat for cooking and for heating water. Such systems are available in the market and are being used in homes and factories.
In the next few years it is expected that millions of households in the world will be using solar energy as the trends in USA and Japan show. In India too, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency and the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources are formulating a programme to have solar energy in more than a million households in the next few years. However, the people’s initiative is essential if the programme is to be successful.
India is one of the few countries with long days and plenty of sunshine, especially in the Thar desert region. This zone, having abundant solar energy available, is suitable for harnessing solar energy for a number of applications. In areas with similar intensity of solar radiation, solar energy could be easily harnessed. Solar thermal energy is being used in India for heating water for both industrial and domestic purposes. A 140 MW integrated solar power plant is to be set up in Jodhpur but the initial expense incurred is still very high.
Solar energy can also be used to meet our electricity requirements. Through Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC electricity directly. This electricity can either be used as it is or can be stored in the battery. This stored electrical energy then can be used at night. SPV can be used for a number of applications such as:
a. domestic lighting
b. street lighting
c. village electrification
d. water pumping
e. desalination of salty water
f. powering of remote telecommunication repeater stations and
g. railway signals.
If the means to make efficient use of solar energy could be found, it would reduce our dependence on non-renewable sources of energy and make our environment cleaner.
Wind:
Wind energy is the kinetic energy associated with the movement of atmospheric air. It has been used for hundreds of years for sailing, grinding grain, and for irrigation. Wind energy systems convert this kinetic energy to more useful forms of power. Wind energy systems for irrigation and milling have been in use since ancient times and since the beginning of the 20th century it is being used to generate electric power. Windmills for water pumping have been installed in many countries particularly in the rural areas.
Wind turbines transform the energy in the wind into mechanical power, which can then be used directly for grinding etc. or further converting to electric power to generate electricity. Wind turbines can be used singly or in clusters called ‘wind farms’. Small wind turbines called aero-generators can be used to charge large batteries.
Biomass:
Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities. It is derived from numerous sources, including the by-products from the timber industry, agricultural crops, raw material from the forest, major parts of household waste and wood.
Biomass does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it can be used to generate electricity with the same equipment or power plants that are now burning fossil fuels. Biomass is an important source of energy and the most important fuel worldwide after coal, oil and natural gas.
At present, biogas technology provides an alternative source of energy in rural India for cooking. It is particularly useful for village households that have their own cattle. Through a simple process cattle dung is used to produce a gas, which serves as fuel for cooking. The residual dung is used as manure.
Biogas plants have been set up in many areas and are becoming very popular. Using local resources, namely cattle waste and other organic wastes, energy and manure are derived. A mini biogas digester has recently been designed and developed, and is being in-field tested for domestic lighting.
Geothermal energy:
We live between two great sources of energy, the hot rocks beneath the surface of the earth and the sun in the sky. Our ancestors knew the value of geothermal energy; they bathed and cooked in hot springs. Today we have recognized that this resource has potential for much broader application.
The core of the earth is very hot and it is possible to make use of this geothermal energy (in Greek it means heat from the earth). These are areas where there are volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers, and methane under the water in the oceans and seas. In some countries, such as in the USA water is pumped from underground hot water deposits and used to heat people’s houses.
Fuel cells:
Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly and very efficiently into electricity (DC) and heat, thus doing away with combustion. The most suitable fuel for such cells is hydrogen or a mixture of compounds containing hydrogen. A fuel cell consists of an electrolyte sandwiched between two electrodes. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other, and they react electrochemically to generate electricity, water, and heat.
Though fuel cells have been used in space flights and combined supplies of heat and power, electric vehicles are the best option available to dramatically reduce urban air pollution. Compared to vehicles powered by the internal combustion engine, fuel-cell powered vehicles have very high energy conversion efficiency, (almost double that of currently used engines) and near-zero pollution, CO2 and water vapour being the only emissions. Fuel-cell-powered EV's (electric vehicles) score over battery operated EV's in terms of increased efficiency and easier and faster refuelling.
Co-generation:
Co-generation is the concept of producing two forms of energy from one fuel. One of the forms of energy must always be heat and the other may be electricity or mechanical energy. In a conventional power plant, fuel is burnt in a boiler to generate high-pressure steam. This steam is used to drive a turbine, which in turn drives an alternator through a steam turbine to produce electric power. The exhaust steam is generally condensed to water which goes back to the boiler.
As the low-pressure steam has a large quantum of heat which is lost in the process of condensing, the efficiency of conventional power plants is only around 35%. In a cogeneration plant, very high efficiency levels, in the range of 75%–90%, can be reached. This is so, because the low-pressure exhaust steam coming out of the turbine is not condensed, but used for heating purposes in factories or houses.
Since co-generation can meet both power and heat needs, it has other advantages as well in the form of significant cost savings for the plant and reduction in emissions of pollutants due to reduced fuel consumption.
Even at conservative estimates, the potential of power generation from co-generation in India is more than 20,000 MW. Since India is the largest producer of sugar in the world, bagasse-based cogeneration is being promoted. The potential for cogeneration thus lies in facilities with joint requirement of heat and electricity, primarily sugar and rice mills, distilleries, petrochemical sector and industries such as fertilizers, steel, chemical, cement, pulp and paper, and aluminum.
Therefore, alternative sources of energy have become very important and relevant to today’s world. These sources, such as the sun and wind, can never be exhausted and therefore are called renewable. They cause less emissions and are available locally. Their use can, to a large extent, reduce chemical, radioactive, and thermal pollution. They stand out as a viable source of clean and limitless energy. These are also known as non-conventional sources of energy. Most of the renewable sources of energy are fairly non-polluting and considered clean though biomass, a renewable source, is a major polluter indoors.
What are these alternative sources of energy?
Hydel energy:
The energy in the flowing water can be used to produce electricity. Waves result from the interaction of the wind with the surface of the sea and represent a transfer of energy from the wind to the sea. Energy can be extracted from tides by creating a reservoir or basin behind a barrage and then passing tidal waters through turbines in the barrage to generate electricity.
Hydro power is one of the best, cheapest, and cleanest source of energy, although, with big dams, there are many environmental and social problems as has been seen in the case of the Tehri and the Narmada Projects. Small dams are, however, free from these problems. This is in fact one of the earliest known renewable energy sources, in the country (since the beginning of the 20th century).
Energy is also obtained from waves and tides. The first wave energy, project with a capacity of 150MW, has been set up at Vizhinjam near Trivandrum. A major tidal wave power project costing of Rs.5000 crores, is proposed to be set up in the Hanthal Creek in the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.
In some countries such as Japan small scale power generators run by energy from waves or the ocean, have been used as power sources for channel marking buoys.
Solar:
Solar energy is the most readily available source of energy. It does not belong to anybody and is, therefore, free. It is also the most important of the non-conventional sources of energy because it is non-polluting and, therefore, helps in lessening the greenhouse effect.
Solar energy has been used since prehistoric times, but in a most primitive manner. Before 1970, some research and development was carried out in a few countries to exploit solar energy more efficiently, but most of this work remained mainly academic. After the dramatic rise in oil prices in the 1970s, several countries began to formulate extensive research and development programmes to exploit solar energy.
When we hang out our clothes to dry in the sun, we use the energy of the sun. In the same way, solar panels absorb the energy of the sun to provide heat for cooking and for heating water. Such systems are available in the market and are being used in homes and factories.
In the next few years it is expected that millions of households in the world will be using solar energy as the trends in USA and Japan show. In India too, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency and the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources are formulating a programme to have solar energy in more than a million households in the next few years. However, the people’s initiative is essential if the programme is to be successful.
India is one of the few countries with long days and plenty of sunshine, especially in the Thar desert region. This zone, having abundant solar energy available, is suitable for harnessing solar energy for a number of applications. In areas with similar intensity of solar radiation, solar energy could be easily harnessed. Solar thermal energy is being used in India for heating water for both industrial and domestic purposes. A 140 MW integrated solar power plant is to be set up in Jodhpur but the initial expense incurred is still very high.
Solar energy can also be used to meet our electricity requirements. Through Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) cells, solar radiation gets converted into DC electricity directly. This electricity can either be used as it is or can be stored in the battery. This stored electrical energy then can be used at night. SPV can be used for a number of applications such as:
a. domestic lighting
b. street lighting
c. village electrification
d. water pumping
e. desalination of salty water
f. powering of remote telecommunication repeater stations and
g. railway signals.
If the means to make efficient use of solar energy could be found, it would reduce our dependence on non-renewable sources of energy and make our environment cleaner.
Wind:
Wind energy is the kinetic energy associated with the movement of atmospheric air. It has been used for hundreds of years for sailing, grinding grain, and for irrigation. Wind energy systems convert this kinetic energy to more useful forms of power. Wind energy systems for irrigation and milling have been in use since ancient times and since the beginning of the 20th century it is being used to generate electric power. Windmills for water pumping have been installed in many countries particularly in the rural areas.
Wind turbines transform the energy in the wind into mechanical power, which can then be used directly for grinding etc. or further converting to electric power to generate electricity. Wind turbines can be used singly or in clusters called ‘wind farms’. Small wind turbines called aero-generators can be used to charge large batteries.
Biomass:
Biomass is a renewable energy resource derived from the carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities. It is derived from numerous sources, including the by-products from the timber industry, agricultural crops, raw material from the forest, major parts of household waste and wood.
Biomass does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Its advantage is that it can be used to generate electricity with the same equipment or power plants that are now burning fossil fuels. Biomass is an important source of energy and the most important fuel worldwide after coal, oil and natural gas.
At present, biogas technology provides an alternative source of energy in rural India for cooking. It is particularly useful for village households that have their own cattle. Through a simple process cattle dung is used to produce a gas, which serves as fuel for cooking. The residual dung is used as manure.
Biogas plants have been set up in many areas and are becoming very popular. Using local resources, namely cattle waste and other organic wastes, energy and manure are derived. A mini biogas digester has recently been designed and developed, and is being in-field tested for domestic lighting.
Geothermal energy:
We live between two great sources of energy, the hot rocks beneath the surface of the earth and the sun in the sky. Our ancestors knew the value of geothermal energy; they bathed and cooked in hot springs. Today we have recognized that this resource has potential for much broader application.
The core of the earth is very hot and it is possible to make use of this geothermal energy (in Greek it means heat from the earth). These are areas where there are volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers, and methane under the water in the oceans and seas. In some countries, such as in the USA water is pumped from underground hot water deposits and used to heat people’s houses.
Fuel cells:
Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly and very efficiently into electricity (DC) and heat, thus doing away with combustion. The most suitable fuel for such cells is hydrogen or a mixture of compounds containing hydrogen. A fuel cell consists of an electrolyte sandwiched between two electrodes. Oxygen passes over one electrode and hydrogen over the other, and they react electrochemically to generate electricity, water, and heat.
Though fuel cells have been used in space flights and combined supplies of heat and power, electric vehicles are the best option available to dramatically reduce urban air pollution. Compared to vehicles powered by the internal combustion engine, fuel-cell powered vehicles have very high energy conversion efficiency, (almost double that of currently used engines) and near-zero pollution, CO2 and water vapour being the only emissions. Fuel-cell-powered EV's (electric vehicles) score over battery operated EV's in terms of increased efficiency and easier and faster refuelling.
Co-generation:
Co-generation is the concept of producing two forms of energy from one fuel. One of the forms of energy must always be heat and the other may be electricity or mechanical energy. In a conventional power plant, fuel is burnt in a boiler to generate high-pressure steam. This steam is used to drive a turbine, which in turn drives an alternator through a steam turbine to produce electric power. The exhaust steam is generally condensed to water which goes back to the boiler.
As the low-pressure steam has a large quantum of heat which is lost in the process of condensing, the efficiency of conventional power plants is only around 35%. In a cogeneration plant, very high efficiency levels, in the range of 75%–90%, can be reached. This is so, because the low-pressure exhaust steam coming out of the turbine is not condensed, but used for heating purposes in factories or houses.
Since co-generation can meet both power and heat needs, it has other advantages as well in the form of significant cost savings for the plant and reduction in emissions of pollutants due to reduced fuel consumption.
Even at conservative estimates, the potential of power generation from co-generation in India is more than 20,000 MW. Since India is the largest producer of sugar in the world, bagasse-based cogeneration is being promoted. The potential for cogeneration thus lies in facilities with joint requirement of heat and electricity, primarily sugar and rice mills, distilleries, petrochemical sector and industries such as fertilizers, steel, chemical, cement, pulp and paper, and aluminum.
What is PAGERANK...?
If you have been a webmaster for any length of time, you most likely know all about pagerank, and have been working to get yours up. PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page’s value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves “important” weigh more heavily and help to make other pages “important”.
Put even simpler, we will start from the beginning. Google is the largest web search engine online today, and will always be. From junior high schools to retirement homes, the latest trend when you want a question answered is to “Google It”. This phrase has swept the nation and almost everyone currently uses it. If you’re a webmaster, you want to be on the top of the results and to do this, you need a decent Google PageRank.
Google PageRank is based on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest. Sites with PR0 have either just started, or were bought and never had any content or traffic. You should be able to attain a PR1 quite easily. Your PageRank is based on the number of links directing to your sites from other sites. The more you have, the more you will go up in rank obviously. But don’t be fooled, some sites are better to be linked from than others. Being linked to on a PR7 site will do a large amount of good compared to a PR1. PR0 links are virtually useless as they are new and have no content, so their links mean practically nothing.
PageRank does work and is efficient for getting your site into some keywords on Google’s monopoly of a search engine, but overall it is not worth the hassle and is a dead market. Google does not show results on a page solely based of PageRank as some seem to think. If you swap links with some large sites and manage to get a higher PR than that of a site that has been running for 5 years solid, they will most definately get the higher result. Why? Established sites mean everything. Google strives to link it’s users to the most relevant information and most likely the site that has been active for 5 years will have better content and more information on the subject than your 3 month old site. Inevitably, PageRank is just another tool to rank yourself against other websites of the same niché to see where you stand.
Google has opened an entirely new market by simply allowing this new feature to be used. While it is somewhat beneficial to the engine as a whole, it could simply be hidden because it is not solely relying on backlinks like everyone believes. Users are now paying up to $100+/month to have their link posted in a PR7 link directory. A link directory is a site that contains just links, and that is all, it is created solely for the use of boosting PageRank and is against Google TOS. People have literally wasted thousands of dollars getting backlinks. Sometimes it works out in the end but most often, it does not.
As stated above Google is now a monopoly online and quite literally anything they brand with their logo, they will start making millions from. There is no denying that PageRank is an excellent tool to use in their search engine, but it has started a spending spree that is leading most people nowhere.
Put even simpler, we will start from the beginning. Google is the largest web search engine online today, and will always be. From junior high schools to retirement homes, the latest trend when you want a question answered is to “Google It”. This phrase has swept the nation and almost everyone currently uses it. If you’re a webmaster, you want to be on the top of the results and to do this, you need a decent Google PageRank.
Google PageRank is based on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest. Sites with PR0 have either just started, or were bought and never had any content or traffic. You should be able to attain a PR1 quite easily. Your PageRank is based on the number of links directing to your sites from other sites. The more you have, the more you will go up in rank obviously. But don’t be fooled, some sites are better to be linked from than others. Being linked to on a PR7 site will do a large amount of good compared to a PR1. PR0 links are virtually useless as they are new and have no content, so their links mean practically nothing.
PageRank does work and is efficient for getting your site into some keywords on Google’s monopoly of a search engine, but overall it is not worth the hassle and is a dead market. Google does not show results on a page solely based of PageRank as some seem to think. If you swap links with some large sites and manage to get a higher PR than that of a site that has been running for 5 years solid, they will most definately get the higher result. Why? Established sites mean everything. Google strives to link it’s users to the most relevant information and most likely the site that has been active for 5 years will have better content and more information on the subject than your 3 month old site. Inevitably, PageRank is just another tool to rank yourself against other websites of the same niché to see where you stand.
Google has opened an entirely new market by simply allowing this new feature to be used. While it is somewhat beneficial to the engine as a whole, it could simply be hidden because it is not solely relying on backlinks like everyone believes. Users are now paying up to $100+/month to have their link posted in a PR7 link directory. A link directory is a site that contains just links, and that is all, it is created solely for the use of boosting PageRank and is against Google TOS. People have literally wasted thousands of dollars getting backlinks. Sometimes it works out in the end but most often, it does not.
As stated above Google is now a monopoly online and quite literally anything they brand with their logo, they will start making millions from. There is no denying that PageRank is an excellent tool to use in their search engine, but it has started a spending spree that is leading most people nowhere.
How to stop WORRYing......?
Worry refers to negative self-talk that often distracts the mind from focusing on the problem at hand. For example, when students become anxious during a test, they may repeatedly tell themselves they are going to fail, or they can't remember the material or that their teacher will become angry with them. This thinking interferes with focusing on the test as the speech areas of the brain that are needed to complete test questions are being used for worrying.
Worry can also refer to a feeling of concern about someone else's condition. For instance, a mother may say "I'm worried" if her child doesn't show up at home when he was supposed to be there. It can also refer to certain actions or the lack of those kind of actions. "I'm worried because she is not eating any vegetables".
Once acquired, the habit of worrying seems hard to stop. We're raised to worry and aren't considered "grown up" until we perfect the art. Teenagers are told: "you'd better start worrying about your future". If your worries aren't at least as frequent as your bowel movements, you're seen as irresponsible, childish, aimless. That's a "responsible adult" game rule.
To the extent that worrying is learned/conditioned behavior, it can be undone. There are psychological gimmicks for undoing the worry habit. There are also obstacles.
for more details: http://www.anxietyculture.com/worry.htm
Please keep some points in your mind. these will help you to avoid unnecessary worry, anxiety, etc. And this will help you to become a success in your life.
Worry can also refer to a feeling of concern about someone else's condition. For instance, a mother may say "I'm worried" if her child doesn't show up at home when he was supposed to be there. It can also refer to certain actions or the lack of those kind of actions. "I'm worried because she is not eating any vegetables".
Once acquired, the habit of worrying seems hard to stop. We're raised to worry and aren't considered "grown up" until we perfect the art. Teenagers are told: "you'd better start worrying about your future". If your worries aren't at least as frequent as your bowel movements, you're seen as irresponsible, childish, aimless. That's a "responsible adult" game rule.
To the extent that worrying is learned/conditioned behavior, it can be undone. There are psychological gimmicks for undoing the worry habit. There are also obstacles.
for more details: http://www.anxietyculture.com/worry.htm
Please keep some points in your mind. these will help you to avoid unnecessary worry, anxiety, etc. And this will help you to become a success in your life.
- No one ever kicks a dead dog : So when you are kicked or criticized, remember that it is often done and it gives the kicker a feeling of importance. It often means that you are accomplishing something and are worthy of attention.
- Forget about yourself by becoming interested in others.
- Everyday do a good deed that will put a smile of joy on someone's face.
- When date hands us a lemon, try to make a lemonade.
- Let's not imitate others.Let's find ourselves and be ourselves.
- Count your blessings, not your troubles.
- Don't try to saw sawdust.
here i am specifying a book that can help you to regain mind courage and to escape from unnecessary worries...:"HOW TO STOP WORRYING AND START LIVING" by 'DALE CARNEGIE'--- ARNOLD ASSOCIATES.
Tuesday 29 April, 2008
BEKAL FORT,largest & beatiful fort
Bekal fort, the largest and the best-preserved fort in Kerala, lies 16 Kms south of Kasaragod on the national highway at the northern tip of the state. The fort, a circular imposing structure of laterite rising 130 ft. above sea level, stands on a 35 acre headland that runs into the Arabian sea.
The fort with its zigzag entrance, strategically designed openings on the outer walls for defense and trenches around, has no palaces inside and was probably build just for Defence purposes. The sea bastion, underground tunnels and the observation tower in the fort are impressive. The Bekal Fort has been a source of attraction for historians, tourists and nature - lovers for centuries since it embodies memories of a glorious past.
Just outside the fort there is a mosque built by Tippu Sultan of Mysore. At the entrance is
There is a sea side pathway with a magnificent view of the fort to the east and the sea to the west linking the beaches north and south of the battlement. The Pallikere beach with its shallow waters is just a km. away from the fort.
Due to its historic relevance, the fort is controlled by the Archaeological Survey of India. Coins and other historical artifacts were unearthed by archeologists making it an interesting excavation site. Bekal is also one among the five centres selected by the Government of India to be developed into a 'Special Tourism Area'.
How to get there :
Air: Nearest airports are at Mangalore (50 km); Karipur International Airport, Calicut
Rail: On the Kozhikode-Mangalore-Mumbai route. Enquiry Ph: 430200
Road: There are regular buses every 30 minutes from Kanjagad to Bekal. An excellent network of roads connects Kasaragod to major towns in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. (Kozhikode) International Terminal (180 km)
Rail: On the Kozhikode-Mangalore-Mumbai route. Enquiry Ph: 430200
Road: There are regular buses every 30 minutes from Kanjagad to Bekal. An excellent network of roads connects Kasaragod to major towns in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. (Kozhikode) International Terminal (180 km)
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