Yesterday we saw pictures of nature's fury in states of Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, and Maharastra. Devastating scenes of floods destroying houses, roads and houses flooded with water, no food, power, deaths from snake bites, etc. Hundreds have lost their lives. Last month it was southern parts of the country Bangalore, Chennai, and Trivandrum.

All the state governments make lofty statements that they could handle any worst situation as their disaster management plan is in place. But when the situation arises nothing happens and people have to suffer as usual. 70 years after freedom we are yet to learn mechanisms to cope with disaster management.

It's time to listen to nature, it wants to us sit up and take notice of what human greed for 'development' has led us to. Nature is showing its wrath after bearing with us human insensitivity for long. If you recall, from the Himalayas to places like Shimla, even desert destinations like Pushkar in Rajasthan, the floods became a threat. Landslides buried humans under muddy debris, from Uttarakhand to Kerala, hundreds died not only in Kerala but also in Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam, and Bihar, etc.

I feel nature's wrath will continue as we have disturbed the balance of nature. In all urban agglomerations, the paddy fields are turning into housing colonies. Rock formations are disappearing under the relentless onslaught of quarry mafia. In cities, we notice, construction mafias, brick makers mafias, including the flourishing granite mafia. What chance has nature against these powerful entities each of which flourishes under some political patronage? From my childhood, around Ramgundam, a place from which I hail, we used to have big hills, now all of them vanished because of quarry mafias. The place was known for “Kundas(round earth formation which contains waters)” built by Rama, during the vanavas and temple, only that part is now still intact (thankfully). The area of few hundreds of acres of land is now occupied by housing colonies, including a big residential area of Singareni.

So, what’s happening? As we destroy nature, is nature destroying us? Nature's anger will be a phenomenon, none of our human mafias will be able to counter. Perhaps our sages anticipated this, hence the Vedic reference to “maha pralaya” that would trigger at the end of Kaliyuga. It refers to cataclysmic events that wipe out an entire life on the planet. Living in harmony with nature is the only option we humans have if not we have to be ready to face the consequences.

With a heavy heart, I want to reminiscence the memory and some incidents related to one of my father's friend and a very senior bureaucrat BN Yugandhar Ex-IAS 1962 batch.  He left for heavenly abode day before yesterday and today the cremation must be taking place, after the arrival of his now-famous son Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft, from the US. I remember my father saying that Mr. Yugandhar had always stood for values and principles, a very upright officer. As I understood, he was a man with left -orientation, energetic, generous and very impatient with red-tapism and at the same time, a critic of left-criminalisation. He was with United AP CM, NTR also worked with P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1990s. I had genuine doubt, regarding his “surname”. He was popularly called as B N Yugandhar, but originally it was only “Nadella” which his son retains. I'm told that they got migrated from Guntur District (Nadella) to a place known as Bukkapuram, in Anantpur District, about 4/5/decades back, and he used to retain  Bukkapurm also with original Nadella. I had the opportunity to see him once when he was Secretary of Rural Development. He had been picked up by Narasimha Rao because his attitude to always work for helping poor, lead a life with dignity. 

At this point, I would like to share an unusual incident narrated by a friend of my father, bureaucrat Mr. K R Venugopal. 

Venugopal and Yugandhar are of the same batch. When Yugandhar ‘s son Satya engagement ceremony to Venugopal's daughter was underway, Narasimha Rao (PM at the time) got to know of the same and he wanted to surprise them with an impromptu visit. So he took Ramu Damodaran, his PS; he took only an ambassador and a police jeep and no one knew PM moving in an Ambassador. He had bitter experience of traffic snarls, but finally, when he reached the venue the joy of both Yugandhar and Venugopal knew no bounds.

The socialist in Yugandhar found a mention in the latest Vinay Sitapati’s book “Half Lion”. How Narasimha Rao transformed India. Describing the role of bureaucrats around him, played, in informing welfare policies during Narasimha Rao's tenure. Sitapati said "when Rao was a Minister in AP in the 1960s he too believed in the obligation of the state to transform India’s ills. That Rao had morphed into a pragmatist when it came to Economy.  But when it came welfare schemes his choice of stubborn socialists as point men indicated which mode he had in mind” 

It’s reported that Mr. Yugandhar passed away having suffered from Asthama, and other breath related health problems. My deepest condolences to his family and near and dear. May his soul rest in peace.

The discovery of Lander Vikram on the lunar South Pole has come as music to the ears of ISRO and countless others in the country, who followed keenly the progress of the mission. Chandrayan 2 was launched successfully on July 22nd, and it was to land on the moon, on 7th September. Since the launch other plans went off as planned, the whole nation waited to see the Vikram land smoothly on the unexplored South Pole, of the moon. But then when it was 2km away the ISRO lost the contact with the lander. Though subsequently the lander was sighted, ISRO is yet to establish contact with the lander. Let us understand that the success in space programs is fraught with great risks, and failures are part and parcel of scientific research. The entire nation stood by ISRO and was overwhelmed by the brilliant efforts made by its scientists behind the mission Chandrayaan 2. It's overwhelming to know that ISRO has garnered high support and wishes across various sections of society including the science community, Bollywood, sports community and political leadership. Now they are waiting with bated breath to reestablish communication with the lander. If it happens it will be certainly a proud moment for the nation as a whole. The efforts of the scientists were not a setback but steppingstones to success. Here Let us appreciate our PM, who hugged and consoled, when Dr.Shivan started weeping, which appeared on front pages of all newspapers, and TVs, which lifted ISRO’s spirits and converted a scientific setback into a national celebration of space power. A marginal failure was hailed as a massive victory. Soon after PM concluded his remark with “Bharat Mata ki Jai” not only India but the entire world hailed ISRO’s mojo and not its partial failure. Modi’s hug went viral and was seen by over 100 million people world over. Never before have digital media outfits smiled, virtually communication networks choked with pictures, texts, and memes. PM’s gesture towards ISRO Chief over the failure demonstrates leadership and spirit of fairness. Here my personal feeling is, that such emotional outbursts should be avoided in public domain and instead the team should put up a brave face to the entire world and accept the failure in the right spirit of the game.

However, hope and despair of a nation were vividly depicted in those moments when a journey of the scientific pride went awry in the last lap. Having accomplished so much ISRO could be undertaking necessary corrections to launch the mission once again, as the whole country has faith in its capabilities.

Ram Jethmalani-one of the foremost and most controversial criminal law doyens of the legal fraternity -passed away at the age of 95 at his official residence in New Delhi. I understand he stopped appearing in courts regularly, but he continued to be active as a lawmaker and also an active participant in Rajya Sabha. Born in Sindh province of Karachi Pakistan, kicked off his career for about 70 years ago, having obtained Law Degree at the age of 17 years, I believe. Being a refugee from Pakistan, after 1948 partition, he moved to Bombay and started his practice.
He would rise to the fame 11 years later as one of the prosecutors in KM Nanavati vs State of Maharashtra in which the Naval commander was tried for the murder of his wife’s lover. It was a very sensational case in those days. Normally he was appearing for the accused in high profile cases, including the assassination case of Indira Gandhi former PM, Rajiv Gandhi, Asaram Bapu, sexual assault case, Jessica Lal murder case, Arvind Kejriwal Vs Arun Jaitely defamation case, Sohrabuddin Sh ah encounter case, and Jayalalitha ‘s disproportionate assets case, etc.
His political career was as interesting as his law career--he reached parliament from Janata Party, BJP, RJD, served under Vajpayee, and later contested against him, was expelled from BJP, and sued the party for that and at the age 64 in 1987, he announced his candidacy for the post of President of India. Jethmalani defended Amit Shah when he was facing probe in Sohrabuddin encounter of Gujarat in which he was discharged. While critics described him as “maverick”, rebel, and bold person, they were all unanimous that he was one of the best legal brains in the country.
Mr. KK Venugopal, AG recalled that “his boldness set him apart as the finest lawyers that the country has had and his passing away is also a loss to the parliament and the country as a whole”
Our heartfelt condolences to the departed soul. 

Politics apart, it was agonising to read the news that PC was sent Tihar Jail and I know many people would enjoy the vicarious pleasure, on hearing this. One wonders whether BJP empowered by the massive mandate it has looks to be, to hound political opponents. Now the arrest of DK Shivkumara by ED, on the heels of the arrest of Chidambaram, doesn’t behoove a country where the rule of law is meant to be respected. Of course, I agree this is not a plea to ignore the allegations of wrong doing by influential persons but it’s a lament that laws applied towards these cases show of partisan political considerations. Neither Shivkumara nor Chidambaram would run away from the law, at the most they would have ceased their passports, or they could be kept with courts. Now it has become quite clear that the government is not averse to misusing the agencies to take revenge on political opponents and the charge that they are tools in the hands of government to go after political adversaries is not without any substance. On the other hand, the cases against members of ruling or supporters, are never pursued with the same vigour.
If targeting Shivkumara is to weaken the Congress in Karnataka, it’s most unfortunate. It is interesting that BS Yediyurappa who was arrested in land grabbing case in 2011, is the current CM of the state. For a layman like me, politics is indeed confusing dramas of power and vendetta.
It has been reported that a very senior man from the BJP is reported to have told that though the party is a formidable force, in Karnataka, there are some unfinished tasks for it to sustain power. What he had in his sight was the vast Vokkaliga dominated old Mysore region where Shivkumar held the sway. The message was more than clear that Shivkumara should either be in its fold or be demonised politically. The top BJP leaders did try to get Shivkumara into its fold knowing his ability to maneuver his party out of any difficult situation, but he must be having his own ideas, or goals. When BJP realised that getting him into the party was next to impossible, they resorted to the only possible tactic-target his financial deals and soon the ED was on his tail ensuring his arrest. Experience suggests that it’s very difficult to reform the police and wean it from its brutal ways and its standard operating procedures of seeking to please their political bosses. But it would be too early to predict what the future holds for Shivkumara -- will he rise to shatter BJP’s hopes or crumble before the might of saffron machinery?
While government goes after the opponents with vengeance, nothing is heard of  Madhya Pradesh’s infamous  Vyapam scandal under earlier BJP run government. Suspicions needing investigations against some of BJP’s most powerful names also seem to have been conveniently buried. The law must take its course and not the one paved by political machetes.

I'm surprised to read that India ranks third, after the US and China, in having the highest number of overweight people. It is mentioned that 41 million people are obese. We all are now aware that this obesity is the main cause for many health problems of an individual, but if you differentiate between overweight and obesity, which is usually done by Body mass index ratio. Obese people normally have very less physical activity while their intake is excess. Diseases like Diabetes, Hypertension, are the main serious problems obese people face. It is reported that the studies have proved that the smartphone technology has led to a sedentary lifestyle, as the mobility of an individual gets drastically reduced because a lot of time is spent on it while confining to chair or bed. Like TV addicts, the users of the smartphone may get relaxed with alcohol, sweets, and snacks. It was further reported that the number of hours spent on smartphones will be detrimental. More than five hours of continuous use for six months cause unwanted changes I believe. As I could notice, the dangers of smartphones are no less than the perils of Television as Smartphone are portable, have a lot of comfort, range, information and entertainment, it’s more injurious. Every innovation has its attendant risks. Let's be very careful in using smartphones.

It has been reported that the Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University has taken a malodorous decision and Great, eminent historian,87 years, professor Emeritus Romila Thapar was asked to submit her CV to see if she could continue as professor Emerita at the history faculty where she is revered as a teacher, scholar of amazing intellectual prowess. Several other distinguished academicians like Molecular biologist Asis Datta and theoretical physicist R.Rajaraman, etc have been asked to submit their CVS so that the committee could evaluate their works and decide whether they could continue. They have been appointed for a lifetime, and reviewing is not only preposterous but also suspicious. These professors are scholars of international stature and they are reputed public intellectuals-an endangered species in India. It is not clear what JNU is hoping to achieve? Is it possible that JNU would strip them off? Such an action would bring JNU disrepute among academics the world over. In Romila Thapar’s case, it must be a political vendetta as she is an acerbic critic of present government ‘s stand on history, which it wants it to be rewritten.
 It’s the mindset that is to be blamed for such pinpricks, and for example, an FIR was filed against a TV journalist who taped visuals of a substandard mid-day meal of rotis and salt served in a school in UP. Is this not a clear case of shooting the messenger when the government ‘s response should have been to get to the root, to fix it? Vindictiveness will only boomerang.
It’s also reported that some of the 11 professors including Thapar have already complied with the request to send their CVs. It looks like JNU’s letter created a storm as they were seen as part of ruling dispensation to purge the institution for the reasons best known. But it’s again against what our PM said the other day. He said, people, can have different shades of views and do not need to agree on everything. In a zeal to clean up academia of left-liberal scholars, what perhaps is lost sight of the nurturing of ideas of various streams, that our PM spoke so eloquently about.

Recently central government brought an amendment to the traffic rules and is going to levy heavy penalties, for the lapses. KCR being a clever CM, he is not going to implement this immediately, as he must have understood the pulse of people. I agree, penalties for misconducts are good as heavy penalties will certainly act as a deterrent, but Govt’s have to be reasonable, and responsible. On the one hand, they don’t develop infrastructure, like good roads, alternate modes of transportation, and mobility, they won’t regulate heavy traffic congestion’s, etc, but they want to levy heavy fines, how far is it reasonable, it’s for the people to take a judicious view.

Hyderabad as such, with the onset of monsoon, the condition of roads have worsened and they are worsening further with each passing day. Many tall promises were made like they will turn Hyderabad into Dallas, and Warangal to London, etc. But now it reflects the country poorly. Seven decades after Independence with so much technology in place, we are struggling with the quality of our roads. We have made a lot of advancements in technology and progress in all walks of life. Ironically, these are the days we are trying to go to the moon and mars. It is a fact that most of the segments of our population are beneficiaries of government largesse irrespective of the party in power? It is our misfortune that majorly our roads seem to be untouched with any advancement in technology. While middle-class tax-payers are not enjoying the government largesse or any welfare schemes.

It’s our earnest appeal to our rulers to give us atleast good motorable roads otherwise, it’s just futile to have great cars and other infrastructure if we have the roads with filth and big potholes. Good roads would benefit all irrespective of social, and economic status, caste, religion and in the process votes also get increased. It is suggested that the government should form a body of senior citizens, journalists, engineering people to monitor the quality of roads which will only have big potholes, immediately after it rains. In Hyderabad, for  GHMC, managing roads is more difficult rocket science or so it appears like it.