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Opportunity in Adversity: Hemali Kabthiyal

By
Hemali Kabthiyal
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Dateline New Delhi: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Every challenge, every adversity, contains within it the seeds of opportunity and growth.

The COVID-19 situation that most of the countries of the world and we as a nation are combating, presents a serious challenge. All of us are going through something we have never experienced before. However, it is important to accept the adverse situation and the challenges it offers, tackling these with utmost resilience. It is true that, it’s not what happens to us but how we respond to what happens that makes all the difference in the end. Therefore, it’s really important to make the most of this time, finding opportunities in this adversity the world faces.

All of you must have heard of the proverb, “time and tide wait for none“. Time is indeed precious and we must use the limited time allotted to us wisely and judiciously, without any procrastination. All great men and women, who shaped the course of history and have inspired generations with their deeds and accomplishments, all realised the value of time.

Mr. Dhiru Bhai Ambani, born in a middle class family and worked as a gas station attendant in Yemen in his early days, returned to India in 1958 with Rs 50,000 and set up a textile trading company, which is now one of the largest business houses in India. The legendary actor Charles Chaplin was born in a poor family and spent most of his childhood in orphanages where he was beaten up and often went hungry without food. He worked really hard despite all the adversities to become an iconic figure. His career spanned more than 75 years from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977.

Some of you may be aware about the deadly pandemic, the ‘Spanish Flu’, which swept the globe in 1918 infecting 500 million people across the globe. The flu took a heavy toll, wiping out entire families and leaving countless widows and orphans in its wake, with over 50 million lives lost.

Akin to the situation today, in 1918 too hospitals were so overloaded with flu patients that schools, private homes and other buildings had to be converted as makeshift hospitals. People were ordered to wear masks, shut down public places, including schools, religious places and theatres. Social norms of not shaking hands and staying indoors, were enforced. While the masses struggled to survive, few great men sought opportunity in adversity and laid strong foundations for future glory.

President Woodrow Wilson contracted the flu in early 1919 while negotiating the treaty of Versailles and survived. Walt Disney contracted the flu as well, endured and then bounced back to give us the famous and timeless cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was in Europe for two months before contracting the flu on the boat home. Roosevelt convalesced at his mother’s New York home until he was well enough to head back to Washington and rest, as they say is history.

All these men and women and many others in history rebounded from these and other equally challenging times, growing stronger and more resilient, while continuing to progress relentlessly towards their goals. Their mental strength enabled them to effectively deal with challenges, pressure and stressors, prospering in the face of adversity. It is fascinating how mentally strong people set themselves apart from the crowd.

Where others see impenetrable barriers, they see challenges to overcome.

Thomas Edison, whose factory burned to the ground in 1914 causing $23 million damage, responded simply saying, “Thank God all our mistakes were burned up. Now we can start fresh again”. Closer home, Deepa Malik, an Army wife was diagnosed with a spinal tumour and after three gruelling surgeries was paralysed waist below in 1999. Deepa didn’t quit, but embraced life with determination and positivity. Her life is a shining example of achievements in adversity, from opening a restaurant to becoming the first Indian woman to win a silver medal in Shot Put in 2016 Paralympic Games. Honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2012 and conferred the prestigious Padmashri award in 2017. Sheer mental strength, hard work and determination with qualities like patience and self belief, enable people like Deepa, to overcome the adversities and obstacles, achieving great feats in their lives. A lot can be learnt from the lives of men and women mentioned here and how they overcame the challenges in their lives.

However it would be unwise to undermine the importance of patience in dealing with adversities. To be patient means, the capacity to accept or tolerate delays, problems or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. We can say that patient people not only enjoy better mental health but are also better friends and neighbours. Patience can be developed by reframing the situation, practising mindfulness and gratitude. Adversities and problems are part and parcel of life. Every challenge and difficulty we confront in life serves to strengthen our will, confidence and ability to conquer future obstacles. Challenges will always be there, but it’s how we overcome these, that makes all the difference.

I would like to end with a quote by Saint Ignatius, which seems very apt in the current times, when the world is battling the challenge of COVID-19 pandemic. “Pray as if God will take care of all, act as if all is up to you.“

Tales the two towns tell: Mussoorie and Nainital

By
Tania Saili
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Dateline Mussoorie: Not so long ago, all it took was a three day long weekend for the twin hill-stations of Mussoorie and Nainital to buzz with life in the month of May.

Today, they wear a deserted look. Images of the hill-stations under lockdown during what was peak season have gone viral on social media.

After lean winter months, when most hoteliers were revving up their hotels and resorts to cater to the lakhs of tourists who flock to the hills towards April end-come May, the Corona Pandemic has left most of them hapless.

Pic courtesy: Parvesh Rana

With over twenty lakh people affected in a State that thrives on tourism has everyone in the business, worried. General Secretary of All India Hotel Association Praveen Sharma shares with us, “until now we are giving money to our employees, but due to the absence of tourists, it will be difficult to sustain salaries and jobs.”

Societies have come to a grinding halt as the economy has nose-dived, impacting all business activities. Stilled too are the waters of the Naini Lake, which in any given weekend would be dotted with colourful boats. The famous Mussoorie Mall looks forlorn without any arrivals.

Sandeep Sahni, President, Uttarakhand Hoteliers Association reminds us, “The last time Uttarakhand witnessed something close to a lockdown was the June 2013 Kedarnath Deluge, but even then the hotel industry had seen two and half months of good business. But this pandemic is something no one was prepared for.”

The famous tibetan market all wrapped up

What makes the crisis of livelihood more scary is the fact of the uncertainty of tomorrow and beyond. Of course we all believe ‘This too shall pass.’ How one wishes we knew when? At this point there seem to be no answers and if you go looking for one, you will find another question glaring straight back at you!

Tackling Covid-19 through hand-hygiene

By
Tania Saili
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0
The first MHWU on display

Dateline Dehradun: A defense scientist in Dehradun, Shabir Ahmed has been keeping himself busy. The scientist, keeping in view the recommendations of the World Health Organization to maintain highest level of hand-hygiene during the Covid-19 pandemic, has developed a state-of-the-art machine, titled: MHWU or Mechanical Hand-wash Unit.

The foot-operated device (one pedal to for liquid soap and the second pedal to pour water) is based on link and pivot mechanism without any electrical or moving part thus making it highly robust.

22×22 inches wide, 36 inches in height, less than 25 kgs in weight and the total making cost less that then thousand rupees, makes the machine affordable, compact, portable and most importantly, a possible lifesaver.

MHWU being presented to the CM of Uttarakhand

Shabir Ahmed adds, “Structure of the MHWU has been analysed using high-end mechanical software tool to carry out analysis of critical components from failure point of view. This ensures the highest level of reliability and quality of the product.”

The initial unit was put together within five days from its concept to its fabrication by a small factory in Dehradun, M/S Doon Engg Works using local components. Shabir adds, “The unit has a wider application and can be used by one and all. The unit can be installed in offices, hospitals, religious and public gatherings.”

The first unit was developed, funded and donated by Shabir Ahmed to the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on the 17th April, 2020, along with its mechanical design, assembly and installation documents that clearly elaborates the technical know-how of the product, in the hope, “that the machine could be replicated and made available at each and every public place at the earliest, and help to fight the Covid-19 Pandemic. ”

But how long it will take for this innovative idea to move from paper work to ground reality awaits to be seen.

Making fabric face masks to earn a living

By
newspost
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Dateline Dehradun: “Our household income had taken a hit owing to the lockdown but this is a great opportunity to generate some income while working from home,” says a happy Kusum Devi, from Jardhar village in Tehri district, one of the many women of over a hundred Self Help Group members from JICA-funded Uttarakhand Forest Resource Management Project who have embarked upon the task of preparing around 2 lakh face masks.

Scattered all over Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Nainital, Pauri, Pithoragarh and Tehri Garhwal, these women have begun preparing face masks using cotton cloth in order to cater to the shortage of home stitched and reusable masks in the light of COVID-19.

The brainchild of Chief Project Director of UFRMP, Shri Anup Malik (IFS), who thought of an initiative like stitching face masks not only being socially significant but also economically and environmentally crucial. He tells us,“Considering the demand for good quality reusable masks in large numbers we decided to support our SHGs members to manufacture face masks that are low cost, reusable, washable and also biodegradable,” adding that the initiative reflected project’s sensitivity towards the society, during Covid 19 lockdown as well. “This activity would engage the SHGs and their members during the lockdown thereby generating additional income for them. It is expected that these women can earn anything between Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 per day working for around 6 to 8 hours a day.”

The cloth used is being provided to the women through their district level Federation. In the days to come, UFRMP expects to manufacture close to 2 lakh masks within a month that will then be marketed within as well as outside Uttarakhand.

UFRMP is being implemented across 750 villages across 13 forest divisions in Uttarakhand. Under this project till date 1,379 Self Help Groups have been formed with 13,914 members. At the cluster level 18 Federations have been constituted.

Mountain massif in Uttarakhand visible from Saharanpur

By
Tania Saili
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0
Pic Courtesy: Nidhi Saini

Dateline Saharanpur: Just when most of us were getting over the breath-taking images of snow-capped Dhauladhaar range from Jalandhar, Punjab, residents of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh were in for a visual feast.

The magnificent Bandarpunch/Bandarpoonch mountain massif, in the Garhwal region that towers at 6,316 meters above sea level was visible in all its glory against the setting sun on the 26th of April after a heavy downpour, from Saharanpur, UP.

A thrilled Nidhi Saini, a teacher with the Uttar Pradesh Government tells us: “Around 5:00-5:30p.m. in the evening, on 26th April after two days of incessant rainfall, there was a brief break in the clouds. For ten minutes one could see the magnificent snow-capped Bandarpunch range in the Garhwal Himalaya from our rooftop. They were visible even to the naked-eye for well over ten minutes.”

These images were taken with Nidhi’s 300mm telephoto lens mounted on a DSLR Nikon camera that has captured these precious moments for all of eternity. Of course since then, the residents of Saharanpur have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the mountain chain at least twice in a row.

The last records of the visibility of ‘these snowy deities to the north’ finds mention in Northam’s Guide to Masuri Landaur, Dehra Dun & the Hills North of Dehra published in 1884: ‘In clear weather on a fine view of the snows’ is visible from Roorkee.”

Exactly 136 years later, the Covid-19 lockdown has had pleasant side-affects. From 150 miles away, the Greater Himalaya towering over twenty thousand feet, are visible, once again, re-writing history for generations to come.

When hailstorm lashed parts of Nagaland

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dateline Nagaland: Feel-good images and write-up of how nature is rebooting itself during the Covid lockdown are to be seen all over the place. But on the other hand, in far off northeast, some ten villages in Nagaland are struggling in the face of Nature’s fury – ‘all tooth and claw.’

In the afternoon of April 21st, for close to half an hour, hailstones – the size of table tennis balls – battered five hundred homes in ten villages in the heart of Nagaland.

Such was the sharpness of this unrelenting hammering that they destroyed agricultural fields and shredded corrugated tin roofs within minutes.

Village Salomi was amongst the worst hit and the gigantic hailstones left behind havoc in its trail. Shelimthong, Yimchunger Tribal Council Executive Chairman, spoke to Newspost about the widespread devastation: “This is the first time in our lifetime that we came across nature’s fury lashing our villages. Over five hundred families have been affected in villages, namely Penkim Salomi, Khongsa Town, Pungro Town, Pungro village and others.”

The only saving grace was that there was no loss of life! Meanwhile, the standing crop of maize and the seasonal cabbage and cauliflower have been entirely wiped out. The tragedy is that these are the only source of income to most of these households.

Hailstone shred everything that comes in their way

Shelimthong and his team have made rounds of the affected area. They have, “Submitted the documents with estimates to the State government in the hope of getting some relief very soon.”

Ever since the disaster, the State administration has swung in action and has been working on a war footing. It is their fervent hope that no stone shall be left unturned, as they try to repair the devastation as soon as they can.

Within three and a half hours of the tragedy, the State administration, led by the Additional Deputy Commissioner of Pungro, Abhinav Shivam, arrived at the site with relief materials like food and tarpaulin to make sure that families donot spend night out in the open and have something to eat, until life comes back to normal.

The quenched forest fires of Uttarakhand

By
Tania Saili
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0

In Uttarakhand, at February end one would witness garlands of forest fire wrapped around the hills at night. Daytime meant billowing clouds of smoke rising high into the sky. A sure-shot sign that our forests had fallen prey to greedy, all consuming flames.

Long spell of dry weather; low-lying land winds, rising mercury and forest fires ignited  by the two-legged creatures made the perfect recipe for disaster.

In the summer of 2016, Uttarakhand saw infernos rage that wiped out everything in its path to ashes, more so in the Kumaon region. And two years down the road, in the summer of 2018, 4,480 hectares of forest cover was hit by 2,150 instances of forest fires.

In 2019, by the first week of April, close to a dozen incidents of forest fire in Garhwal and Kumaon region had decimated 15 hectares of forest cover, which meant a clear inestimable economic loss to the ex-chequer.

But this year there is a different story that must be told: to date ten hectares of green gold has gone up in flames, with financial loss of close to twenty four thousand rupees. “If we talk about previous years, this number would have been close to thousands of acres being destroyed by fire. Weather and the Covid-19 lockdown has given time for the forest to rejuvenate and stay green.” Uttarakhand PCCF Jairaj tells us, adding, “75%-80% credit goes to the weather. We have had rains almost every week. The remaining credit goes to the Covid-19 lockdown as well, as most of the fire instances in the hill-state are unfortunately man-made.”

He reassures us: “Things are well and truly under control. Fire-lines have been put in place and with Weather Gods being kind there is little to worry about.”

Forest fires have always been a growing threat to Uttarakhand’s 3,400 sq km of green forest that comes under a dark cloud every fire season. Covid-19 lockdown has not only given water sources, water-bodies and our four legged friends a new lease of life. Mercifully, our forest cover too has been spared its annual ritual of ‘Death by Fire.’

2020 Chardham Yatra in the time of Covid-19

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun: Uttarakhand’s four world famed shrines – also called Chardham – will have a staggered reopening this year. Traditionally, the annual world-famous Chardham pilgrimage comes to an end around Diwali. Springs brings with it, the dates for the re-opening of the shrines.

This year due to the pandemic, three (Yamnotri, Gangotri and Kedarnath) will fling open their portals in the month of April, but Badrinath – the abode of Vishnu – will reopen on the 15th of May.

Far away in the remote Bhuyndar valley of Garhwal Himalaya is the Sikh pilgrimage site Hemkund and Lokpal Temple. Traditionally, they would open to pilgrims on the 1st of June. However the route is still snowbound and because of the present lockdown, it is still inaccessible. So a new date for the reopening of this pilgrimage destination will now be decided after 3rd of May.

Sprawled across Chamoli and Rudraprayag Districts, three of the Panch-Kedar temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, have the following schedule: Madmaheshwar will open on the 11th of May; Rudranath on 18th of May and Tungnath, the highest of them all will be the last to reopen on the 25th of May.

Despite inclement conditions, the Uttarakhand State administration has left no stone unturned to ensure that facilities and all-weather-road safety norms were in place before pilgrims from home and foreign shores throng to ‘Devbhoomi,’ to partake in what is considered, a pilgrimage of a lifetime.

While Chardham Yatra is one of the major sources of income for a State that thrives on spiritual tourism, this time around, Covid-19 has asked for a course correction, and where that will take us makes for another story. 

Chardham Opening dates:

Yamnotri : 26th April

Gangotri : 26th April

Kedarnath: 29th April

Badrinath : 15th May

Off-the-beaten-track temples:

Madmaheshwar: 11th May

Rudranath: 18th May

Tungnath: 20th May

No takers for free crude

By
Capt. Angad Bakshi
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0
Pic Courtesy: Capt. Angad Bakshi

Difficult to comprehend! Prices of West Texas Crude Oil (WTI) the benchmark for U.S oil falls into negative territory — minus $37.63 a barrel.

Sellers are actually paying buyers to take liquid gold off their hands!

The reason: Covid-19 Pandemic! World economy has come to a juddering halt. American Energy Companies have run out of storage space, both ashore and offshore, hence volumes of unused crude oil is flowing close to the brim.

Crude oil products such as aviation fuel, gasoline and gasoil are not being used by aircrafts that aren’t flying and vehicles that arent plying, world wide.

Traditionally, crude oil is always traded on its FUTURE price. June, 2020 prices for WTI (West Texas Intermediate) plummeted, trading for 20 USD a barrel. Meanwhile, Brent Crude the benchmark used by Europe and rest of the world has already been trading on weaker grounds i.e. around 26 USD a barrel.

Presently the Oil market has coined a new term “contango market.” It simply means, prices in the short-term are way lower than in the coming months. This encourages traders to store oil and sell it in the future at a higher price. Oil is filling up to the brim at a speed that most oil producers did not see coming. The input is more than the output.

Within a month, storage costs onshore and offshore have skyrocketed. Super tankers (Very large Crude Carriers) are being hired at a whopping cost of around 10,00,00 USD a day for a years time charter, 15,00,00 a day for 6 months charter and approximately 20,00,00 USD a day for a single voyage charter.

Earlier this month Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC members agreed to sign a historic record deal to reduce global output by approximately 10%. The deal was the largest cut in Oil production ever, but experts wonder if that is enough to make a difference.

So what does this translate for Indian consumers? In June 2018, to benefit from the fluctuating International crude and product prices, state-run fuel retailers had already switched to daily price revision, from a fortnightly pricing system.

More so, petrol and diesel prices in India are not linked to that of crude oil per se, but to that of fuel prices in global markets. Besides, with high tax component, consumers may not get the desired relief that they are wishing for.

At the end of the day there are no takers, even for free crude.

HH Dalai Lama’s message on International Earth Day

By
newspost
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0

On this 50th anniversary of Earth Day, our planet is facing one of the greatest challenges to the health and well-being of its people. And yet, in the midst of this struggle, we are reminded of the value of compassion and mutual support. The current global pandemic threatens us all, without distinctions of race, culture or gender, and our response must be as one humanity, providing for the most essential needs of all.

Whether we like it or not, we have been born on this earth as part of one great family. Rich or poor, educated or uneducated, belonging to one nation or another, ultimately each of us is just a human being like everyone else. Furthermore, we all have the same right to pursue happiness and avoid suffering. When we recognize that all beings are equal in this respect, we automatically feel empathy and closeness towards others. Out of this comes a genuine sense of universal responsibility: the wish to actively help others overcome their problems.

Our mother earth is teaching us a lesson in universal responsibility. This blue planet is a delightful habitat. Its life is our life; its future, our future. Indeed, the earth acts like a mother to us all; as her children, we are dependent on her. In the face of the global problems we are going through it is important that we must all work together.

I came to appreciate the importance of environmental concern only after escaping from Tibet in 1959, where we always considered the environment to be pure. Whenever we saw a stream of water, for instance, there was no worry about whether it was safe to drink. Sadly, the mere availability of clean drinking water is a major problem throughout the world today.

We must ensure that the sick and the valiant health-care providers throughout the world have access to the fundamental necessities of clean water and proper sanitation to prevent the uncontrolled spread of disease. Hygiene is one of the bases of effective health care.

Sustainable access to properly equipped and staffed health-care facilities will help us meet the challenges of the current pandemic that ravages our planet. It will also offer one of the strongest defenses against future public health crises. I understand that these are precisely the objectives set forth in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that address challenges to global health.

As we face this crisis together, it is imperative that we act in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation in order to provide for the pressing needs, particularly of our less fortunate brothers and sisters around the world. I hope and pray that in the days ahead, each of us will do all we can to create a happier and healthier world.

Dalai Lama
22 April 2020

(Message requested by Global Water 2020/Shared with Newspost by Tsering Luding, Vice President of Doon Buddhist Committee, Dehradun)

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