Dear Pranjal,

As per the discussion we had over the phone I am sending herewith the details of our student:
One of our extremely talented students Master Anshuman Dubey of Class IX, who is also a prolific poet , equally at ease with English and Hindi , is in a critical condition, suffering from a rare disease CIDP (Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polymyopathy),a kind of degeneration of the muscles .

His father Mr. Ashutosh Dubey has made a fervent appeal to the staff , students et al for some financial aid. So , may I, on his behalf, earnestly implore your help for this noble cause. You may donate any amount and help your ailing Paulian brother . The mode of remittance may be by cheque , draft or cash as per your convenience.

You may forward this to all your batchmates.

With love and best wishes,
Amitava Saraswati

It was a day of erconnection of sorts with people from the good old past

Spoke to Pranjal, in a while since I came back on 2nd.
Then Called up Naresh D to thank him for sending a boy to help pappa.
Hope this boy is a sincere and good helper.
I am always scared reading all those news items of such people...
I just hope the lords will be keeping them safe from all harm and he will prove to be a good help..
then Naresh told me about Navin being in town...
it was a wonderful reunion.. talking like the old school boys
incidentally, Navin took time out to come meet me at 11pm... did'nt expect this of him but maybe he has found his good bearings through time....

The weather is changing.. and it is signaling very openly to those who are smart enough to understand, that there is more drastic change to come...
it is changing at a pace that for most of the world seemingly unnoticed but for those who have been watching nature so far, it is VERY Evident.

Few examples I can share... point 1 - the flowers which are referred to in Hindi as 'Tesu' which - I am not so sure but - as the link shows, is related to the Flame of the Forest or the Gulmohar flower.
These flowers at least till 2005 didn't bloom by January. They usually bloomed just a few days before Holi which is usually in March.
This year, these flowers are in full bloom, in the last week of Jan. I happened to see these blooms along the NH3 in M.P. on 25th Jan.
Since they are in full bloom then it means they began blooming a few weeks before, that is much into the first week of Jan.

Point 2 - The Indian cuckoo, or the Koel, usually comes out of its hibernation in the beginning of April, if not a week or so earlier.
This year, I heard the cuckoo off and on through the fall season, around Oct-Dec and then again last week.
Way back in the 80s, the arrival of summer and mangoes was signaled by this bird.

So in 2009, is the cuckoo getting the blues of the weather? or is it telling us all something that we might want to hear and take notice immediately?

Is it telling us that the weather is getting warmer as the cuckoo would expect it to be early April... though it is still end of Jan when we are known to have temperatures as low as 6-7 deg through the Day, and not just in the night???

point 3 - Snow in London. No reason for an alarm as London does experience this kind of weather once in a long time, but in th last 3 years, it is the second time.
So does it need to be noticed and thought about?

point 4 - snowstorm in the northeast US and Ice storm in the lower southern US. Normal phenomenon? ask the weather men!!!

bottom line... the signs are here in India, the world and in the arctics where the glaciers are breaking off...
People in India - the man on the street - understands some of it, but does not bother as we are not a 'scientific' society, we do not think logically and we do not think cause and effect though our culture did bring up the whole concept of Vedanta which is basically cause and effect theory...
But we hardly put it to practice and never relate it to things around us...

So we will be panicking when the effect comes up in a drastic form, and all we shall see will be politicians blaming someone and the rest of us blaming the politicians...

We shall hopefully try and rest in peace at least - in large masses...