[Goanet] Goa Diary, November 06, 2022: The Naming of Mopa

[Rajan Parrikar]

10 years ago I had written "The Case Against Mopa." It can be accessed in
the Goanet archives here. I would not change a word were I to write it
today.

http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2012-April/135035.html

Today the monstrous project is a fait accompli. The buzz is now about
naming the atrocity.

Just call it the "Mopa International Airport." The name is unambiguous and
there won't be fights over the personage selected to be worthy of carrying
the airport name. (Note: "Goa International Airport" is confusing since
Dabolim is already an international airport.)

The candidates proposed by Goans lay bare the poverty of mind. Can they not
think of people beyond politicians? How about Kesarbai Kerkar - the
greatest Goan of our time, one who transcends time and (in some sense) also
space? Or choose any other non-political person of significance. Instead
the pea-brains can't conceive of anyone beyond Bandodkar, Parrikar, and De
Sequeira.

PS: If I had my druthers, the biggest casino boat in the Mandovi would be
named after Manohar Parrikar. It is , after all, his "leegussy."


r

[Goanet] Discussion on writing short stories... and the Goa Inquisition (in Saligao on Sunday evening)

[Frederick Noronha]

Sunday, Nov 6, 2022. Your date with Saligão's latest musical initiative,
THE CANTICLE CHORUS. From 5-6 pm. At 6 pm Tino de Sa (published author and
prize-winning short-story writer) offering tips on writing short stories,
and his experiences. At 7 pm, Alan Machado (Prabhu) on his much-watched
book Goa's Inquisition Facts Fiction Factoids. Plus, through the day, from
10 am to 7 pm, a special offering of Broadway's bargain and best books --
Goa, children's, encyclopedias, dictionaries, fiction, and special offers.
Venue: The Saligão Institute (to locate check Google Maps)

[image: Mailtrack]

Sender
notified by
Mailtrack

06/11/22,
02:33:23 am
ᐧ

[Goanet] A Night In Naples - Cover By Burçin

[Roland Francis]

The original is by Pink Martini an American band worth listening.

Burçin is a Turkish street singer and performer who sings in several languages. 
Her Italian is flawless.

A Saturday Soother.

Una Notta di Napoli
https://youtu.be/PcV2g-kW-xo

Roland.
Toronto. 

[Goanet] NAME OUR AIRPORTS AFTER GOA’S IMMORTAL HEROES

[Aires Rodrigues]

It would be very appropriate for the new Airport at Mopa to be named after
Goa’s first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar and the Dabolim Airport after
Goa’s first Leader of the Opposition, Dr Jack Sequeira.

Though Dayanand Bandodkar may have initially been for merging Goa with
Maharashtra, he respected the people’s verdict and later with Dr Jack
Sequeira as the fiery voice of the Opposition, they toiled with a vision
and passion towards the development of Goa. Unlike many of today’s
politicians who are self-centered, they had relentlessly raised and pursued
issues concerning the backward, down-trodden, and neglected communities of
Goa. Renowned for their integrity, honesty and commitment, we may never see
again in this arena of political pygmies.

Dayanand Bandodkar and Dr Jack Sequeira dared to speak from their heart and
always walked  the talk. Only a few of such politicians still remain in our
midst and will also always be remembered for the good they have done for
Goa. About the rest and in particular some of the current politicians in
power who have been steering and navigating Goa down the tube there will be
no worthwhile legacy or obituary to write and no land remaining to even
raise a Samadhi, leave alone a statue.

It is imperative that students today in our schools and colleges be made
aware of the very rich and invaluable contribution to Goa by Dayanand
Bandodkar and Dr Jack Sequeira. They cannot be consigned as our forgotten
heroes. Jack Sequeira and Dayanand Bandodkar must be rolling in their
heavenly abode at the way Goa is being rampantly mis-governed today.

It is distressing to observe and be witness to the continuing rampant
destruction and devastation of Goa. In 2012 the BJP promised a ‘Parivartan’
and ‘Ache Din’, but Goa is sadly, by the day, just getting further corroded
beyond recognition. It should have been the endeavor of those in power to
at least salvage and safeguard what remains of Goa. Unfortunately Goa is
getting defaced at an electrifying speed. Posterity will never forgive the
current rulers for their selfish and avaricious role in this irreparable
damage and destruction of what was once a beautiful Goa, the Paradise of
the East.
Adv. Aires Rodrigues

C/G-2, Shopping Complex

Ribandar Retreat

Ribandar – Goa – 403006

Mobile No: 9822684372

Office Tel  No: (0832) 2444012

Email: airesrodrigu...@gmail.com



You can also reach me on

Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues

Twitter@rodrigues_aires

www.airesrodrigues.in

[Goanet] Schedule for Sunday 6th Nov 2022

[CCR TV]

CCR TV GOA

Channel of God's love


You can also watch CCR TV live on your smartphone via the CCR TV App
Available on Google PlayStore for Android Platform.

Click the link below.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ccr.tv4

Email ID: ccrgoame...@gmail.com


Schedule for Sunday 6th Nov 2022

12:00 AM

Rosary - Glorious Mysteries


12:28 AM

Protestant ani Katolik - Talk by Adv F.E. Noronha


1:00 AM

Mass in Konkani for Saturday


2:32 AM

Saibinnichi Ruzai - Orkache Mister


3:00 AM

Devachem Utor - 2 Itihas - Avesvor 15- Vachpi Orlando D'Souza


3:06 AM

Kolakarachi bhett - Silverio, Nerissa & Victor interviewed by Meena Goes


3:32 AM

Bible Project - What is the Bible?


3:37 AM

Alcoholic Anonymous - What Causes Alcoholism? - Fr Clifford Castelino


3:56 AM

Hymn - Fear not I am wih you- Fr Seville Antao OFM(Cap)


4:00 AM

Fatima Saibinnichie Vinovnnem Devachim Svotontr Fr Edson Fernandes


4:16 AM

Hymns - Our Lady of Snow HS Raia


4:20 AM

Mary , Mother of God, our Mother - Joy Joseph


4:34 AM

Bhurgeanlem Angonn - Bhag 5


4:37 AM

Power of Mind - Talk by Sr Saral


4:50 AM

Hymns - Our Lady of Grace HS, Bicholim


4:54 AM

Intercession - Talk by Bertha Rocha


5:04 AM

My Music Video - Bore Khobreche Dut Zaum-ia - Cielda Pereira


5:09 AM

Apdomavnni - Fr Anthony Lopez CSsr


5:36 AM

My Music Video - Mother Earth - Alfwold Silveira


5:41 AM

Hanv povitr dekhum tumi i povitr zaiat - Gaurish Naik


6:11 AM

Ximpientlim Motiam - Bhag 75 - Kelleavalo - Fr Pratap Naik sj


6:16 AM

Maggnem, Upas, Donvonn ani Pirachit - Talk by Cassino D'Costa


6:49 AM

Our Father - Mundari


6:55 AM

Sokalchem Magnnem - Aitar Wk 2 & 4


7:00 AM

Praise and Worship - Neville Pinho


7:22 AM

Morning Prayer - Sunday Wk 2 & 4


7:25 AM

Phishing in Troubled Waters - Cybercrime - Episode 1


8:00 AM

Advertisements


8:05 AM

Devachem Utor - 2 Itihas - Avesvor 16- Vachpi Orlando D'Souza


8:11 AM

The Eucharist - Fr Fernando da Costa


9:15 AM

Falling in Love - Love versus Lust - Hosted by Judie D'Cunha


9:46 AM

Our Father - Sadri


9:50 AM

Life of Man - Talk by Adv. F.E. Noronha


10:19 AM

Indian Dance - Tu Parmananda Sarvasvarupa


10:28 AM

Devachim Vakhann'nni - Cassino D'Costa


10:57 AM

Song - Laudato Si - Fr Ryan Alex


11:03 AM

Hymn - St Xavier's H.S. Moira


11:08 AM

Pastoral Letter - Participation in the Church - Gail Misquita


11:13 AM

11:19 AM

Intercessions - English


11:26 AM

Angelus - English


11:30 AM

Mass in English followed by Daily Flash


12:20 AM

You too can be a Saint - Mother Teresa


12:30 PM

Tithing - Talk by Alfwold Silveira


12:57 PM

Kolakarachi bhett - Silverio, Nerissa & Victor interviewed by Meena Goes


1:24 PM

Kuznantlim Zogddim Eps 7 - Bhenneachi Bhaji - Meena Goes and Julius Mesquita


1:56 PM

Youthopia - Ivo Gonsalves interviewed by Sammy Coelho


2:23 PM

Mando on Aldona - Nelson and Daneca Da Cruz


2:27 PM

Jesus Name above all names - Colin Calmiano


2:57 PM

Kaltikai - Talk by Orlando D'Souza


3:25 PM

Music - Quando, quando - Jazz Goa


3:30 PM

Deivik Kaklutichi Magnneam


3:40 PM

Montfort Brothers of St Gabriel - Vocation Promotion


3:50 PM

Hymn - Deva Mhojea Deva - Fr Ronaldo Fernandes


3:56 PM

Bhurgem-Ball Nasloleancher Bhagevont Zuze Vazache Mozotin Magnnem


4:00 PM

Rosary - Glorious Mysteries


4:28 PM

Prayer over Children - St Jospeh Vaz


4:30 PM

Senior Citizens Exercises - 7


4:53 PM

Bhurgeanlem Angonn - Bhag 14


5:00 PM

Creative Strokes - Wilfred Goes


5:24 PM

Prayer for the Synod 2023


5:26 PM

The Earth - Our Home - Dolphins


5:56 PM

Aimorechen Magnnem


6:00 PM

Mass in Konkani followed by Jivitacho Prokas


7:00 PM

Talk on Christian Witnessing - Glenn Nunes


7:27 PM

Magnificat (Konkani)


7:30 PM

Saibinnichi Ruzai - Orkache Mister


7:56 PM

Hymn - Zoi Pritimog Vosta - Fr Seville Antao OFM(Cap)


8:00 PM

The Holy Eucharist - Talk By Msgr. Alex Rebello


8:36 PM

Ximpientlim Motiam -Bhag 218 - Vegllem Chintop - Fr Pratap Naik sj


8:45 PM

Tell Me a Story - Eps 87 - Saul disobeys God's law


8:54 PM

Devachem Utor - 2 Itihas - Avesvor 17- Vachpi Orlando D'Souza


9:00 PM

Advertisements


9:05 PM

Mass in Marathi


10:05 PM

Holy Hour - Cruz Milagres Retreat House


10:35 PM

Ratchem Magnem


10:52 PM

Global Goan - A 'Voice - Eps 3


11:53 PM

Song - You Raise Me Up - Darin Fernandes


Donations may be made to:

Beneficiary name : CCR GOA MEDIA.

Name of Bank : ICICI Bank

Branch Name: Panaji Branch

RTGS/NEFT Code : ICIC015

Savings Bank Account No : 262401000183

[Goanet] The Eddie Ray/Dsa phenomenon

[eric pinto]

I am curious about the link, if one exists. Will he elaborate.Anyone here 
familiar with him, encounter el hombre del sombre.

Re: [Goanet] Three Goanets

[Frederick Noronha]

In Africa?
Btw, for now I am more intrigued why his "fans" seem to be creating all
those fake quotes in Mugabe's name. Any inputs are welcome, as was :
https://thisisafrica.me/politics-and-society/why-are-africans-making-up-fake-robert-mugabe-quotes/


> [Goanet] Three Goanets*Mervyn Lobo* mervynalobo at yahoo.ca
> 
> *Fri Nov 4 20:25:09 PDT 2022*
>
>
>- Previous message (by thread): [Goanet] Three Goanets
>
> 
>- Next message (by thread): [Goanet] Clean and Shining Goa.
>
> 
>- *Messages sorted by:* [ date ]
>
> 
> [ thread ]
>
> 
> [ subject ]
>
> 
> [ author ]
>
> 
>
> --
>
> FN,Just in case you are unaware, in Africa, Mugabe is considered the text 
> book case of someone who overextended his welcome.
> “In February 2017, right after his 93rd birthday, Mugabe stated he would not 
> retire nor pick a successor, even though he said he would let his party 
> choose a successor if it saw fit.”
> When six boiled eggs cost a trillion dollars, it is not hard to figure out 
> that the most incompetent person - is in charge.
> Some people believe that they are a gift from god. Others believe that no one 
> can do a better job than them. Some people want a dozen Goanets with none of 
> them functioning properly.
> Mervyn
>
>
[image: Mailtrack]

Sender
notified by
Mailtrack

05/11/22,
08:50:58 pm
ᐧ

Re: [Goanet] Three Goanets

[Mervyn Lobo]

FN,Just in case you are unaware, in Africa, Mugabe is considered the text book 
case of someone who overextended his welcome. 
“In February 2017, right after his 93rd birthday, Mugabe stated he would not 
retire nor pick a successor, even though he said he would let his party choose 
a successor if it saw fit.” 
When six boiled eggs cost a trillion dollars, it is not hard to figure out that 
the most incompetent person - is in charge. 
Some people believe that they are a gift from god. Others believe that no one 
can do a better job than them. Some people want a dozen Goanets with none of 
them functioning properly. 
Mervyn
 



On Friday, November 4, 2022, 7:22 AM, Frederick Noronha 
 wrote:

There's a difference, young man! He beheaded his wives. On Goanet, all
involved have taken pains to preserve the cyber initiatives and acknowledge
the same (even when they didn't figure on your list!)
Also, he allegedly did all that for a male heir. We (some of us, not all
fortunately) lost our male hair in the process of keeping Goanet going.
Apart from a little Mugabeism, which you have noted elsewhere! ᐧ

[Goanet] GLIMPSES OF CHURCH HISTORY: period 1000-1100 CE (Part 2)

[Eddie D'Sa]

Are all Popes saints?
Pope Gregory VII believed that, as a successor of St Peter's, he had 
absolute power and he drew up a list of 27 Declarations of papal powers 
and privileges.

Among them:
- No one on earth can judge the Pope
- The Church has never erred and never will, until the end of time
- The Pope can depose bishops, emperors and kings
- All princes must kiss his feet
- a rightly elected Pope is a saint.

Forgers at work
Most of the Declarations were based on forged documents in the Roman 
archives. Gregory is said to have engaged a whole school of forgers to 
touch up ancient texts,
distorting or reversing their meaning as the occasion demanded. The best 
known forgeries were the 9th century of 115 documents, supposedly 
written by early Bishops.
Armed with this authority, Pope Gregory set about destabilising 
Kingdoms. The Greek emperor and Polish King were deposed. The Holy Roman 
Emperor Henry IV was ordered to stop interfering with Church 
appointments. Henry was furious and nullified Gregory's election. 
Gregory countered by excommunicating the emperor.


Oddly, Henry' mother backed the Pope. Princes began withdrawing their 
allegiance and Henry realised he had to make peace with the Pope. Making 
his way through snowdrifts, Henry's party reached Countess Mathilda's 
fortress. Henry was ordered to hand over his crown and royal regalia and 
publicly confess his unworthiness as emperor. He was left knee deep in 
snow, teeth chattering, begging for mercy. Only when Mathilda pleaded 
for Henry's life did the Pope relent. Henry had to swear to abide by the 
people's will and do penance.
On his return home, Henry appointed aother pope, Clement III. In 1085, 
Henry marched into Rome, forcing Pope Gregory to flee to Naples.


The next Pope, Victor III, was kept out of Rome by anti-Pope Clement 
III. So was his successor for the first six years of his reign. In 638 
Muslims had taken over the region but allowed pilgrims' visits. Then in 
1071, the Turks took control and reversed the policy. Pope Urban II 
called upon Christian Europe to wage a Holy War and recapture the Holy 
Land. He asked in a famous sermon in 1095: "We do not even share the 
inhabited earth equally with the Muslims. They have made Asia their 
homeland..."
500 years before, Mohamed had promised paradise to those slain in 
battle. Urban now promised forgiveness of sins to all those who joined 
to free the Holy Land. In 1099, a band of knights stormed into Asia 
Minor, massacring Muslims and Jews. They captured Jerusalem and set up a 
Latin kingdom there. More crusades were to follow.


---
Eddie Ray

-- Original Message --
From: "The Catholic Thing" 
To: gdig...@btinternet.com
Sent: Saturday, 5 Nov, 22 At 10:00
Subject: The Problem with “Recreational” Sex
  Anthony Esolen: Two young people passionately in love 
yield to their desires, though they are not married.  What they are 
doing is wrong by... 


 The Problem with
 “Recreational” Sex

 Anthony Esolen: Two young people passionately in love yield to their 
desires, though they are not married.  What they are doing is wrong by 
attendant circumstances, not wrong per se: were they married, it would 
be a good and glorious thing.


 I am grateful to the Catholic faith that has led me, often despite my 
hesitation, deeper into reality, when so much about us is aimed at our 
abstraction, our losing what slender grip we have on real things and not 
ideas about things, or worse, words passing for ideas about things.


   Recently, I was lectured by a woman defending the right to 
have an abortion, because, she said, “some people like to have 
recreational sex,” and they should not have to worry about pregnancy and 
childbirth in case the synthetic hormones fail, as they often do.


   I thought about that phrase, “recreational sex,” and how 
weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable it is, this pretense that a man and 
woman can unite in that unique act, and have it mean no more than if 
they were strips of Velcro stuck together for an afternoon.


   Their bodies are more honest.  They prepare themselves in 
countless ways we are still discovering, to beget and to bear the child 
that may be the fruit of that union.  But in the abstracted minds of the 
players, there is no child, there shall be no child, there is nothing 
but “recreation.”


   And that is an attempt to strain the act so thin, there is 
hardly any blood left in it, any real humanity. It’s nonsense.  In fact, 
many a thing ceases to be what it is as soon as you say it is merely 
recreational.


 Click here to read the rest of Professor Esolen’s column . . . 



 Image: La Surprise by Jean-Antoine Watteau, about 

[Goanet] Uganda Goans..

[Gabe Menezes]

https://www.thegoan.net/global-goenkar/expulsion-from-uganda-50-years-ago-trauma-and-uncertainty-among-goans-in-uganda/90994.html

[Goanet] Poor Biden

[Eddie D'Sa]

Dear US Vice-President Kamala,
You are a good lady, ever good humored.
But why on earth can't your party afford $3? That hard up?
To me, the US parties are all the same - all they want is to be the 
ruling party and wield power.


Please persuade that old dodderer Biden to quit and retire to Ireland or 
Iceland before he makes a terminal fool of himself.

In any case the giant Corporations take all the big decisions. Poor
Biden can only wander about helplessly, leaving his wife Jill to guide 
him to safety.


And good luck to you.

Eddie Ray




-- Original Message --
From: "Vice President Kamala Harris" 
To: gdig...@btinternet.com
Sent: Friday, 4 Nov, 22 At 14:41
Subject: Asking you personally

Can I count on you to join me in defending our House Majority and 
electing House Democrats all across the country?





 It’s Vice President Harris.

 In 2020, grassroots Democrats like you helped make 
history.


 Thanks to you, not only did we defeat a dangerous 
President, defend our House Majority, and flip control of the Senate.


 We also came one step closer to shattering that highest, 
hardest glass ceiling by electing the first woman of color to be Vice 
President of the United States.


 I am mindful of that each and every day I go to work in 
the White House.


 But now we’re faced with another history-defining moment.

 In just four days, Americans will be asked to choose 
between democracy and demagoguery. Between hope and hate. Between 
Democrats’ vision for a brighter tomorrow, and Republicans’ plans to 
turn back the clock. 



 At this pivotal moment, I’m asking you personally: Which 
choice will you make? Which future will you fight for?


 I know where I stand. Today, and every day until we close 
the books on this historic election, I will be working harder than ever 
to defend our democracy.


 Can I count on you to join me and my friends at the DCCC 
in this fight with a $3 gift before midnight tonight? We can’t defend 
our House Majority without you -- and with you on our team, we can make 
history once again >> 

 If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue 
Express, your donation will go through immediately:Chip in $1 
immediately >> 
 
Chip in $35 immediately >> 
 
Chip in $50 immediately >> 
 
Chip in $100 immediately >> 

[Goanet] Karen Anand: Masala Memsahib (O Heraldo, 5/11/2022)

[V M]

https://www.heraldgoa.in/Cafe/Karen-Anand-Masala-Memsahib/196231

Long before Nigella Lawson (who was born in the same year, but began
focusing on food much later), India had its own posh, alluring “domestic
goddess” in Karen Anand, who started writing in *Gentleman* and *The
Independent* while she was still in her 20s. As the Indian economy – and
its urban appetites – opened up to the world, this remarkable pioneer
ventured into everything possible in this arena: over 20 books, television,
restaurant consultancies, gourmet food production, and farmer’s markets. As
described in her delightful new *Masala Memsahib: Recipes and Stories from
My Culinary Adventures in India*, it has been “one helluva rollercoaster
ride.”

Some of the details of Anand’s adventuresome life will be familiar to those
who have followed her career. She was born in Bombay to Goan parents, and
raised in London. Whilst pursuing diploma studies in Paris, like so many
visitors to France before her, she had a culinary awakening, which became
her passion after moving to India when she married the late film producer
Gul Anand. As the newly liberalizing nation became interested in what we
still mostly call “continental food”, here was our picture-perfect
interpreter, guide, champion and cheerleader. What is more, she was (and
remains) super-hard-working and highly reliable, with an unusual
meticulousness about getting things exactly right.

*Masala Memsahib: Recipes and Stories from My Culinary Adventures in India*,
which will be launched at the Goa Heritage Festival on November 17th in
Campal, is unlike anything Anand has done before, with an unusually
intimate tone that is as much memoir as recipe book. It has six chapters:
Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Memorable Meals (which
ranges very widely from Assam to Kashmir to Coorg). There are recipes, but
also lots of food memories, along with acute, lovely pen portraits of
people who have been important to the author’s journeys. For Goa, for
example, there’s Chef Urbano Rego of the Taj, Caetano D’Costa (legendary
founder of Florentine in Saligao), Marie Wadia (Anand’s great-aunt), the
formidable grande dame Maria de Lourdes Figueiredo de Albuquerque, gourmet
*chorizkars* Dominic and Rosalina Fernandes, Corinne Miranda (whose son
Pablo is now one of the hottest chefs in the country), Celia and Ruben
Vasco da Gama of the brilliant Palacio do Deao in Quepem, and Naomi and
Lenny Menezes (who happen to be my parents).

Via email, I asked Anand about her fascinating life in food, starting with
the question of how this Bombay-born Goan wound up in London at the age of
6. She told me that “we were actually on our way to Canada and stopped in
London for a few months. My father’s brother and mother were already there,
and a few months stretched into forever. I think my father felt it would be
a new beginning. Like many Goans and Anglo Indians, he felt that
independent India wasn’t as hospitable as expected, and they felt
marginalized in many ways. They didn't speak Hindi very well and my
father's next post (he was working for Caltex) would have been a big
promotion to Delhi, which he wasn't looking forward to. One of the key
factors that prompted the move I think was our education. He was well
qualified and found a job quite easily. My mother on the other hand, took a
long time to adjust...to the weather, to cooking, to doing housework.”

Anand has often written that meals were not particularly inspiring at home,
partly because her mother was compelled to make it (and, it should be
noted, the food in England was generally godawful until large-scale
migration changed the scenario). It was in Paris that she first became
inspired, and started to understand what she loved: “I was totally immersed
in French lifestyle, living with a French family on the left bank, went to
the Sorbonne, spoke French like a native, ate French food, learned to cook
French food (from the nanny in the family who was from Lyon, the heart of
French gastronomy). I was like a sponge at 18 and absorbed everything. I
thought I would live in Paris forever. My world started and ended in Paris.”

So far, so good, in the familiar diasporic story, but Anand became that
rare outlier who looked back to India. She says “I didn't plan anything!
There was nobody doing European food in the 80's in India. Even luxury
hotels struggled with contemporary international cuisines, and the poor
chefs had no exposure to the rest of the world. Those were the days with no
international credit cards, and $500 allowance to travel abroad, and I had
come fresh off the boat - so to speak - from London and Paris, full of
ideas and raring to go. I had studied Political Science and French, and
there was nothing much I could do with that in Mumbai. I had worked briefly
in media with the Cookery Editor at *ELLE* and really enjoyed that. I was
young, nice looking, had a funny accent and went to the right parties in
Bombay [so] doors opened, and med

[Goanet] {Dilip's essays} Bharat Jodo: On the Walk

[Dilip D'Souza]

Nov 4

The new issue of Frontline carries my "impressionistic" (their brief!)
essay on walking with the Bharat Jodo Yatra last month. (You may remember
that I already circulated two articles I wrote about the experience.)

Bharat Jodo Yatra: On the walk,
https://frontline.thehindu.com/politics/congress-in-focus-bharat-jodo-yatra-on-the-walk/article66068686.ece

It may be behind a paywall, so the text is below.

Any thoughts welcome. And I do want to try and join the Yatra again, so if
you're thinking about it too, maybe we can join forces.

yours,
dilip

---

Bharat Jodo Yatra: On the walk,


A sceptical friend asked: "Bharat jodne ka kya plan hai Congress ke paas?"
(What plan does the Congress have to repair India?)

Not a bad question to ask after I was with the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra
for a couple of days. Because it got me musing, reflecting, reminiscing.
Before I answer her question, here's a flavour of that.

My first taste of the spirit of the Yatra was even before we joined. Early
on Sunday, we stationed ourselves two km ahead of where the walkers were
starting from that morning. Someone had told us the best place to walk was
just in front of the main body: still among plenty of walkers, but not
engulfed in a flood of them jostling for space. So we waited there for the
procession to arrive. I strolled around, taking photos of nearby posters
and bunting.

Out of the blue, someone on a truck yelled at me: "majige!" When I showed
incomprehension, he said: "Buttermilk!" and thrust a small green packet at
me. He was unloading several sacks filled with them, for the walkers, and
must have decided I needed one.

Nearby stood a coconut stall. Out of the blue again, a police van stopped,
several plainsclothesmen leapt out and asked the stall-owner for coconuts
for each of them. With a large machete, he began slicing one. Suddenly
perturbed, the cops grabbed the knife and examined it closely: what if the
vendor had nefarious intent? But persuaded somehow that he wouldn't use the
machete to leap into the yatra and start hacking at humans, they handed it
back and he continued with the coconuts.

Things got more serious quickly. We were engulfed in a tide anyway,
jostling for space on the road. Those pictures of Rahul Gandhi, walking
briskly with hardly anyone or anything ahead of him? That's achieved by a
police cordon around him and stretching for a good 50m in front - an actual
long rope carried by dozens of cops. They walk on the edge of the tarred
surface. To keep the cordon intact, they summarily push nobodies like me
out of the way. So I fell in among plenty more like me, and then further
behind because I had no stomach for jostling.

Yet here's the thing. Not one person I met complained about the jostling.
Nor about the hours of walking, not strolling. Nothing.

Take Chandy from Kerala. He's one of the 150+ yatris, men and women who
will do the whole journey from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. The first time I met
him, he and two women walking with him did a jig right there on the road,
laughing in delight. Then I kept bumping into him - sometimes he caught up
with me, sometimes I caught up with him, once or twice we walked
side-by-side for a spell. If he didn't do the jig again, he was in the same
good spirits every time. But get this: he was barefoot. Though "is" might
be the better word. He plans to do the whole trek - several thousand km -
barefoot. So while I'm no longer at the yatra, I'm confident he's trekking
along on his bare feet.

"How's the walking this morning?" I asked him on Monday, when I came up
from behind and he was hobbling slightly. It had rained overnight, and
Chandy said: "All fine, except the rain has woken up all the grains of
granite. So instead of lying down sensibly, they are poking upwards into my
feet." And on he hobbled. I walked ahead to catch up with a companion. An
hour later, Chandy overtook us.

Take Vanitha from Bangalore. She came alongside once when I was just ahead
of the cordon, walking behind the press truck. In an almost booming tone,
she demanded to know: "So what brings you here?" Given her apparent
sternness, I replied almost meekly, but soon realized it was just her way
of speaking. In the same booming tone, she told me she had worked as a
gynaecologist for many years, but then gave it up and joined politics.
Specifically, the Congress. Then when this Yatra was announced, she knew:
"I had to join. I had to walk. This country needs this now." I wanted her
to flesh that thought out, but was preempted by another booming demand:
"Have you come alone?" I shook my head and pointed to my sister-in-law
Ramani, striding along a few feet away. "She's a doctor too," I said.
Vanitha promptly lost interest in me, moving over to shake hands with
Ramani. "I'm a doctor too," I heard her say, and then they moved steadily
ahead, chatting animatedly about whatever doctors chat about while on a
Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Take Anil from Delhi. A Congress worker, he's been assigned a specif

[Goanet] {Dilip's essays} No left turn please; we’ll save fuel

[Dilip D'Souza]

Nov 4

Must be something about left turns. Some ants choose to take them. Some UPS
trucks, I learned, choose not to take them. What I wouldn't give to see a
line of alternating ants and UPS trucks.

Still, why did UPS institute a policy - as at least some reports I've read
claim they did - that their trucks would avoid left turns?

Well, that's what I tried to explore in my Friday math column for Mint a
week ago (Oct 28). Tell me what you think.

No left turn please; we’ll save fuel,
https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/no-left-turn-please-we-ll-save-fuel-11666896686674.html

cheers,
dilip

---

No left turn please, we'll save fuel


As some of you who read this column know well, I like ants. Their antics -
forgive the pun - have given me plenty of material to write about in this
space: how they measure distance and what happens with ants that die, for
example.

And, pertinently, the curious behaviour that a particular species of ant,
Temnothorax albipennis, exhibits while exploring "unknown nest sites." They
turn left (
https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/D6qjJFfObSi09AXSVvZVMN/Leftleaning-ants.html
).

More correctly, when they are scurrying through those unknown sites and are
faced with a choice of which way to turn, they choose left over right most
of the time. Here's one reason for this behaviour, according to ant
researchers. If all ants out on a scouting expedition are inclined to
choose left in an unknown, possibly hostile space, the ones who enter later
"would be more likely to encounter their nest-mates." Friends, that is,
rather than foes.

There was lots to savour in the scientific paper where I first read about
these Temnothorax creatures. And I was positively charmed when I found that
there are other creatures that do something similar. Well, sort of similar.
Well, sort of creatures.

I refer to certain humans. Certain humans in uniform, driving a certain
kind of vehicle. I refer to UPS drivers. I refer to them because UPS has a
policy that while driving those trucks, they should avoid turning left as
far as possible. More correctly, they should avoid turning left across
oncoming traffic. (Of course this applies in countries where they drive on
the right; in the sensible countries where people drive on the left, the
policy advises that UPS drivers should avoid turning right.)

Why would a package delivery service institute such a policy? Won't it
result in longer routes to be driven, more fuel consumed? Well, on the face
of it, yes. But the shortest route may not necessarily use less fuel than
longer ones. That's because turning left can mean waiting for a break in
the flow of oncoming traffic, which wastes fuel. It also increases chances
of an accident.

What happened here is a real-life example of a generalization of a classic
problem that every computer science student learns about: the travelling
salesman problem (TSP). It goes something like this: given a list of cities
a salesman must visit, and given the distance between each pair of cities,
what is the shortest route the salesman can take so that he visits each
city no more than once and returns to where he started?

Solving this is, in CS terms, "NP-hard". That means about what you might
guess: that it is essentially impossible. Sure, you would probably be able
to do it for three or four cities. But increase that number and the time a
computer takes to find a solution increases accordingly, exponentially. Yet
since the TSP has been so intensively studied for so long, there are
various known algorithms to tackle it that can produce pretty good
approximate solutions, even with millions of cities.

No doubt you're wondering why solving the TSP matters, besides wondering
which salesman would visit millions of cities anyway. But like with so many
other themes in mathematics and CS, this one is really an analogy for other
optimization problems. Define what a "city" stands for, and what "distance"
means, and you can apply the same techniques not just to travel, but to DNA
sequencing, or the layout of electronic chips, or much more.

Generalize the TSP to multiple salesmen, and you have the Vehicle Routing
Problem (VRP). Just as you'd expect, solving the VRP is NP-hard as well.
But again, there are mathematical techniques that produce acceptable
results. And what UPS is faced with every day is a VRP. They have a fleet
of vehicles and their drivers, and a number of depots from which a whole
lot of packages must be delivered to expectant customers. How can UPS route
all its vehicles so as to deliver all the packages while minimizing the
total cost?

Of course, that "cost" can mean fuel used, or time spent, or distance
travelled, or the number of drivers needed, or maybe even wear and tear on
the delivery trucks. All of those are costs of using the fleet to make
deliveries. Which one should UPS minimize? That depends - which one matters
most to UPS?

Their no-left-turn policy suggests that fuel costs matter most. Now that is
possibly counter-i

[Goanet] {Dilip's essays} The ground moves, beneath your feet

[Dilip D'Souza]

Nov 4

A few days ago, a bridge collapsed in Morbi, Gujarat, killing nearly 140
people. As if that wasn't enough of a tragedy, we've learned all kinds of
unsavoury details since - the company that refurbished the bridge was a
clock manufacturer; they reopened the bridge without official approval; the
hospital where plenty of the injured and dead were taken was spruced up
overnight - not because of the victims' arrival, but because the Prime
Minister arrived the next day to visit victims ...

... but how did this tragedy happen at all? There may be clues in how such
bridges behave when people walk across. That's what this column is about.
Please do let me know your thoughts.

The ground moves, beneath your feet,
https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/the-ground-moves-beneath-your-feet-11667494652439.html

cheers,
dilip

PS: Astonishingly, this was not the first great disaster in Morbi. In
August 1979, a dam over the same river this bridge spanned collapsed.
Unofficial estimates of the number of people killed go as high as 25,000.

---

The ground moves, beneath your feet


To start this column, I ask for a moment of silence and reflection. This is
in memory of the 140 people who died in the Morbi bridge collapse, and the
150 who died in the stampede in Seoul.

Done? Thank you.

One afternoon earlier this year, I used a pedestrian bridge to walk across
a wide river. Unlike in Morbi, nothing really happened as I walked. But
after Morbi, I've had occasion to remember the nickname pedestrians gave
that bridge. The Morbi bridge was popularly called "Julto Pul", or
"Swinging Bridge". The one I crossed last March is popularly called "Wobbly
Bridge".

An odd synchronicity in those names, right? The Wobbly Bridge's official
name is the Millennium Bridge, and it spans the River Thames in the heart
of London. It was opened on 10 June 2000. It was closed on 12 June 2000 -
yes, just two days later - and did not reopen for nearly two years, till 22
February 2002. In that time, it underwent significant structural changes.

Why were modifications necessary on a brand new bridge? Let me return to
that.

With suspension bridges, like Julto Pul and Wobbly Bridge, we've known for
a long time of a certain characteristic phenomenon. When a group of
soldiers march over it, the bridge can start swaying. This is because the
soldiers march in step, and this regular thumping of dozens or hundreds of
feet sets the bridge oscillating in synchrony. This can get quickly
dangerous. In 1850, a batallion of soldiers marched onto the Basse-Chaine
bridge in Angers, France. The bridge was already swaying with a
thunderstorm, and with these soldiers crossing, it swayed even more. The
cables holding it up snapped, and over 200 soldiers were killed as it
collapsed.

This is why soldiers on the march are told, when they come to a bridge like
this, to break formation and walk across any way they can. The more
disorganized, the better.

The day the Wobbly Bridge opened, about 90,000 people walked on it. At any
given moment, it carried about 2000. One theory about what happened then
goes like this. While walking, their natural gentle swaying motion caused
the bridge to sway slightly from side-to-side. This caused those on the
bridge, consciously or otherwise, to spontaneously fall in with the rhythm
of the bridge. That is, synchronously with the bridge's movement. This made
the bridge sway even more - the amplitude of its oscillations increased -
which in turn made the pedestrians sway more too ... and as the whole
swaying phenomenon was steadily reinforced, it soon was clear that the
bridge was dangerous.

Luckily, it was closed before a horrific disaster ensued.

In December of 2000, in an effort to understand how the bridge had behaved,
engineers carried out a "diagnostic wobble test". They sent pedestrians
onto the bridge a few at a time, slowly increasing their numbers until
nearly 200. As they walked and as the count rose, the engineers measured
the "wobble amplitude", meaning the distance the bridge sways.
Simultaneously, they also calculated the "order parameter", a measure of
how synchronized the pedestrians were in their walk. This measure goes from
0, meaning completely asynchronous, to 1, meaning in perfect lockstep.

They found something interesting indeed. "For small crowds, walkers are
desynchronized" - and thus the order parameter hovers close to zero. The
swaying of the bridge, too, is minimal. Almost certainly, the people on the
bridge did not notice any swaying. But "at a critical crowd size, the
bridge starts to sway and the crowd starts to synchronize, with each
process pumping the other in a positive feedback loop." That's a result of
each walker "impart[ing] an alternating sideways force to the bridge". In
turn, the movement of the bridge "alter[s] each pedestrian's gait."

That critical size is about 175 people.

The graphs that plot these two measures are eye-opening. At 175 people, the
wobble amplitude and the order parame

[Goanet] [Photo Blog by Rajan Parrikar] A Spin Through Taleigao

[Rajan Parrikar]

Morsels picked up last evening in Taleigao.

I grew up not far from this once-magnificent village. Today the concrete
footprint has overwhelmed the village, trampling all over its open spaces
and fields. With the visual dreck this ‘development’ has spawned,
abstracting elements of its erstwhile beauty presents a challenge.

https://blog.parrikar.com/2022/11/05/a-spin-through-taleigao/


Rajan Parrikar