India trip 2004
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FEBRUARY 9, 2004 � COIMBATORE, TAMIZH NADU
Meet R.K.Sivanappan.
I first read his name in the State of the World Report 2000 put out by the World Watch Institute. I believe it was an article by Sandra Postel. In this article Sivanappan is referred to as the father of water management and drip irrigation in India.
I finally tracked him down with the help of Senthil and had corresponded with him and he was kind enough to invite me to his home on this trip. But it was not my plan to go alone, I had a reason. I wanted Vavi and Sivanappan to connect.
Sivanappan is 75 but looks a 65 and judging from his work habits behaves 45. He is officially retired but continues to write (Tamizh and English), talk, educate and share his enormous knowledge and experience on water management and soil and related matter.
A scholarly looking man he has been recognized for that scholarship by Universities in Sweden which have conferred on him honorary doctorates.
But the mark of a true scholar is the ability to bridge the gap between his knowledge and our ignorance. Sundar, Senthil, Bhuvana and I listened as he expounded the simple truths and logic of water management.
Agriculture in India is primarily wetland agriculture and the potential of water management and dry land agriculture has been completely ignored. Policies have in the past and today, continue to reward/subsidize wetland agriculture and to add insult to injury, farming on rain fed land is even penalized. Sivanappan feels with a policy shift- in fact he recommends a Ministry for DRYLAND agriculture- dry land can with proper water capture, storage and use, become a major food source for India and for other parts of the world.
The best part of our meeting was that Sivanappan has agreed to work with and help VAVI in preparing and executing a water management strategy for VAVI.
He was willing to travel to Vavi , talk to its citizens and propose a solution.
I want this to happen. The ball is in Sundar and VAVI's court. They, I hope, will take the initiative and do the required homework, gather the required data and create a common community force to achieve this. Perhaps SSL can help in Data gathering.
A wonderful evening with a wise man who was kind enough to share his wisdom with us...with patience and grace.
ONLY IN INDIA!!!
I connected up with my Aunt, brother and his family in Coimbatore from where we proceeded to Palani (MURUGAN TEMPLE) and then to Guruvayur in Kerala (KRISHAN TEMPLE), then via Erode to Bangalore. This was family time. I will not go into details about these temples and their history or glory in this report... however I have some opinions that I want to share with you.
SHORTCUT TO THE GODS
Somewhere in some good book it states that it is easier for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. If I am misquoting I apologize. But you get the drift.
This theory is completely invalidated in Palani and in many other temples in India. The rich man does have an easier passage and there exist both official and unofficial channels to access the deity through the use of personal resources (money). The poor, unlike the camel, wait for their turn in long lines!!!
ALL EMBRACING???
Just outside the entrances to the temple in Guruvayur, there are signs that read "NO ONE OTHER THAN A HINDU IS ALLOWED TO ENTER THIS TEMPLE". Again the quote is not exact but.. trust me, that is the message. As a Hindu I felt offended and frankly quite ashamed of such a "ban". What happened to the embrace of and tolerance for all???
Additionally, the temple rules insist that no garment that is stitched or that has split legs be allowed in the temple. These are not stated (I did not see it) but conventional wisdom and folklore insist that is the case.
This too is hypocritical... women with stitched blouses of course go into the temple.
For those of you who are already wondering why this fellow is being so picky when going to the house of god... why does he not pray and move on...let me remind you...of the time when even some Hindus could not enter the temples.(Remember Nandanaar)
Or is this still the case in parts of India?? NEXT TOP