Manual Scavenging in India

Talk about the divide that a fast growing nation like India creates and you are looking at virtually every aspect of everyday living. Just noticed a small editorial piece on manual scavenging in India in one of the dailies. Yes, it still exists today...worst part is, that though i find it disgusting and unimaginable, i was aware of this commonplace practice in India and perhaps just chose to turn my face away from the filth. Never ever giving a thought to the men and women who provide the 'service'. Still in this day and age, 1.3 million such men and women carry and dispose of human excreta.

In this scenario it is heartening to find efforts of a voluntary organization - Safai Karmachari Andolan (http://safaikarmachariandolan.org) . Its efforts are truly laudable in a country where such tradition and caste based mindset changes are difficult to bring. While this is an abyss of social imbalance, we perhaps do not blink at the sordid conditions prevalent in other professions - whoever cared about the health and well being of rickshaw pullers, coolies, building labor. Do we even consider them a part of our society...or even a vote bank? I guess the majority chooses to ignore as I had done before...

George...the snake

This morning i found this snake dude sitting in the bushes right in front of my door and basking in the sun. It has been a wet weather for some time and the way it kept still gave me that sense as well. I went closer and could see directly in his eyes and i could feel that he is looking at me too. Yes..at first it was creepy but a few minutes later i started to realize it was indeed a beautiful creature. Without trying to be Steve Irving i clicked a few snaps (see pic) and researched a bit. This species is the Northern Brown snake also called the DeKay snake after a nature conservationist. A vertical dark bar a short distance behind the eye is a key identifying mark. Ground color is light to dark brown or gray, sometimes with a slightly yellowish or reddish tone. Two rows of small dark spots run lengthwise along the sides of back; a lighter stripe runs down the middle of the back between the dots. The dots may be hard to see. Usually seen in the spring time it feeds on snails and earthworms and small crawling insects.
So well, it kept sitting there for a long time and i kept looking at it intently; mentally trying to ask him how was his day or what he thinks of the rising inflation and food prices. But then after a little while the dude just slipped and slithered away, clearly not interested to interact with me on any of his issues or mine. He of course belonged to non venomous species but i didnt try to test him at all. Well, so long George...it was nice meeting you!!
(Ohh..why the name George....i just named him that as he kept sitting in that Bush..)

The first shots!!

Some of the first shots of differing themes from my Canon DSLR XTI. The great colors of the sunset, the lone melting snow on the pine tree, a bird taking flight on the frozen lake, an amazing lunar eclipse and the trapped mannequins!! Notice the different expressions on the faces of the Mannequins..i like that....also the fact that they look behind bars (trapped) with a Statue of Liberty on the back...Interesting huh!!!