vknardep@gmail.com
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vknardep@gmail.com
1800-1020-623

Newsletter - May 2020

Read Coverting Letter

Dear Friends,

“How We Broke the World” - Greed and globalization set us up for disaster. Thomas L. Friedman, Opinion Columnist writes in New York Times on 30th May, 2020.

If recent weeks have shown us anything, it’s that the world is not just flat. It’s fragile.

And we’re the ones who made it that way with our own hands. Just look around. Over the past 20 years, we’ve been steadily removing man-made and natural buffers, redundancies, regulations and norms that provide resilience and protection when big systems — be they ecological, geopolitical or financial — get stressed. We’ve been recklessly removing these buffers out of an obsession with short-term efficiency and growth, or without thinking at all.

At the same time, we have been behaving in extreme ways — pushing against, and breaching, common-sense political, financial and planetary boundaries.

And, all the while, we have taken the world technologically from connected to interconnected to interdependent — by removing more friction and installing more grease in global markets, telecommunications systems, the internet and travel. In doing so, we’ve made globalization faster, deeper, cheaper and tighter than ever before. Who knew that there were regular direct flights from Wuhan, China, to America?

Put all three of these trends together and what you have is a world more easily prone to shocks and extreme behaviours — but with fewer buffers to cushion those shocks — and many more networked companies and people to convey them globally.

This, of course, was revealed clearly in the latest world-spanning crisis — the coronavirus pandemic. But this trend of more frequent destabilizing crises has been building over the past 20 years: 9/11, the Great Recession of 2008, Covid-19 and climate change. Pandemics are no longer just biological — they are now geopolitical, financial and atmospheric, too. And we will suffer increasing consequences unless we start behaving differently and treating Mother Earth differently.

Note the pattern: Before each crisis I mentioned, we first experienced what could be called a “mild” heart attack, alerting us that we had gone to extremes and stripped away buffers that had protected us from catastrophic failure. In each case, though, we did not take that warning seriously enough — and in each case the result was a full global coronary.

“We created globalized networks because they could make us more efficient and productive and our lives more convenient,” explained Gautam Mukunda, the author of “Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter.” “But when you steadily remove their buffers, backup capacities and surge protectors in pursuit of short-term efficiency or just greed, you ensure that these systems are not only less resistant to shocks, but that we spread those shocks everywhere.”

We of Green Rameswaram Project are aware about the above facts and so from the beginning advocating long term resilient practices and green technologies in the development of Rameswaram Island.

This month’s newsletter has the following highlights:         
  • Dr. Sanjay Banerji in his blog writes about Sustainable Development Goal – 5 (Gender Equality)
  • Shri.C.Rangarajan gives the name of the books and digests on Tirtha Yatra - Pilgrimage to Holy Places.
  • Shri.Paranthamam and Premkumar, REACH Foundation writes on Archaeology of Rameswaram
  • Solid waste management work at Rameswaram by Hand in Hand Inclusive Development Services, Chennai.
  • Dr.A.Abirami, Programme Officer of C.P.R. Environmental Educational Center writes about the herbal plant – Datura (Ummathai) and
  • Revival and Renovation of Traditional Water bodies – Ramar Teertham by Vivekananda Kendra – NARDEP, Kanyakumari.

With best wishes,

Editorial Team
Green Rameswaram Project
Mahabeer Dharmasala
Rameswaram - 623526
Tamilnadu.
Ph: 04573 - 222296(office)
E-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.greenrameswaram.org
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Sustainable Development Goal-5

By
Dr.Sanjay Banerji
Founder Director/Dean of Amrita School of Business
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Dear Friends,

This month we shall discuss the fifth Sustainable Development Goal: Gender Equality.
In this blog, we shall try to explain:

  a. What it is and why is this relevant
  b. What are its indicators
  c. What are the targets
  d. Where do we stand in India
  e. What can we do to support the goal

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Yatra - Pilgrimage to Holy Places

By
C.Rangarajan, Chennai
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Besides the mentioned texts in the previous blog, the following ancient digests & works on Tirthas deserve a mention
  1. The Tirthavivacena-kanda of the kalpataru of Lakshmidhara
  2. The Chaturvarga Cinthamani of Hemadri (1260-1270 CE)
  3. The Tirthacintamani of Vacaspathi (1450-1480 CE)
  4. The Tirthasara of Nrusimhapada (1500 CE)
  5. The Tristhalisethu of Narayanabhatta (1550-1580 CE)
  6. The Tirthasoukya of Todarananda (1565-1589 CE)
  7. The Tirthatattva of Raghunandana (1520-1570 CE)
  8. The Tirthaprakasa by Mitramisra (1610-1640 CE)
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இராமேஸ்வரத்தின் தொன்மை – தொல்லியல் அறிமுகம்

வே.பரந்தாமன் மற்றும் அ.பிரேம் குமார்
ரீச் பவுண்டேஷன், சென்னை
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முன்னுரை

“வரலாறு” என்பது ஒவ்வொரு மனிதன் மற்றும் சமூகத்தின் தனித்துவத்தையும், சமூக ஒற்றுமையையும் கூறும் வகையில் உள்ளன என்றால் அது மிகையாகாது.  அவ்வகையான சிறப்புகளைப் பெற்ற வரலாற்றை அறிய முதலில் நாம் அனைவரும் எடுத்துக்கொள்வது தொல்லியல் மற்றும் கல்வெட்டுச் சான்றுகள், அயல்நாட்டவர் குறிப்புகள் போன்றவைகள் முதன்மை பெறுகின்றன.
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Solid Waste Management

By
Hand in Hand, Chennai
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Municipal Commissioner’s Visit

The Municipal Commissioner of Rameswaram Municipality, Mr. V. Ramar visited the Resource Recovery Park on 14th May. During the visit, the Commissioner enquired about the proceedings in the RRP, gave instructions to the Green Friends and HHIDS staff, and appreciated the effort of MSWM team during the lockdown.

During the visits, 36 Green Friends were engaged in street cleaning activity covering all main roads, Agni Theertham, near Amma Mess and Bus Stand.
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Herbal Garden (Muligai Vanam)

Ummathai
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Distribution and Habitat

Datura metel Linn. is a member of the Solanaceae family.  Datura prefers a warm temperature and is distributed in the warmer regions of the world. Common as a weed growing in open lands and roadside throughout India, sub-Himalayan tracts including the north west Himalaya, Kashmir, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, open forests of Rajasthan, mountains of the Deccan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
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Revival and Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies (Teerthas)
Ramar Teertham

By
Vivekananda Kendra – NARDEP, Kanyakumari
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Teertha Location

West of Rāmanatha swamy temple which is nearby National Highway and 1km from Ramanathasamy temple.

Form

It is a pond with stairs on all sides

Mythological Story

It is believed that Lord Rama took bath in this Teertham. There is a Rama Temple situated in-front of the Ramar Teertham
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