Wednesday, December 29, 2021

AIRCRAFT JET ENGINE

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGvvsVuynqE

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Sunday, November 14, 2021

MADHAVI AUNTY MATRIARCH OF BPL

 

The above is the Photograph of  Madhavi Aunty or Madhavi Amma  with whom I had association for some time. She is the eldest sister of KPR Nambiar the  then Joint Managing Director of BPL.  I used to converse with her on the phone at times and once she invited me for a function at the house of the Joint Managing Director of BPL in Indhiranagar. It was a resplendent evening with many key people.I remember T C Chauhan IAS(Rtd) who was the then Director Administration and Personnel and Mr. L H Bhatia  the then Director of BPL were present and so were many other key people. .I was led upstairs on entry to the house where she was present and happened to spend some time with her.

Much later I came to know she was deceased and my Father and Sister went to pay respects to her.

I just happenned to speak to  her son-in-law Dr.Mukundan who inturn gave me the phone number of his son HariKrishnan, who when contacted was very responsive to send the above photograph almost instantly.


I feel I have done something  precious by putting her photo here.


CONSTITUTION OF INDIA AND ITS KEY ARTICLES

 TO BE WRITTEN

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

I VISIT LOWRY MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL

 Few weeks back I visited the Lowry Memorial High School though not out of previous design but out of spite and what I saw wonder-struck me..a totally different entity from what it used to be some five years ago.The ring roads and now the Metro has changed the posture of the school..much earlier the gate of the school faced the KR Puram railway station but shifted towards the road that leads to Kaggadasapura. Now a large chunk of land being taken for the KR Puram metro station and the metro pillars.


The security staff at the school stopped me and I had to introduce myself and was let in.A well made Tar road resembling a National Highway connects this entry point through and through to the the other gate at Marathalli Ring road. The road passes right infront of the VTC, the Chapel and straight yonder and many buildings have come up on either side and the erstwhile farm is totally obliterated. A canteen has come up down this road from where I had some soft drinks and a dedicated sports complex has come nearby.



I felt bad that the old pristine and rustic campus has given way to a very formal  outfit.


I had a stroll back on the same way and paused in front of the Principals house where even today I can hear the voice of my Mother.As a four year old Mrs. Easterbrook the wife of the then Principal had taken me to this house from the play-ground where I was playing.I was sitting on the dining table and having some food she offered me.My mother came into the campus with lunch for me but was strained to find out I was no where in the school..and some bystander told my mother that Iam in the Principal's house.She came running for me and almost yelled my name from the outside and I came running out of this house thanking Mrs. Eaterbrook. The panic call of my mother is even today vivid in my ears.


Times change and so do people and campuses..and the person who designed the present campus deserves praise for this meticulous outfit.


Monday, October 18, 2021

MOHAMMED ALI AND ISMAIL AT LOWRY MEMORIAL SCHOOL

 There were two students at the Lowry Memorial School from the village Hoodi by name Mohammed Ali and Ismail in the 1970's.Few students came to the school from Whitefeild side ...Kamlesh Mehta( i think was a relative of the owners of Alembic glass company in Whitefeild) was a student at the school though for a brief while..another Swatantra Kumar son of a Cinema Hall owner in Whitefeild to name some..then there was Parminder Singh and his brother. I happenned to remember Muhammad Ali and Ismail...Ismail used to be an exceptional 1500 meters runner winning almost all competitions at many levels.He used to start out slowly and maintain a steady pace through the race.


Hoodi and Whitefeild look so different now...Hoodi was a sleepy village which has now become centre stage of the city and so is the entire stretch to Whitefeild and yonder.

leg bye cartoon

 


Thursday, September 30, 2021

Monday, September 20, 2021

Saturday, August 21, 2021

MADIKERI(MERCARRA) IN KODAGU(COORG) OF KARNATAKA STATE

MADIKERI is a principal town of Kodagu district and a city of significance.The entire belt of Kodagu earlier called Coorg is a patch of dense vegetation between the Deccan plateau and the Western Ghats and most part of it is scenic and hilly.The entire belt of Kodagu was developed by the English into various kinds of Plantations and the history of Kodagu is interwined with that of Mysore and Malabar.


Madikeri as a city is some six hours drive from Bangalore and can be accessed through Mysore or through Channarayapatna. It can also be accessed from Magadi but no full fledged road exists it appears to me. The climatic conditions in Madikeri is that it is colder and resembles in appearance to Ooty.


The entire town of Madikeri which was called Mercara by the English seems to have evolved around a Fort built atop one of the hills. The unique feature of Madikeri is that it could be called as a Station of Hills as against a hill-station because the entire land scape is a series of hills and valleys with steep slopes and risings. Buses to places like Puttur and Sulya not to mention Mangalore ply via this city. The Historical greatness of this city is that it has provided distinguished soldiers of all ranks to the Indian armed forces since time immemorial.. the statues of some of these eminent men adorn the city.



There are many tourist spots around this place and the people are very well behaved an important aspect of this town.

Monday, August 16, 2021

Thursday, August 5, 2021

P O SUBASH FRAMEWORK OF HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

 


For long there is a confusion and lack of precise clarity about what Human Rights and its study is all about.I have already written about Human Rights earlier but felt it was inadequate and a precise and pointed view of the subject is mandatory.The above diagram shows the P O SUBASH model of human rights.


Basically as we go from left to right there are three tiers to it. The first tier is basic rights and the second tier violations by the state and the final tier is human rights violations in social context.As we go from right to left the seriousness of the matter increases and goes from periphery to the core of Human rights.


Note the basic rights which form the bed-rock of Human Rights and indicates the various aspects of it.Let me illustrate how Human Rights Regime influences Jurisprudence which can be seen in the case Dr.P K Mukundan Vs Calicut Medical College.The said person had an MD from Delhi after MBBS and had a second admission for MD at the Calicut Medical College.But apparently there was some confusion and the system was reluctant to award him a second MD because it could influence the economic earnings of doctors in that field...but the ruling of the court was to award him the second MD because he was competent and proficient. This is a classic human rights case or gets such a tinge because intellectual pursuits cannnot be forbidden and is a human right.


Note the second tier of Human Rights and touches upon various aspects of violations by the state.Note the issue of health care mentioned there which is obligatory on the state to provide.Also note the word Levy which means that the state cannot impose unnecessary taxes which would be violative of human rights.


Note the third tier that talks about Human Rights issues in social settings.Specifically note tortuous liability an important component added in the realm of human rights.Law of tort refers to civil wrongs.If there is an accident on the road it is the responsibility of on-lookers to help..if they willingly overlook their responsibility it is tortuous liability.In other words it is the right of the aggreived individual that he gets help from those around which is also a human right.

RIGHTS OF AN INFANT

Using the above model the rights of an infant can be assessed.Food air and shelter are the rights from tier 1......health care and prevention of injury from the second tier...and special provisions in the third tier like access to specialized attention.

RIGHTS OF A CHILD

Study the model ..in the first tier Food ,air,affiliation,security would be the key inputs and in the second tier it would be Health care,injury,intimidation and dissappearance..and in the third tier discrimination and exploitation.

WOMAN RIGHTS

In the Woman rights all the elements of the first tier are relevant but emphasis is on security..and in the second tier all factors would be equally important..and in the third tier Discrimination,Self Determination and Exploitation would be the key factors.

RIGHTS OF ELDERLY

In tier one Security would be of paramount importance and in the second tier Health Care and Injury and in the third tier it would be special provisions or relaxations to the elderly.


RIGHTS OF THE DISABLED

In the first tier all the factors are important..In the second tier relaxation on certain levies..and in the third tier special provisions.


The above model of Human Rights without exception would address various minute components of Human Rights and give a ready framework to unlock this subject.


P O SUBASH MODEL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS



Wednesday, August 4, 2021

MURDESHWAR IN UTTARA KANNADA DISTRICT

 




Murdeshwar  is a sacred spot some hundred kilometers from Udupi and is also a place of religious significance and has a temple which is said to be very old and dedicated to Lord Shiva and is a place worth visiting once. The temple is set on a hillock adjacent to the sea in the form of some kind of a peninsula.


The modern day attraction of this place is a large statue of Lord Shiva erected some twenty years ago and visible from a distance. In the night the entire statue and temple is lit with flood lite creating an heavenly experience.


There are many ways to reach this place. One route is via Shimoga and the other is via Mangalore. If one is to take the route from Mangalore it would be Mangalore to Udupi to Kundapur to Bhatkal and the next stop is Murdeshwar gate. The temple is some four kilometers inward from the highway towards the sea.

P O SUBASH FRAMEWORK OF HUMAN RIGHTS

 




https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6828972166378332160/


Thursday, July 15, 2021

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

THE PARADOX OF FOOD FIXATION IN ECONOMICS OF CONSUMPTION


Production ,Consumption and waste management are the three important components of any Economy.Consumption is more elastic than Production and waste can be recycled for consumption are the corner stones on which successful economies hinge.

 

Increase in Population means increased Consumption an important aspect of human affairs; there are various kinds of consumption and the most important component is Food Consumption a key driver of economies. Economists like Amartaya Sen have tried to concentrate their studies on food economics around the world and Globalized economies of today influence the production and consumption of food on a global scale.When we say Food Economics the focus is on two things. Firstly the prevention of Poverty and Secondly the control of food wastage and recycling it for consumption.

 

The challenge of the Globalized World would be to reach a state of zero poverty and at the same time keep the overall cost of food low and both go hand in hand. One of the reasons of Poverty can be traced to the phenomenon of  ‘Food Fixation”.What is food fixation? It is the belief of communities that food entails just a set of items they are habituated to consume and the general lack of awareness of other forms of palatable food that would equally serve the purpose. Imagine a man trapped in a jungle. He has no source of food which he calls food. He has no access to food creating a situation of  Poverty..poverty not because of economic circumstances but from a lack of awareness.There might be many shrubs that could be temporary food .Incidentally the definition of food is something when consumed gives energy with no side-effects. Just to survive he could kill some animal for food…..just stating as an example. Poverty in his context is from a lack of awareness than from economic circumstances. The world at large suffers from this fixation from which it has to be un-entangled and various kinds of food supply chains can be created around the world that reduce the cost of food.



The United Nations as an organ could help in this context by making it mandatory for International  flights to carry food of various kinds from one destination to another free of cost where-ever possible. Such an activity would address poverty and reduce the cost of food by harmonizing consumption. Wastes of various kinds engendered around the world must be harmonized in a collective way and converted into some form of food for distribution world –wide.This needs a concerted effort from Governments of Countries at large under the aegis of the United Nations.Plants convert waste into food a most fragrant component of nature and such dynamics have to be globally exploited.



In short Food Fixation is the belief of communities that a certain set of items only constitute food to exception of other possibilities and should be remedied through global interactions to expand this set to other possibilities too, so that communities can accept various kinds and sets of food there-by broad basing consumption and bringing down global inflation.

 


Thursday, June 24, 2021

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Sunday, June 13, 2021

THE ESSENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

 

 

The study and exploration of Human Rights and Human Rights Law has of late become a matter of serious concern both in lay man circles and in judicial circles and Human Rights law is going to form a major input of Jurisprudence. Many  judgments  made by courts could today involve Human Rights in the ultimate analysis and could influence  judgments.

 

Basically Human Rights involves Humans and a special field of study under it covering   Women’s Rights, Child rights and rights of the disabled. Constitution is the ultimate law of the  country  and in various articles guarantees various forms of rights that add up to dignified living.

 

A right is a duty of the State and Duty is the right of a state. In other words  Human Rights is something the State must provide and Duties are something that individuals must perform towards the State.

 

What is Human Rights  basically ? It has two components. First is the basic supply of requirements of individuals by the State and secondly it is to ratify or measure any misuse of State machinery to the detriment of any individual. Both these components add up to Human Rights Law. Civilized societies have higher order understanding and implementation of Human Rights.

 

What are basic necessities of an Individual. Some of these are discussed in the Maslows  Need Hierarchy. At the fundamental level is the biological needs like food and water and the like which must be provided by the State mechanism. The next level is the Security  needs.. it would involve shelter  and the protection of an individual’s  personal belongings. The next level is affiliation needs like the right to make purposeful associations and friendships and other legally approved associations like Marriage..Next comes ego needs..the need to own possessions of any kind  and finally Actualization needs..the right to express oneself in various forms and  mannerisms. State has to provide these basic inputs. In many cases in Courts Human rights form an intrinsic component and also the basis on which judgments  can be made and challenged.

 

The second component of Human Rights is to protect the individual from the excesses of the State.State cannot exercise wrongful confinement of individuals, forced disappearances,torture both of a physical and mental kind,criminal intimidation so on and so forth. Such situations come under the Human Rights regime and can be deliberated so.

 

Under Human Rights come certain special  provisions for women ,child and the disabled.Women have certain special rights under certain conditions and the subject matter would need a separate discussion. Under Child rights come children and infants who have an intrinsic right to be fed. They need not pay consideration for food but must be given food of adequate quality for free.Children must be given their right to express themselves. So is rights of disabled.Rights of disabled is in the form of reservations or specialized provisions.

 

The above is in a nut shell what Human Rights are all about and the subject continues to grow vociferously with time and would be an area of serious concern of Human Beings around the globe.

Friday, June 11, 2021

Monday, June 7, 2021

THE CONCEPT OF BIG BALL

 

I have always been an ardent admirer and a player of Basket Ball. Ever since this game was introduced in our school in the early 1970’s I have played this game at few levels. I was formally trained in Basket Ball by a Karnataka State player  Somakumar  who used to play for ITI. It was a one month coaching camp with two hour sessions in the morning and evening and was handled by a bunch of senior coaches. I used to be in the Basket ball  court of NIT Calicut most of the time sometimes even playing in the rain.

 

Rules of Basket ball have been modified from time to time and now we have a three pointer rule..a penalty area marked by a semicircle and goals from outside this area get three points. Fair enough to the skill of shorter players.

 

Strictly speaking Basket Ball is an unfair game. I sometimes meet  Mr.Aman Sharma  Basket Ball coach at SAI sports authority of India and we discuss such issues. Unfair because it is widely a tall mans game.Even countries and teams field tall players who have a distinct unfair advantage over the shorter ones. When I watch this game played in some countries some very tall people make a mockery of the game hanging from the basket and inserting almost their complete hands into the basket and the like. Players have evolved and changed but the game has not evolved at the pace at which it should have.


Mr.Aman Sharma,
Basketball Coach,SAI

 

What Iam trying to suggest is that the rigour involved with the game must be increased which would necessitate a new game called BIG BALL being introduced ,very much a modern day Basket Ball but with increased rigour and new set of norms.

 

The rigour of the game can be enhanced by increasing the height of the basket by exactly one feet…the ball could weigh some 200grams more than the present ball weight; increase the length and breadth of the court by some twenty percent and there could be six players on each side…but THE GAME CALLED BIG BALL WORKS WITH A COLLOSAL RULE.IF THE AVERAGE HEIGHT OF THE PLAYERS IN A TEAM WERE TO EXCEED SIX FEET THEY MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO PLAY CONVENTIONAL BASKET BALL BUT MUST PLAY THE NEW GAME CALLED BIG BALL.

Sporting pundits around the world must consider this new sport and fine-tune its laws even further..but a new game like this will increase the spoils of the Sporting World and benefit all stake holders.

Sunday, June 6, 2021

WEATHER AND POWER SYSTEMS

 

Power Systems and the environment is a very scarcely discussed issue but one of utmost significance. Various economics of Power Systems ly in the environment because Power Systems per se is one of the major  system that is constantly exposed to the vagaries of the environment. By and large the Environment would mean the weather at whose mercy Power Systems operate.

 

Transformers of various kinds, Transmission cables, Breakers, Relays, Fuses,Power Electronic Devices,  and  Insulators all come under the pressures of  Weather.

 

Let us see how weather influences Transmission cables. It can vary the resistance, inductance and the capacitance of cables altering line to line voltages and also the phase voltage. Sometimes such influences are not properly taken into account. Such variations can influence power delivered and such vagaries exist every single minute for any cable that is outdoor. Over a period of twenty four hours it is influenced by varying degrees of temperatures and add to that such fluctuations over a year. It can also influence the frequency of the system. Various countries must be having various kinds of  defense mechanisms for such issues and also note that such influences are not uniform over a long distance. Power losses can be traced to such phenomena. Underground cabling could be one of the ways this problem can be mitigated but environmental influences of a different kind hamper underground cablings.

 

Transformers of various ratings bear the brunt of environmental influences…from rain to cold weather to heat. I have seen many bushings of transformers literally burning themselves out in the rain..a very dangerous and delicate phenomena. Pressure inside the transformer must be properly maintained as it can lead to transformer bursts…Laminations inside the transformer get heated varying transmission properties. Transformers  are largely placed in the open because of natural cooling that it gets. Transformer oil properties change with weather. Predictive maintenance on  Transformers  is often undertaken to prevent breakdowns. Many a times Single phasing happens at the Transformer points because some fuse gives away because of Environmental influences. Rusting of Transformer surfaces and possible leaks can result from such situations. Transformer behavior variations can lead to variation in Power System parameters in a very pronounced way. Windings could get heated up influencing the input and output voltages. Breakers associated with Transformers that are manually operated get stuck sometimes and in an emergency to disconnect power would be difficult.

 

Relays are sensitive electromagnetic equipment that come with Electrical systems. They are costly to replace but form an important protective aspect of Power Systems. Extreme fluctuations in weather lead to relay misbehavior and to my observation very often overlooked by the maintenance personnel. Nuisance tripping of relays is one of the issues .Relays have to be constantly reset to compensate for weather influences.

 

Various countries face various kinds of such issues if not handled preemptively can lead to mal judgment’s  of various kinds leading to larger breakdown times and complications.The essence of the matter is that environment influences Power Systems and for location to location design of systems must take note of such issues and compensate for them in advance at the design stage itself if possible and also take corrective action from time to time. . How forces like weather influence a particular Electrical component must be properly estimated and periodic actions initiated; Weather is an umbrella under which Power Systems work and  Power Systems Engineers around the World must acknowledge it first in their day to day engagement of this sector.

Friday, May 28, 2021

TAMIL SONG padayappa

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiWW-q62aW8


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-LgPe8FhZQ


https://www.tamil2lyrics.com/lyrics/kikku-yerudhey-song-lyrics/

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Bureaucracy and Performance Appraisal

  

 Recently I read the news of a bureaucrat Raju Narayana swamy removed from service for want of performance because some procedure of Performance Appraisal found him wanting. Conflicts between individual bureaucrats and  the Government is nothing new ..we have a long history of such events. Some time back a serving Chief Secretary of Karnataka state was imprisoned for one month for "contempt of Court", a retired Chief Secretary to Tamil Nadu Government K A Nambiar had a case hoisted against him  called the Fly Over case from which he might have  endured losses  ,and in another case a Telecom Secretary was imprisoned for a long time for some misdeamenour purportedly committed by him...The list could go on and on for there could have been various conflicts many of them un-reported. In another case a serving Chief Secretary of Karnataka state was suddenly shifted to a lower post by the establishment.

 

The Indian Administrative Service is an extension of the Imperial Civil Service created by the Crown when they were at the helm in India to run Administration of the country. From whence it started really functioning is unclear but  shot into prominence and was expanded with intensity post the Sepoy mutiny in 1857.The English built many Universities in India post the sepoy mutiny to engender civil servants to strengthen Administration  and one of their key roles was to act as a dictating and controlling force of  Martial establishments like the Police and the Military. They had quasi judicial powers and could make interim judgements in lieu of the Judiciary and transfer matters to the Judiciary matters that were complex. Prior to the formation if the civil service many of these powers were wrested in the hands of the Military who misused such powers and abused them too creating social dis-order. The bureaucracy was largely created to stream line and bring stability to Administration and a sense of method and cohesion. In the sepoy mutiny of  1857 Bengal and South India did not join the mutineers because of a stronger Administrative framework and the model was replicated across India by the British Establishment. Most District Collectors enjoyed absolute powers and made large scale developmental contribution to their districts and most of them were given tenures that would average a decade. 

Major General Mark Cubbon the Commissioner of Bangalore and Coorg was for all practical purposes removed from his post and replaced by an ICS officer Lewin Lentham Bowring in 1861 or so and Bowring appears to be at the post in Bangalore for nearly a decade.

 

This is the back-drop of the Bureaucracy as we see it today but with a major difference..Bureaucrats of the English era did not have a Political establishment above them .Post Independance the Bureaucracy works under a Political establishment. The issue is that the life cycles of these two institutions are largely different the Civil service is a much older institution with a larger heritage vis-a-vis the Political establishment which was relatively new but with time the Political establishment in our country has matured and reacts to Administrative matters in a mature way ..simply said the conflicts between the bureaucracy and the Political establishment dwindles with time and the hand shake would improve due to the sheer dynamics in which they are placed.

 

In the Globalized World of today where information thresholds have fallen ..added to this an explosion in Population the dynamics of Government has vastly changed catching  all machineries of Government un-awares...with increasing inputs from the common man who has a much increased say in which Administration is run and public reactions to events more pronounced and instantaneous. Add to that the various Media that are at disposal which collect and carry information globally almost instantly. The role of a Globalized Population in the running of Governments is very much pronounced today and influences social order and progress.

 

What is this activity of Performance Appraisal and is it a healthy phenomenon to be introduced into Government and more than anything else in the assessment of Bureaucrats. That is the moot question which needs to be answered ..

 

What is this area of Performance Appraisal ?Its origins could be linked to the Peter Drucker concept of MBO (Management of Objectives).It is the ability of Managers to set objectives and achieve them under the suoervision of some one who is senior to him and the objectives themselves derived fro the overall objectives of the Organization. Performance Appraisal is a phrase that has found in-roads in modern day Human Resources Management. This is largely seen in Corporates and to my observation a highly mis-used one because personnel involved in such activities primarly do not fully comprehend the larger dynamics in which these activities were envisaged and how to apply them in the right way. Iam wary Governmental establishments would make errors in the application of such jargons to the detriment of the State. Government cannot run like Corporates and Corporates cannot run like Government..their dynamics are different and so are the inputs and outputs. Performance Appraisals if not conducted properly would lead to inappropriate decisionns which will hamper the long term stability of organizations. I have seen this happen over and over in Corporates and should not be blindly adopted by Government to the deterrent of  the functioning of Government.

 

This is grave matter. Should Bureaucrats go un-appraised.? That is not what Iam suggesting. Performance Appraisal as we see it in Corporates if blindly applied into Government would lead to sense of fear and anxiety in the bureacratic establishment leading to various lateral conflicts and issues which can lead to other kinds of confusions. A word of Caution. Bureaucracy was not designed to create work-a-day labourers...It was created as a Maintenance and Development organization ...both these functions have to be carried out by the Bureaucracy and any mis-guided emphasis would create system where they land up doing things which are not the bedrock for which this institution was created..

 

I will repeat again and would like to re-emphasise it in no uncertain terms. Bureaucracy was created for the maintenance and developmental function. Maintenance is the activity of handling systemic non-conformances on a timely basis largely by collecting and acting upon information ..and the developmental component is to ensure how the complexity of existing tasks can be mitigated and the system improved. These two functions are largely intangible and any effort to bring it under a Appraisal system wrongly designed will be largely un-productive and counter-productive. 

 

In our country we need to put up institutes of Governance where such issues are studied in detail even under the light of national and international experiences in such matters. A wrongly created Performance Appraisal system engineered by wrong hands can have largescale damaging effects and if at all such a system is created it must be done so largely keeping in mind the age-old nature of the bureaucracy and the purpose for which it was created and any action bereft of such a hind sight could prove detrimental in the long run regarding the way Governments are run.

 

Saturday, May 22, 2021

PUSHPARAJA SHETTY RETIRED SP OF KARNATAKA POLICE AND MY FATHER



There was something pestering us for quite some time  in a set of recalcitrant neighbors who constantly created nuisance of some kind. My father decided to do something about this.

The occurrence  of these events might be in the late 1970.s.My father had a well wisher in the Karnataka police department who was a senior official by name Pushparaja Shetty.  Shetty served as sub inspector of police in our native terrain and was a colleague  of the uncle of my father who later retired as Dy.SP in Kerala Police.My father took the reference of his uncle and met Pushparaja Shetty and made a representation about our neighbors who were troublesome.

 

No sooner the local police acted with firmness and rounded up and warned these errant elements from whom we had no further trouble there upon.

 

I must thank Mr.Shetty for the support he gave us and the nostalgia he had serving with  my Father's uncle as young officers of the police force prior to Independence.


Wednesday, May 19, 2021

POWER SYSTEM ANALYSIS

 

Power System Analysis is an important component of Electrical Engineering and in the modern day an increasingly complex  activity  with changes noticed in Generation and distribution of Electric Power.The field of Power System Analysis converges conventional Electrical  Engineering  with Power Electronics and Information system platforms. 

In the seventh semester we had a course on Power System Analysis  and it would be better if practitioners in this field also get an opportunity to share experiences and insight to the recepients.The entire area of Power Systems is fairly well managed in a country like India which has more than a century of experience in generation and distribution of Electrical Power. Two problems beset the area of Power system Analysis. The first component is to match the increasing demand for power. The second is to ensure quality of  Power, the third function is to ensure reduction in wastage and finally to keep the system from breakdowns and other disruptions.

At a global level Power System Analysis is to address the economics of Power. Basically matching the supply and demand at a rational price ,this is a problem at engulfs humanity and such a domain would invariably involve the import and export of Power. It would also involve domestication of Power which means effective local generation and distribution of Power over very short distances.. for instance the use of  Solar power. One of the major components of Power consumption in the future would be that Automobiles of all kinds might work on Batteries which need periodic charging.

Maintaining the Quality of Power is another component of PSA(Power System Analysis)..in an AC system ensuring the correct Voltage, Frequency and Power Factor. This is where computerization is going to make in-roads. I think to a very large extent PSA as we see today is in a very nascent condition with no real-time assessment of Power though we have progressed in this field in leap and bounds. Add to this the study of transients. Effects of lightning and all other forms of environmental   disturbances  on Electrical Power Systems. PSA of this kind is carried out through a DAS(Data Acquisition System);a low voltage  system properly insulated taps  EPI(Electrical Power Information) from various points and feeds it into a central computer device which registers Voltage, Frequency, Power factor and transients. Any abnormality anywhere can be instantly noticed for corrective action. DAS  helps in the proper management of Power System factors.DAS needs complex parallel wiring and care and a central control station with reporting systems almost on a daily basis.

DAS  mentioned above also helps in tracking wastage largely by controlling Power Factor in large industrial installations  and tracking  wastage of power by domestic installations. The Power Factor  is studied periodically at large power distribution zones to bring it into acceptable levels even by restructuring the load if necessary. Domestic wastage of power  is also a source of power wastage  which can be tracked even at a minute level by such systems.

Break down and disruptions need constant  analysis and improvement. Trees falling on  Power Lines resulting in Short Circuit is  one of major causes of disruptions and  add to that other sources like over load , tripping of breakers and single phasing  and even birds creating short circuit by  grounding high tension lines. Zones where  such things happen are normally identified  and acted upon and underground cables  with proper notifications laid. 


The above is the scope of PSA and to my observation has to be done more aggressively and at the same time the depth of the analysis also augmented that we know in the future..What problem is likely to happen and plan very much in advance all forms of corrective actions both complex and simple.


 



Saturday, May 15, 2021

CONTRACT LAW VIDEO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQpFmmqwHrI

Friday, May 14, 2021

ISLANDS IN THE STREAM OLIVIA NEWTON JOHN

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI_SZGmwfAE

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

OUR MURPHY MAYFAIR RADIO

  •  


In 1972 or so my Father bought a  Murphy Mayfair Radio a sample of which is shown above along with its antenna. My father was busy putting two nails on the wall to tie the antenna and from thence started a fine form of entertainment at home.It cost Rs.400/- I think then which was a sizeable amount by those standards. My father wanted his children to listen to the English news everyday so that we could improve our stand in the language.

 

With time this equipment became a part and parcel of our lives. It was a vacuum tube radio as transistor radios were yet to come into the market.My mother had a special fascination for Kannada songs and would at times appreciate the creative content in the songs.

 

Early morning six or so my mother used to switch on this wonderful peice and would tune in the Bangalore AIR station where devotional songs were played for some time followed by Raitharige Salahey (which means advice to Farmers).I used to very often wake up hearing this.

 

Most of the time we tuned into the commercial channel of AIR where hindi song programmes were aired every now and then during the day and to a large extent my brother and myself we grew up hearing these songs though we did not know what it meant. There is no hindi song worth the salt we have not heard during this era. My fervent desire at this age was to learn to speak the Hindi language and understand it.

 

Somehow for some unknown reason slowly this equipment faded out of our lives after more than ten years may be because of the growth of Television. But this Radio made our lives happy and the home was full of all kinds of music for more than a decade.



Tuesday, May 11, 2021

I VISIT KOLKATA BY BUS

 


It might be largely a weird thing to do...visit Kolkata from Bangalore by bus but this is what I embarked upon in March this year. It was in my mind for a long period of time to see what this city of Kolkata is all about. I studied the covid statistics for many days in March and found Covid to be dominant only in Maharashtra state and adjoining  areas and I was in constant consultation with APSRTC control room about all issues regarding travelling through Andhra Pradesh. I studied the map for a few days and finalized my basic plan...Bangalore to Vijayawada....Vijayawada to Vishakapatnam...Vishakapatnam to Bhubaneshwar  and Bhubaneshwar to Kolkata ...and the entire journey should take forty hours if everything goes well. I was thinking till the last moment if it was worthwhile to embark on such a journey but when I used justdial to book a room in Kolkata I got in touch with a senior man who runs a motel in Kolkata...precisely in Lenin Sarani..Dharamtalla.Since I found a room without much ado I decided to go on the adventure.

 

It was a  Sunday I dont remember the exact date...I reached the KSRTC bus depot by Metro and found an APSRTC bus bound to Vijayawada. I boarded this bus.Somewhere this bus was a mistake because it takes around fifteen hours to reach Vijayawada and goes via Tirupati which I was unaware of. The good thing about this bus was I met Venkataramana Shastry who was bound for Tirupati and the journey was enjoyable because both of us got talking on various issues. The bus took a halt for dinner few kilometers before Tirupati and Shastri and myself  had some fine dinner and tea. From Tirupati the bus had to enter NH 16 which is the Chennai -Kolkata highway and some one hour Tirupati the bus was on this highway ...a splendid four lane highway of International standards. I saw the board IIT Tirupathi after the bus left Tirupathi towards the NH16  highway .The entire night I did not have a wink of sleep generally marvelling what I saw around. Almost early morning the bus was on its way to Ongole ...I could see splendid landscapes in this part of Andhra Pradesh and morning 10:30 the bus reaches Vijayawada

Some twenty years or more I had visited Vijayawada and I was pleased to see it again.The bus stand is all the same but with much more population.I had three idlies in the restaurant ..the idlies were much bigger than what we get in Bangalore and cost Rs.15/-each.I had a stroll around the bus stand and saw the training center of APSRTC on the first floor and some statements of Peter Drucker displayed at the window panes of the training center and I was pleased that APSRTC has some regards for Drucker. At 11:30 am there is a VOLVO Dolphin coach to Vishakapatnam..which is a one of a kind bus....looks like a Boeing 737 in the inside and I booked into this bus ...It was a very comfortable coach...the bus should have reached Vishakapatnam at 8:30 pm but was delayed due to traffic jams at the entry of the Vishakapatnam city and reached its destination at 10:30 pm putting my plans haywire.Note that Rajamundry is a city that comes between Vijayawada and Vishakapatnam also called Vizag.

 

At 10:30 pm in the night there are no buses to Bhubaneshwar.There are no Government buses connecting Vizag to Bhubaneshwar..there are only private buses. I had some good egg fried rice in the restaurant at the Vizag bus stand and some touts there told me there is a bus at 1 :00 am. I decided to take a chance resting in the airconditioned waiting hall at the bus stand paying  Rs.20/- an hour but the bus that was to appear at 1:00 am never showed up. I made a quick decision to stay at Vizag for the night and booked into an AC lodge adjacent to the bus stand and faded off to sleep. The room was an exceptional one for Rs.1000/-..AC working perfectly well with 24 hours hot water and a large wall mounted TV.I think it is called Sai Baba lodge. Tuesday  morning I had a stroll of Vizag town just the areas near the hotel and found Vizag to be a well oriented city. People behave in a polite way..I had tea at an outlet near the hotel....and thereafter some good breakfast and booked a night ticket to Bhubaneshwar by a private bus set to leave Vizag at 10:00pm.I liked Vizag as a city and from my hotel room could see the Eastern Ghat mountains and planes landing at the Vizag airport.

 

That night I set off to Bhubaneshwar. A deluxe bus driven at high speed on the highway by an experienced driver. He stopped somewhere en-route for re-fuelling.I got off the bus and boarded after the refuelling. Some hundred kilometers before Bhubaneshwar he stopped for tea and resumed again.It was night time. At dawn the bus was  some forty kilometes or so from Bhubaneshwar and I could see a road sign towards Puri Jagannath temple. At around 6 AM i get down at the main highway near the Baramundy bus stand which is some kind of an inter-state bus stand.I did not have a wink of sleep all night. At this bus stand I fould a  8:30 am bus to kolkata which is an air-conditioned coach which is half seating and the other half sleeper.

 

The bus was driven at full speed and passed through Cuttack and Balasore...stopping for lunch at Balasore.Few kilometers ahead was entry into the state of West Bengal..one of the next stops was Kharagpur some three hours journey away from  Kolkata. At around 8 30 pm the bus reaches Babughat bus stop at Kolkata and I was off the bus and had a first view of Kolkata and its environs. I decided to take a taxi to the hotel.

 

No-sooner I settled into my room a cozy single bed room in Dharamthala..more precisely Lenin Sarani  and relatively close to the  Esplanade metro station.I had some strong dinner at a road side eat-out and went to sleep waking up six in the morning and taking a stroll around.There was a tea vendor who was at his work boiling milk using a single coil electric oven.I was amused to see a single coil electric oven.It was a pretty long wait and he served fine tea possibly with ginger in an use and throw mud cup.Down the road I saw the Sacred Heart Church Dharamtalla and had a small stroll around its premises and then on exit saw a tram.Out of spite I got into the tram and had a ride full circle up and down.This place called Esplanade was the heart throb of Colonial administrators when they were here and I could not have found a better location in Kolkata to stay. This is Thursday. In the afternoon I took a taxi to Victoria Memorial and had a stroll over the estate a well maintained edifice from far looks like the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore.But a Exhibition on Netaji Subhash Chandhra Bose was underway inside through which I pondered with involvement. It was nice to see statues of people like William Bentick and many other Indian and English administrators of the past and also the Statue of Edward VII the son of Queen Victoria. I had a short chat with a CISF jawan who was posted here. CISF stands for Central Industrial Security Force. I came back to my room in a Taxi and had a nap and with sun becoming more mild tried to study the Metro Railway system of Kolkata.

 

In the Kolkata Metro system entry is only through Smart card..so I had to buy one and set off on one of those trains to the Dum Dum metro station. Metro in Kolkata is fully underground and manned by the Indian Railways..Bogies appeared to me to be metallic and the AC makes slightly more noise than in Bangalore and most of the stations are Single platform.It was a pleasant journey and I reached the Dum Dum metro station. I had a chat with RPF personnel there and also a Metro pilot.Metro pilots in Kolkata are aged some forty years or so unlike in Bangalore where the system is manned by people in their early twenties. I returned to the Esplanade metro station and had a stroll back to my room. The two terminal points in the Kolkata metro system are Dum Dum and Kavi Subhash.I would like to make a statement of warning at the outset.Dum Dum metro station is very far from Dum Dum International airport..please dont get misled by the word Dum Dum. If you reach Dun Dum metro station and want to go to Dum Dum international airport you have to take two local buses. If you want to reach Dum Dum International airport get down at the metro station just before Dum Dum and one local bus will take you to the main road near the Airport and it takes half an hour. From this junction on the main road you have to take a taxi to the entrance of the Airport which could be some three kilometers. Iam told a metro connection directly to the heart of the Airport is under construction. What iam trying to emphasise to some extent is that Dum Dum metro station and Dum Dum International Airport are poles apart as of now.

 

The next day Friday morning I had my tea at another outlet near Lenin Sarani and after my morning chores decided to explore the Metro sytem even further.It was nice to see many school students using the metro system to go to school and I had a chat with some of them.This time I travelled in the direction I think towards Kavi Subhash and randomly got down at a station called Rabindra Sadan and was having a stroll outside and was told the house of Subash Chandra Bose is near by and is now a museum and I went searching for it. It is a very up market residential locality in Kolkata and I had a stroll around the house which is a Mansion or a Bungalow even by modern standards. The Austin car which he used is displayed at the entrance, I had a stroll back to the metro station and reached Esplanade and got into the Sacred Heart church and had a long meeting with Father Peppin of the church whom I came know later is a Tamilian and we started conversing in Tamil.

 

Sacred Heart Church  Dharamtala

Friday evening I got to see the vast expanse of Colonial buildings on the other side of  Lenin Sarani ,buildings which must be more than hundred years old and painted Coronation red..the mammoth nature and organization of these buildings left me spellbound.I was also at the entrance of Hogg market , a market named in honour of Saunders Hogg an officer of the ICS in the nineteenth century.I even happenned to see the Tippu sultan mosque near-by.


Sir Stuart Saunders Hogg I C S

 

I had developed  Diahorrea  due to some wrong food I ate somewhere and was worried. I decided to fly to Bangalore from Kolkata.I had to take a Plane  considering that I was sick had to reach Bangalore at the earliest. Saturday morning I surrendered my room and did all the planning that was needed for my onward journey.I set out of the room had a Ginger tea at an outlet near-by and set out for the airport from Esplanade and getting down at the station just before Dum Dum. I surrendered my metro card and took a local bus that took more than half an hour to reach the Airport Junction from where I took a taxi to the entrance of the Airport.I had to book a ticket and fortunately found that there was a 12:20 flight to Bengaluru of Air India.There were many Covid  procedures  and finally I was on-board and after two and a half hours reached Bangalore. What a relief? I had a chat with Anita the flight attendant who introduced me to the Pilot and Co-pilot with whom I spent some time on the tarmac. The captain was Mr.Sinha from Patna and co-pilot from the north east whose name  i do not recollect.

 

Thus ended my adventure by road to Kolkata from Bangalore a full two thousand kilometers..some times I ask myself..was it warranted.But now Kolkata as a city is no longer a mystery for me..dropped anywhere in Kolkata I can find my roots.

 

The diaohrrea ( i dont know how this word is spelt) I developed in Kolkata hurt me a lot. I met the local Government doctor here  who was of no help.I took Endopar but the thing resurfaced again.I was upset. On an evening walk near my house I met Dr.Katti who told me to take Norflox 400..which I did which gave ninety percent relief. Dr.Katti told me it is stomach infection. I was worried inspite of Norflox why things are not getting perfectly well. On the internet I came across Tiniba 500 which is given for amoebic infections. The whole damn thing became cured after one cycle of Tiniba 500.This means I had Amoebic dysentery. Taking lime and ginger frequently is also a supplementary cure.

 

 

Some of the observations on my journey which i would like to make regarding my journey;

 

1.I found it very pleasurable travelling through Andhra Pradesh and I find some administrative finesse which can be adopted by other states too.

 

2.A night or day bus from  Vizag to Bhubaneshwar operated by APSRTC  or  Oriya RTC is long over-due. Presently there is ORTC bus from Vizag to Jeypore in Odisha only. Such a bus would improve connectivity.

 

3.The staff of ORTC in Vizag need to be properly trained and oriented in the work that they do and a more professional approach is needed.

 

4.The food and other support systems at Baramundi bus station in Bhubaneshwar must be improved. There are many hotels  which are unsafe and unclean.

 

5.I found the entire area  of Esplanade in Kolkata needs better upkeep and maintenance. Cleanliness levels must be improved. The food served here at some places might lead to stomach bacterial infections.

 

6.The West Bengal Govt could pitch in to put mini-restaurants at various points where simple meals are served clean and people can sit in a dignified way within a hotel and have their food instead of relying on street vendors alone .