Saturday, November 11, 2023

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED STUDIES N I A S -BANGALORE



The above is the portrait of Dr. Raja Ramanna and the NIAS National Institute of Advanced studies. This campus is a separate entity established in 1988 as an independant autonomous organization since inception within the campus of Indian Institute of Science. Decades ago I used to walk into this place and listen to lectures.. I have met and spoken to Dr. Raja Ramanna myself at this place.

NIAS has affiliations with many universities and offers Doctoral programs. The unique aspect of this place is its inter-disciplinary nature with departments in Science ,Engineering,Economics and Humanities and even areas of Sociology.

It is worthy to have a look at how this institute is organized.Basically there are four schools under which many programmes run.

The four schools are SCHOOL OF CONFLICT AND SECURITY STUDIES ; SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES ; SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING and SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES.

It is worthy to have a look at some of the key programmes at these schools. 

At the SCHOOL OF CONFLICT AND SECURITY STUDIES they have the International Security studies program which focus on the diplomatic and technical components of International security from various stand points of Security abilities and delivery systems.There are programmes on Conflict resolution, Science and Technology of International relations and many such similar studies.Needless to say such research and learning have a major relevance in the world that we live in.

At the SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES there are progrrames on Heritage, Science and Society.. Conciousness Studies programme that focusses on issues of human wellness and the like.Humanities would also cover many technical areas of Economics and Sociology.

At the SCHOOL OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING there are academic activities on Climate Change and its effects...Animal behaviour and cognition..issues of Energy and Environment.

Finally at the SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES  the focus is on various aspects of Education, Inequality and Human Development,Urban studies including Urban mobility and Urban economics.

It is worthy to note that the NIAS indulges itself in a large set of academic areas very relevant and futuristic and the institute contributes in a big way in being proactive to study various emerging concerns and areas leading in providing priceless inputs to the Government and the community at large.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

FOCUS INDIVIDUAL THEFT ON 19 NOVEMBER 2019

 There were three persons inside the house on this day. The  details of the focus person is below. He should be around  5 ft  9 inches in height; has a sturdy build with large hand and leg features.. Must be from vehicle servicing sector.


KEY FEATURES OF THIS INDIVIDUAL.

Please see hand print below.Thumb shows an extraordinary inclination making an obtruse angle.

Please see his feet pattern below.Has a distict feet pattern. His small toe is round.

From data collected within the house he  is good at climbing.

Please help in nabbing this person.He must be in  some five kilometers radius from KR Puram metro station.

He is part of a team of seasoned thieves operating under instruction from some handler..



ACTUAL HAND IMAGE PHOTO FROM THE WALL









ACTUAL PHOTO OF FOOT PRINT

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

SESSION 6 INDIAN CONSTITUTION;OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT


 

KR PURAM TO BAIYAPPANAHALLI METRO LINK COMMISSSIONED UPTO CHALLAGHATTA

 Day before Yesterday on 9th October 2023 a long-awaited miracle happened in the city. With little prior notice BANGALORE METRO RAIL CORPORATION commissioned the link between KR Puram to Baiyappanahalli metro stations and also the link between Kengeri to Challaghatta. Please note the Challaghatta metro station is exactly opposite to the RAJA RAJESHWARI MEDICAL COLLEGE.

The work on these extensions have been going on for many months now and has been completed splendidly by BMRCL.The bottom line is that there is a continuos metro link all the way from Kadugodi(Whitefield Railway Station) to almost a place called Kumblagodu on Mysore Road and the entire journey could be covered in a little more than one hour.

Friday, October 6, 2023

PRAVEEN SOOD IPS AND MYSELF

 



I had a brief interaction with  Mr. Praveen Sood IPS when he was the head of  Traffic in Bengaluru city.  I had sent an email to him and personally responded to the same in a very positive, constructive and professional way.  Praveen happens to be one of the officers of the Police who had a very long stint in the Bangalore police and his general contribution in various spheres is worth mentioning and is a product of IIT Delhi and the local administration used to like his work. He also served as DGP of Karnataka state Police and then presently the head of CBI.

 

I must thank him for having taken my observation  seriously and  responding to the same in a professional way.

 

Sunday, October 1, 2023

CANNONS


Cannons to the left of them, Cannons to the right of them, into the valley of death , rode the five hundred.. into the valley of death rode the five hundreded.so wrote Alfred Lord Tennyson in the poem ..The Charge of the Light Brigade.

Recently I was on a trail within the Mysore palace to the office of H R H Smt.Pramoda Devi Wadiyar  and on the way spotted some Cannons.I have always wondered how they worked and thought of doing some study of them.

In the past Cannons formed an important component of Artillery and was also used on board ships. The smaller versions can be moved from one place to another with ease.The uncle of Tippu Sultan was hit by a cannon ball in the Second Carnatic war in Cuddalore leading to his death the ball hitting him on his chest.. his grave exists at a place called Gurram konda in Chittoor.  Cannonore in Kerala bears its name to Cannons as many Cannons jut into the sea from the Cannonore fort and recently a large ammunition dump was recovered from within the fort with hundred of Cannon balls.

What is a Cannon ? Basically it is a fire-arm.It has a conduit made of bell metal with bronze being a key ingredient. This conduit is called the barrel which is totally closed on one side and open on the other. It has a targetting device a suspended pin on the open side and a viewing aperture on the closed side. They have limited mobility and can be swayed up and down and to the sides. When a Cannon fires there is a back-lash taking the entire set up backwards by a few feet.The cannons are sometimes tied with ropes to limit this back lash. At the closed end of the Cannon there is a small hole or aperture leading to the barrel.

To fire a cannon two things apart from the above are needed.The Charge or the fuel which is a very highly inflammable material like gun powder..a small spark will create explosion.

The barrel is cleaned first by inseting a cleaning device and into the system goes the charge packed properly and pushed down the barrel.When peirced at the aperture at the closed end of the Cannon a wire directly goes into the charge. The next step is loading the cannon ball.Preferably this is done by keeping the Cannon as horizontal as possible.Now inside the Cannon is the explosice charge which is connected through a wire to the outside of the Cannon and the Cannon ball close to it.In the design of Cannons it is ensured that the Cannon ball does not damage the charge.

The next step is to aim the Cannon..and when the charge is lit through the wire or wick..the explosive material  inside sucks the flame into it creating a deafening explosion the the large energy released sending the Cannon ball some five to ten kilograms in weight to its destination with disastrous consequences.

Some modern day cannons use sparking device instead. The projectile comes ready made with charge attached to it..and is inserted into the barrel. When a rope is pulled it creates spark that ignites the charge creating a projectile.




Friday, September 29, 2023

ORIGINS OF ITI ( INDIAN TELEPHONE INDUSTRIES )

 The behometh called ITI has contributed in large measure to the development of the country as a whole and very few countries both developed or developing would have any semblance to a near wonder of the World that ITI is. Blessed with parks and stadia and   extra- ordinary conglomerate of  residential facilities  it is a near wonder of the World.That the planners of this country had the whim of envisaging such a facility talks of their competence and pioneering spirit.Public sectors have contributed to social growth and national harmony by breeding a generation of educated and well -oriented populace.

How did such a Industry take shape in Bangalore? This a story by itself  which needs careful analysis and understanding.

The model of ITI could be drawn from the large textile mills that existed around the world which had complex machinery and with time an integrated outfit was created with all facilities around the unit and the textile sector and to a lesser extent the tea processing centres gave a ready model of economic sustenance and viability  which was later applied to other industrial organizations. Most of the workers and staff living near-by and a lesser fraction transported to the complex by factory vehicles-the expenses incurred were largely over-ruled by the profits generated where people combined their efforts in Industrial harmony.


What was this place called Dooravaninagar before independance ? A largely agricultural belt with many lakes around with very few houses and settlements. There were large barracks which housed Italian prisoners  from the Second World war   who were brought by air to the old Bangalore airport and then ferried by train to the K R Puram railway station to be ushered into large barracks which used to exixt opposite to the ITI main gate. These prisoners; a large proportion of them were made to do manual labour for the English and this section of people were taken to Gheecenter near the kottur village for milk-processing  which means they had to walk or driven all the way from opposite the ITI main gate to kottur and back.

Such a large prisoner barrack was maintained  by English military officials who held a 24/7 vigil on them and one of the most earlier residential apartment at this place was the house of the Commandant which is the old Dooravaninagar post office  which could have come up around 1930 or so .The Commandant of the English military needed a telephone and a small exchange and repair facility came up in a small hutment which could be seen near the f-51 plant within the iti premises. This exchange was a strowger exchange which could support ten lines. One of the lines were within the barrack itself..another could have a link to gheecenter in kottur, another within the house of the commandant and other few lines for various other kinds of purposes which seved as a real-time link between the hierarchy of the English military operating at this place. The fact of the matter is that this military barrack brought telephone into modern day Dooravaninagar.


Add to that, land-line telephones need servicing and maintenance and a small telephone repair facility must have existed at f-51 shop itself. Much later when ITI was created my father used to say that one of the earlier General Work Managers Mr.Glass used to live in the Old Post-Office building which I mentioned earlier.

Water was pumped into this hamlet from the Tippagondanahalli reservoir the pumping station exists opposite the ITC factory in Cox-town. Modern day Dooravaninagar had telephones, exchanges and a water link from the TGH  reservoir.


Some-thing about the Strowger exchanges. It was a complex Electro-Mechanical and Magnetic system using relays for switching. It needed all forms of Engineering ,from the making of the case which was metal to relays to coil winding and more than anything else it worked on the concept of Stepper motors. It is a rotational device and made noise while operating but still a reliable switching device. Making such exchanges needed complex industrial effort but was worth it because there were no other substitute for it.


With the on-set of Independence and with the Government bent on providing employment a large Indian populace largely starved by the earlier administration , the combination of Exchange, Telephones and the supply of water tempted the Government to build a large and self-sufficient Industrial structure parallel to the large industrial set-ups seen in England ,Europe and Russia.


Thus started a set-up to my understanding that gave warmth and aegis to a wide variety of people with varied talents who in a concerted way contributed to the development of the Economy and the largely formidable country India appears to be today.

 


Sunday, September 24, 2023

MALIK -E-MAIDAN THE EXTRA-ORDINARY CANON AT THE BIJAPUR FORT

A canon of an extraordinary nature is today at display at the Bijapur fort. The modern day name of Bijapur is  Vijayapura.

Built in the mid 16th century with turkish designs it could weigh more than 50 tonnes ,today the Canon is at display without the barrel and only the ignition chamber.This canon was basically built by the sultan of Ahmednagar to act as a potent weapon against the Vijayanagar empire..which was used in the battle of Tallikota in 1565.

The English made some attempts to take this system to England after disconnecting the barrel and were only successful at moving it one floor downwards and decided to abandon their plans considering the difficulty involved and today it is a peice of display at the Bijapur fort. After the battle of Tallikota where this Cannon must have done extensive service it was gifted to the Sultan of Bijapur by the king of Ahmednagar.


The Canon must have had a very long range and many large guns that came thereafter were inspired by it like the Guns of Navronne used by the Germans in the second world war.

The key aspect of the canon is a large ignition chamber and when fired made very high decibel noise and a fifteen foot  well was created for the crew to hide as the gun fired at the Bijapur fort.


How this Canon was positioned by the Bijapur sultans on top of this fort is a mystery and an imposing task maybe carried out with many slaves and elephants and the machine was effectively used to ward of threats to the Bijapur fort for many years.


The stairs to the Fort as of now has no railings on the staircases which is dangerous. Railings must be constructed on the sides of the stairs to make it even safer.



Saturday, August 12, 2023

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

OOTY AND KODAIKANAL

Ooty and Kodaikanal are two hill stations on the Western Ghat mountains almost at similar altitudes of some 6000 ft displaced from each other by some three hundred kilometers ;Ooty closer to the city of Mysore though 160km from it and Kodaikanal close to the temple town of Palani in Tamil Nadu-both these towns developed by the English establishment and is similar in many ways with lakes and parks and boating.

Ooty is called Ootacamund and also Udhagamandalam and has a diverse population base of Kannada ,Tamil and Malayalam population ,though formally set up as a hill station by the English there were settlements here of many kinds since time immemorial largely composing of indigenous people who climbed up and down the hills to this 30 square mile plateu engulfed by hills.Coonor is a sister town of Ooty

From Mysore ,on criss-crossing the Bandipur forests two prominent towns emerge, Gudalur and  Naduvattom. Gudalur is some sixty kilometers from Sultanbattery. Naduvattom basically is a malayalam phrase which means "central circle" and considering that Sultanbattery was earlier called Ganapathyvattom it is likely the rulers of Wayanad had some sway over this place much before; including this place called Ooty, which was earlier called Udhagamandalam the word Mandalam translating to Village from Sanskrit.

In present day Ooty temperatures vary from 18 degree celcius to  0 degree celsius with the days being warm and nights become extremely cold due to the altitude and large trees that surround this place giving an air-conditioning effect.

One of the peaks that arise from the Ooty plains upwards is Doddabetta an isolated hill some twenty kilometers or so within Ooty and rising 1500 ft above it making it an even foggy and colder place.

The weather and largely the rain fall makes Ooty an ideal place for growing tea.Pulverised tea leaves creates tea powder which needs to be cleaned and packed to get tea a drink largely sponsored by the chinese and later adopted by the English.

One of the key attractions of Ooty is the botonical garden. It is a misnomer to call this a botonical garden as it is very much a park developed on one of the hill slopes that adorn this town.It must be some ten acres in space with a glass house and could be seen as a combination of Lalbagh and chikkalalbagh seen in  Bangalore.

The town of Coonor is some twenty kilometers on one of the edges of Ooty and houses the staff training college of the Indian defence and also has a park similar to the ones found in Ooty called the Sims park.Down the hill from Coonor on the Deccan plains is the town of Metturpalayam.

From Metturpalayam to reach Kodaikanal is some 300 kilometers driving through the plains of Tamil Nadu covering fringes of cities like Tirupur,Coimbatore ,Dindudal and Palladam .From Palladam cross the road leads again towards the western ghats to the town of Palani which is a temple town on the foot of the Western Ghats. From Palani it is  sixty kilometre climb uphill to Kodaikanal and  this  stretch is  steep and the hills have many other arteries facing places like  Karur and the like and also has exit into  Keralite  territories.

The night temperatures at Kodaikanal could be even colder than that of Ooty and the place has many parks and hill-views and also houses the Kodaikanal club that was built in the late 19th century.When going to Kodaikanal from Bangalore there is no need for touching Palani as the hills can be climbed from the yonder side through Karur ,which can be approached through Salem and Krishnagiri.




Sunday, April 16, 2023

PUC STUDY CERTIFICATE

 

The above is study certificate for my PUC Course obtained from the Institute. PCMB stands for Physics,Chemistry,Mathematics and Biology. The other subjects studied are English and Sanskrit.

I must thank Shri Rajiv at the office of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning and the Director of the institute Shri. N.Siva Kumar for having made this possible.

Monday, April 10, 2023

MANATHAVADY IN WAYANAD

 

The name Manantavady rings bells in my mind.In October 1983 or so S V Giri and myself reached at around 8pm  the old Calicut bus stand to board the 9pm bus to Bangalore but the bus was full and I still remember the blunt way in which the bus conductor shut the door of the bus and the bus took-off almost instantaneously...we waited upto 2:30 am in the Calicut bus stand under difficult conditions to board the early morning Karnataka SRTC super delux bus that would reach Calicut from Ernakulam around this time. Eventually we did board this bus reaching Bangalore at around 11 am.

The irony of the situation is that at  9 pm  there were several buses parked in the Calicut bus stand bound for Manantavady. For all Practical purposes we did not know where this place Manantavady was. Many people who visit Calicut for the first time would be in such quandary and must not make the oversight that we did.

Manantavady is a town in the Wayanad district of Kerala up the Western Ghat mountains.(Kalpetta is another town close to this place). It is a town on the same axis as Virajpet or even Madikeri. The principal fact of the matter is that Manantavady is relatively very close to the city of Mysore. Manantavady has a small befitting Kerala SRTC bus station. There are two routes from Manantavady to Mysore. One through Nagarahole forests through H D Kote (HeggadaDevana Kote) which should take three hours and another route through Gonikoppal which should take some four hours. Manantavdy also has a link road to Tellicherry.

Any one stranded in Calicut bus stand can try this route too to come to Bangalore. Calicut to Mananthavady to Mysore and to Bangalore.


Sunday, April 9, 2023

AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT VIDEO

 https://vimeo.com/user120238421


https://lnkd.in/gKcpstK

VIRGINIJUS KUNDROTAS

 

The photo above is that of  Mr. Virginijus Kundrotas a distinguished world-wide professor in the area of Management. More than five years ago on a visit to the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore happened to meet him in the side-walks of a conference that was underway at IIM and there after were linked through face book.He is from the Balkans and lectures at premier institutes around the World including the Harvard Business School.He wished me Happy Birthday and I was happy he remembers me in some way.

Saturday, April 8, 2023

CALICUTCITY:SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES...SOMS...NIT CALICUT

 



The above is a photograph  of the SOMS  (SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES NIT CALICUT).It is a very impressive and large complex built with architectural accuracy and splendour and is a cut above many such campuses supposed to be inaguarated by Shri. Krishnadas Nair former CMD of HAL and was the Chairman of the Board of Governors of NIT Calicut for some time. It is built on some newly acquired land on the faculty quarters side of NIT  few kilometres from the main road amidst sylvan surroundings.

It is an excellent and well planned outfit with all attributes embedded with each other in a professional fashion with a very spacious courtyard.

People who were involved in the design of this campus deserve praise and with such an infrastructure SOMS would someday become an even more premier institute.


BUDGET HOTEL IN CALICUT(KOZHIKODE):  HOTEL AMBADI COMFORT INN:NEAR PALAYAM BUS STAND:0495-2702112;8086340380.



Monday, April 3, 2023

METRO SYSTEM BETWEEN KR PURAM RAILWAY STATION TO WHITEFEILD RAILWAY STATION LAUNCHED

 




BMRCL has formally launched the K R PURAM Railway station to WHITEFIELD Railway station metro service during the last week of March this year. Hon Prime Minister of India Shri Narender Modi  with Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Seetharaman and Chief Minister of Karnataka Shri Basavaraj Bommai  inaugurated  this   stretch. The PM and the FM arriving in a Helicopter and landing at a specially made helipad within the Sathya Sai campus.

Eventuallly the K R Puram metro station will be linked to the Byappanahalli Metro Station few months from now as the construction of a link bridge is in progress and once this work is complete this metro line will link Kengeri to Whitefield a long corridor of the city. Iam told this line will gradually be extended to Hoskote.

It is important to note that K R Puram metro station is adjacent to K R Puram railway station and so is the last stop presently christened Whitefeild(Kadugodi) is adjacent to Whitefeild Railway Station.The only error or oversight is that the logical places and the names of the Metro stations do not match in toto for some reason or the other  creating some trade-off.

For example Channasandra(Hope Farm) station is mid way between Hope Farm bus stand and Kadugodi bus stand.A station called Kadugodi Tree Park is few yards before the Hope Farm bus stop.Pattandur Agrahara station is ITPL.Such logical confusions exist and even I have requested the Metro brass to look into such confusions.

The basic design of this stretch is interesting. Two staight corridors linked by a semi-circular arc. From KR Puram metro station to Singayyanpalya to Garudachar palya..thereupon it takes a arc towards the right into Sathya Sai Hospital and rejoining the main road at Pattandur Agrahara (ITPL)..As of now there is a feeder bus system that links Byappanahalli Metro Station  with K R Puram metro stations.

Not to forget the K R Puram  metro station stands on the dining hall and foot ball ground of Lowry Memorial High School.As tiny tots we used to play Foot Ball in this ground and march-past during Independence day used to be held on this ground.

Saturday, March 18, 2023

NATIONAL EXTRA LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORT SERVICE ( NELDTS)

In many countries around the world there are passenger transport buses that even travel upto six thousand Km  ferrying commuters. In India the road transport sector has undergone metamorphosis with the introduction of volvo bus services   and   add to that the  development  of  road and other support systems .  The railway lines in India is a preferred mode of travel due to economies of scale and even airways which is well burdened with traffic.

In India to my observation we have not come of age in long distance bus services which can help in rapid growth of the Economy. Highways and roadlines are corridors of various kinds of commerce and add to quick economic expansion owing to the various forms of flexibilities they provide.

The Central Government must actively consider creating a NATIONAL EXTRA LONG DISTANCE TRANSPORT SERVICE which basically focusses on introducing long distance passenger bus services that connect key cities and strive to make it economically viable. This can be done with the co-operation of State Governments. What this precisely means is passenger bus services from Bengaluru (Bangalore) to say New Delhi, Bangaore to Kolkata and the like. This service must come under a central authority which focusses on all aspects of Quality and viability.

There are many private operators they say that operate such routes and the same operations must be done by the Government as well.

Such a service properly handled with time will provide drastic improvement in economic indices like employment  and open doors for various forms of acculterisation  and growth.

THE SHIRDI SAI BABA TEMPLE IN SHIRDI

 




The above is a view of the SAI BABA temple at Shirdi in Maharashtra. This place called Shirdi is a small town with a full fledged Government bus stand and is some four hours drive towards the north of Pune. Shirdi has an airport connected to many cities and the Pune - Indore highway runs through Shirdi.The towns yonder to Shirdi on this highway are Malegaon and Dhule and the travel time from Shirdi to Indore would be less than ten hours.

The general environment here is arid. The Government could do a good thing by planting more trees and ferns in this town and its environs.

The Shirdi Sai Baba temple which is generally thronged by many is close to the bus stand with a thick market place around it and to some extent resembles Guruvayoor temple found in Kerala.

From Bangalore the travel route would be through Davangere, Belgaum,Nippani,Kholapur,
Karad,Pune,Ahmednagar into Shirdi.One of my room mates at REC Calicut used to be a person by name Arvind Poal Masaji who hails from Nippani.







Sunday, February 19, 2023

NAGARA FORT SHIVAMOGGA(SHIMOGA)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEK-8DTvccE

https://lnkd.in/gKbJNZVR


LORD RIPPON VICEROY OF INDIA 1880 TO 1884

Above is the photograph and video description of the Nagara fort near shimoga (Shivamogga). This fort was originally built in the beginning of the 17th century by Ikkeri Nayaks of the Keladi dynasty and later went into the hands of Hyder Ali and later into the hands of Tippu Sultan and finally to the English. Kammaran nambiar alias Hyat Sahib alias Mohammed Ayaz Khan was a Governor here for may be a decade or more enjoying sovereign powers. Kammaran Nambiar is from chirakkal in Cannanore(Kannur) and is our ancestor. Hence my interest in this fort.

This fort can simply be described as a hillock on a hill spanning some twenty acres with steep precipices very much on the Western Ghat mountains.. The idea behind hosting such a fort here could be that it has a natural advantage against cannon fire as it is difficult to hoist cannons on these hilly stretches. Hyat Sahib had named this place Hyder Nagara and with exit of the Mysore rulers the name changed to Nagara.It is also called Bendore.

Nagara is basically a very small village some eighty kilometers from Shimoga on the Western Ghat mountains. Yonder it is some fifty kilometers from the Arabian sea coast.The fort forms an ideal refuge for its proximity to the sea.It is basically a god forsaken place with minimal population.The nearest major town is Hosanagara some twenty kilometers from here towards Shimoga.Hosanagara is sixty kilometers from Shimoga. Much of the forests in this area have been cleared with modern tree cutting machines and have given space for agriculture.On the way to Hosanagara from Shimoga is a place called RIPPONPET named in honour of the Viceroy of India Lord Rippon.

With the sudden death of Hyder Ali the fortunes of Mohammed Ayaz Khan changed drastically. There was huge wealth in the  form of  gold stored  within this  fort. Tippu Sultan had formed a  squad to assassinate Mohammed Ayaz Khan . Mohammed Ayaz Khan gave the fort into the hands of the British and in return got a safe passage to Mumbai (Bombay). He possibly descended the western ghats into Kollur and to the sea shore from where he was  ferried by sea to Mumbai.  

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

GOL GOMBUZ IN VIJAYAPURA(BIJAPUR)

 

I had visited this structure recently and thought it un-just if I do not make some note of what I really saw.Gol-Gombuz which could mean " a round masoleum" has its architectural insight and inspiration from Turkish art of the Ottaman empire and was told took forty years to build and is basically a tomb of the kings of Bijapur.


Vijayapura previously known as Bijapur is the host to this structure and the entire city of Bijapur has various similar structures built by the Kings of Bijapur who could be of Turkish origins. Gol-Gombus is basically a rectangular structure some two hundred feet high on which rests a large dome some hundred feet high. It is spectacular in many ways. A very narrow alley of stairs which can house one person can be seen at the four corners and is a well designed  and engineered construction. I happenned to climb the entire stretch slowly but carefully and a view of the gardens from above is pleasant and fascinating.

People can climb the stairs on one extreme and alight from another extreme. The fact that such a meticulous structure was erected with high degree of engineering precision is a matter of praise.

A word of Caution: I found inadequate security staff maintaining the internals of this monument. People dont understand  how exactly to reach the top and alight..adequate security personnel must be provided by the Government who are pro-active to guide people through the entry and exit routes or in the event of some confusion a stampede could result which could have serious conscequences.

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

REVIVING DEFUNCT BOREWELLS

 Few years ago on a visit to the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore I happened to sit through an International seminar on Water and thereafter was in a discussion with the delegates who happened to be from many different countries and did have a long chat with one of the delegates from Germany and was given to understand that borewells continue to be one of the key sources of Water in many countries and ground-water normally found at some 80 feet.


Bore wells are an excellent isolated source of independent water for households and could be a costly affair. The problems I see is that after few years some of these wells dry up. There are many reasons why they dry and could vary from case to case.


Some seven years back I found the bore well in one of my houses dry. I was aghast and upset and finally the immersion motor inside failed. The general rhetoric was that all the borewells in the vicinity are defunct and so is yours. I felt sad but decided to do something about it.


I put some brick bunds and routed the  water coming from the stairs towards the bore well and left it so for for some five years. During rains water gushing from the stairs would route itself towards the bore well.


Some one year back I was curious to know the state of the well and then came Samy an expert at studying such situations. He brought with him a long wired camera connected to a laptop and I was manning the lap top as he let the cable down the well. He showed me three water sources at 40ft,80ft and 120 ft respectively. I was given to understand the borewell is 120 ft in depth and the source seen at 120 ft was a bountiful one and Samy suggested that putting a new immersion pump would not be a waste.


I left it  that way for nearly a year and decided to go in for a new immersion pump.One evening I bought a pump and this person Samy got to work.The burnt motor was removed earlier and the entire piping removed and the new motor fit ..and touchwod and by some providential grace the well is as fit as a fiddle and performing much better than what it did earlier.


There is a lesson in this experience that defunct borewells can be revived. Dig two trenches 1 ft  long,wide and deep  some two feet away from the bore well  and let rainwater from the terrace or other catchments swell into these trenches during rain. Leave such an arrangement  for nearly four years and then check the well by camera  traversing through the entire depth. New water lines and sources should form as a result of water flowing down these trenches. Such a system creates new water lines and sources from many feet around the well and acts as a repository that can be a perennial water source.