Serendipity : Musings of an Islander

SAGA OF ENDLESS WAIT FOR THE ERSTWHILE WORKERS OF M/S ATI LIMITED IN THE MATTER OF RETIREMENT CLAIM M/s Andaman Timber Industries  L imited, popularly known as ATI had its plywood manufacturing factory at S hore P oint V illage near B ambooflat J etty in S outh A ndaman. The factory started sometime in the early 60’s with a modest two digit workforce, soon emerged as the frontrunner providing livelihood option, directly or indirectly to a majority of the population residing in rural S outh A ndamans. At its peak the factory operated in three shifts (round the clock) with strength of about 1200 workers who were paid wages over and above the rates fixed by G ovt. Workers too complemented the management’s generosity by their devotion towards work to the extent that plywoods manufactured at ATI were unarguably T he B est. Peoples swearing in the name of ATI plywoods for quality was in vogue. Such was the reputation of ATI during hey days. The symbiosis, churning out good...

The universe is a collection of Planets, Stars and numerous other celestial objects which move in the vastness of the space surrounding them giving rise to several interesting celestial configurations, such as Eclipse, Transits, Occultation etc. Among these, eclipse is common and easily understood whereas transit is rather rare hence not heard very often. But here is a chance, not only to learn but to see (with naked eye) a rare Transit of Venus on June 6th , 2012. Venus, our immediate neighbor planet in the solar system has been known in the prehistoric times as two separate objects namely the morning star and the evening star. The   Babylonian   cuneiformic   texts such as the Venus tablet of Ammisaduqa , dated 1581 BC however described it as "bright queen of the sky” suggesting the two were indeed a single object and named it   Ishtar   (Sumerian   Inanna ), the personification of womanhood, and goddess of love and beauty. As such Venus, ap...

A DECADE OF UNEASY CALM following acceptance of Sekhar Singh Commission report on A&N Islands The issue has its origin in 1998, when K alpavriksh, a P une based NGO reportedly carried out a study on the indigenous peoples and forests of A ndaman islands which ended in reporting violations in logging activities in L ittle A ndaman I sland by the F orest C orporation. Thereafter the S ociety for A ndaman and N icobar E cology (SANE) a local NGO , K alpavriksh and the B ombay N atural H istory S ociety (BNHS) filed a joint petition with the P ort B lair B ench of the C alcutta H igh C ourt and later approached the H on’ble S upreme C ourt. During the course of hearing, the H on’ble S upreme C ourt extended the case to cover the entire A&N I slands and subsequently P rof S hekhar S ingh of the I ndian I nstitute of P ublic A dministration (IIPA), N ew D elhi was appointed C ommissioner (one man commission) to look into the forests and other allied matters of A&N I sl...