Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A Voice for the voiceless

Many a times, I've been a closet activist and rebel regarding various issues. Of course, I guess there's a need to be shaken up and stirred before one can react and rebel openly against the system. Sometimes, it's the sheer energy expended trying to voice against something that you feel is so futile. But this time, I promised someone I'd do my little part about it. Case in point - recently heard a grim news through a good friend, Mahima who's also an animal activist(if I can say that) and voices out & DOES something about cruelty to animals. Every day, thousands of cattle are being trafficked for slaughtering about which we don't really know much. Well, I guess this documentary made by the Temple Worshippers' Society which she shared with me expounds on this gruesome act.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGHfPQGbUlc&feature=youtu.be
While I'm not sharing this from a religious POV, there's a bit of a humanist inside. From their Youtube Link "Temple Worshippers Society was formed with the twin objectives of Temple Protection and Cattle Protection. Since its inception, Temple Worshippers Society has been focussing on the Government's mismanagement of Temples, their properties and endowments, interference in worshipping patterns, total disregard to Gau Samrakshana, etc. We are committed to restoring our Temples and its endowments from the evil clutches of the Government, rightfully for management by Hindus themselves.
Towards achieving the second objective, this documentary is our first step to stop cruelty to cattle, while being transported in millions to Kerala. It is our earnest desire that viewers should protest strongly through emails and letters to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to stop allowing Tamil Nadu from being a transit point for illegal cattle mafia. All that we ask the Government is to enforce the rule of law - the laws pertaining to transportation of Animals, true to its words, spirit and content. The Government should rescue the animals and house them in Temple lands endowed by generous devotees for running Goshalas. Every temple in Tamil Nadu should house such abandoned cattle and nourish them through the rest of their lives in Goshalas earmarked as endowments for such purpose.
We made a documentary titled: "Their Last Journey" - Cattle trafficking to Kerala. This is the Tamil version.
Please forward it to as many people as you know. This would help in spreading awareness of this noble cause."

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Sibling thingy..!!

Siblings are such a luxury..in this reality.. to fight with, to fight for.. to complain about, to complain to.. to share, to snatch.. to cuddle, to kick.. to cry, to laugh.. to judge, to appreciate, to find comfort in.. to seek advice, to play, to yell, to like..and most of all.. to LOVE!..and much more.. to all the siblings..to the universe for creating them.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Not a dog’s day


(Ok, this post is atleast 2 weeks old, just found the time.) Perhaps the highlight of today is sitting at a coffee shop in the second floor of a shopping mall, in ‘mid-town’ Chennai and sipping on a cappuccino and looking out the glass window at the rain-mud-and-filth soaked traffic below. I neither feel pity nor wear a smug smile as I witness the rat-race because it really hasn’t been long since I was in the sludge, wading through murky waters which are obviously a result of our freakin awesome drainage system. Don’t get me wrong when I say that I’m in the shopping mall and contemplating life in such elite quarters. Mind you, I’m not a fucking elite, though I can be and sometimes act like one(and that’s a whole different argument altogether) just to empathize with things on both sides of the spectrum. I just freaking hate mindless consumerism but I will hate it from inside a glitzy shopping mall. I’m a minimalist, a bloody local with thoughts verging on the extreme. On the rare instances I will pay Rs.90 for a coffee with which I can sit comfortably in a lounge-like ambience for more than a couple of hours trying to make sense of Dito Montiel’s interview in Filmmaker mag or Arundhati Roy’s incendiary  ‘Shape of the Beast’(ok I ain't going for pretense there). As I wait for the guys to get back, I thought, ok fine, with all the commotion outside and inside my head, lemme vent out stuff.
Why is today not a dog’s day? Well, then don’t ask me if every other day is a dog day. Not for me, it’s not. Today, as with any other day I travel/commute, I witnessed about a 150 dogs, bitches, bitches with babies inside them and pups scattered all around in the rain doing what they would normally do. Experience a ‘dog’s life’. Having the life of an ‘underdog’. Spending a Dog day afternoon. Groundhog day. See? More references. No wonder we termed it so. (ok so groundhog doesn’t have anything to do with a dog but still they sound the same)And today was more than normal for them, especially with the cold and almost omnipresent uncertainty that the rains bring with them. And earlier in the day, before we came to Chennai, we had to transport 5 wet, shivering pups (who’d been taken away from their mother) from the soggy paddy fields to our humble abode in the village. Back to the 150 canines, their faces were so full of implication, that I could write a page each about what they were thinking. I mean, if they actually do. Or do they just live in the moment? Taking each day as it came? Surprisingly, many of our human kind seemed to have the same expression, or were they worse? Can’t tell. Really. But these days, my guess is we humans are becoming pathetic in more ways than one. So, pretty soon, to say, ‘it’s a dog’s day’ will become NOT a bad thing after all. Because, as people, especially as Indians, we suffer more than we can endure. No I take that back. We suffer uhh…more than what we think we can endure(coz we can endure shit-just-about-anything), but as we get accustomed to that, we reach the next phase of suffering and we endure that too and the chain continues. So henceforth, thou shall pat each other in the backs, in congratulatory delight, because we love to revel in our hopelessly romantic status as sufferers. (pic from google)

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Event-Youth Career Fair - New York City


We recently went to a youth career fair conducted by Idealist.org aka Action Without Borders which is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, connect with other people, organizations and resources and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.

In the youth fair, children from various schools could come and register in various non-profit and not-for-profit organizations for volunteering positions. It was such an inspiration to see children at such young ages interested in the welfare of the society around them. Some children had come with their teachers to the event and signed up for events in groups.

There were many large canvases where the attendees of the event could write positive and inspiring messages which was later being displayed in a Summit which the Mayor of NYC attended. Children were very eager to write and color their messages and happily painted some positive images.

The list of the organizations that participated in the event is as follows.

1. www.relightny.com

RelightNY’s mission is to inform and inspire people that the seemingly unachievable task of helping to protect the earth’s environment for current and future generations can be achieved collectively by the small but tangible action of changing a light bulb!

2. www.prospectpark.org

Prospect Park is a 585-acre urban oasis located in the heart of Brooklyn, New York City’s most populous borough. The masterpiece of famed landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who also designed Central Park, Prospect Park features the 90-acre Long Meadow, the 60-acre Lake and Brooklyn’s only forest.

3. www.globalcitizencorps.org

Members of Global Citizen Corps:

  • learn more about global poverty and how it links to other global issues
  • exchange ideas and resources with other youth around the country
  • talk with anti-poverty experts
  • find new ways to take action
  • build a powerful movement for change

4. www.actioncenter.org

The Action Center to End World Hunger uses hunger as an organizing symbol of poverty, helping to explain and illustrate the challenges that lay behind it, such as poor agricultural practices, inefficient markets, weak health and education services, environmental degradation, conflict, and lack of access to clean water. By identifying and highlighting these underlying issues, the Action Center seeks to generate the public will necessary to end hunger in our lifetimes.

5. www.mercycorps.org

Mercy corps believe in the intrinsic value and dignity of human life.

They are awed by human resilience, and believe in the ability of all people to thrive, not just exist.

They believe that all our spiritual and humanitarian values compel us to act.

They believe that all people have the right to live in peaceful communities and participate fully in the decisions that affect their lives.

They believe that human imagination and energy can inspire innovative solutions to any problem, no matter how intractable.

They believe that it is our duty to be effective stewards of the financial resources entrusted to us.

6. www.helpusa.org

HELP USA is a national not-for-profit organization with a mission to empower the homeless and others in need to become and remain self-reliant. Through the development of quality housing with on-site support services HELP USA provides resources for its residents to become independent and productive. We break the cycle of dependency by addressing underlying causes in a way that respects the dignity of those we serve. We help our clients help themselves. Living in a pleasant, safe environment elevates clients’ expectations for themselves, and motivates them to realize their full potential.

7. www.readnyc.org

READ employs one-on-one research-based reading instruction to prepare at-risk children to become proficient readers. READ recruits, trains and employs teens to teach reading skills to young children who are struggling with learning to read.

8. www.nysec.org

As an ethical culture community, this organization believes that:

  • We are all part of something that transcends the individual experience
  • We have responsibilities to each other, to the Society, and to the community at large
  • We are enriched through our interconnectedness with others
  • We find confirmation and validation of our own selves and beliefs through our interactions with others
  • We derive strength through our relationships with others

9. www.humanesociety.org

The HSUS seeks a humane and sustainable world for all animals—a world that will also benefit people. They are America's mainstream force against cruelty, exploitation and neglect, as well as the most trusted voice extolling the human-animal bond.

10. www.cityyear.org

City Year seeks to:

  • Help children succeed
  • Build stronger communities
  • Break down social barriers
  • Develop young leaders
  • Foster active citizenship

11. www.makeadifference.org

Make a Difference is now HandsOn Greater Phoenix which is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization that empowers people to become engaged, take action and create positive change in their communities.

12. www.youth4peace.org

AFSC's work is based on the Quaker belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

13. www.volunteerNYC.org

The Mayor's Volunteer Center and United Way New York City are proud to present VolunteerNYC.org to serve the dual purpose of providing meaningful volunteer opportunities for New Yorkers and providing nonprofit organizations in New York City the opportunity to post their volunteer needs and publicize the services provided by their organizations.

14. www.milliontreesnyc.org

MillionTreesNYC, one of the 127 PlaNYC initiatives, is a citywide, public-private program with an ambitious goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across the City's five boroughs over the next decade. By planting one million trees, New York City can increase its urban forest—our most valuable environmental asset made up of street trees, park trees, and trees on public, private and commercial land—by an astounding 20%, while achieving the many quality-of-life benefits that come with planting trees. The City of New York will plant 60% of trees in parks and other public spaces. The other 40% will come from private organizations, homeowners, and community organizations.

15. www.justell.org

Just Tell visualizes a world in which children who are molested immediately turn to a trusted adult figure in their lives and tell them of the abuse. That trusted adult has information to help the child though the next steps so that the abuse is stopped and the abuser is prevented from harming other children.

In their vision, children do not have to bear the scars of unrevealed and repeated abuse, the consequences of which have been repeatedly shown to include higher-than-average rates of: drug and alcohol abuse, self-destructive behaviors, guilt and shame.

16. www.ncac.org

NCAC's Purpose is:

• To promote and defend First Amendment values of freedom of thought, inquiry and expression.

• To oppose restraints on open communication and to support access to information.

• To encourage, support and coordinate activities of national organizations in opposition to censorship.

• To encourage understanding that restrictions on the free interchange of ideas threaten religious, moral, political, artistic and intellectual freedom.

17. www.girights.org

The GI Rights is a coalition of nonprofit, non-governmental organizations who provide information to members of the military about discharges, grievance and complaint procedures, and other civil rights.

18. www.centeronconscience.org

CCW is a faith based organization that advocates for the rights of conscience, opposes military conscription, and serves all conscientious objectors to war.

19. www.yayanetwork.org

The Ya-Ya Network is a citywide anti-racist, anti-sexist organization and allies with the LGBTQ community. Ya-Ya is staffed by young activists ages 15-19. We work with other youth, adult allies, youth programs & activist organizations. We help groups & individuals connect. We share information & resources & we support the work that other groups are doing. All to build a stronger voice for young people in the movement for social & economic justice.

20. www.objector.org

CCCO supports and promotes individual and collective resistance to war and preparations for war.

21. www.vote.nyc.ny.us

The Board is responsible under New York State Election Law for the following:

  • Voter registration, outreach and processing
  • Maintain and update voter records
  • Processing and verification of candidate petitions/documents
  • Campaign finance disclosures of candidates and campaign committees
  • Recruiting, training and assigning the various Election Day officers to conduct elections
  • Operate poll site locations
  • Ensure each voter their right to vote at the polls or by absentee ballot
  • Canvassing and certification of the vote
  • Voter education, notification and dissemination of election information
  • Preparation of maps of various political subdivisions

22. www.childrenforchildren.org

Children for Children mobilizes the energy, ingenuity and compassion of young people, beginning at an early age, to discover their power and potential to solve real world problems through volunteer opportunities and service learning programs that instill a lifelong commitment to service.

23. www.18in08.com

Children for Children mobilizes the energy, ingenuity and compassion of young people, beginning at an early age, to discover their power and potential to solve real world problems through volunteer opportunities and service learning programs that instill a lifelong commitment to service.

24. Service We Trust.

Please take some time to go through the activities in the websites and try to make a difference TODAY! The world needs action from you...Today!!!



Tuesday, April 01, 2008

can you draw with such co-ordination??



the video is self-explanatory..wow!
Can your elephant paint? Watch this elephant, rescued from abusive treatment in Burma, now paint an amazing self portrait. You'll be amazed at how his talent unfolds.

So touched by their horrific backgrounds and loving personalities, ExoticWorldGifts.com now supports, "Starving Elephant Artisans" by selling their paintings so they can continue to have a new life in Thailand.

Monday, July 16, 2007

A Mammoth of an Elephant

Given that I'm a sucker for creatures of gargantuan proportions especially in mythological realms related to time travel, it's no biggie that I absolutely love this piece of work - The Sultan's Elephant. Amazing effort and coordination by the artists. You gotta watch this.

The Sultan's Elephant is a show created by the Royal de Luxe theatre company, involving a huge moving mechanical elephant and other associated public art installations. In French it is called La visite du sultan des Indes sur son éléphant à voyager dans le temps (literally, "Visit From The Sultan Of The Indies On His Time-Traveling Elephant").

The elephant is made mostly of wood, and is operated by over ten puppeteers using a mixture of hydraulics and motors. It weighs 42 tons, as much as 7 African elephants. A replica of the elephant was built in Nantes (France) in 2007, as part of the Machines of the Isle of Nantes permanent exhibition.

Courtesy Wiki.