E-MAGAZINE

OF

SANGAM

E.V

SANGAM
January - March 2010

MAALA
Volume 2, Issue 1

EDITORIAL TEAM > Vigneshwaran Namasivayam > Eva Eismann

Editorial Note
Dear Readers ... Wishing you all a Happy New Year 2010 2010 has now risen up, and many of us surely feel like to start a new beginning. Last year has been a wonderful year by starting off the e-magazine and with many wonderful articles from the authors. I am thankful to all the readers and contributors. This New Year will no doubt continue to present the same across all fields of arts, culture and science for each one of you. I remain resolute in working diligently and with a hopeful heart in order to make sure Sangam Maala team continues to deliver opportunities for readers and contributors alike to foster connections, communications, pleasure and understanding amongst all of us. I wish you all a bountiful new year filled with all you need to foment an am-

> Raj Varma Mudunuri > Arunkumar Raj Vorugantti > Siddharth Chanderasekaran

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Article PC Treat Cover Story Travelogue Cookery Bollywood Columnn 3 6 7 11 13 15

ple and creative environment.

-Vigneshwaran Namasivayam Sangam Maala

Sangam e.V. Team Wishing you all

Happy New Year 2010

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Im Labyrinth Benares 19.03.2004- Ein erweiterter Auszug aus meinem Reisetagebuch, Indien 2004 -Julia Zipp What are you doing here at this time? fragte mein Kunstlehrer V., als ich mit missmutigem Gesichtsausdruck seinen Handwerkerladen betrat. Shouldnt you be at the exhibition? Ich schnaubte. Some exhibition! I didnt know that it was a shop for musical instruments. The owners just ask foreigners to donate some self-made paintings. These are exhibited indeed. And then every visitor is instructed to proceed further to the selling section of the shop! Immer noch aufgebracht setzte ich mich zu V. an die Kasse und zog die Mappe aus meiner Tasche, die meine beiden Bilder fr die Kunstausstellung enthielten. As if I were painting for other peoples advertisement! I could have told you about that place. Wie immer, wenn sich bei mir Emotionen heftigerer Art zeigten, schien V. schlagartig das Interesse an einem Gesprch mit mir zu verlieren. Beinahe trumerisch war sein Blick lngst von meinem Gesicht zur Assi Road hinbergeglitten, von der man durch das Ladenfenster einen grozgig bemessenen Ausschnitt sehen konnte und auf der in den Abendstunden reges Treiben herrschte. Als ich jedoch die Bilder hervorholte, richtete sich seine ganze Aufmerksamkeit sofort wieder auf mich. Show them to me! Ich reichte ihm die Bilder, die fr mich recht typisch waren: Klare Formen,
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gegenstndlich und voll harter Kontraste. Sobald V. auch nur einen Blick darauf geworfen hatte, runzelte er ungehalten die Stirn. Have you told them that Im your teacher? Seine Stimme klang nicht nur verrgert, sondern auch, wie ich glaubte herauszuhren, besorgt. Ich verneinte, und sofort hellte sich sein Gesichtsausdruck wieder auf. Thank God! I dont want other people to believe that it was me who taught you to paint so badly! Thank you very much! Mit einer knappen Geste entriss ich ihm die beiden Bilder und stopfte sie in die Mappe zurck, was nun wiederum ihn zu beleidigen schien, denn er wandte sich schroff ab. So verhielt er sich jedes Mal, wenn ich die von ihm geforderte Lehrer-Schler-Hierarchie missachtete, was mir oft passierte. Vermutlich war die Tatsache, dass wir im gleichen Alter waren, einer der Grnde dafr. Seine Stimme riss mich aus meinen Gedanken. Have you decided on coming back to Var anasi in September? Er schien den Zwischenfall schon vergessen zu haben. No, sagte ich, Im not sure yet. I dont understand why youre making things so complicated. V. streckte kurz die Beine aus und lehnte sich an die Vitrine in seinem Rcken. I know your type. Youll have to come back, people like you have to come back to India again and again. You know it as well, and still you keep running away from it that is why youre out of balance.

Ich sagte nichts dazu. Gedanken dieser Art hatte ich mir schon oft genug gemacht, und ich wusste selbst nicht, warum ich es mir mit der Entscheidung, im September wiederzukommen und fr einige Monate zu bleiben, so schwer machte. V. schickte sich an, noch mehr zu sagen, aber er wurde von einem seiner Neffen unterbrochen, der ihn freundlich grte und dann den Laden verlie. Wheres he going? fragte ich und nickte in Richtung des Jugendlichen, der rasch im Treiben der Menschen auf der Strae untertauchte. To the temple behind our home, antwortete V., tonight we pray to Durga. Behind your home you mean he is going into the maze? Unwillkrlich beschlich mich ein Gefhl von Unbehagen, und V. grinste. Er wusste genau, was ich mit maze meinte. Eigentlich handelte es sich bei dem von mir mit maze betitelten Gebiet um kein wirkliches Labyrinth, sondern um ein kleines Stadtviertel ohne eigentliche Hauptstrae. Dieses Gewirr uerst schmaler Gassen und Treppenaufstiege befand sich direkt hinter dem bergang der Assi Road1 zum Assi Ghat, wo auch das Haus der Familie von V. stand. Irgendwo im Herz dieses Irrgartens, so hatte man mir berichtet, sollte ein kleiner Tempel errichtet worden sein, aber ich selbst war nie dort gewesen. Direkt zu Beginn meines Aufenthalts in Benares hatte ich mich einmal tagsber in einem hnlichen Labyrinth in der Altstadt verirrt und erst nach Stunden

Hindi: 80- Strae

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Article wieder zur Hauptstrae zurckgefunden. Dieses Abenteuer hatte mir jegliche Lust auf hnliche Entdeckungstouren verdorben. guide! Bevor ich auch nur irgendetwas entgegnen konnte, war V. aufgestanden und im hinteren Bereich des riesigen Hauses verschwunden. Undeutlich hrte ich ihn nach seiner Schwgerin rufen, aber als er zu mir zurckkehrte, brachte er nicht etwa diese mit, sondern Baby, seine jngste Nichte. Shell be your guide! Mit einem Lcheln nahm er Babys Hand und hielt sie mir hin, sodass mir keine andere Wahl blieb, als sie zu nehmen. Unglubig starrte ich die etwa Vierjhrige an, die ber das ganze Gesicht strahlte und ein frhliches Julia-jii herauskrhte. Trotz meiner gelegentlichen Unbeholfenheit gegenber kleinen Kindern hatte sich Baby aus irgendeinem Grund vom ersten Tag an zu mir hingezogen gefhlt. You want me to go to the temple and Baby will guide me through the maze? Ich hatte alle Mhe, mich auf V. zu konzentrieren, denn Baby zerrte so wild an meiner Hand, dass ich den Eindruck hatte, sie wolle sofort aufbrechen. Yes. Dont worry, she knows where to go. My bhbh2 wants to go too, Ill follow up with her a little later. You go now. V. drehte sich abrupt um und lie mich mit Baby stehen. Das Gesprch war beendet. Den Eingang zum Labyrinth hatte ich selbst schon gesehen. Mit Baby an der rechten Hand umrundete ich V.s Haus und bog in die kleine Gasse ein, die sich direkt neben dem Haus befand. Die Gasse fhrte unmittelbar bergauf und war so schmal, dass Baby und ich nicht nebeneinander hergehen konnten. Ich lie das Kind voransteigen, ohne jedoch dessen Hand loszulassen. Es gefiel mir nicht besonders, dass V. mir indirekt die Verantwortung fr Babys Sicherheit bertragen hatte. Es war recht spt am Abend, und ich kannte mich im Labyrinth nicht aus. Dass er mir das Kleinkind als eine Art kompetente Stadtfhrerin empfohlen hatte, nderte nichts an meinem Unbehagen. Die Gasse schien sich beinahe unendlich weit in die Hhe zu verlieren, und wir trotteten gemchlich dahin. Trotz meiner anfnglichen Bedenken, in das Labyrinth einzusteigen, hatte sich bisher kein Grund zur Besorgnis ergeben. Elektrische Lampen weit oben an den die Gasse flankierenden Huserwnden sorgten fr eine Beleuchtung, die unseren Weg mild und warm ockerfarben erscheinen lie; und die Tne der allabendlichen Puja3 am Assi Ghat4 drangen vertraut zu uns herber. Wie so oft klinkte ich mich aus der Gegenwart aus und versank in meinen eigenen Gedanken. Ein heftiger Ruck an meiner rechten Hand holte mich unvermittelt in die Wirklichkeit zurck. Baby hatte sich losgerissen und lief mit groen Sprngen von mir weg. Erst jetzt bemerkte ich, dass wir das Ende der Gasse erreicht hatten. Sie mndete in einen kleinen Platz, dessen Rahmen ausschlielich Huserwnde bildeten.

Theres no need to be afraid! V. grinste noch immer. By the way, its one of your last evenings in the town. Why dont you go to the temple at least once? Ill provide you with a

2 4

Hindi: Schwgerin

Religises Ritual zur Gottesverehrung/Gottesanbetung im Hinduismus

Ghat: Uferbefestigung mit Stufen zum Wasser hin; in Benares handelt es sich um die befestigten Ufer am Ganges

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Im Labyrinth Benares 19.03.2004- Ein erweiterter Auszug aus meinem Reisetagebuch, Indien 2004 Zwischen diesen fhrten wiederum mehrere kleine Gassen an verschiedene Orte oder zu weiteren hnlichen Pltzen wie jenem, auf dem wir uns gerade befanden. Der Platz war relativ hell erleuchtet, und als Baby auf den genau gegenberliegenden Eingang zu einer Gasse zulief, tanzte ihr Schatten um sie herum. Baby, idhar o5! rief ich nervs, und ich hatte das Gefhl, als verschluckten die Huserwnde meine Stimme. Baby jedenfalls reagierte nicht auf meinen Befehl und verschwand in der Gasse. Ich wollte rasch hinter ihr herlaufen, um sie nicht aus den Augen zu verlieren, und betrat hastig den Platz. Als ich etwa die Mitte des Platzes erreicht hatte, gingen pltzlich die Lichter aus. Das Brummen der Maschinen in den Husern, das bisher gleichmig durch die Nacht geklungen hatte, stotterte und verstummte. Der von resignierten Menschen ausgestoene Seufzer Power cut tnte wie aus einem Mund aus mehreren der hoch gelegenen Fenster auf den Platz herunter. Der Stromausfall selbst stellte keine neue Situation fr mich dar, da der Strom in den fnf Wochen, die ich in Benares verbracht hatte, tglich mindestens einmal ausgefallen war. Dennoch htte ich nicht einmal in meinen schlimmsten Trumen vermutet, mich einmal whrend eines power cut im Labyrinth aufzuhalten. Ich wich an eine der Wnde zurck und versuchte, mich neu zu orientieren. Tatschlich war das Licht nicht komplett erloschen, aber der zuvor
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warme, angenehme Schimmer war in einen seltsam diesigen, grnlichen Ton bergegangen; hnlich dem, den die unfreundlich leuchtenden indischen Neonlampen verbreiten. Whrend mein Blick noch unruhig ber den nun zwielichtigen Platz schweifte, tnte pltzlich ein langgezogenes, mit schriller Stimme hervorgestoenes Julia-jii! zu mir herber, und mit Schrecken erinnerte ich mich an Baby, die irgendwo alleine in einer der dunkeln Gassen stehen musste. Ich wollte mich von der Wand in meinem Rcken lsen und loslaufen, um nach Baby zu suchen, aber aus irgendeinem Grund konnte ich mich nicht rhren. Mein Blick irrte weiterhin ber den Platz, und pltzlich fiel mir auf, dass keinerlei Gerusch zu hren war, kein Generator, nicht einmal das unharmonische Scheppern der Glocken am Assi Ghat, obwohl die Puja dort noch lange nicht zu Ende sein konnte. Es war die Kombination all dieser Faktoren- die Dunkelheit, die Stille, Babys Verschwinden im Labyrinth und meine eigene Orientierungslosigkeit, die dann innerhalb eines kurzen Augenblicks dafr sorgte, dass ich die Kontrolle ber meinen Verstand verlor. Ich drngte meinen Krper fast gewaltsam an die Wand zurck, und mit einem Schlag ffneten sich smtliche Tren zu den Korridoren meines irrationalen, unbequemen und aberglubischen Unterbewusstseins, die ich sonst sorgsam verschlossen hielt. Mein unsteter Blick hielt inne und richtete sich mit einer Art morbiden Fasziniertheit auf das ghnende Loch

der Gasse, das kurz zuvor Baby verschluckt hatte. Ich bildete mir ein, nein, ich war mir vllig sicher, dass gleich etwas aus dieser Gasse heraus auf den Platz treten und auf mich zukommen wrde; etwas Ungeheures, Wahres und absolut Unertrgliches. Etwas, das mir meine Gebundenheit an Indien erklren wrde und mich dann umgehend auf brutale Weise ins Jenseits befrdern musste. Dieser eine Gedanke, der sekundenlang mein ganzes Denken und Fhlen beherrschte, war so unerklrlich und entsetzlich, dass ich mich instinktiv noch enger an die Wand drckte und die Augenlider fest zusammenpresste. Noch wollte ich nichts von dem sehen mssen, was gleich um die Ecke kommen wrde, noch wrde ich mir einen kleinen Moment ertrotzen knnen. Dann geschahen mehrere Dinge gleichzeitig. Ich sprte eine Berhrung an meinem linken Knie, und den Bruchteil einer Sekunde spter gellte ein grauenhafter Schrei ber den Platz. Ich selbst war es, die schrie; weder angsterfllt noch schrill, sondern dunkel, rau und aggressiv. In den Schrei mischte sich das Brummen und Knattern der Maschinen, die berall anliefen, weil der Strom wieder da war, und damit auch das Licht. Ich ffnete die Augen. Vor mir stand Baby, ihre rechte Hand auf meinem Knie, das Gesicht dem meinen zugewandt. Aunty? fragte sie mit ihrer hellen Kinderstimme. Vllig verstrt sank ich wie in Trance in die Hocke, nahm Babys Hand und hielt sie fest. Die Berhrung war warm

Hindi: Komm (hier)her!

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Article und real und half mir dabei, langsam in die Gegenwart zurckzufinden. Sobald ich sicher war, dass meine Beine wieder ihren Dienst tun wrden, richtete ich mich auf und lste mich noch etwas zittrig von der Wand. Als wir losgehen wollten, hrten wir Stimmen, und kurz darauf kamen V. und seine Schwgerin aus einer der Gassen zu uns auf den Platz. Sie schienen bester Laune zu sein und waren dabei, sich lebhaft zu unterhalten. Als V. jedoch mich und mein wohl kreidebleiches Gesicht sah, verstummte er kurz und grinste dann nahezu unverschmt. Had fun? provozierte er mich. Not really, antwortete ich trocken, was ihn zu amsieren schien, denn er lachte spontan los. I told you to decide quickly about coming back in September! dozierte er scheinbar zusammenhanglos. Dann machte er eine auffordernde Geste. Come on, lets go to the temple! Information

PC Treat

- Arun Kumar Raj Voruganti In this year, software industry has seen a remarkable increase in the number of free softwares that are competing with commercial license software both in features and quality. In this final issue of this year, I want to round-up a list of the best free software of the year 2009. Antivirus Avast! Home Edition- www.avast.com Avira AntiVir Personal Edition- www.avira.com System Cleaning & Optimizer Ashampoo WinOptimizer5- www2.ashampoo.com CCleaner- www.ccleaner.com Office Open Office 3- www.openoffice.org AbiWord- www.abisource.com PDF Editor PDFill Editor- www.pdfill.com PDF Creator- www.pdfforge.org CD/DVD Burning ImgBurn- www.imgburn.com CDBurnerXP- http://cdburnerxp.se Image Editor Lightbox- www.lightboxeditor.com Paint.NET- www.getpaint.net Image Viewer IrfanView- www.irfanview.com XnView- www.xnview.com File & Folder Archiver 7Zip- www.7-zip.org WinRar- www.win-rar.com With this useful list of free software 2009, and hoping that the coming year also brings us many new useful freeware utilities, I wish you all a happy new year.

If you are interested to present your article, experience or talent. Dont wait for it. Send your details to editorial board

Sangam Maala
An E-Magazine of Sangam e.V.

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Climate is changing, from chastity to commodity - Raj Verma Mudunuri Rocket science of my granny Almost quarter a century ago, when I was in my primary school, pencil collection used to be my hobby. Rather than using them for writing purpose, it was for mere fun that I used to buy variety of pencils. However, that hobby did not last long, thanks to the restrictions of my granny on the stuff that I was allowed to have and have not. Though I could afford to buy them, with the few pennies of pocket money from my father, I was not allowed to do so under the strict supervision of my granny. Her reasoning was: it is a waste of material and (everybody's) natural resources - waste of (my) time - waste of (my father's) money. All I could derive from her logic at that time was that she was being stingy and a miserly person. It took a couple of decades for me to decode that rocket science. By the way, her educational qualification was primary school, until grade 2. Al Gore, a Harvard graduate - the Nobel Prize winner for Peace, for drawing some flow charts and power point presentations on global warming, has pretty much tried to explain the same rocket science in an elaborative manner in his documentary. While what my granny tried to teach me was to respect the Nature in its chastity, Al Gore's inconvenient loot tries to preach how to use climate as a commodity, which can be traded on the stock market - in order to save the planet. It is, after all, up to each individual either to have blind religious faith towards/against global warming, or to believe in the fact that respecting Nature's ecological balance is a fundamental duty of humanity. Blinding deals instead of binding agreements The recently held United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen was a glaring example of how legally binding agreements can be sidestepped in order to make biased deals behind the doors with a chosen few players. In other words, a match fixing. There is a bit of history behind the sham of the Copenhagen conference. When the first conference on climate change was held in Rio de Janeiro (Earth Summit, 1992), a broad range of issues were discussed and a general consensus was formed that there should be a legally binding framework in place to address the impacts of environmental damage caused by human activity. Then came the legally binding Kyoto protocol, which was the consensus of UNFCCC held in Kyoto - Japan, in 1997, aimed at combating global warming. As per this protocol, the industrialized countries that are historically responsible for the problem should take the first steps by drastically reducing their green house gases in a time-bound manner. However, no country that is a signatory of this protocol has fulfilled its responsibility. Except for some European countries, most others have not even taken Kyoto protocol seriously. After the US showed its middle finger to the Kyoto protocol in 2001, it was Canada's turn to follow suit in 2006. While the US had forthrightly rejected even ratifying the Kyoto protocol in its senate, Canada was the only country that ratified the deal and then blatantly announced that it was abandoning its targets to cut Green House Gases (GHGs) as per the protocol regulations. Canada was meant to have cut emissions by 6% between 1990 and 2012. Instead they have already risen by 26%. Kyoto protocol is not ending in 2012. It is just one 'phase' of the Kyoto protocol that ends in 2012, in which the industrialized countries are obliged to reduce their emissions, and that phase ends first. Copenhagen is about coming up with the second phase of the Kyoto protocol, where the results of the first phase were to be assessed and then come up with the specifications for the second phase based on the current status of the world. However, Copenhagen turned out to be a back door slugfest among various players of this global game. Kyoto deal! What's that!? This was the attitude employed by the industrialized nations, as an attempt to replace the legally binding Kyoto protocol, where these nations are obliged to have drastic cuts on GHGs to reach their emission targets, which apparently they could not. The US, Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada are desperate to move to a one-track approach, where every country is supposed to flatly reduce its emissions without taking the population numbers into consideration, but developing and poor nations refused to kill off the Kyoto protocol that allows a sense of fair play. How ridiculous an argument can get when an average American who emits 20 times more than an average Indian, to be held equally responsible

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Cover Story for their carbon emissions and are subjected to reduce their emission levels on an equal footing!? How can one switch off the light bulb one doesnt have!? As the Conference Of Parties (COP) within the UNFCCC operate on consensus, any opposition to a proposal means that passage is impossible. Five countries Venezuela, Sudan, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba rejected the Copenhagen accord outright. Therefore this Copenhagen accord turns out to be more of a meeting minutes rather than an agreement worth its paper. Climate Change is Clich, Carbon Credits are cool! Climate Change! So let us deal it with carbon credits. And that is how the global warming phenomenon might eventually end up, as a commodity market to trade the carbon credits for profits rather than handling the issue of climate change as a fundamental duty. I am not surprised to see the apparent division between the developed and the developing worlds at the negotiating table of climate conferences, with the debate reducing to the fundamental issue of cause and effect. While the developed world is harping on the negative effects of climate change and how green technologies can help to contain further damage, the developing world is arguing against those who caused the problem in the first place to be held responsible for their acts and pay the climate reparations. If the French and British insisted on Germany to take the entire burden and pay the war reparations through the Treaty of Versailles, then shouldn't a similar logic be applied to the industrialized countries to take the burden and pay the climate reparations for their reckless environmental plundering? One might argue that it is a recipe for disaster, as that treacherous Treaty of Versailles had eventually led to another world war. However, one should not forget that while equitable demands for reparation are not illegitimate, duplicitous demands in the form of unscrupulous deals are illegitimate and end up in hot waters. The simplest way to reduce carbon emissions is to put a direct cap on the mining of coal, gas and other fossil fuels from the Earth. These raw materials are mined out for the sole purpose of burning them as fuels, which eventually release GHGs into the atmosphere. Every barrel of oil and tonne of coal that comes to the surface will be burnt. Therefore, why not leave those fossil fuels as they are and concentrate on renewable energy that can be tapped from solar, wind, ocean currents etc. Is it not the most simple and cost-effective solution to prevent the burning of fossil fuels!? Well, but this is not what Al Gore, the oil & coal companies, market forces etc. think. They want to deal carbon footprint as a commodity in stock markets in terms of carbon credits. In simple language, a carbon credit is created when the equivalent of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide is prevented from entering the atmosphere. In other words, suppose a big tree (remember trees store carbon!) has 100 kgs of carbon captured in it, then 10 such trees constitute one carbon credit. For example, a corporation like General Motors can

The Sun might well preserve its halo, but can we preserve our planet Earth's?

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Climate is changing, from chastity to commodity simply insure the vast forests of American hinterlands, and then claim that they offset their carbon emissions with the carbon credits they secure from those trees. Al Gore's AlGorithm says it all, "I accept that my lifestyle requires me to leave a larger carbon footprint, but then, I compensate it by purchasing carbon credits". According to an article published in the Business Week, Gores mansion (20-room, 8bathroom) located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service. Al Gore, in his documentary, calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home. While the average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kwh) per year, according to the Department of Energy, in 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kwh - more than 20 times the national average. Since the release of An Inconvenient Truth, Gores energy consumption has increased from an average of 16,200 kwh per month in 2005, to 18,400 kWh per month in 2006. So much for the climate preacher's inconvenient loot. Walk the Talk Let me shift the focus towards some compelling questions, which I did not come across in any climate debates or discussions. What is the total figure of GHG emissions across the world in terms of various sectors? What proportion of the total GHG emissions does the agriculture/food sector constitute, including the manufacturing of fertilizers, pesticides and food processing etc.? What is the proportion of the industrial sector that caters for our daily needs, ranging from toothbrushes to condoms? And, what proportion of these GHG emissions does the military weaponry, ranging from bullets to bombs to ballistic missiles to fighter jets to submarines that are meant for wars across the world constitute? Which of these sectors should be given the top priority to clamp down the production?? Though there are no rigorous studies done on these lines, Prof. Barry Sanders, in his book titled "The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of the Military", has articulated his findings on the environmental costs inflicted upon the world by the US military. He starts off with trying to figure out how much fossil fuel the military uses, with their resulting GHG emissions. As per his conservative estimates, the US military spread across the world uses 20 million gallons of oil a day. As each gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of CO2, the combined US armed forces send 400 million pounds of GHGs into the atmosphere every day. That totals about 146 billion pounds, or 73 million tons, of carbon a year. And that is just about the 'fuel usage'. To bring this into perspective, the 1.5 million American troops consume more oil than the national consumption of countries like Iran (population of 66 million) and Indonesia (population of 235 million). Another interesting factor that struck me recently was the way humanity happily pumps millions of tons of toxic gasses into the atmosphere at the turn of every year. Perhaps New Year's Eve is only a once-a-year phenomenon across the world, but every society/ nation might have many such firework orgies at different times of the year as part of their celebrations on various occasions. If we give a closer look at this issue, there are many direct and indirect consequences. The direct impacts of using the fireworks are the consumption of (fuel) energy to manufacture them, and then the emissions emanating from burning those toxic chemicals in the name of fun. The indirect impacts are the following: 1. Fire accidents of properties, and thereby eventual burning of those materials 2. Energy (water/electricity/antiflammable materials) consumed by fire personnel to douse off the fires 3. Fire accidents of people, and thereby eventual health hazards 4. Energy consumed by the patients in terms of medical care Debris littered all over, and the energy consumed during cleaning efforts The fundamental problem with this climate hypocrisy is that everybody wants to first have their own share of fun, and then talk leisurely about the problem that is not in front of their eyes. In a market controlled economy every economic activity is considered to be beneficial. No matter even if the economic activity has social harm, it is still added - not subtracted - from the social good. For example, as Prof. Partha Dasgupta points out, a train crash which generates 1 billion Euros worth of track repairs, medical bills and funeral costs is deemed as beneficial as an uninterrupted service which generates 1 billion Euros in ticket

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Cover Story sales. To be, or not to be Basically the debate leads to the fundamental issue of whether being a spendthrift consumer-based-society makes sense, or being a thrifty savings -based-society makes sense. In a consumer based society, there is always a push from the invisible market forces on the people to buy more - therefore produce more - therefore expand the market - therefore expand the production much more - therefore consume the natural resources even more. This style of economy apparently starts with consumption (of the natural resources) and ends with consumption (by the customer), without any real checks and balances that concern nature and its ecology. The concern for wasteful usage of natural resources hardly comes into the picture, and even when it does it might eventually end up in another process of commodity trade for virtual consumption, e.g. Futures, Carbon Credits etc. On the other hand, in a savings-based thrifty society, people would still try to have all the necessities for a decent life, because nobody would sacrifice basic amenities in order to save money. But they do not motivate themselves to spend their hard earnings for luxuries; instead they try to save/invest it to make more money. Needless to say that the main motivation of these people is not for altruistic purposes but to make more money and be on the safer side when they reach autumn of their lives. This thrifty nature creates a safety net to the entire family and comes in aid at the hour of need. However, there is also a negative side for this kind of lifestyle. The more the people try to save their earnings, the smaller the economic activity turns out to be on the whole. When unemployment gets higher due to this decreased economic activity, then there is a need to stimulate the economy. Unfortunately, in the industrialized era that we are living today, governments in most parts of the world have adopted a rule of thumb: economic stimulus = encourage consumption. As a significant amount of human occupation is moving towards the industrialized sector, it is hardly surprising that the eventual outcome would lead to environmental impacts. However hard we try to reduce our consumption levels, there are billions of people out there who would dearly want to increase theirs for a better living. This is simply the law of nature. While I see that the past has turned out to be a great history lesson where thrifty attitude of non-spending had indirectly benefited the ecology, I could now understand the merits of my granny's logic and advice. When I think that the present is turning into a situation where my unmindful consumption is indirectly affecting the world, I can hear that my mind is advising me to be mindful of what I consume. If I believe that the future turns out to be that two children of mine would have to fight against two children of the other family, in order to secure the resources (food/shelter/ employment) for a decent living, then I'm sure my heart and mind would advise me to have only one child, at least to minimize the slugfest.

Event Info Leipzig Book Fair 2010

The Leipzig Book Fair 2010 is the most important spring meeting place for the publishing and media sector and has evolved into an attractive hallmark both in Germany and across Europe. And with Leipzig Reads, Leipzig offers a unique combination of fair and festival, making for a varied and thrilling experience for young and old alike. It last for four days, an ideal communication platform for visitors who can immerse themselves in the absorbing world of literature and discover exciting new publications, authors, programmes and publishers. Date: March 18 21, 2010 Visiting Hours: 1018 Hrs Venue: Exhibition Centre Leipzig Messe-Allee 1, D-04356 Leipzig. Germany http://www.leipziger-buchmesse.de/ Organized by:

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Cest la vie by them the FRENCH WAY - Siddarth Chandrasekaran This article is about a few random things I noticed when I was in France! The title of this article sums up everything French - Cest la vie is one of the most common phrases used in France, it means Thats life. The French have a way of living life I would like to call it a celebration. The wine, the cheese, the language everything is like magic. French, the language is music to the ears. France My love affair with France started by watching the annual Tour de France, which is a cycling competition that passes through major French towns. From Paris to the blue waves of the Mediterranean, from Marseille to Bordeaux, passing along the roseate and dreaming roads, the riders riding in their teams colours heightened the beauty of the French countryside! France possesses a wide variety of landscapes, from coastal plains in the north and west to mountain ranges of the Alps in the south-east, the Massif Central in the south-central and Pyrenees in the south-west, hence provides for a wide range of activities warm beaches in the summer, ski resorts in the winter, great water sports, hiking in the mountains etc. The French the people! The French are normally welcoming and pleasant but can be a little cautious with newcomers, whether foreign or simply from another region, this creates an illusion that the French are very arrogant. The French also have a lot of rules, and live their life Foreign Trouble! The language, the first and major problem one faces is the massive difference between the written and spoken French. The French have a habit of eating up letters of their written text when speaking for example ques que cest is just pronounced as kes ka se. Additionally the French focus only on the finesse of the spoken French it should be music to the ears! In contrary when I landed in Germany I was surprised with the length of words, street name had like 30-40 characters a typical example of the above being the famous Karl-Liebknecht-Strae, with the Germans insisting on pronouncing every syllable in the written language Another difficulty faced by me was the tardiness of everything official. If you have ever encountered paperwork before, then it is nothing in comparison to the ones they have in France the mother of modern bureaucracy. It is important to remember that this isnt paradise, not everything is perfect, and the only way to deal with it is to accept. The French way The French are known for their laidback ways, the so-called laziness or tardiness. But the French way a set of complex rules & ideas ensures that their nation is successful. A few examples of the French success stories are (a) the famed TGV (French national train) runs at around 300kms per hour and is the fastest running wheeled passenger train (b) the French public health care has been voted as the best in the world. TIPS for life in France 1. Language, language, language even if your French is not good always try in French first before asking

The Vimy Ridge Memorial, in the North of France. A lesser known war memorial but splendid in design and structure, a must visit! Picture taken on a cold winter morning in January 2009

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Travelogue whether English is spoken. 2. The French way is something that can naturally be assimilated over a longer period of time by finding out the local customs and rules. 3.If in doubt, ask. Whether it is etiquette or administration ask a French friend or neighbour to help you out. 4. Relax you will be forgiven if you make a mistake. People will be interested in you because you are foreign and different 5. What is not appreciated is those who criticise loudly the French way of doing things (even though the French love to criticise it themselves!) Fun facts about France French fries not invented in France, but in Belgium or Great Britian, and infact the Belgian Fries are better than their French counterparts! The country is one of the largest wine producing nations in the world. There are 17 distinct wine producing regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Loire and Provence that continue with the tradition of wine making in France. There are now over a thousand types of cheese made in France with the popular ones being Camembert, Brie de Meaux, Roquefort, Boursin, Reblochon, Chevre. France is ranked as the first tourist destination in the world, Popular tourist sites include: Eiffel Tower Louvre Museum, Palace of Versailles, Arc de Triomphe Mont-Saint-Michel, Carcassonne. Nuclear power plants generate most of the electricity produced in the country, about 80% of the total electrical energy consumption.

Leiser Ruf

An Artwork from Julia Zipp

Leiser Ruf Liebe Licht in einem dunklen Haus Wegweiser immerschon Zuflucht Herberge Heimat Vorausgeschicktes Menschheitsfest

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Cheese Cake (Ksekuche in German) -Julia Zipp knead them until a lump is formed. Its best to use your hand(s) for the kneading because a mixer doesnt work very well here. Then put the lump of dough into the fridge and leave it in there for about 30 to 40 minutes. Step 2 Preheat the oven (200 C). Take a springform tin and butter it well. Then spread the cooled dough evenly over the bottom of the springform. The border of the spread dough should stand over; that means it should cover the bottom of the springform frame a little. (here too, a wire whisk is most handy) because the mixture at the bottom of the jar gets burnt quickly. As soon as the mixture becomes creamy, remove

How to prepare cheese (without cheese actually) Ingredients

cake

For the dough: 180 g of flour (the healthiest sort is spelt flour) 80 g of sugar (to make it healthy too take brown sugar instead of white one) teaspoon of baking powder 80 g of margarine 1 egg 1 package of vanilla sugar 1 pinch of salt For the topping: 2 (!) packages of vanilla pudding powder litre of milk 200 g of (brown) sugar 750 g of low fat curd (Magerquark) 3 eggs Price: Quite cheap Degree of difficulty: Easy but takes time Step 1 Pour all of the above mentioned ingredients for the dough into a bowl and

it from the heat and then pour the low fat curd into it. Stir constantly until it has dissolved completely, then heat the mixture again (dont stop stirring!) until it boils. Remove it from the heat and spill it into a bowl. Step 4 Take the three eggs, separate the whites and beat them until stiff. Keep the yolks; youre going to need them very soon. Fold the beaten egg whites in the vanilla-curd-cream (again, a wire whisk is most useful here!). Add 1 of the 3 yolks to the cream and fold them in as well. Step 5 Spill the cream on top of the dough into the springform. To give your cake a rather professional glossy look, get the remaining 1 fluid yolks and spread them carefully and evenly over the top of the cream. This is easily done by using a knife. Then put the cake into the oven and leave it in there for about 1 hour. Again, keep an eye on it during the last few minutes because the topping should be of only a light brown shade in the end. When the baking is done, put the cake into

Put the dough in the oven and bake it for 15 to 18 minutes. During the last minutes you should keep an eye on it because the dough shouldnt become too brown and dry. When the baking part is over, remove the springform from the oven and put it aside. Dont switch the oven off; just reduce the temperature to 160 C. Step 3 Now its time to prepare the topping. Pour the vanilla pudding powder, 12 table spoons from the litre of milk and the sugar into a bowl and stirpreferably with a wire whisk- until all of the ingredients have dissolved into the milk. Heat the rest of the milk until it boils, and then add the vanilla pudding powder-mixture. Stir constantly

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Cookery the fridge. The minimum time to allow

Kochen & Backen mit Hagen Mslipltzchen

Zubereitung: Haferflocken, Mehl, Backpulver, Zucker und Sultaninen mischen. Mandeln grob hacken und untermischen. Butter mit 80 ml Wasser und Honig erwrmen, bis die Butter schmilzt. Hafer-flockenMischung unterrhren. Mit 2 Teelffeln kleine Teigportionen mit etwas Abstand auf mit Backpapier belegte Bleche setzen. Im heien Ofen bei 150 C 17-20 Min. hellbraun backen. Etwa 5 Min. auf dem Blech dann auf einem Gitter abkhlen lassen. Viel Spa beim Verzehr !

it to cool down is 1 hour but if youre a true gourmet then you should keep it in the fridge over night. The vanilla curd takes time to unfold its full flavour. Guten Appetit! Event Info Auto Mobil International (AMI) motor show in Leipzig Germany

AMI 2010) is the trade fair for vehicle parts, workshops and service station equipment. It will be the most important motor show in Central Europe. Catch up on the hot new hybrids at the Auto Mobil International motor show in Leipzig Germany . Date: April 1018, 2010 Visiting Hours : 09:0018:00 Hrs Venue: Exhibition Centre Leipzig Messe-Allee 1, D-04356 Leipzig. Germany http://www.ami-leipzig.de info@leipziger-messe.de Organized by:

Zutaten fr ca. 40 Stck: 175 g Haferflocken 150 g Mehl 1 TL Backpulver 150 g Zucker 100 g Sultaninen 30 g Mandelkerne 120 g Butter 75 g Honig

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Das Neueste aus Bollywood Neu in den indischen Kino 8. Januar - Dulha Mil Gaya - Hello...Hum Lallan Bol Rahe Hain - "Hide N Seek - Pyaar Impossible 15. Januar - Chance Pe Dance: Shahid Kapoor in einer unsere-gescheiterte-Existenz-voneinem-Trainer-ist-der-beste Geschichte im Umfeld von Bollywood und seinen Tnzen - Click - Right Yaaa Wrong 22. Januar - Ishqiya: Liebesdreieck zwischen Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi und Vidya Balan - Rann - Veer: Salman Khan als Krieger im 19. Jahrhundert 29. Januar - Striker - Toh Baat Pakki - Tum Milo Toh Sahi im Januar - Prince- Its Showtime 5. Februar - Allah Ke Banday - Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai 12. Februar - My Name Is Khan: SRK, Kajol, Karan. Fr viele Fans drfte das reichen. Dass die Story von einem Asperger-Patienten unter Terrorismusverdacht handelt, ist da eher zweitrangig. - Teen Patti: Der Mathe-Professor, der mit ein paar Studenten ein Kartenspiel knackt, das klingt ein bisschen nach 21. Nur dass das in der indischen Version gleich die Frage aufwirft, was Zufall berhaupt ist, und was Schicksal. Dass Amitabh Bachchan und Ben Kingsley die Hauptrollen spielen, schadet sicherlich auch nicht. 26. Februar -Atithi Tum Kab Jaaoge?

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Bollywood Column Karthik Calling Karthik Peter Gaya Kaam Se Road, Movie Shaapit

im Februar - Fatso - Kajraare: Himmesh Reshammiya hat es immer noch nicht aufgegeben, schauspielern zu wollen. - Kites 11. Mrz - Phillum City 26. Mrz - Kaun Bola? im Mrz - Paan Singh Tomar: Irrfan Khan als Hrdenlufer und Rebell. Neu auf deutscher DVD Februar - Delhi 6 Mrz - Dil Bole Hadippa: Rani Mukherjee verkleidet sich als Mann, um Kricket zu spielen, und verliebt sich in ihren Trainer (Shahid Kapoor). Neue Deutschland-Drehs? Dass Farhan Akhtar fr seine Fortsetzung des SRK-Actionfilms Don auch in Berlin drehen will, wird unter Fans ja schon lnger diskutiert. Momentan soll Drehbeginn im September 2010 sein. Aber auch Sriram Raghavan (Ek Hasina Thi, Johnny Gaddaar) scheint einen deutschen Drehort ins Auge zu fassen fr seinen neuen Film Agent Vinod mit Saif Ali Khan in der Titelrolle. Neues Ehepaar Und wieder eine weniger auf dem Markt: Shilpa Shetty heiratete im November ihren Freund Raj Kundra, einen erfolgreichen britischen Geschftsmann indischer Abstammung. Und ganz Bollywood feierte mit. Die Bilder der Stars in ihren besten Anzgen und Saris lassen nur einen Schluss zu: Om Shanti Om war absolut realistisch zumindest in der Deewangi-Szene. Im Westen ist die 34-jhrige Shetty (Baazigar, Phir Milenge) vor allem fr ihren

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Das Neueste aus Bollywood Sieg beim britischen Celebrity Big Brother 2007 bekannt. Neuer Terrorist? Einen bekannten Namen zu haben und einen bekannten Vater (Regisseur Mahesh Bhatt) kann manchmal ganz schn anstrengend sein. Das musste Sohnemann Rahul Bhatt jetzt erfahren. Er hatte nur dasselbe Fitnessstudio besucht wie ein gewisser David Coleman Headley. Aber dann wurde der US-Brger wegen Terrorismusverdachts verhaftet, im Zusammenhang mit den Anschlgen in Mumbai im November 2008. Bhatt junior wurde von der Polizei als Zeuge verhrt und prompt galt er in der indischen Presse selbst als Verdchtiger. In Gujarat reichte das einer politischen Partei direkt als Anlass, den neuesten Film seines Vaters (Tum Mile) boykottieren zu wollen. Photos Courtsey : Flickr.com, Rapid Eye Movies.

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Intensive course for Beginners Leipzig University is offering language course for beginners in Marathi from 15th to 26th of February 2010. The lessons will take place on MondayThursday from 9:00 a.m to 11:30 a.m and 12:30 p.m to 3:00 p.m., and on Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at the Indology Institute, Schillerstrasse 6, 04109 Leipzig. (Lecture Hall M 102). Precondition to participate is the knowledge of the Devanagari script. Total costs for one participant Course in-charge For Registration More details :150 Euro. : Ms. Adele Henning-Tembe : www.uni-leipzig.de/weiterbildung : adele_hennig@gmx.de

Next Sangam event Spring festival in April

Holi and Easter 2010

Sangam e.V.
A Cultural Confluence Hainstrasse 2a, 04109 Leipzig. sangam-maala@sangam-leipzig.de

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Sangam Maala - An E-Magazine of Sangam e.V. If you are interested to contribute your work for this magazine, then please write to us at: sangam-maala@sangam-leipzig.de