Efforts to save the endangered oral traditions of Rajasthan: Vishesh Kothari

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Rashid Faridi

Nivedita Menon's avatarKAFILA - COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006

Guest Post by VISHESH KOTHARI

574802_10151322516287197_1967840932_nMedieval feudal social systems and attitudes in Rajasthan persisted until very recently. This, and perhaps a host of other reasons, allowed several aspects of culture to remain preserved here for much longer than in other parts of our country. While Rajasthan has become well known for its architectural heritage, it is the intangible heritage of this state that is in need of the most urgent intervention to protect it from being lost – from the oral lore to the epic ballads, everything is threatened by the onslaught of modernity.

Komalji Kothari and Vijaydanji Detha embarked on such a project many years ago and achieved great success – however an even greater amount remains to be done. For more than a decade now, the Jaipur Virasat Foundation has been continuing and enhancing this project to protect, preserve and promote the oral musical traditions of this state.

View original post 1,304 more words

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Solar Energy Storage – A Gift from Gaia

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Rashid Faridi
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Gandhi’s Dystopia – More Mobile Phones Than Toilets: Apurv Mishra

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Rashid Faridi

A thought provoking piece.
Are WE on the RIGHT TRACK?

Nivedita Menon's avatarKAFILA - COLLECTIVE EXPLORATIONS SINCE 2006

Guest Post by APURV MISHRA 

“Sanitation is more important than independence”, said Gandhi, the godfather of our freedom fighters, in 1925. Unlike Nehru, who believed that sovereignty and self-rule were a prerequisite for social change, Gandhi insisted that true Swaraj could only be achieved when political independence was accompanied by a parallel program of social reform. As we go through the perfunctory national routine of remembering Gandhi on his death anniversary every year, it is a good time to take stock and reflect on the irreconcilable gap between Gandhian values and our societal priorities. I am not talking about the ambitious Gandhian ideas of village republics, Nai Talim, strict vegetarianism, zealous celibacy or his suggestion of disbanding the Congress, but simple principles like cleanliness and sanitation.

Out of the 1.1 billion people around the world who openly defecate everyday, 626 million belong to India. Indonesia is second with…

View original post 1,178 more words

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

[Podcast] Vancouver: Consumption City

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Rashid Faridi

The City's avatarthe city

Economic geographer Elliot Siemiatycki discusses Vancouver’s transformation from a productive city into a city of consumption

Never miss an episode! Subscribe to the podcast here to receive a weekly automatic download.

Above all, the many paradoxes of Vancouver’s contemporary economic development trajectory are exposed in the words of local workers, firms, commentators and industry experts: Vancouver is simultaneously the most livable and unaffordable city in the world; Vancouver is a leading creative city in which creative firms and workers alike struggle under conditions of precariousness; Vancouver is mythologized as a healthy, sustainable, lifestyle city while these very qualities often must be sacrificed by working Vancouver residents. Tracing the underlying story and challenges of Vancouver’s emergence as a global consumption city provides important insights into 21st century urban development.                           –Elliot Siemiatycki, PhD

On the podcast, urban economic geographer

View original post 102 more words

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment