An encounter with some Ducks!!

On June 6th at around 8:35 I was walking to my office as I would on any other working day. I was in front of the post office near my office and I began thinking that it would take me another 5 minutes in the bright sun to reach my destination. Something caught my attention - three people, probably construction workers staring and commenting on something. "That's strange..." I mumbled. In the land where people just mind their own business there they were, doing something unusual. I looked in the direction they were looking, which was across the busy three lane street and couldn't believe my eyes. There I saw a momma duck with her ducklings. The mommy was leading the way and the ducklings followed her in a well defined arrow-like formation.

"We can do it!"

They weren't trying to cross the street but were walking along the median. That was brave and well planned. It was the stuff that you see in movies and on YouTube and so my first reaction was to shoot a couple of pics. While I took my phone out and began the task, the 3 gentlemen were still speculating on what might happen next.

A river called Kamogawa (river Kamo) flows about 150 meters from the spot. The momma duck sure knew her way. I don't know how this family came this far. Probably they ventured out in the night or they escaped from capture or something. It looked like it would all end happily in a couple of hours. Ya for that pace it would take them at least 2 hours. The Japanese are kind-hearted and they sure would help these ducks to the river.

It was all going as planned when out of nowhere a crow descended on the group. Crows in Japan are BIG. When I first saw one here I was like "Steroids!!" and then I heard some of them caw...sounded like they had a sore throat or something. That was funny. Well, getting back to the size...in fact the ones in India are half the size of these crows. I bet if these crows migrated to India they could easily bully all those local crows. It so happened that a crow decided to try her luck. Naturally, the kids panicked but one hyperactive kid just ran astray.
While I was busy watching and filming this, 2 things happened:
1. The momma came to the rescue (Natural instinct)
2. Drivers stopped their vehicles (Let's take it as human nature for now)

Yes, in this busy world there still are people who care about some random duck! There were two truck drivers who stopped their trucks - very patient drivers indeed! The little duckling that wandered off panicked a lot. With the traffic on one side and the crow on the other, its chances of survival were dwindling. It's going to be a mess I thought. Wait a sec, this crow isn't calling for backup....lol...

I was still on the other side of the road and I stopped filming. When all seemed lost a foreigner who didn't speak Japanese and who was a tourist got on the road and guided the birds to the pavement. The vehicles honked in gratitude and went their way. The foreigner stayed there for a couple of minutes and then as a crowd began to gather, he left the scene. The crowd was all the more excited and various devices for taking pictures came out one by one. As I watched all this, the light turned green for me and I crossed the road. The scene had changed now - the birds had become celebrities. I could hear "Kawaii ne, Cheeesu" ("They are so cute", say "Cheese") and so on. A security guard clad in his green uniform who works at a company nearby came there as well. I know him as an acquaintance and I see him and wish him almost everyday. We chit-chat sometimes about the weather, work and some casual stuff too. He came to the rescue and made sure that the ducks didn't wander off to the road. He began advising the ducks what to do and what not to do and kept a close watch, much like a vigil. I took a couple of pics too, especially of all the people who were taking the pics...lol...

"You gotta stay off the road!"

"Listen kids, we are famous!!"

"Let's just pose for now"

Say Cheese

The man in green began guiding the ducks slowly towards the river and also began talking to the people and me. But it was almost impossible as the ducks failed to realize that he was only trying to help. They panicked and when the mentor tried to move them as a group. I just thought it was too stupid to move them this way. So I came to my office, took a cardboard box and went back to the scene in under 3 minutes.

Surprise!!! There were 2 cops on the scene now. Wow! Never imagined that. Now there were 3 people in a triangle formation trying to move the ducks. It looked ridiculous from where I was, but nevertheless I admire their effort. If at all they succeeded, they would have probably reach the river in like...a day.... :-)

I offered the cardboard and told them to put the birds in it and take them to the river. I guess ducks have good instincts. The moment they saw the cardboard box, they knew something was up (they mistook me to be a butcher perhaps). The mom tried to run away, the kids were just shocked and in fact one little guy pooped (yup, that's what you literally call "shit scared"). One police man blocked the mommy's run away attempt and caught her gently (let's assume so...:-P) - good job buddy I thought.

The other 2 gentlemen began placing the ducklings into the card board box as I held it inclined so they may not escape out. They were probably just a couple of days old. Finally all were in the box, all 10 of them. The two cops, one with the duck and the other with the box appreciated the effort and left but probably said the Japanese equivalent of "WTF" silently on their way.

The guard and I bid farewell and off I began walking towards my office again. On the way I ran into the foreigner. What a coincidence! I said - "Hey, What's up? I saw you helping the ducks earlier over there. That was great. They are safe", he seemed to understand and said "Gracious". I said my favorite phrase "Enjoy your stay. Ciao" and headed fast towards my office. I hope the ducks found their home.

Conscious breathing

Did the thought that you are breathing as you read this cross your mind?
Well..we breath 40~60 times a minute and yet we seldom realize that we are. The involuntary muscles of the lungs, chest and the abdomen do a good job indeed.

• What is conscious breathing: Concentrating on the amount of air, various parts of the body that are involved in the breathing process, changes that happen when you breath and so on...
• Advantages:
• Improves concentration
• Health benefits
• Relaxing, reduces stress
• How to:
• Important prerequisites:
• Choose a place where you will not be disturbed. It's fine if it's noisy.
• Decide how much time you can spare.
• Phase-1: Calm down
  
1. Sit down in a comfortable position and close your eyes.
2. As soon as you close your eyes, you will feel that your other senses (ears/nose etc.) have higher perception levels. It's natural.
3. Become aware of your surroundings - There may be noise or it may be quiet. Accept it because you can't change your surroundings.
4. In this state, your mind will be highly active. Your mind becomes your eye and begins to flash images from your memories.
5. As the mind wanders, enjoy the feeling. Tell yourself that you have enough time to spare. So there is no need to hurry nor worry.
6. After a while you will come back to the present.
7. You will probably notice now that your mind is not as agitated as before and is at peace. Now, It's time to start.
• Phase-2: Breathing
1. Concentrate on your breathing. Become aware of the inhaling and exhaling process.
2. Feel how your nostrils become cool as you inhale and warm as you exhale.
3. Feel your chest expand and contract.
4. Your abdomen must expand as you inhale and contract as you exhale. If the reverse is happening, set it right. (This happens sometimes when you are agitated)
5. Inhale a little more than you usually do and exhale normally. Do this in a calm manner, do not hurry. Do not tighten any of your muscles, especially your chest and abdomen.
6. Keep inhaling and exhaling concentrating either on the amount of air or your nostrils....
• Phase-3: Stopping
1. When you feel you have done enough, stay there with you eyes closed. Don't do anything. Just feel the moment.
2. Feel the difference - Have you stopped breathing? Are you feeling fresh? Calm? Some kind of boost in energy?
3. Open your eyes and...do what you want... :-)

Note:

• It's normal for breathing to stop for a while after the process. It's because you have taken in a lot of Oxygen.
• You may skip Phase-1 depending on the circumstances.
• Over time, the time needed to calm down will reduce. The entire process will take less than 10 minutes.
• Any sitting position is OK. It's important the you are comfortable.

A simple way to relax

We do a lot of work each day but we spend very little time thinking about what's happening to us due to the kind of work we do. Unknown to us stress and strain creep in. I believe that you are sitting now. Why not check these things:

• Is your shoulder rigid?
• Are your thigh muscles tight?
• Are your toes tensed?
• Are there wrinkles around your forehead as you are reading this?
• How tight are the muscles around your eye?

Well I am not sure how many of these you are feeling right now, but there are times when these happen unknowingly - When on the train, while reading, cooking, using the computer, shaving etc etc. You muscles may be stiff even when you are in bed doing nothing.

• Overview: Our mind is always in motion. It travels faster than light and is never at one place. This is it's nature. Use your mind to concentrate on the different parts of your body and try relaxing the muscles. It will surely help.

• What to do:
1. Concentrate on your body starting from your forehead. Relax the forehead skin/muscle if it is tight.
2. Concentrate on your eyes next. Relax the muscles around the eyes if they are tight.
3. Similarly slowly concentrate on the other parts (shoulder, arms, toes etc etc.) and relax the muscles if they are tensed.
4. If you use a keyboard often, you might want to loosen up your fingers.
5. Notice the difference.
6. Make a quick pass again on all your body parts just to make sure that you are not straining any of them.
7. Feel the difference....

You can try this anywhere. Just remember to loosen up your muscles every once in a while. Try this in your bed just before you fall asleep. You will feel fresh in the morning!

Madikeri: Just a thought

Madikeri is a town in Coorg (Kodagu) - The Kashmir of Karnataka. This is where I was born and lived till I was 12. I went to St.Joseph's convent till my 7th grade and after that I did all my schooling away from Madikeri. Nowadays I visit Madikeri for a month during Dec~Jan.

The last time I visited my home town was in December 2010. To my shock it was full of trenches. I learned that there was a grant and the government thought that the funds would be put to better use if the drainage system could be improved. I thought it was a good thing to do considering that Madikeri gets a lot of rainfall. A good drainage system would ensure that water keeps off the road.
Also it was a good gesture that the authorities were planning on improving the infrastructure.

A word about drains: The 'drains' that I am talking about here are not sewers that are outlets from sanitary rooms. These are drains designed to lead rain water out of the town. They don't have filth nor are they unclean. They are usually dry except for the rainy season.

Back to the story, When I saw the work that was underway, I honestly felt that the labourers were working a lot. India still is one of those countries that thrives on cheap manual labour which has it's own pitfalls:

1. The time it takes to get the job done.
2. The amount of manpower needed.
3. Causalities that may occcur.
   etc etc..

I saw people lifting Reinforced Cement Concrete(RCC) slabs from trucks and placing them on the constructed drains to cover them up. I mean manually lifting the slabs with their hands. They had bruises and cuts all over their bodies. They had no adequate protection but they didn't seem to care and were still doing their job. They were men who worked honestly as per instructions (something seldom seen), but were no doubt underpaid. Considering the kind of job they did they surely deserved better.

Now the rainy season has begun. Although I am not in Coorg, I hear the stories. Considering the amount invested and the inconveniences caused things have not improved so much. The town still has blockages and the water still prefers to flow on the road than use the path meant for it - The Drain.

That makes me wonder...what went wrong? Being in India is an adventure in itself. Although it is a known fact that corruption is everywhere I am not sure if that can be blamed for this 'drainage disaster'. A little pre-planning such as these could have helped improve the situation:

• Is the drain wide/deep/steep enough?
  Do some math.
• Why do drains get clogged up?
  Half the time it is silt/mud/soil.
• How does silt get in there?
  Probably from the edges of the road or someone dumped it there.
• Why does the soil leave the road?
  Poor road construction or the road was not built to specifications.
• Why will someone dump mud in the drain??
  Moral/common sense issues!! (Clearly)

Facts about drainage construction in India:

1. Underground drains are uncommon except in developed cities.
2. Drains are usually left open since it rains a lot - It's easier for water to get collected.
3. Drains are built at a level that is lower than that of the road to make it easier for water to flow into the drain.

The main problem arises when silt flows from the road to the drain and settles in. The volume of water that the drain can now accommodate is less than it should and the water overflows. There is another problem too - This water is muddy.

A couple of things the authorities should have done first:

• Repaired all roads.
• Taken steps to prevent soil erosion. At least taken precautions so that the soil/silt doesn't reach the drain.

The grant was so huge that they ended up building drains and digging trenches in the whole town. Yes, you got me right....the whole town!!  No roads were spared. What a dedication!! If they had put a little thought beforehand their job would have been well appreciated. People had to face a number of problems during the digging process:

1. Vehicles in the whole town needed a parking lot. Vehicles were parked along side the road. Most vehicles couldn't reach the garage and vehicles in the garage couldn't be brought out.
2. People couldn't use their own vehicles. No provisions were made to help people to bring their vehicles out of the garage.
3. You never knew which street was next on the 'Digging' list. Full of surprises! In the evening when you got back home there would be a trench right at the front gate that would say " Welcome home!!".
4. It was not an organized digging. The whole town was dug up almost simultaneously and the closure took months.
5. Dust.
   etc etc.

I am sure the people there could share their experiences better.

People have been forced to face so many inconveniences and yet the situation doesn't seem to have improved.
Nobody expected to get a drainage system in the whole town. Rather than digging up the whole town, if the concerned authorities had thought about improving a few areas in town, Madikeri would have been a better place and their work would have been much appreciated.

I wonder if the system in India will ever change...
I wonder if the people would be paid right for the kind of job they do...
I wonder if there will be machines that do the job in a fraction of the time needed now...
I wonder if a laborer's life weighs the same in the eyes of the authorities...
I wonder if the authorities will think of the inconveniences/consequences before attempting something like this again...
Most of all I wonder what's next...

PS: Machines may lead to unemployment problems but this is not part of the topic. :-)