Observations, Thoughts and Stories as they form in the mind! Book Reviews, Art, Travelogue, Economy and Society
Author: Jeemol
Training as an Economist has stifled my writing, Hoping that blogging will release my creative writing spirits!! This blog is dedicated to the loving memory of my father C.I.Unni, who would have loved these random outpourings! Credit for the title of the blog goes to my daughter!!
I also blog and 'iphone photo shoot' my travels across the world. Do visit at
https://unnilogstravel.wordpress.com/
Mary Barton is a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell written in 1848. It is the story of the English working class, represented by John Barton and his daughter Mary Barton, in the city of Manchester during the period 1839 and 1842. Elizabeth Gaskell paints a very real picture of the life, trails and tribulations of the … Continue reading Mary Barton: Trials and Tribulations of the English Working Class
The Golden Rule: Value of Silence versus Speaking up on Mental Health. While 'maintaining silence' may have been a culture of the older generation, the millennial seems to wear their emotions on their sleeves. The minute to minute expression of thought, love, hope, despair, elation, the mundane on open sites for all ‘friends’ to see and read, is the new way of life. Does this help to maintain a mental balance?
Webinar Recording on Crisis within a Crisis: Domestic Migration in India: We always knew that there are a large number of migrants in our cities. In Gujarat, Surat in particular is seen as a city of migrants. However, this became apparent during the COVID19 crisis when the media started to report large scale migration of workers from the cities to their homes.
The Human Computer: Shakuntala Devi: I went to school in Calcutta and I distinctly remember Shakuntala Devi's visit to the school. She bowled us over with her Mathematical genius. She was able to calculate the root or squares, cubes, to infinity of unbelievably long numbers! We were absolutely awestruck.
Credit: Google, Google acknowledges the Milkman of India on his birth anniversary Verghese Kurien (1921-2012) is considered the Father of the White Revolution in India. He is also known as the 'Milkman of India'. He was responsible for moving India from a milk powder importing country to becoming self-sufficient in milk and milk products. He … Continue reading Verghese Kurien: An Ode to Father of the White Revolution, India
In an interview to Edu-Almanac, an education e-magazine for students and educators, I spoke about the migrant labour crisis in the pandemic and suspension of labour laws in some states of India.
Dr. Jeemol Unni, economist at Ahmedabad University, speaks to Karla Bookman, founder-editor at The Swaddle, about the impact that the jobs crisis will have on women
With the pandemic, we had a sudden closure of all economic activity. CMIE reported that in April 2020 unemployment rate remained at a high rate of 23.5 percent. The decline in employment is not gender and caste neutral.
We reached the spot and it was incredibly beautiful. It was also freezing in May, as a cold wind was blowing from the West. We ran back to the car to get our winter gear, sweater, jacket, muffler, gloves!!
It was only 4.00 p.m. and the wind had dropped. We were very close to the lake near the village and decided to walk down to it. The scenery with the lake, mountains, waves, rocks on the shore was magnificent. The view was panoramic. We found a comfortable rock and sat down on it to enjoy the calm, serene, atmosphere of the Pangong Lake!
The water was clear and you could see the large rocks and pebbles at the bottom. The waves lapped against the shore. The water was deep blue at the extreme end near the mountains, lighter shades of blue in the middle and nearly sea-green close to the shore. I was mesmerized as usual by the expanse of water and lulled by the sound of the little waves breaking on the shore. I needed to capture it for posterity and so here is a short video. I was adventurous enough to touch the cold water and run when the waves touched my toe. A little, probably Scandinavian, kid was wading in the water in shorts with his mother encouraging him to do so! My partner tried his favourite trick. He picked up some flat stones and tried to throw it flat across the lake. First attempt one bounce, second attempt two bounces, and third attempt two bounces again. Not Bad! Bravo!
The changing colour of the Lake and of the Changchenmo Range of mountains to the North as the sun fell on different parts was equally mesmerizing! I remembered our Scientist friend who urged that children should be taken to the ocean and mountains to get the ‘sense of infinity’. The snow covered mountains on the Eastern side of the Lake are in China, the larger part of the Lake being with them. This apparently is the reason why no boating or any sports activity is allowed on the Lake.
Ladakh is a ‘Cold Desert’, but the snow-capped high mountains ensure that there is a stream of water trickling down during part of the year. These form little rivulets, streams, rivers and lakes. We witnessed a confluence of streams, rivers and lakes in our week in Ladakh. As expressed in my blog post on “Soothing water front experience”, I love large bodies of water and ‘blue space’, water or sky! Not all water bodies in Ladakh were blue due to the continuous erosion of the soil and rock from the surrounding mountains. But still their effect was captivating.
Our first view of the meandering River Indus was from the top of the Spituk Gompa, a Ge-lug-pa Monastry built by King Gras-Pa-Bumlde in the 14th Century. On one side of the hill was the view of the Leh airport and on the other was the meandering River Indus with a…
