The soul on ventilator support
Singh is of the conviction that art must reach beyond the decorative to 'disturb' and send ripples through a stagnating social conscience. He conceived a painting from that 'driving' thought. It smoulders, and arrests the gaze. It was on prime display at the annual exhibition of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi.
It is of an elderly farmer with an oxygen mask. The scarecrow behind him also clamped with a breathing filter. Wisps of burnt stubble settle on the wizened farmer's white kurta, like indelible black curses. 'It is an aesthetic depiction of a warning: that the farmer is on ventilator support. The terminal stage. If not heeded, we will have committed suicide,' Singh, an art teacher in a Chandigarh school, told this writer.
The painting is rich in cultural symbolism. In the kurta's upper pocket is a bulging wallet depicting a man of wealth. 'However, my artwork evokes the message: wealth will not be able to prevent the looming destruction to the self and to environment,' Singh added. The young artist is critical of the self: 'It is not enough to say farmers burn stubble because it is cheap and Government provides no alternative. We must evolve from the destructive paddy cycle, which has also depleted the water table.'
The artwork whispers of the ironies that wrack the soul of contemporary Punjab: obsessed with blasphemy but oblivious to the scriptures steeped in the vision of environmental preservation, of symbols and rituals accorded precedence over principles.
Burmese python turns turtle and pretends it is dead! (Santosh Bhattarai)
The python's drama of death
The Chhatbir zoo has recently acquired a much sought-after species: three Burmese pythons. This giant serpent is curated by only seven of the 156 zoos in India. In captivity, its behavioural diversity is limited because of the confines but in the wilderness it can be quite an enigma.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Burmese python is a unique field observation of it feigning death. This is a behaviour more associated with smaller snakes, mammals and amphibians not at the apex of the food chain like the python. Death feigning or thanatosis is the self-inducement of a state of temporary paralysis to avoid predators, maximize probability of survival and avert risk of damage against external stimuli.
Santosh Bhattarai, one of the rare researchers who has consistently expended time and energy on Burmese pythons, shares an observation with a photograph of a mighty python which preferred to play possum, twice. This was when a female python was rescued from the hen coop of a house nearby to Chitwan National Park (CNP), Nepal.
'During the rescue, the python was quite aggressive as the poultry owner had tried to chase it from the hut. After rescue, the python was placed in a plastic sack and taken to the National Trust for Nature Conservation--Biodiversity Conservation Center for photographic documentation and release. When removed from the sack, the body of the python was found to be stiff and it was not hissing or indulging in any other aggressive action. When the python was placed on the ground, it did not move and appeared almost catatonic or dead. Upon gentle stimulation to its dorsum (upper part), it suddenly inverted its body, exposing its venter and remained immobile in this posture with a closed mouth for about four minutes,' Bhattarai told this writer.
'Later, it returned to the upright position, began to crawl and attempted to escape. The python was recaptured and it again imitated death. However, on this occasion, the (death) behaviour lasted only 1.5 minutes. Afterwards, the python was returned to the sack for another one hour. On the third occasion of release, the python did not feign death but crawled and was released into the CNP,' added Bhattarai.
vjswild2@gmail.com
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New Indian Express
2 days ago
- New Indian Express
Guard-less goods train derailed in Dhanbad on Jul 31, poses threat to passenger trains: Union
NEW DELHI: The derailment of a fully-loaded goods train on July 31 between Kodarma and Giridih in the Dhanbad rail division has prompted the All India Guards Council to raise safety concerns and renew its demand for urgent filling of vacant train manager posts, warning that such lapses pose a serious threat to passenger trains as well. The council said the derailment occurred due to the absence of a guard (also called a train manager) to assist or guide the crew of the train and protect its rear. The Dhanbad Division of the East Central Railway didn't respond to the council's claims. "When the train was proceeding in an upward direction on a gradient, the locomotive couldn't pull its weight, and it started sliding back. There was no train manager in it. The loco pilot informed the station master, who decided to arrange an additional loco which could assist the train from behind," D Biswas, General Secretary of the All India Guards Council, said. "Since the train was on a curve, the loco pilot couldn't exactly tell the position of the brake van (the last coach meant for guards) and the additional loco coming to assist from behind collided with the brake, resulting in its derailment," Biswas said. The council office bearers said an able train manager could have guided the additional locomotive properly, as such incidents are a safety hazard for rail operations. They referred to the General and Subsidiary Rules of the Railways, which entrust a train manager with the duty to protect the rear of the train. "The train manager has a crucial duty to play. In case any train, be it freight or passenger, stops in between two stations, its the duty of the train manager to not only protect the rear of his/her train but the incoming train as well by ensuring that the tail light is correctly exhibited and switch on flasher light to signal the incoming train of its unusual and unscheduled stoppage," SP Singh, former General Secretary of the AIGC, said. He added, "The Railway norms also say that it is the duty of the guard to place detonators on the track between 600 and 1,200 metres away from his/her train on the same track to alert incoming trains." The council said that due to several posts lying vacant, many divisions have to operate the freight trains with only a loco pilot and the assistant loco pilot, as their priority is passenger trains. Hence, guards are mandatorily provided in passenger trains, causing a shortage for freight trains. "As on December 31, 2024, 27.28 per cent of the positions of train managers were vacant in the Indian Railways," Singh said. "The total sanctioned posts of train managers in the Indian Railway are 53,229. As of December 31, 2024, there were 38,709 train managers working, and 14,520 posts were vacant. It is not a safe practice to operate trains without a manager. We demand immediate filling of all posts in the interest of safe train operations." According to Singh, Railways should realise that a freight train without a guard is a huge risk to passenger trains that share the same track. "In case a freight train stops due to a technical snag or any other reason in between two stations, it is a big safety hazard for the incoming passenger trains as the freight train is a potential threat to the lives of hundreds of passengers, Singh said.
Hans India
2 days ago
- Hans India
Guard-less goods train derailed in Dhanbad on Jul 31, poses threat to passenger trains: Union
The derailment of a fully-loaded goods train on July 31 between Kodarma and Giridih in the Dhanbad rail division has prompted the All India Guards Council to raise safety concerns and renew its demand for urgent filling of vacant train manager posts, warning that such lapses pose a serious threat to passenger trains as well. The council said the derailment occurred due to the absence of a guard (also called a train manager) to assist or guide the crew of the train and protect its rear. The Dhanbad Division of the East Central Railway didn't respond to the council's claims. "When the train was proceeding in an upward direction on a gradient, the locomotive couldn't pull its weight, and it started sliding back. There was no train manager in it. The loco pilot informed the station master, who decided to arrange an additional loco which could assist the train from behind," D Biswas, General Secretary of the All India Guards Council, said. "Since the train was on a curve, the loco pilot couldn't exactly tell the position of the brake van (the last coach meant for guards) and the additional loco coming to assist from behind collided with the brake, resulting in its derailment," Biswas said. The council office bearers said an able train manager could have guided the additional locomotive properly, as such incidents are a safety hazard for rail operations. They referred to the General and Subsidiary Rules of the Railways, which entrust a train manager with the duty to protect the rear of the train. "The train manager has a crucial duty to play. In case any train, be it freight or passenger, stops in between two stations, its the duty of the train manager to not only protect the rear of his/her train but the incoming train as well by ensuring that the tail light is correctly exhibited and switch on flasher light to signal the incoming train of its unusual and unscheduled stoppage," SP Singh, former General Secretary of the AIGC, said. He added, "The Railway norms also say that it is the duty of the guard to place detonators on the track between 600 and 1,200 metres away from his/her train on the same track to alert incoming trains." The council said that due to several posts lying vacant, many divisions have to operate the freight trains with only a loco pilot and the assistant loco pilot, as their priority is passenger trains. Hence, guards are mandatorily provided in passenger trains, causing a shortage for freight trains. "As on December 31, 2024, 27.28 per cent of the positions of train managers were vacant in the Indian Railways," Singh said. "The total sanctioned posts of train managers in the Indian Railway are 53,229. As of December 31, 2024, there were 38,709 train managers working, and 14,520 posts were vacant. It is not a safe practice to operate trains without a manager. We demand immediate filling of all posts in the interest of safe train operations." According to Singh, Railways should realise that a freight train without a guard is a huge risk to passenger trains that share the same track. "In case a freight train stops due to a technical snag or any other reason in between two stations, it is a big safety hazard for the incoming passenger trains as the freight train is a potential threat to the lives of hundreds of passengers,' Singh said.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Hindustan Times
The soul on ventilator support
Artist Kulwinder Singh was driving from his village in Sangrur to Chandigarh when he observed road accidents caused by the obscuring smoke screen of paddy stubble infernos. Though hailing from a farmer's home, the young man's sensitivity liberated him from the corral of his ancestry. A thought flashed in his inner eye: 'Burning does not just adversely affect us farmers by way of health hazards, environmental pollution, destruction of biodiversity helpful to soil such as worms and the earth's destruction. But also people unconnected to farming.' Wildbuzz | The soul on ventilator support Singh is of the conviction that art must reach beyond the decorative to 'disturb' and send ripples through a stagnating social conscience. He conceived a painting from that 'driving' thought. It smoulders, and arrests the gaze. It was on prime display at the annual exhibition of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi. It is of an elderly farmer with an oxygen mask. The scarecrow behind him also clamped with a breathing filter. Wisps of burnt stubble settle on the wizened farmer's white kurta, like indelible black curses. 'It is an aesthetic depiction of a warning: that the farmer is on ventilator support. The terminal stage. If not heeded, we will have committed suicide,' Singh, an art teacher in a Chandigarh school, told this writer. The painting is rich in cultural symbolism. In the kurta's upper pocket is a bulging wallet depicting a man of wealth. 'However, my artwork evokes the message: wealth will not be able to prevent the looming destruction to the self and to environment,' Singh added. The young artist is critical of the self: 'It is not enough to say farmers burn stubble because it is cheap and Government provides no alternative. We must evolve from the destructive paddy cycle, which has also depleted the water table.' The artwork whispers of the ironies that wrack the soul of contemporary Punjab: obsessed with blasphemy but oblivious to the scriptures steeped in the vision of environmental preservation, of symbols and rituals accorded precedence over principles. Burmese python turns turtle and pretends it is dead! (Santosh Bhattarai) The python's drama of death The Chhatbir zoo has recently acquired a much sought-after species: three Burmese pythons. This giant serpent is curated by only seven of the 156 zoos in India. In captivity, its behavioural diversity is limited because of the confines but in the wilderness it can be quite an enigma. One of the most interesting aspects of the Burmese python is a unique field observation of it feigning death. This is a behaviour more associated with smaller snakes, mammals and amphibians not at the apex of the food chain like the python. Death feigning or thanatosis is the self-inducement of a state of temporary paralysis to avoid predators, maximize probability of survival and avert risk of damage against external stimuli. Santosh Bhattarai, one of the rare researchers who has consistently expended time and energy on Burmese pythons, shares an observation with a photograph of a mighty python which preferred to play possum, twice. This was when a female python was rescued from the hen coop of a house nearby to Chitwan National Park (CNP), Nepal. 'During the rescue, the python was quite aggressive as the poultry owner had tried to chase it from the hut. After rescue, the python was placed in a plastic sack and taken to the National Trust for Nature Conservation--Biodiversity Conservation Center for photographic documentation and release. When removed from the sack, the body of the python was found to be stiff and it was not hissing or indulging in any other aggressive action. When the python was placed on the ground, it did not move and appeared almost catatonic or dead. Upon gentle stimulation to its dorsum (upper part), it suddenly inverted its body, exposing its venter and remained immobile in this posture with a closed mouth for about four minutes,' Bhattarai told this writer. 'Later, it returned to the upright position, began to crawl and attempted to escape. The python was recaptured and it again imitated death. However, on this occasion, the (death) behaviour lasted only 1.5 minutes. Afterwards, the python was returned to the sack for another one hour. On the third occasion of release, the python did not feign death but crawled and was released into the CNP,' added Bhattarai. vjswild2@
