Solutions to World Problems

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action---
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
                                                                                              - Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali


The world, as of today, is in pains. It is so full of problems, at times it seems that there are no viable solutions, with the situation getting out of control each and every day. I would not like to use a pessimistic word like “insurmountable”, but to the teeming billions, the problems are practically insurmountable.

It seems that nobody is at peace today. Not even the ones who have plenty. Those having plenty are at a constant fear of loosing their riches and also a constant urge to earn more and more. Even being among the 1 % does not make them contented. Those having nothing (the remaining 99 %) are finding it increasingly difficult even to sustain their miserable lives. Except for a few lucky ones, they do not have any means to improve their living conditions.

So is this the ultimate outcome of the tremendous progress in science and technology in our times? What has humanity gained from science?

It was contemplated that when we can invent enough smart machines to carry out our day to day mundane chores like washing, cleaning, calculating, cooking, communicating, etc, we could enjoy much freedom. We could engage ourselves in more creative works like writing, painting, interacting with family & others. But apparently the case is just the opposite. We don’t seem to have any spare time today even for our family and friends. Everybody is spending every availably minute to earn some more money. So what went wrong?

By the very inherent system of capitalist economy, capital attracts more capital. Money can be invested to earn more money. So ultimately the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The gap between haves and have-nots, 1% and 99%, is an ever increasing chasm.

No, please don’t jump into conclusions. I am not starting a case of defense for socialism or communism. The world, at most parts, has gotten rid of the utopian romantic principles of communism, as it was unable to cure the most important disease. This system made the practitioners loose out in competition with the rest of the world, apparently due to its many inherent problems. The most glaring ones being lack of freedom, lack of innovation due to absence of incentives, ruler for life and hereditary ruler similar to monarchy.

So, isn’t there any solution? Or one day humanity will be split into two separate species, the haves and the have-nots? The haves can improve upon themselves by robbing more and more resources of mother earth, by indefinitely extending their lifespan using latest medical knowledge, and by dominating the latter. There is scope for improvement for the have-nots also. They can return back to good old evolution. They can fight among themselves for whatever scanty resources are left, they can kill each other in the true sense of ‘survival of the fittest’, and Darwin will be happy in his grave to see his theory in practice even among modern humans. There will be no marital relations between the two different species, except maybe for a few ‘outcasts’.

But all is not lost my friend. Fortunately, over the ages, humanity has been gifted by extraordinarily talented people having extraordinary insights into the ways of life. We should not forget their legacy. One such visionary was Rabindranath Tagore, having born in an obscure and conquered country called India. In his Nobel Prize winning work Gitanjali, he has given us a hint towards a more sensible society by the following words. “Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls; “
Just think, why are we still carrying the evil practice of our shameful and ignorant past? Why are the national boundaries still flying their flags of arrogance & prejudice? Why this narrowness of thought? What gain do we get by keeping people separated from one another by putting up boundaries, other than hatred and wastage? Wastage of lives, wastage of time, wastage of money and wastage of many other resources. These resources could have been better used to build a happier and more prosperous world. All those cannons and tanks and fighter jets and aircraft carriers, they cost a hell lot of money. All the starving children of the world could have spent their days with a full stomach if there were no separate nations. Aren’t we humans as a race, matured enough to forget our hatred and unite to create a free world?

Kalijhora-Panbu-Samtahar-Chuikhim

We set out for an old destination through a new route on 28/11/2012 on the auspicious occasion of Guru Nanak's Birthday. Oh, come on, it was a holiday, and the best thing that came to my mind is to traverse through an unexplored new route.

Panbu village, sitting atop the Siwalik hills overlooking Teesta, is a very picturesque place. After Purbikhola, it was the second nearest trekking destination from Siliguri.

My first home made BLDC motor

This is my first home made BLDC motor. Made by me and Raju with throw away parts such as tubelight starter, reed switch, burnt out relay and neodimium magnets salvaged from damaged CD-ROMs.





We at ETHAN, Siliguri, are carrying on experiments with different types of motors. First we made a simple DC motor. Next was a 3 pole DC motor. Then we made this brushless DC motor which is superior than the previous ones.

GREENCAR III (FOR ADULTS)

At last, my adult sized electric car is running. Its far from complete, but at least its main mechanisms are working satisfactorily.

Click on this album to see the making of the car step by step.

Electric Car III (for adults)

See the videos.

Environment Statistics by country

A very very informative country wise statistical data about the environment has been compiled by Nationmaster.com. Their detailed statistics provide pictorial representation for vital data such as Pollution, CO2 emission, Biodiversity richness, Protected area and many more. Visit here to know more.
http://www.nationmaster.com/cat/Environment-environment

Thanks to my friend and fellow worker Supriya Biswas, who requested me to find such environmental data.

DHUPJHORA SOUTH PARK

The Gorumara National Park, lying in the flood plains of Murti and Jaldhaka rivers, is the pride of Duars.
On the right bank of the river Murti, very near to the North Garumara Range of the famous Garumara National Park, is a wonderful place for nature observation called the Dhupjhora South Park. It is an ideal place for a relaxation at the weekend.

A fairly medium sized team, all from our office, with the exception of Gopal of Venus Hotel, assembled at the campus of our Siliguri office on the lazy saturday of 12th July 2008. The nine members of our team were myself, Uttam, Gopal, Tapasda, Praneshda, Parthoda, Rathinda, Ashisda and Shogen, Gopal's driver.

We started after 2.00 pm in Gopal's Opel Corsa and Tapasda's Santro. Had a brief lunch stop at Gautam's Dhaba, Sevoke bazaar. The next stop was at Chalsa bazaar. We shopped there for live chicken and some vegetables. The two cars assembled there and took a right turn towards Batabari more. Tapasda led the way and took a left turn from Batabari More. Upto this road the way is familiar to me since it is the same road leading to Murti Lodge of the WBFDC. From Dhupjhora bazaar, Tapasda took a right turn. We crossed the Dhupjhora primary school and took a left turn towards Bhagatpara. The mud track passed through a vast plantation of beetlenuts known as the "Guabari". Finally, on crossing a treacherous muddy track over a small stream, we reached the gate of the Dhupjhora South Park resort.

We selected the farthermost cottage, nearest to the river and the overlooking machan. At about 8 p.m. we set out for our nightly adventure of catching riverine fish. Narain, a local fearless boy, was our guide and trainer. he has excellent abilities of catching fishes in the dark.

LITTLE BIKER ANKUSH

Amazing Ankush is the son of my close friend Bapi Datta. At his little age of 3+ years, he can effortlessly ride big bikes on busy roads.

Ever since he started walking, his father tried to make him an expert bike rider. We saw Bapi making him sit on the petrol tank of his bike and leaving the handlebar control to him now and then. Gradually, the duration of balancing the bike increased. Initially, he let him ride only on empty roads. Once his control over the bike increased, he let him ride through busy roads. Of course, the foot brake and gear was controlled by Bapi sitting on the pillion seat. Ankush's little feet cannot reach the controls.

Now, in his most outstanding feat, he made a two way trip to the hills of Sevoke and Kalijhora, covering a distance of about 50 kilometres. More so, he made the trip atop a 225 cc Hero Honda Karizma bike, an enormous bike for a 3+ kid.