All men for Honor hardest work

[Long story short, I came to realize that I had come up with a 'close reading' of a wrong Emily Dickinson poem. This monstrously cringe-worthy mutilation of a brilliant work is thus presented here. For your face-palming. Cheers!]

All men for Honor hardest work (1193)

All men for Honor hardest work
But are not known to earn —
Paid after they have ceased to work
In Infamy or Urn —

This is one of Emily Dickinson’s short poems. It follows ABAB style of rhyming.

Analysis of the poem:
The poem talks about all people who work for Honor.
Honor, here, can be taken to mean honorable work, charitable work, work carried out for the benefit of others, the general public. It represents a sacrificial type of work that transcends banal occupations carried out solely to acquire money or achieve fame and fortune for oneself.

Emily says that such virtuous people are not known to earn.
Earn, in the way it is used, can refer to earning money, physical or material comforts or luxuries. It can also refer to earning of accolades, adulation, praise, rewards for the honorable work done.

Emily indicates such people are rewarded or paid only after they have ceased to work.
It is when the men retire from service and are no longer seen to be beneficial, to be of any further productive value; only then she says that the public will rise to take note of them.

The rewards and payment indicated in the poem, doled out to such men who gave their all towards Honor, at the end of their tenure, according to the poet, are usually infamy, harsh criticism, dishonor, notoriety or in the some cases even death.

Death is signified by the word Urn in the poem. Getting paid in urn here can be interpreted in three different ways.

Since the poem by itself strikes a melancholy note throughout, firstly, it can be taken to imply that the hard work of the people was never appreciated and was actually considered to be against the public interest and such people were put to death and their ashes contained in an Urn.

Secondly, paid in an Urn could mean that the person working towards Honor, did just that till his own death and his only reward was death itself, naturally knocking on his doorstep.

Or thirdly, taking the ever slightly positive note – it could be interpreted to mean that the selfless person’s work is appreciated at last, after his death and he is rewarded posthumously. But the initial interpretations gel better with the mood of the poem.

Summary:
The righteous people who work the hardest, while doing honorable, selfless deeds seldom garner earnings of any sort during the course of their duties. It is only after they stop being beneficial, they are paid by dishonor or death.

Possible Interpretations:
This poem might be slightly autobiographical.
The men working hard towards Honor can be taken to represent Emily herself. As, even though she composed over eighteen hundred poems, in her lifetime she saw only a very small handful of those poems published.
She did not gather any recognition as a poet while she was still alive, nor did she earn anything from her work.
The poem might be an indication of her realization that probably after her own death, when the people did discover her work she might live in history, in infamy at least.


PS: Parallels:
This poem reminds me of the poem “The Patriot” by Robert Browning wherein a similar theme is portrayed.
The patriot is elected joyously, and even after he works hard and accomplishes tasks that no others would have done, his achievements are not recognized and he is sent to hang. At the end, the man does feel a sense of relief that since his achievements were not paid for by the world – God will have to answer in heaven.

Greenhouse Effect - An essay

The Greenhouse Effect is a naturally occurring process that results in the heating of the earth’s surface and atmosphere. This is due to the particular property of certain atmosphere gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane etc. These gases allow the heat from the sun to reach the earth but absorb some of the outgoing heat energy, as the heat radiated by the earth is at a lower frequency than that of the incident energy. This is somewhat like the action of glass panels in a glass house. Without this natural green house effect, temperatures on earth would have been much lower and life would not have been possible. Due to this effect, earth’s temperatures are more hospitable at about 15C instead of -18C.

The matter of concern now is that since the industrial revolution, the atmospheric concentrations of these gases are on the rise. Over the past three centuries, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased 30% (from 280 ppm to 360 ppm), methane concentrations have more than doubled (from 0.7 ppm to 1.7 ppm), and nitrous oxide compounds have risen by 15 % (280 ppm to 310 ppm). In the absence of emission control policies carbon dioxide concentrations are projected to b 30 – 150 % higher in 2100 than today’s levels. The other gases involved in the green house effect are chlorofluorocarbons and tropospheric ozone. Of all the green house gases, carbon dioxide accounts for 55% of the enhancement in the earth’s green house effect. The contributions of other gases are: 25% by chlorofluorocarbons, 15% by methane, 5% by nitrous oxide. Ozone’s contribution to the enhancement of greenhouse effect is yet to be qualified.

Why are the greenhouse gas concentrations increasing? Scientists generally agree that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reasons for this increase. The concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased due to several activities of humans after the industrial revolution. The major causes for the increased emission of this gas include (i) combustion of fossil fuels by industries, transportation, space heating, electricity generation, cooking (ii) vegetation changes in natural pairs, woodland and forest ecosystems. Emission from fossil fuel combustion accounts for 65% of the extra carbon dioxide now found in the atmosphere. The remaining 35% comes from the conversion of prairie woodland and forested ecosystems primarily into agricultural systems, as natural ecosystems can hold 20 – 100 times more carbon dioxide per unit area than agricultural systems. The major reasons for the additional methane in the environment are rice cultivation, domestic grazing animals, termites, land fills, coal mining, oil and gas extraction etc. The causes for the increase in nitrous oxide concentrations are land use conversions, fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, soil fertilization. Most of the nitrous oxide added to the environment comes from deforestation and conversion of forest, savanna, grassland ecosystems into agricultural fields and range land. Both of these processes reduce the amount of nitrogen stored in the living vegetation and soil through the decomposition of organic matter. Greenhouse gases that are not naturally occurring are chlorofluorocarbons. They are byproducts generated by industrial processes such as foam production, refrigeration and air conditioning. Each greenhouse gas differs in its ability to absorb heat in the atmosphere. Chlorofluorocarbons have the highest capacity. Methane traps over 21 times more heat than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide absorbs 270 times as much as carbon dioxide.

The increase in the concentration of these greenhouse gases in the environment, also increases the heat trapping capacity of the earth, which effects many factors like temperature, precipitation, sea level, climatic condition etc. Global temperatures are found to be rising. Observations collected over the last century suggest that the average land surface temperature has risen by about 0.45C – 0.6C. Predictions of future climate indicate that by the middle of the next century earth’s global temperature may be 1C – 3 C higher than today. Precipitation has increased by about 1% over the world’s continents in the last century. High latitude areas are tending to see more significant increases in rainfall, but in some places precipitation has decreased too. These dry areas may become drier and wet areas wetter. Dude to the increasing global temperatures, the sea level has risen approximately 15 – 20 cms in the last century. Approximately 2 -5 cms of this rise has resulted by the melting of the mountain glaciers. Another 2 – 7 cms has resulted by the expansion of ocean water that results in warmer ocean climate. Rising sea level inundates wet lands and other low lying lands, erodes beaches, intensifies floods, salinity of rivers, bays and groundwater tables.

Greenhouse effect may also alter the regional climate, which in turn could alter forests, crop yield, water supplies, harm birds, fish and many types of ecosystems. Hurricanes, El-nino effects, forest fires are likely to become more frequent and severe as the earth becomes warmer. Throughout the world the prevalence of a particular disease and other threats to human health depend largely on the local climate. Extreme temperatures can directly cause the loss of life. Moreover, several serious diseases occur only in warm areas. Warm temperatures can increase air and water pollution which in turn harms human health. Higher air temperatures increase the concentration of ozone at ground level. The natural layer of ozone in the upper surface of the atmosphere blocks the harmful ultra violet radiation from reaching the earth’s surface, but in the lower atmosphere ozone is a harmful pollutant. It damages lung tissue, and causes particular problems for people with asthma and other lung diseases.

However, it must be pointed out that there is so unanimity in the scientific community regarding the impacts of the greenhouse effect. Figuring out to what extent the human induced accumulation of greenhouse gases since pre-industrial times is responsible for the global warming trend is not easy. This is because other factors, both natural and human affect the planet’s temperature. When the American Association for the Advancement of Science tried to get all the world’s leading climatologists to sign a paper affirming global warming, only 1% signed. In Leipzig, Germany at a global conference 80% of the climatologists said that there was not enough evidence to prove global warming.

There are scientists who believe that alternate scenarios could also emerge. One such argument is that, even though some areas may get affected by the sea rise, farming areas may open up farther north and areas like Russia could benefit. Farmers in Canada could have a longer growing season. Hence from an overall perspective the human race may gain rather than lose due to this effect. Another interesting view is that, we are presently in an inter-glacier period of an ice-age. The inter-glacier period started 16,000 years ago, and may soon be about up, with a return of glaciers covering the lands. If this was really correct, then rising seas does not seem as bad as glaciers marching towards lands and wiping out countries as they flow down south. Global warming may well prevent the ice age from returning. A third argument goes like this: if the Arctic cap melted, the sea level would not rise one inch because the Arctic ice is floating on the water just like an ice cube in a glass. Greenhouse effect warns of a 3C – 5C average temperature rise but it would take a 55C rise worldwide for 1000 years to melt the ice of the Antarctic. Finally the Sun heats the earth and not man. The Sun’s energy changes not only in short term sun-spot cycles, but also in long term 200 year cycles. According to fossil evidence the Sun is entering a cooling period that should max about the beginning of the 22nd century.

It is true that a section of scientists have identified that our health, agriculture, water, resources, forest, wild life, and coastal areas are vulnerable to the changes that global warming may bring. But projecting what exact changes will be over the 21st century remains very difficult. This is especially true, when one asks how a specified local region will be affected. Some of the greatest uncertainties are associated with events that pose a great risk to human societies.

Even with all these diverging views, we know for certain that human activities are changing the composition of the earth’s atmosphere. It is well accepted that greenhouse gases trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere and tend to warm the planet. By increasing the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, human activities are strengthening earth’s natural greenhouse effect.

True, there is no unanimity regarding the impact of Greenhouse Effect. Yet, there is no reason for us to be complacent about it. It is necessary to recognize that Greenhouse Effect is the manifestation of our activities upsetting the equilibrium of the earth’s atmosphere. We have to be proactive in maintaining its delicate balance. Afforestation and decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels based energy are the two major principles that should drive our future actions. Governments should discourage deforestation and actively pursue an agenda of afforestation. Populations throughout the world need to be sensitized, so that afforestation becomes a mass movement and hence successful. Decreasing our dependence on fossil fuel based energy is possible through two main approaches. One is reducing our energy consumption through conservation. The developed countries who are mainly responsible for the green house effect must take the lead in this regard. Sometimes this may call for some life-style changes. But they should be made to understand that the sacrifices needed (for the life style changes) are a small price to pay in order to sustain life on our planet. The second approach is developing an environment friendly energy sources such as wind, solar, micro hydel systems. The government and scientific community must concentrate their effects in this direction.

Our understanding of the Greenhouse Effect has a very important message –
'Development is important, but what is more important is Sustainable Development.'

PS:

• This essay was originally written when I was in the 9th standard.
• Everywhere in the essay, the degree part of the temperature needs to be assumed, as it is missing.
• This won the second prize in the essay competition conducted by IISc.
• Strangely, the results were announced and I got the award more than a year later. The only proof that I had got the second prize was a small piece of paper with the IISc stamp, with my name and II written on it. No idea what happened to it though.
  

Census of India 2001 - An essay

Census of India 2001: A Pointer To The Nations Development

Census is the total process of collecting, compiling and publishing demographic, economic and social data pertaining at a specified time or times to all persons in a country or delimited territory. Census of India 2001 is the fourteenth of the uninterrupted series (once in every ten years) which began in 1872. The census of India 2001 is carried out in two phases. The first phase is the House Listing Operations. This was conducted from April to September 2000. The second phase is the Population Enumeration. This was conducted from the 9th to 28th February 2001. The reference ‘Census moment’ indicating the population of our country was 0.00 hours of 1st March 2001.

The first phase of Census of India 2001 began with the House Numbering Operations in which all the houses and structures were affixed a number and listed out in a systematic order. This was followed by the House Listing Operations in which information about the material used for construction, condition of the building, purpose for which it was built etc. from each building is collected. If the building is used for residential purposes a wide ranging set of information that throws light on the quality of life of the residents is collected. This data would provide a benchmark to study the quality of life, housing stock in different parts of the country etc.

The utility of the information generated during this phase can be summarized as follows:
• It enables to ensure complete coverage if the geographical area of the country during Population Enumeration in 2001.
• It helps to asses and estimate the quality of life of people of India, which is reflected by the availability or non-availability of amenities in each household
• It is useful to find out the number of housing units – residential and non-residential in the country. It also helps to find out the purpose for which they are used.
• It is useful to identify geographical areas at different levels of development. This can be utilized for preparing development plans for specific areas and for specific amenities.
• It helps to generate statistics on the industries connected with production, marketing, and other related areas for the above items.

The major Census operation –Population Enumeration is aimed at collecting information regarding a wide range of subjects from every person. For this purpose the census authority has come up with a questionnaire consisting of three parts. The first part concerns the location particulars of the person. The second part is about individual particulars. It contains 23 questions out of which 15 questions are connected with general and socio-cultural characteristics like religion, sex, mother tongue, literacy status, disabilities etc. 5 questions are connected with the economic status of the person like- is he/she is/was a worker, economic activity etc. 2 questions concern migration characteristics. The remaining question is on fertility (for women only). The third part is meant for households engaged in cultivation and has questions like fertility of the soil, area of land under them etc.

The information collected will be tabulated to provide a static view on the demographic, social, cultural, and economic condition of the people. The statistics obtained would be useful to undertake a comparative evaluation with similar statistics returned with earlier censuses.

For all this procedure the total cost is estimated to be over Rs.1000 crore. The total process includes printing of over a billion questionnaires and the consumption of over 10,000 tons of paper. Around 2 million enumerators, drawn from the ranks of school teachers and government employees are pressed into service to interrogate 20 million households. Why do we go through this gigantic exercise? It is because a census is the most reliable pointer to the nation’s development.

The census data is indispensable for social and economic planning of the country. The planning commission utilizes the census data on the distribution of population by age, sex, classified by rural and urban areas, cities, town areas, and social groups to analyze the growth of consumer demand and savings in the process of development. An analysis of the areas of different population size with different characteristics certainly serves as a basis for government plans and investigations in basic social capital. The data on economic activity and education levels of the individual as collected in the census is very important for manpower planning. The housing needs can also be accurately estimated. Besides all these, the census data can prove very helpful in the formulation of policies on education, health, agriculture, food, development of road, rail transport etc.

The population census provides the basic data for administrative purposes. One of the most basic administrative uses of census data is the demarcation of constituencies, the allocation of representation, and reservations for SC/STs on governing bodies.

The population data has many important uses for business and industry. Reliable estimates of consumer demand for a variety of goods and services depend on accurate information on the size of the population and its distribution at least by age and sex, since these characteristics heavily influence the demand for housing, furnishing, clothing, recreational facilities, medical supplies and so forth.

The census provides reliable basis for scientific analysis and appraisal of the composition, distribution and past and prospective growth of the population. The changing patterns in the urban – rural concentration, the development of urbanized areas, the geographic distribution of population, social and economic characteristics of the population are the questions of vital interest in economic planning and development evaluation.

It is important to remember that the utility of the census is completely dependant on its accuracy. In order to facilitate the citizen to volunteer information fearlessly, the government of India guarantees to protect the privacy of the information provided by the citizens. It also guarantees that the census information given by any citizen cannot be used in any court of law against the citizen. In a country where illiteracy is widespread, it is necessary for the Census Enumerators to impress among all the individuals the utility and the need for accuracy in the census operation. All of us can contribute to the development of the country by spreading this message far and wide and helping in the successful conduct of Census 2001.

PS:
• This essay was originally written when I was in the 9th standard. That was before the Census 2001 actually had happened. Thus the usage of future tense in a few places.
• This essay won the first prize in the competition. The prize distribution ceremony was in Tumkur. I had been there with my dad. Since we reached early, we had been to a cousin’s place that was close by. I recall playing a really memorable game of chess that lasted for over 4 hours. That was the highlight of the day.
• The actual event was a drab. Iron chairs and a dusty room with no more than 8 people. The prize was a set of the small green books on Gandhi’s principles packaged inside a TITAN watch cover box.

Indian Culture - An Essay

What is ‘Culture’? This question may bring forth several responses.

‘Culture is that which makes life worth living’.

‘Culture is not merely the sum of several activities but a way of life’.

‘Culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.’

‘Culture is that which being transmitted orally by tradition and objectively through writing and other means of expression enhances the quality of life through meaning and value by making possible the formulation, progressive realization, appreciation and achievement of truth, beauty and moral worth.’

These explanations and several others in this genre are true individually, but none of them can be said to capture the meaning of ‘culture’ completely. In other words, it is obvious that the word ‘culture’ defies a simple definition.

A set of cultural traits adopted by a group ‘to meet its needs and ensure its survival’ constitutes its culture. In this sense, culture could be associated with a nation, town, village or tribe.

From this perspective, what is Indian Culture? Is it possible to identify the elements of Indian Culture which transcend the barriers of time and space? Are there unifying forces in Indian Culture in spite of apparent differences in race, language, religion, customs, and traditions in this vast and ancient country?

According to Mr. K. M. Panikar – ‘India has a life view of her own, a special outlook on essential problems, which has persisted throughout her history and would hardly be denied by anyone.’

Mr. Panikar also identifies the following as some of the outstanding factors of the Indian Culture:

1. The tradition of tolerance adding to the richness and variety of Indian life
2. The sense of synthesis as reflected in racial harmony, the primary institutions of the village and family, architecture, sculpture, music and painting, modes of worship, faith in democratic institutions etc.
3. The universal outlook reflected in views such as – the world is one family.
4. The philosophical outlook
5. Respect for the individual based on the philosophical equation of Atma and Brahma

Indian culture has survived because in every generation the best among us have lived by certain fundamental values. We see many examples of this in our history. Starting from the Rishis in the Vedic period, we see several divine personalities like Mahavira, Buddha, Ashoka, Shankara, Madhvacharya, Krishnadevaraya, Akbar, Basava, Guru Govind Singh, Gandhi etc. who have spread these values through their preachings and examples.

The first value which underlies our culture is the faith in the Moral and Spiritual order. The Vedic sages called it Rita but later it was called Dharma. Age after age refinements were made in this concept but the faith has persisted in our people.

Rita is universal order, material, moral and spiritual which unfolds life. Satya or truth is its personal aspect, to live up to it through knowledge, devotion and action becomes a paramount demand on the sensitive individual who finds fulfillment by living up to it.

Satya in the sense of absolute sincerity, unity of thought, word and deed is not to be cultivated in a cave, or in a place of pilgrimage. It has to be lived in every action, in every occasion and every relationship.

The other value is dedication, surrender of the ego to God (Samyama). By living a dedicated life the individual recaptures the values for his own generation and passes it on as a legacy to the next one.

The third greatest value is consecration of life (Samarpana). Rigid asceticism is not consecration. Giving up life to find permanent salvation is not consecration. In order to realize consecration an individual needs to lead a full life in which every act comes to be consecrated as an offering to God.

In order to live up to these values in individual and collective life desire, greed, malice, anger, hatred have to be converted to noble aspirations.

Our religious tolerance and love for peace have been the natural outcomes of these values.

The legacies of Indian Culture based on these values upheld generation after generation in all aspects of human endeavors is so enormous that any attempt to list them all would certainly be futile.

Indian culture has always been dynamic and open. Its innate strength is evident in the outcomes of the interactions with various other tribes. Indian Culture has received, adapted and digested elements of different cultures like Indo-European, Mesopotamian, Iranian, Greek, Arabian, Roman and has changed little with each influence. But Indian Culture will retain its continuity. The Bhagwad Gita will never cease to inspire men of action and Upanishads the men of thought. The charm and the graciousness of the Indian way of life will continue. Be it religion, philosophy, maths, commerce, art, architecture, music, painting, or any other enterprise the impact of the Indian Culture is easily discernible even in the global content.


PS: This was originally written when I was in 10th standard. This essay won the second prize in the Canara Bank essay writing competition.
Notable events on the prize distribution day -

• Venkatesh Prasad handed out the certificates. The dude looks so much taller in real life than he ever does on the TV screen. He was easily the tallest guy there.
  
• It was on July 30, 2000. The exact day that Veerappan chose to kidnap Dr. Rajkumar. The one time I got to watch a riot right in front of my eyes, first hand. The first time I walked for more than 8 kms because there were no other means of transport. The closest I have ever been to burning rubber tires and smashed cars. And the longest impromptu holidays.