Remembering Acharya Konda Lakshman Bapuji. Freedom fighter, separate Telangana core leader.
Ganesh Immersion Processions on eleventh day of installing Ganesh, coinciding with Ananta Padmanabha Chaturdashi.
Senior Namita Lal gets nominated for Septimius Best Asian Actress 2023 award. Junior Swati Nayak received the World Food Prize Foundation’s Norman Borlaug Field Award.
Waheeda Rehman receives Dada Saheb Phalke Award.
Modi announces: National Turmeric Board, may be at Nizamabad; Sammakka Saralamma Central Tribal University in Mulugu.
Amidst all these, Padma Vibhushan Prof MS Swaminathan, 98 (b 7 August 1925), rested. A great soul with confirmed Sadgati. Architect of the Green Revolution moved to spearhead and articulate the Evergreen revolution. Father of economic ecology. Recipient of first World Food Prize. One of 20 most influential asians of the twentieth century, along with Gandhi, Tagore, Dalai Lama, and Mao. He advocated 50% plus costs as minimum support prices. He worked for recognition of women as farmers. His legacy MSSRF is now chaired by his daughter Soumya. Contemporary and friend of Dr Kurien, Prof Swaminathan gave the degrees to our batch at IRMA. His daughter, Nitya, was our senior. His influencers include Gandhi, Vinoba, Ramana Maharshi, and Swami Vivekananda. His conclusion – “We should recognise that we live on this earth as guests of sunlight and green plants and of the farm families who convert them into food.” We need to add: microbes and other life to this.
Green revolution started with the invitation to Dr Norman Borlaug by MSS in 1961. Ford Foundation joined hands in importing wheat seeds for trying in Punjab. High yielding IR8 semi-dwarf rice adoption followed by IR36 development. Gradually, good results of Green Revolution ceased. By 1990, MSS accepted and started articulating Evergreen revolution. MSS Research Foundation changed leadership from Madhura to Soumya this year. MSSRF is a not-for-profit trust established in 1988, with the proceeds of World Food Prize received by MSS. Its outreach today exceeds 550,000 farm families and 250,000 fisherfolk families across 14 states.
NIRD Convocation for 191 students from 1-year and 2-year PG programs. Now, since 2008, some 1000 students in the livelihoods-poverty reduction for the poor-vulnerable-marginalized domain via community collectives, civil society and government organizations/missions. UGC Chair, Jagdeesh Kumar felt that reputed and strategic institutes like NIRD should become degree conferring institutes a la deemed-to-be-universities.
Transforming farm families into natural farming practitioners. The need is urgent and it cannot wait. Governments have to take the onus. The gap funding has to come from other sources including philanthropy, CSR et al. This is for research, data, learning, innovation, policy, de-risking and technical support. For leveraging. For pilots. It is critical. It has to be patient and flexible.
We humans can be counted to do dumb things. Our stupidity is growing. We need to be aware and beware. Can we? Can we be humans with some intelligence?
Akshara Day. Gandhi, 154. Shastri, 99. Centenary celebrations start this year.
Printing 3 volumes of e-yogakshemam, 280+? Should we, can we?
Can we budget 366 hours to re-vision, strategize, plan and get ready for the next 10,000 hours and more? To unlearn/learn. To animate 7L. To meet and converse with people, leaders, mentors, animators, facilitators, groups, teams, collectives, and supporters. For amrit kaal to work and bring agency for the poor, vulnerable and marginalized. To see livelihoods as entry and go beyond. TRUE L plus. Development practice. Development leadership. Mentoring the mentors, leaders, entrepreneurs, and enterprise CXOs. Not-for-profit and for-profit portfolio(s) and enterprises. Notes, nodes and triggers. Notes around 3-scores of existence? Can we?
Yes, we can. If we coexist. If we flow. The flow of N. For 7L.
Join us in the yoga of maximizing living in nature – sikharayoga for 7L.
Click here for a compilation of Yogakshemam updates.