Friends of Women World Banking, Ahmedabad provides micro-finance to organisations and women entrepreneurs and is engaged in capacity building of these women. As part of FWWB team we went on a field trip to Viramgam, Ahmedabad District and Kadi, Mehsana District, Gujarat. We met women farmers and women entrepreneurs.
We started early for Bhet Dwarka, a little island where Lord Krishna was said to welcome Sudama, a poor man, who came carrying a little rice as a gift. We got into the Ferry, crowded with excited pilgrims from all states of the country. It was the most exciting and entertaining part of our visit. Rajasthani ladies sang folk songs in praise on Lord Krishna in rustic voices.
We started early for Bhet Dwarka, a little island where Lord Krishna was said to welcome Sudama, a poor man, who came carrying a little rice as a gift.
Read part 1 of our journey so far here https://jeemolunni.com/2022/12/19/on-the-road-ahmedabad-to-somnath/ And part 2 here https://unnilogstravel.wordpress.com/2022/12/20/on-the-road-part-2-somnath-to-dwarka-via-porbandar/
The road from Dwarka to the ferry jetty was in poor condition. The land around was more or less barren. The main vegetation was ‘Ganda Bawal’ or Prosopis juliflora. It is a wild grass spreading rapidly and hence its local name meaning ‘Mad Grass’. This plant was introduced to the Kutch region in 1961 to check the salt water ingress into the desert land. But it grew so rapidly that it took over large tracts of land in Kutch District and other areas of Gujarat.
The road to Bhet Dwarka also led to the Okha Port and we saw a railway line running parallel to the…
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We went on a long drive through the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. I was upset that the driver missed the road to Rajkot which is Midway from Ahmedabad to Somnath . But it turned out to be an interesting road which took us through many villages and tiny towns of Gujarat, Here are a few snapshots of economic activities in the rural areas we traversed.
After a long time, we went on a long drive through the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. I was upset that the driver missed the road to Rajkot which is Midway from Ahmedabad to Somnath . But it turned out to be an interesting road which took us through many villages and tiny towns of Gujarat, Here are a few snapshots of economic activities in the rural areas we traversed. The most prominent economic activity was tending cattle. The dairy industry is strong in Gujarat. Herds of buffaloes and cows were our companions on the road. There were large heaps of buffalo and cow dung on the road. In the moving car I tried to capture these dung heaps and finally succeeded.
The other industry was stone quarries and sand mining . Obviously this raised a lot of dust and made the region look bare and desert…
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We visited the Rukmini Devi Temple in Dwarka, that stood alone on the way to Bhet Dwarka island. Lord Krishna married Rukmini Devi, who was among eight principal queens of Lord Krishna. Here is the story of the curse on Rukmini Devi by Sage Durvasa. And an accredited Beach in Dwarka.
We continued on our road trip through Saurashtra. Read part 1 here https://jeemolunni.com/2022/12/19/on-the-road-ahmedabad-to-somnath/ Before we left Somnath we visited Bhalka Thirth, where it is said Lord Krishna left his physical form when the tribal Bhil hunter shot his foot with an arrow, assuming it was a bird. Besides the idol of Lord Krishna, the temple … Continue reading On the road, Part 2: Somnath to Dwarka via Porbandar
We were lucky to arrive in Kunnamkulam town, Kerala, when the church at the bottom of the hill of the street, Puthenpetta Angadi, was celebrating its church festival. Kunnamkulam town celebrates weddings, church festivals and all events with a procession of elephants and ‘chenda’ (traditional drums). And there were elephants galore around town that day and drums, not the traditional ‘chenda’ though.
Since my father and mother left for their heavenly abode my incentive to return to Kerala, Kochi or my Hometown Kunnamkulam (KKM) in Trissur has nosedived. Spoken like a true economist. Nothing can happen without an incentive. So here came an incentive: an invite to a Conference at our alma mater, CDS, Trivandrum. And to top it an invite to my husband to deliver his supervisor, Professor K.K Subramanian Memorial Lecture at Trissur. We jumped at it particularly as it was exam week at the University and no classes were scheduled.
I had previously written on this blog about my orthodox Christian heritage and how the town of KKM boasts of its antecedents from St. Thomas, the apostle, himself. See link here. In this post I go down the lane of nostalgia while I again visit my place of birth, KKM.
Here are the photos of our old ancestral…
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‘The Other Tel Aviv: Culture and Food Tour’: What an interesting way to attract tourists and engage them with a display of the food and culture of the region. While I live in an UNESCO Heritage City, the city struggles to get footfalls into the old walled city area. This leads to demise of economic activities in the city. A food and culture tour is one interesting way to revive some economic activities in the city. Read on to see how well food and culture are weaved into this tour of Tel Aviv.
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Be alert to Hacking! I describe here my experience with one social media handle being hacked.
Hacked! Yes. Someone hacked into my Instagram account. June 21, longest day, but I found it even longer! Imagine, I have been active on social media at least since 2016 or maybe 2014. I have heard of email accounts being hacked. But yesterday I got the shock of my life when my Instagram account was hacked.
How did I come to know of the hacking? I was happily engrossed in a novel (on summer vacation) when my daughter came to tell me that a message from her friend said she thought my Instagram account had been hacked. I reached for my iPhone and found my Instagram was not accessible! I ran to open my laptop and then came the avalanche of messages and calls on WhatsApp.
Later my daughter send me this article that talks about a small family business Instagram account being hacked. ‘Bitcoin Instagram hacker robs BC jeweler…
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In Leeds, UK we discovered the Marks and Spencer’s (M&S) story that is celebrated with a bit of potted history around Leeds. M&S started with the celebratory stall in KirkGate market. Marks' story is a rags to riches story, starting as a street vendor and rising to create a massive departmental store chain that thrives till today.
Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of United Kingdom twice, in 1940-45 and 1951-55. His first term included the dark years of the Second World War. He played a critical role in monitoring and changing the course of the war for Great Britain. He and his large team of military personal, telephone operators, secretaries and correspondents worked in Bomb Shelters underground through those years. The history of workings of the team to combat the Germans is recorded and preserved in the underground facilities used by Churchill. In London, City of Westminster, Churchill War Rooms in the Imperial War Museum
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