Piped Water for a village - this was fun

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The Science of Urinals

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The science of urinals The high urinals Have you noticed how high urinals have become? Walk into a men’s restroom and look at the urinal. You will find that it is perched high on the wall, challenging your ability to deliver your stream accurately into it. I have seen it in offices, restaurants, cinema theatres, bus stands, railway stations and umpteen public places. In the old days even our airports had these high mounted urinals. Now with better standards the new airports and multiplex toilets are built to international standards and they have the urinals at the right height. I have been wondering why the urinals are built so high so I interviewed some urinal attendants, plumbers and contractors. Here is what I found Their logic goes like this...  The urinal must be high because if you delivered a stream into a low urinal it would somehow splash out of it on to your trousers and chappals. Instead if you delivered it high, it would only wet your shirt T...
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Vizag's hidden history

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My article in the Times of India dated 21 Feb 2016 Vizag's hidden history TOI web link People fascinated by Indian history are familiar with historical facts of several old towns and cities such as Varanasi, Hyderabad, Chennai or Mumbai. While most old Indian cities and towns have interesting past our own Vizag has a secret history that has escaped some of us residing here all our lives. We pass by structures surrounded by buildings as we rush about our work scarcely throwing a glance at those forgotten spots that have played a significant part in Vizag’s past. Tourist brochures convey a simplistic view of Vizag’s history describing it as a “sleepy fishing village” that over time transformed into today’s bustling city. Somehow we visualise a bunch of fisher folk sleeping all day. In fact Vizag has been an important town for many centuries and has witnessed the ebb and tide of rulers, armies, cultures and outstanding men of vision - who slept very little. What’s in a n...
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My Vizag Beach then and now

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My Vizag’s Beach View from our beach home balcony in 1960.  Then an outer harbor Iron Ore jetty came up on the beach. A large wall blocked off the beach for the residents. Half a century ago, as a child I lived in an old stone building by the sea. So close in fact that, in stormy weather, the crashing waves sent a salty spray into our home. Ah the smell of the sea! The constant crashing of the waves! So subliminally deep was it driven into my psyche that, even when I went inland on vacation, I could still smell and hear it. On these sparkling waves and golden beaches we first learn to swim. All through summer vacation the neighbourhood boys frolicked among the waves. At dusk, we came home reluctantly, only when we were exhausted or when mom came looking for us, threatening dire consequences if we did not drag our salty black bodies back home. Here, I cast my catgut line with a bottle cork for a float and steel nut for weight, and caught my first sna...
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