VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

Yesterday, on the way back from Lepakshi, in the outskirts of Hindupur in Anantapur District,  Jayshree Hatangadi  and I chanced upon some silk farms. There were large sheds with beds of wooden trays in which the worms were reared for around 3 weeks and fed mulberry leaves. After which they were transferred to another shed where they were harvested. Later they were shifted to the the auction house and sold. The rates for yellow less dense cocoons is between Rs.350 to Rs. 400  per kg. The denser white cocoon is sold between Rs. 500 and Rs. 600 per kg. Then they went through further processing. We were surprised to learn that a single cocoon could yield around one kilometer of filament! They are spun into yarns, dyed in brilliant colours and sold in reels to weaving factories where they produce the gorgeous silk sarees. One weaving unit can produce three sarees a day and the more complicated Jacquard ones take a whole day to produce. The w...

As in January 2017 and now in Dec 2017  temple replicas have been put up on the beach for Visakha Utsav which is essentially a tourist promotion event. Cardboard temples 1.Faith is personal and the state government encouraging such mass promotion of temples in the name of tourism does not reflect a modern society. 2. The government is making a commercial "franchise" out of these temples. Like a branded store opening branches in different areas. Places of religious worship have a sanctity of its own by virtue of being there for centuries. The idea that we build Plaster of Paris models of those temples and prey upon the visitor's faith somehow appears dishonest. 3. The Constitution of India recognises all religions equally. We are a secular and pluralistic country. If we build temples why not mosques, churches and Gurudwaras? Are we making temples because we are a majority Hindu area? There is something  morally wrong in this thinking. 4. If we want religio...

Our local events make sure that the performers and the audience are kept well apart. VVIPs and VIPs occupy the entire space near the stage. Performers hate this, they cannot connect with the audience. The crowds hate this because they cannot communicate their appreciation to the performers. The VVIPs are busy folk and often do not turn up keeping the front white sofas and seats vacant. It is disheartening to see excellent performances not getting audience response because they are simply too far away. This my friends has been going on for a long long time. It is surprising that those professional event managers who are paid tons of money to deliver a good show just toe the government line and keep following this old established official political format. We understand that security is an issue when VVIPs are there. That is why we should not mix business with pleasure when it comes to events. Now Visakha Utsav is around the corner, crores of our tax money will be spent on...

Oooh what fun, give away all our land to "investors" for a HUNDRED YEARS! Let there be hotels and resorts all over. Who wants farms? Who wants schools? Who needs vocational centres? Who needs parks? Who needs stadiums? Who needs hospitals. Why bother about keeping space for flora and fauna? Who needs grazing pastures? Just flatten everything and give away the lands to the money bags for a song  If your grand kids want a bit of land some thirty years from now, to do their own business, they will have to wait a short time ... like a hundred years!  The outrageous demands of the so called "tourism sector" is scary. And our young tourism minister seems to be buying into these ridiculous arguments. There seems to be no one presenting a counter argument. If Vizagites and the media keep quiet we will be doomed. DON'T JUST READ THIS ... SHARE IT! Read more about in the below link Investment friendly tourism policy

A few days ago I had written about the need to have a clear policy on waterfalls management. Please see the message that follows. I realise that for many this sounds like a far-fetched idea. "What impact could a waterfall in the Eastern ghats miles away from us have on us?" we may ask. We may feel that it is just an intellectual exercise with no real value. The fact is that it DOES IMPACT US in more ways than one but I will leave that to another occasion to expand. Coincidentally I visited several water flow sites in the hills some with waterfalls and others with water flowing over rocks. It was shocking to see that all these sites were filthy and in a few years will become unbearable to visit. The tourism department's objective is to show that they have developed a new tourist spot. They do not give a damn about how these spots can be maintained. A simple argument they have is "anyway visitors are coming here, all we are doing is making steps so...

Temples to be built in agency areas are a matter of concern. Even a decade ago Adivasis worshiped nature. They went to sacred groves to pray. The forest was their spiritual solace and it was naturally protected.  Recently religious competition was introduced. Buildings of different faiths mainly churches sprang up everywhere. The innocence of the tribal is getting compromised. It is becoming this faith against that. Their original respect for nature as a spiritual symbol is vanishing. To top it off thousands of folks from the plains go to some small temple in the ghats and have a huge eating out party leaving the entire area with tons of rubbish mainly plastic but also remnants of goat skaughter and chicken bones. The temple cleans up 10 ft around their perimeter. The left is left in the sun surrounded by dogs and crows. There is no way of removing the garbage and they lie there forever. Forget tribal tourism. The areas around temples are filthy. Now we have religious...

Dear friends, The new year is but 4 days away. One more year, a turbulant one, will be behind us. It is a good time to reflect on how we are faring as a nation. Today instead of my usual Vizag centric post I thought I should publish a speech delivered by my good friend, an exceptional manager and a visionary Mr. T.G.S. Babu who currently lives and works in Chennai. He worked in Vizag in the late '70s then left for greater assignments in other parts of the country. He gave this keynote speech in February 2010 at the  Coimbatore Management Association annual day. Do take the time to read it. Managing India: turning a dream into reality Good evening to all of you. You have chosen to assemble here on a Sunday evening to listen to a speech instead of opting for a movie or an outing with the family. I hope that you will not regret the choice that you made at the end of the event. I agreed to give a short address on the theme “Managing India: turning a dream into a reality” that...