Saturday, October 26, 2013

SIP-SAP-SING



Sip Sap Sing,
Sankaran on the coconut tree !
                           *********************************
Don’t ask who put him there.
He climbed all the way to that high post.
Endurance pays !
                           **********************************
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is sliding down  digging for gold at Unnao, UP, just on the strength of a dream by a seer. The seer says that Raja Ram Baksh singh appeared in his dream and told him that there is 1000 tons of gold buried under the ruins of the fort at Unnao.. I still have not joined the brigade of skeptics of ASI because, in case they find some gold there….. ? I wish they found it. The priest has predicted another 2500 tons of the yellow metal in Adampur village in Fatehpur district, UP.
Now what is wrong in dreaming? Just think of the situation where there are at least 1000 spots in India where each spot has at least 1000 tons of gold underneath. (People above 80, heart patients and pregnant women should avoid such dreams).  If these dreams come true, in all probability they will, Raghuram Rajan will be the most happy man. The poor man is playing all the cards up his sleeves to stabilize the sliding Indian Rupee.
                               *************************************
If the ASI is sliding down to dig Gold, the government of Kerala  in association with the never say die farmers and research institutions like the CPCRI is climbing up to tap Gold. A wonderful dream, a wonderful project , which anywhere else in the world would have materialized at least a quarter of a century ago.
The farmers of Kerala had almost abandoned coconut farming with problems like “Mandari” and the like. With falling prices and a huge dearth for skilled tree climbers, it was swan song for this wonderful tree which we have learnt as the KALPAKAVRIKSHAM in our schools.
Now, this must be not just a ‘sapamoksham’ but an opening up of an era of prosperity for the coconut farmers of Kerala.

The government has decided to tap the sap from the coconut tree and convert it into a soft drink without allowing it to ferment. Sugar and jaggery also will be extracted from this sap. The required technology has been  developed by the Central Plantation Corps Research Institute, Kasargode. The government plans to sell the soft drink under the brand name NEERA. A recent article in ‘The Hindu’ (21st Oct ’13) gives the following numbers. A farmer with 100 trees can earn Rs 3,37,500 a month !!!
Now dream. Let there be one lakh farmers with 100 trees. The cumulative income would be a staggering, mind boggling 3,37,500, 00000. Now comes the real problem. How can you read this number.  If you can, please tell me too. 
                                               *************************************
Now a dream ‘For The Road”
Dream of the Mallu bibbers withering away from the serpentine queues before the civil supplies corporation outlets  and running for NEERA, singing SIP-A-SAP !!!
Well, this is the convenience with dreams.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Prof V L Antony - 3

 After posting two stories on Antony Sar many more keep surfacing in my mind. As I wrote in the previous post, he had a deep knowledge in El...