You can propel yourself through water, by using your arms and legs

Here is some news I thought you all could use. The photo is of an ad on the back of a bus, for one of the most prominent schools in town.

You can propel yourself through water, by using your arms and legs.

Sometimes things sortof defy explanation, and I just have to show what I see.

Sam's first two teeth

For the record, here are Sam's first two teeth.

He is a happy boy, the squishiest baby we have had. As Mrs. Sorley says, "It is a fun age, they just sit around and smile at everyone, but can't get into anything yet."

The toothless wonder

Nora Grace sporting her new gap in her teeth. (her lower right). Just for the record book.

Miriam also wants to be in on what is going on

Although Miriam has had no recent additions or subtractions to her dentition, nevertheless, she had a great desire to have her teeth photographed.

Afterall, everyone else was doing it.

A Historic First for India

For the first time in Indian History, there is a State in India that has a freely elected government with a clear majority, that is a Dalit (lowcaste and outcaste) Political party.

In the state elections that recently happened here in Uttar Pradesh, the BSP won a majority, the first time in the history of India.

Note: India has several thousand political parties, so it is very unusual for any party to get more than 20 or 30 percent of the vote. Usually governance happens by getting a coalition of several Political Parties together, often with very opposite goals.

Minneapolis and Mumbai

The Economist recently did a review of cities, well worth your reading.

Two factoids jumped out at me, which your ever loyal and caring correspondent will now share with you.

Fourty percent of the tax revenue of India comes from Mumbai (Bombay). Wow. I think we can safely say the government doesn't get much revenue at all from our fair city.

In a discussion of whether cities should be governed in small portions, or with one big all powerful mayor, they gave the example of the Minneapolis Metropolitan area, which 344 local governments within it. ONce again, Wow.

190

The number of cities in Asia with more than one million people in them.

That doesn't count the scores more of such cities in Africa, Europe and the Americas.

I don't think I could even name half of them.

From The Economist, review of Cities.

I now live in the Majority, although I am now from the Minority

According to The Economist, sometime this month, the percentage of people on this Planet who live in Cities, will officially cross over from 49.99...% to 50.01... %. For the first time in history, more than half of all humans will live in cities.

I grew up in the countryside, and lived there till I was 22, when I went to Minneapolis for Medical School. In three more years, I will have lived half my life in a city.

"Wisely or not," quotes The Economist, "Homo sapiens has become Homo urbanus."

They have written a series of articles, that address a large number of issues.

They dare to address the question that haunts many of us rich folks... namely... Why do many of the people in the Urban Slums of Asia choose to live there when they could easily return to their home villages. Most people who live in the vast teeming slums of Asia, have come there recently, and could easily return to their home villages, and find food, water etc. Yet they stay in the slums for a reason. "Why do people prefer Urban Squalor to Rural Hopelessness? "

In India, many Dalits (low castes and outcastes) move to the cities to escape the harsh biggetry of the countryside, much like the serfs of Europe moved to the cities hundreds of years ago. "Stadtluft macht frei" (The City Air sets you Free), said the Germans of Prussia and The Mark.

In the past, most cities were Spiritual centers, drawing people for Spiritual purposes, in addition to its other draws. In the west (and elsewhere), this draw is loosing its shine as many people embrace secularism, but a new "Religion" has arisen to fill the void...namely Culture. The Culture of the city, and its many cultural events "are taking the place of God."

"No one wants to live in a city that is impossibly congested, suffers constant blackouts and frequent floods, chops down its trees, concretes over its parks, has aweful schools and hospitals, is devoid of any buildings of charm or character, and is governed by corrupt politicians and incompetent civil servants. Yet many people have to."

So it goes...

"So it goes" was a quote from Kurt Vonnegut (OK, I REALLY, REALLY cannot spell).

He died recently.

Does anyone else, when they read The Economist, read the Obituary first?

(You will be happy to know, that when The Economist arrives at our house, Nora Grace quickly grabs it and looks to the back, shouting, "Who died, Daddy, who died?")

Pre-Monsoon Shower Activity

We had a light shower today that cooled things off nicely. Dropped twenty-five degrees in an hour. (Granted, when your starting point is 110, it is still not that cold.)

This will happen on and off, Lord Willing for the next month or so, until the Monsoon arrives. It is called "Pre-Monsoon Shower Activity".

The Monsoon arrives in Varanasi on the 15th of June. I had not previously been aware that a Massive Weather System covering half a Hemisphere would faithfully follow the Gregorian Calendar, but who am I to question common knowledge?

Anyways, two hours after the shower, it is back up to 90 again, so this was just a brief respite. :)

But welcome none-the-less.